The Phil Files

In the Heartlight.org post on “The Main Thing,” I tried to remind us that we must be a people of God’s holy character as well as His faithful compassion. Yet in the middle of emphasizing these things, we must never lose sight of the main thing!

I received a nudge about a small video piece on Viddler. I refer to it a bit reluctantly — not because it is not excellent, but because I am not completely sure it is supported by the folks who released the award winning film on which it is based. So I am pointing you to both the Viddler video and also to the website to consider using the whole video presentation at some time in your church with proper licensing and fees. The film is incredibly well done and has received some of the highest honors. It can be purchased fairly inexpensively for individual use and licensed reasonably for church use. The film is called Most. Beautifully and poignantly edited, this is an incredibly moving piece that helps us understand in some small way the cost to God the Father for the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son. Please check out the website: http://www.mostthemovie.com.

The Viddler video is not nearly as subtle and much shorter, but connects the subtler elements of the movie and drives the point home. It can be found on the web:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/MaximumReferral/videos/1/

Please, don’t use the video without proper licensing. I share it only to help illustrate the point that God sent His Son to do The Main Thing!

It’s Monday. Short night. It will be a long day. I pray it will not be as a long as last Monday — which in fact lasted all week.

This day, however, dawned bright, crisp, and beautiful with thoughts full of worship and hope and … mission.

So many things crowd into our hearts trying to live for the Kingdom. So many things crowd into our hearts threatening to shove out our focus on our mission as Jesus’ followers. Let’s not forget the main thing!

In my Heartlight.org article this week, I challenge us to read Colossians 1:27-29 and Matthew 28:18-20 and write out our own personal mission statement. I encourage you to read the article and these Scriptures.

I’d especially love for you to share your own life’s mission statement based on the Great Commission with the rest of us in the response section below!

In my Heartlight.org post today, “No Hidden Mystery,” I share the story of desperate housewife who goes to church looking for answers and really gets neglected because she doesn’t know the unwritten rules of church. She’s battled cancer, survived a tornado, and has a challenging family situation with friends who are a mess because of their bad and immoral choices. And I ask this question:

And what would Jesus have done with our desperate Housewife? I want to challenge you to go back to the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament) and take a closer look at how Jesus responded to folks — then share an answer or two with all of us based on What Jesus Did!

Oh, and I’ll share some of my response with you a couple of days from now on my blog if you will share yours!

I have always been moved by 2 Corinthians 3:1-18, as the apostle of grace is emphatic: a written code cannot save us, redeem us, change us, or make us like God. Clearly, Paul believes that the Law is good in that it shows us the holiness God expects of us, but he is emphatic (Galatians brings it home powerfully) that the Law — or any law for that matter — can only convict us of our failures.

Jesus is clearly the answer for our shortfall and sinfulness, but with Jesus comes more than just forgiveness and cleansing. With Jesus comes the freedom and power to be what we could not be trying to fulfill law’s demands to be right with God (Romans 8:1-4; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). This power is not some impersonal force, but is God’s presence in us, the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This glorious freedom the Spirit brings us, to be what the written code could never make us, means that all of our goodness is the reflected goodness that comes from our glorious God who provided Jesus as our sacrifice and Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit to us to complete God’s perfection in us. I have tried often to capture this concept visually, never to my satisfaction. However, the old image below with the text of 2 Corinthians 3:18 is a helpful reminder that any glory in us and on us and from us, is always the reflected glory of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit to make that reflected glory genuine in our lives.

We are reflections of His glory, but through the Spirit, that reflection grows brighter each day as we know Jesus more!

This image is available in 1024 x 768 size in several options on Heartlight.org and can be used for any non-commercial use by churches, non-profits and individuals as longs as it is unaltered:

1. Text Version — Like Above Image
2. Title Version — “Reflected Grace”
3. Plain Version — Ideal for PPT Backgrounds

For a list of hundreds of images check out Heartlight.org Backgrounds Page and use the search window on the right.

Who is Jesus to you?

Yeah, I know someone is wanting to nail me and say, “It doesn’t matter who Jesus is to you, it’s who Jesus truly is that matters!” And yes, that is correct in the general theological machinations of the universe.

HOWEVER, it is of utmost — shall we say, eternal — significance for you in how you answer this one question:

Who is Jesus to you?

In my Heartlight article this week, “Big Reversal,” I talk about how Saul of Tarsus (whom we know as the apostle Paul) completely changed his view of Jesus. He did the “big reversal.” So I’m going to ask my question again:

Who is Jesus to you?

How has your personal understanding of Jesus changed over the years?

Was there something that led you to change your views?

Have you made a big reversal in regard to who Jesus is in your life?

I’d sure love to hear from you on this, so I’d appreciate you leaving your comments below!