Paul's Letters

[Jeremy S]

Kiaora,

I'm aware that most people have probably gone away on holiday over this time, but still - for those who read this, I'm guessing you have a lot of free time on your hands in this blessed period of holidays. So with that time - I have a proposal to make...

Why don't you find an hour of your day where you have nothing to do, then sit down on a bean bag, comfy chair, the floor, grass - whatever. Take your Bible with you (if you ain't got a Bible, let us know and we can get ya one) and open to the beginning of one of Paul's letters. These are letters that he wrote to churches that were just getting going, and were struggling with how to live out their faith, what it meant to be a follower of Jesus etc.

Then, instead of only reading a few verses at a time, sit there and read the whole letter. Some of them might take a long time - Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians - whereas others might not take so long - check out Titus, Philemon - for a shorter read.

But try and read the books in their entirety in one sitting. Don't need to race through it - and be praying while you read! They're awesome letters - they talk about God heaps, and also talk about how our lives should be changed by following him.

Post any questions, thoughts, ideas that you have after reading these books.

[Chris O]

Hey Jeremy,
I took up your proposal and read Philippians. These are questions and comments of what I understood from it. To everyone else, if you haven't read the book thoroughly then none of this will make sense, but you could read this and then read the book with these things in mind if u want.

Phil 1.9: Does knowledge of God help us to love him more?
1.21: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." We sing that in a song!
1.27-28: Ask yourself this, are you frightened of those who oppose Christianity?
2.3: Something to remember "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."
2.4-11: Those who humble themselves will be exalted.
2.12-16: I paraphrased this to make it easier to understand. Tell me if its correct. "I should let God work freely through me so I can act according to his good will and purpose. I should do everything without complaining or arguing in order to show what Christ is like. I should emphasise his word so on judgement day I can boast (?) that my hard work was not in vain. Firstly, Isn't boasting bad? Secondly, what doe sit mean by "with fear and trembling"?
3.3: Who's flesh are they talking about? Jesus or their own?
3.7-9: Should we consider all our possessions rubbish?
3.14: What does Paul mean "winning by his heavenly prize?" If he is talking about salvation, its not something you can win. Its freely gifted to all who believe in Jesus and accept him into their hearts.
4.3: What is the "book of life"?
4.8-9: Something else I paraphrased. Tell me if im wrong. "Give thanks for everything you take for granted and put everything you have learnt from me into practice" I think the last part about putting it into practice is very important because it means we are serving others just as Jesus did when he was on earth.
4.11: something else very important is being content in every situation like Paul was and asking for Gods help to get you through.

[Jeremy S]

Hey Chris,

Rad to see that you read this book, and did so with an open mind - very very cool. I'll respond to a few of these - but would love to hear other people's thoughts, and also your own thoughts on some of the questions. Do research, read around, use the Internet, talk, pray - see what you come up with.

- Does knowledge of God help us to love him more?

I think this is true of anything - the more we know something, the more we can love it (or them). Think about it with music - when you first start learning music, you might just learn the C Major scale (just the white keys) and learn to play some simple songs. It's fun, you love it. But when all of a sudden you discover the idea of playing with two hands at once, using counter point, using harmony, key changes, accidentals - and how to use all of this - your love of music goes up. I think it's the same with people as well - despite the saying of "Love at first sight" - the more you know someone, the more you can love them and express your love to them.

Remember as well - when the Bible talks about love, most of the time it is not talking just about some nice feeling you have. It's active. Love is being kind to your enemies, helping your enemies out - it's not about having sweet daydreams about your enemies. So Paul states why he wants the church in Phillipi's love to increase in knowledge - so they can know what is best for them in their lives, and live lives that are even more holy (set apart, different) for Christ.

- 3:3 - Who's flesh are they talking about?

Paul's talking about his own flesh - having no confidence in it. I'm a bit out of my depth here, but I think that Paul's talking about putting confidence in everything he can do by his ability and by who he is - his birthright. Paul's saying that isn't what he puts his confidence in - he puts it in Christ.

Chur

[patches08]

This is another awesome topic, reading over what chris has said and the verses listed in here.
phil 1 v 27 to 28, the question about fearing those who oppose christianity. personally, id say because i believe in christ im not afraid, however Im afraid for my safety if they choose to try harm me. but even then god teaches us that if we have full faith in him and stand up for what we believe in then he will protect us. that doesnt mean to go say find a nazi group and pronounce ur faith to them expecting to walk away unharmed.. thats just asking for trouble.

phil 3.v7-9 and 4v 8-9 is just mentioning that we should remember that everything not created by man shouldnt be taken for granted. but wen were admiring gods creation we also shudnt get caught up in material things such as money, computers and mobile phones. yes theyre great but we shouldnt make a big deal about them because they dont last forever.

4v8-9, the part about putting things you learn into practice is a reminder for us because sometimes the scriptures we learn are just words unless we actually start acting in a way where the advice giving to us frm the book of life (meaning the bible) is being used all the time changing who we are to become better people and show others what its like to walk the path following christ.