I haven’t got it yet….

Hoagy Carmichael, the story goes, once decided to take up golf. Lessons were arranged with an instructor. At the first session Carmichael was patiently shown the basics of the game: how to hold the club, How to stand, how to swing, etc.

Finally, after a half hour of this, the instructor felt Carmichael was ready to drive a few toward the first hole. The ball was teed up. Hoagy stepped up to it, swung, then watched the ball sail down the fairway, bound onto the green and roll into the cup--a hole in one!

The instructor was dumbfounded. Hoagy flipped the club to a caddy with a jaunty motion, then turned to the still speechless instructor. "OK," he said casually, "I think I've got the idea now."

Philippians 3:12  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Church is today full of Pastors and folks who feel they know it all. It just seems that they have cracked the code and some also brag about it. Perhaps the Church in Philippi too had a sense of complacency creeping in. So Apostle Paul decided to illustrate his own example to teach the Church at large and tell them not to take it for granted.

So you come to Church and those settings for a while, get to hear a few things, you begin to learn and then suddenly you start teaching in one or the other platform. So in the journey from pew to the podium we attain  quite a bit of experience. It surely validates us to minister unto others and help many on the way. But it should not reduce our dependence on God. It can never make us feel we have done enough and we know enough. Just as Apostle Paul reminds the Church in Philippi to press on, so should we every day press on to be and do for which Christ Jesus took hold of each one of us. Paul after all the knowledge and experience realized it’s way better to stay humble and rejoice by following Christ. Things become way simpler and sorted out when the Lord leads. So let’s not act as if we have all the idea. But even as we learn and we grow, let our attitude be, I haven’t got it yet….    

 

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Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Pastorstanleytisac@gmail.com

In Christ alone

Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter, and orator well known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention. He once said "I have now disposed off all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed."

Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith

The ministry of apostle Paul was always under attack. The biggest and the worst was from within the Christian community. The Judaizers called themselves Christians but held the Jewish traditions very close to their hearts. Thus, they would force it on the gentiles who were turning to Jesus. This would really irritate Paul and he was ready to confront this. You cannot and should not withstand false teaching. Paul’s song was about the cross and the finished work of Jesus on the cross. The work on the cross was more than enough for anyone to believe in Christ and be saved and lead a victorious Christian life. But the Judaizers were somehow creating a doubt in the minds of many that cross was not enough.

Perhaps this is the challenge today as well. When we look into our situation and our circumstances, we often feel that Jesus is not enough. The enemy creates a confusion that our faith has let us down. But it is in these times of trials and temptations where we take rest in Christ and let Christ do the talking, because He has done it all. Let us not be carried away by the moment but stand firm on the victory that we have already achieved in Christ alone.

 

http://xfiloz.blogspot.in/

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Pastorstanleytisac@gmail.com

Celebrate today

Author Leo Buscaglia tells this story about his mother and their "misery dinner." It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm's funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for it. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courageous act rallied the family.

Philippians 3:1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

In this much demanding and challenging life it’s so easy to be discouraged with one or the other thing. Just as light has its own value in darkness, and water during thirst, Joy has to be experienced and practiced in tough times. Whereas we wait for that vacation to have some fun and feel happy and several experiences like this. Unfortunately, for several of us joy means a break from routines of life.

Whereas the joy which Jesus gives is to be enjoyed daily and everywhere. When Apostle Paul reminds the folks in Philippi to be joyful, it was sure that they were getting challenged and discouraged one after another. But Paul reminds them to find the Joy in Christ and not in what they have achieved till now. It looks so obvious that the real exhibition of Joy has to be reflected in everything that we are involved in. It is in the routines and schedules of our week, where we should be joyful and display it all around because Christ lives in me. When we are connected to Christ, everything looks different, not because its easy, but because we are walking with Him who gives and brings joy. Let us not cry over the past, and worry about the future, Celebrate today.     

http://xfiloz.blogspot.in/

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Pastorstanleytisac@gmail.com

Let us boast in Christ and nothing else

Uncle Oscar was apprehensive about his first airplane ride. His friends, eager to hear how it went, asked if he enjoyed the flight. "Well," commented Uncle Oscar, "it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but I'll tell you this. I never did put all my weight down!"

Phillipians 3:5 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.

The word selfie gives a clear explanation of our generation, that we don’t want to depend on anyone, even to click a picture. Such is our ego that we can manage cos’ we feel we know and have it all. Apostle Paul addresses to the issue of putting trust on ourselves and not on God. People who put their confidence on things of the flesh are the real Judaizers. They do know about God and even can speak a lot about God. For the Judaizers who would make you a Jew first and then let you be a Christian was a poor understanding of the Law and grace. So their talk is more about what they possess and that they are special.

Today we don’t have the Judaizers in that sense of Circumcision, but for sure many of us depend on the works of the flesh to prove ourselves successful. Rather than depending on the work on the cross and resting in the relationship in Christ, we slog hard in our flesh to title ourselves righteous and Chosen one. We tend to boast in our achievements. Our talks are more about ourselves and what we have and what we have done, rather than what Jesus has done. Thus when we are more dependent on the things of the flesh, disappointment is bound to come, which robs us of our joy in Christ. As we begin this week, let us boast in Christ and nothing else.

http://xfiloz.blogspot.in/

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Pastorstanleytisac@gmail.com