The Phil Files

“King’s X!”

We yelled it right before being tagged “it” when I was a kid. It was from free ticket that could be used once each game. But it could only be used once, after that, you were on your own to wriggle away from the person who was “it” and trying to tag you out of the game!

I talk about this, and how we so often use it with God in areas of our lives today, in my weekly Heartlight.org post — Christ in the House. We yell “King’s X” to go in those places of our lives we don’t want to yield to the Lordship of Christ, that we keep secret from others, or even in areas we don’t want to admit to ourselves that we have issues.

I finished the post with these words:

Let’s get real about the places we’ve declared “King’s X” to His Lordship and surrender them. Let’s invite Him in to be Lord of every relationship, meal, and conversation. When this happens, there will be no doubt that Christ is Lord in our house!

Where have you declared “King’s X” with Jesus?

Have you been honest with yourself about that?

What do you need to do to yield to the Lordship of Christ in your life?

Finally, how do yield those “King’s X” areas of your heart to God?

I’d love to get your responses below!

Last Updated 11.17.2008

For 11/23 Christ in the House (3:18-4:1 & 4:5-6)

This is a focus on what is often called the “household rules” in Colossians. However, these “rules” are built on the call of Colossians 3:17 and the central place of Christ in our lives:

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Paul is not leaving to chance that folks will understand “whatever you do” and applying it to their daily life in their own homes. For some reason, believers have always seem to have trouble taking the things that are said to us as believers in our relationships and applying them to our own home life. But go back and look at Colossians 3:12-14 and then apply them to family life:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

How does this look in the day-to-day life of a family? … office place? … PTO or school association? … kids sports team members?

Imagine what would happen if we simply took these words to heart in our relationships at home!

Paul centers our relationships with each other in Christ – whether these relationships are in our home or workplace or everyday life.

Several key things to note:

1. We have different roles to play in our lives
2. Whatever our role may be, we are to see that as a place to honor Christ and serve Him in how we live out that role
3. Our reward my not be visible until we see the Lord face to face, but it will one day be visible, because we are heirs of God

How we live in our homes and other places is our “liturgy of life” – our daily worship, ways and places we reverence the Lord.

So how does that impact how we serve and what we do to serve?

Hebrews 13:4 makes that clear in the context of “worshiping God acceptably with reverence and awe”! Paul is even more specific in Ephesians 5:21 (although Colossians 3:17 and 3:22 effectively say the same thing). This is carrying out the implications of Romans 12:1 – our behavior in our relationships can’t be modeled on the world, but must be redemptive, like Jesus, no matter it’s context. Worship must extend to all of life!

We do not need to hear this de-emphasizing the importance of our gathering together as believers in worship and encouragement. Instead, what we hear is an elevation of the importance of what we do each day as our practical worship.

Are we really willing to put into our everyday living the things we say in “churchy” places?

Do we walk our talk in the places we can’t hide who we are? Remember how The Message puts 3:17:

Let every detail in your lives-words, actions, whatever-be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Flowing as it does out of Colossians 3:1-4, we are basically supposed to bring a little heaven down to earth in our families. Our families must be a place where the Kingdom of God is lived!

A couple of observations are worth considering as well:

• Children are included in the community of Christ are called to obey their parents because this is pleasing to the Lord
• How we live in our families is considered crucial to our influence and leadership in God’s family:
  • See 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 one on the qualities of leaders
  • The statement about Jesus (Luke 2:51)

A key emphasis here will be on 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and our being the Body of Christ to the world and our pledge to live that way as we share in the Supper.

Presentation ideas:

Time in the Word – Have a cup of coffee, a Dr. Pepper, a bottle of water, & a bottle of grape juice on the table. Use them to go back and forth in an out of our daily routines and who we meet with and share table fellowship with. These are a reminder that communion time is our pledge to be Jesus’ Body in the world and live His life in all of our daily relationships — that our real worship, our liturgy of life, begins when we leave this place.

Worship Leaders Please Note!
I would very much like to have the Lord’s Supper at the end of the service especially at Daybreak, with maybe one or two songs afterwards. No closing thoughts then, have that earlier. I would do the communion service. We could do offerings and garden of prayer earlier in the service and have an elder or other minister do the Garden time.
At Refresh, we will have folks do the bread from the tables, but will pass the trays for the cup – drawing special attention to the “as we eat this bread we are Christ’s one body” and challenge each other to think of the places where we need to more completely let Jesus’ life be seen in those sets of relationships.

LIFE Questions:

What are the key areas of your life where you are in relationship with others?

How do you influence each of these areas for Jesus?

Which is the hardest area of your life to influence for Jesus?

How can you better practice the principle of “redemptive use of your talk” (Colossians 4:5) with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15) in your relationships?

Why is it so important that we practice these principles of Christ-likeness in our closest relationships?

Why do you think it was so important for leaders in God’s church to be good leaders in their families (1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 – qualifications for Elders and Deacons)?

Please Note: There are many one another passages in the New Testament — God’s directions on how we are treat each other (see at the end of the questions a list of one another passages). Please read through these and then answer these questions:

Why do you think it is so hard for us to apply these principles in our homes and business relationships?

Which of these is hardest for your to practice in your family relationships?

Which is hardest in your work/school relationships?

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One Another Passages in the New Testament

Mark 9:50 “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

John 13:14 “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:12 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

John 15:17 “This is my command: Love each other.”

Acts 20:5-6 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. After saying good-by to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual affection. Honor one another above yourselves.

Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another.

Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another…

Romans 15:5-6 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Romans 15:14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.

Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss…

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

1 Corinthians 11:33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.

1 Corinthians 12:24-25 But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

1 Corinthians 16:20 Greet one another with a holy kiss.

2 Corinthians 13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Galatians 5:13 But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Galatians 5:15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Galatians 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 5:19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs…

Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another…

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now about your mutual love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:13 … Live in peace with each other.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you,e brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 13:1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

James 4:11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another…

James 5:9 Don’t grumble against each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged …

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed…

1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 5:5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 John 3:11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

1 John 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

1John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God …

1 John 4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

2 John 1:5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.

Last night, as Donna and I lay in our bed praying with a candle flickering and the sound of the fan filling the room with its gentle white noise, I remembered. It was a long ago memory of having the room across the hall from my parents and hearing them talk and pray at night. Very seldom could I hear well enough to understand their words, but the sounds were soothing and reassuring.

Now that I am older than they were when they spoke those words to each other, just knowing they were spoken brings me comfort and joy. How blessed I am to have grown up in a family where mom and dad loved each other and gave their three boys a stable place to grow and develop into men. These times were cut short by my father’s death when he was 51, but these times also still live in the flickering light of a candle, the gentle whir of the fan, the tender touch of a partner, and the final “Amen” at the end of the day.

Thank you mom and dad … and thank you Donna, for a night to slip off into gentle sleep feeling secure in your love and the sweet grace of memories and a special moment of joy.

We joke that we have two seasons in West Texas — hot and hotter. In reality, we do have some cold weather in parts of December, January, and February. But we don’t have autumn: we call fall, football season or hunting season. Donna grew up in Ohio with autumn as her favorite season. With the rolling hills and big trees of southern Ohio decked out in a breathtaking array of colors, and the smell and feel of autumn in the air, I can understand why: it is a beauty experienced. However, Donna insists we don’t have autumn in Texas. We accurately call is fall. In her words, “It’s 95 one day, a norther blows through and it’s 25 the next night. On the third day, all the leaves fall off the trees and blow to Mexico.”

Our family, however, is going through a major change of seasons right now. Megan is begins Physical Therapy school. Donna has headed back to teaching for the year. I am geared up for the school year and it’s opportunities at Southern Hills — at church, we describe three seasons of the year (or ministry): Fall Semester, Spring Semester, and Summer Vacation.

But yesterday marked a huge change of seasons for us. Tiny, our miniature dachshund for 12 1/2 years had his back go out this weekend. Megan and I knew before we took him to the vet yesterday what the outcome would be, we just couldn’t talk about it. Tiny has been there for the kids journeys through high school, barking at everything that moved and never slowing down. Until the last two months, he would literally drag us on a two mile walk. It was a hard hour at the vet’s: they were kind, but we still came home without him. Lexi — our little black shy dachshund — looks lost without her guardian and keeper. With a bunch of other pressure, Donna’s start to school and continuing battle with IC, deep concern for a friend who is in the hospital ICU, the AC man stepping through the ceiling in the attic, and now Tiny’s goodbye, it’s been a rugged couple of weeks.

Changes in season are like that sometimes. We often romanticize how the summer slips into Indian summer, and then autumn gently falls upon us. But that’s seldom the way it is. Summer’s green gives way to winter’s chill with withering heat, then thunder, lightning, wind, flash-floods, and cold. We marvel at the flash, we are often humbled by the thunder, and we are rightfully fearful when the showers become torrents. Yet through the pandemonium of it all, we know we will emerge out of it into a new season of shorter days, cooler weather, and the richness of Thanksgiving and the joys of Christmas. So we, those of us in the Warehouse, wait for the flash, rumble, and torrents to pass and trust that somewhere beyond this time lies a great feast and the joy of Jesus.

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3 tniv).

We are back home. On Tuesday, we got up at 3:30 Alaska time and arrived in our house at 9:30 Texas time. Connections went well, but it was a long day — the last hour was 25 minutes late boarding, 23 minutes waiting in line to take off on the DFW runway, and 22 minutes of flight time from DFW to Abilene. While we were exhausted, we felt for the mom of a two year old who was laughing hysterically waiting to board, but crossed that threshold from laughing hysterically to crying hysterically about 5 minutes on the plane. We were picked up by my mom and step-dad, threw our luggage in the house, watered our nearly expired plants, and then rushed to the hospital to see Donna’s mom. All in all, the day began at 3:30 a.m. in Alaska and ended at 1:00 a.m. in Abilene (that’s bed-to-bed). We got up early to head back to the hospital and work and were informed the next day my step-dad would have a heart cath and stint on one of his arteries. So … we’ve been home 2 days, spent more time in hospitals than at home, gotten caught up on most of our stuff, and are glad to be home. Looks like life is back to normal!

BTW, everyone appears to be doing better after heart procedures, major back surgeries, and driving each other crazy in the hospital room. For a light-hearted look at air travel, our daughter’s blog has a bit more fun take on flying!

Alaska was beautiful, cool, and wonderful. It was a gift to Megan for her graduation from college and acceptance into physical therapy school. I’ll post some pics somewhere — flickr, google, facebook — when I get some sleep and get past Sunday!

My article in Heartlight.org today shares an old experience about our young daughter’s experience with what we ultimately believe may have been an angel.

Do you have an angel story you would be willing to share?

What Bible verse about angels means the most to you?