Meditations Monday: The Glue That Binds Our Hearts

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

To start off our week together Lord, I want to thank You for the many Blessings You graced my family and I with this past weekend.  As I still wasn’t feeling very well, we spent much of Saturday at home, save for a much-needed grocery shopping trip, and finished the evening off by curling up on the couch together and watching the final chapter in the Harry Potter movie series.  Sunday we started our day with an inspiring worship service at Ewell’s St. Paul, and then joined some close friends for a brunch to celebrate the birthday of one of their children.  The afternoon was filled with a marathon of housework, homework, bill-paying and laundry, but at the end of the day we were all able to relax a bit before bed, and enjoy some quiet time together.  You know Father, as my Walk with You progresses, I find myself appreciating those times of unity with my family more and more.  I’ve always enjoyed “family time”, but the more connected I become with You, the more connected I feel to them as well.  🙂

In her message this weekend, Pastor Kris made a statement that’s been churning around in my head ever since.  She told us that one of her seminary professors had once said that if you look at the Bible as a whole; the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Gospels, the one underlying concept that’s consistent throughout and that ties it all together, is love.  Now Father, while initially this may seem like an awfully simplistic and obvious statement, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was a fundamental point that quite often we miss.

Throughout the Scriptures as well as in our lives today, we see many examples of the wide range of ways You show Your love for us.  Some are obvious, and come in the form of Blessings that clearly enrich our mortal lives and bring us immediate joy.  Others however, may be perceived as negative events that seem to complicate our lives and cause us difficulty.  The point that we need to remember however is this; just because things don’t always go as we expect or desire them to, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t an act of love on Your part nonetheless.  I liken it to when I have to discipline my children.  I certainly don’t enjoy reprimanding or punishing them, but in my desire to be a loving, caring and responsible parent, sometimes it’s necessary for me to correct and guide them by providing a response that makes the point apparent and relevant to them.

In one of the most beautiful, and I believe powerful passages of the Bible, the Apostle Paul describes this love that You’ve given us, and the importance of it in our lives:

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (ESV)

I view love as the “glue” You use to bind our hearts to Yours Father.  You bestow it on us freely, and through Christ’s example, You lead us to share it with others in a similar fashion.  Such an overwhelming gift Lord, and one that grows more and more prominent as our walk to You progresses.

Heavenly Father,

We thank You Lord, for the love and Blessings You give to us freely and abundantly each day.  Please open our hearts and our minds, that we may more fully come to recognize Your acts of love in our lives; both those that fill our hearts with overwhelming joy, and those guiding actions which while sometimes painful, are done as the caring, loving, responsible Father that You are.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Daily Inspirations

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Today Father, I want to take a moment to say thank You and to celebrate some changes here at PhatherPhil.org.

When You led me to begin this site a little over a year ago, I really had no distinct idea as to what direction it would take, what I’d write about each day, or who in the world would possibly have interest in reading it.  I certainly didn’t see myself as a writer, but You were diligent in Your pursuit of me taking on this endeavor so I followed those urgings, and 327 posts later, here I am.  🙂

Over the last few months Lord, I’ve felt You urging me once again to take another step with this outreach.  One of the things I hear most when talking to people is that they’re unsure how the Scriptures pertain to their lives and situations today.  To help with answering those questions, I’ve begun something new here at PhatherPhil.org.

The site has now been divided into two blog threads; the “Emails to God” I’ve been posting for the last year, and a new section called “Daily Inspirations”.  Each post in “Daily Inspirations” will contain a Bible Passage, accompanied by a short message connecting those wisdoms and truths to our world today.  The posts from both sections will all be visible together on the home page, or can be viewed independently on their respective pages as well.  Along with this new blog thread, I’ve also added a “Contact Me” page to allow a more private connection with the readers if they so desire.

I’m truly thankful for this ministry You’ve led me on Father.  Through it I’ve connected with some wonderful people, had the opportunity to minister to the needs of others, and in the process nourished my relationship with You as well.  It’s been an amazing Blessing in my life this past year, and I’m excited to see where You’ll lead me each day.

To add to that note of thanks Lord, I’d like to continue my Thankful Thursday list from last week.  This past week, I’ve been especially grateful for :

376. The opportunity You’ve given me to minister to others through PhatherPhil.org.

377. Shannon helping with nighttime “dog duty” so I could get some rest.

378. That our Tuesday night Bible Study group wants to continue meeting after the conclusion of the “Treasures of the Transformed Life” series next week.

379. The beautiful colors the trees take on in Autumn.

380. Spending some “Down Time” with Jonathan and Aidan.

381. The urgings You place on my heart to reach out and share Your Truth with others.

382. Hot Apple Cider K-Cups for our Keurig.

383. Breathing treatments that help me combat the effects of my current respiratory illness.

384. An evening of good food and fellowship at the “Heart and Hand” dinner last Saturday.

385. Making good progress on the redesign of Ewell’s St. Paul UMC’s web site.

386. The helpful staff at our local Christian Bookstore : “The Branch”.

387. Lessons in a foggy morning.

388. Half-price “post-Halloween” candy sales.

389. The brightest star in my sky.

390. The selfless sacrifices that our Veterans and Active Duty Military make each and every day.

Heavenly Father,

We thank You Lord, for the multitude of Blessings you bestow on us each day; both those that light up the sky with Your brilliance, and those that grace us quietly from the shadows.  I thank You from the bottom of my heart for guiding me along this journey Father, and for drawing me ever closer to You in the process.  More of You Lord, less of me.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Justified by Faith

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” – Romans 5:1-5 (ESV)

When we fully accept Christ into our hearts and are no longer at odds with God, His peace can then transform us.  Through that overwhelming love our trials take on their proper perspective; allowing us to rejoice in times of both struggle and abundance, secure in the knowledge of our Heavenly Father’s benevolent desire for us.

The Brightest Star in the Sky

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

You know Father, with the multitude of Blessings You surround me with each day, I find it both fascinating and wonderful that when I allow my thoughts to drift and ponder those many gifts, my wife Shannon’s face is always the brightest star in the sky.  Of course Lord, I’m by no means discounting the other miracles You’ve placed into my life, but the longer that she and I are together and the more we go through, the more I realize that Your intentions for marriage are truly foundational.

And although I would never presume to comprehend Your scope on the subject Father, over the time that I’ve been married to Shannon I do believe I’ve come to understand some of the fundamental reasons why You’ve brought us together…

You desire that we should have intimate companionship.

Although obviously sex is a piece of this Lord, it’s not entirely to what I’m referring.  We’re Blessed with many relationships throughout our lives, but when we honor the divine nature of marriage by nourishing, encouraging and sharing completely with one another, it provides an amazingly deep, intimate connection that only You could have designed.

Marriage confronts us with the fact that we’re generally self-centered beings by nature, and helps us learn to place others first.

Our flesh wants.  It’s that simple.  From the first minute we become aware of ourselves, we’re driven by our earthly shells to seek gratification in the basic and flawed attempt to find happiness.  In many ways, it’s the ultimate paradox; to find the peace and contentment that a relationship with Jesus offers, we must first learn to see past our selfish natures and give of ourselves with a joyous heart.  In the same respect, for our marriages to live and thrive we need to learn to place our spouse, and our union, ahead of ourselves.

By joining us together as man and wife, You draw us closer to You through that union.

When we’re brought together through the union of marriage, we’re in fact taking on a third member of the family… You, Lord.  Through Your ordainment of a couple’s commitment to one another, You connect through that Blessing in an amazingly powerful way.  While it’s obviously important for each of us to seek and nourish a personal relationship with You Father, it’s no less important to cultivate and maintain a deep connection with You as a married couple.  By keeping You as an integral part of our marriages, we bring ourselves closer to one another in the process.

“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV)

Heavenly Father,

Through the gift of marriage Lord, You draw us together in example of Your love for us.  Please help strengthen our commitment to one another, and to glorifying You through our nourishing of this holy union.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday: Cutting Through the Fog

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

Good morning Father!  To begin the week’s conversations Lord, I want to first thank You for the many Blessings You graced me with this past weekend.  Although I spent much of the past few days resting in an attempt to fend off the nasty respiratory illness I picked up last week, Your influence was obvious nonetheless.  During that unusual bout of “down time”, I was able to spend a good bit of quiet time with Jonathan and Aidan, made some progress on the redesign of Ewell’s St. Paul’s web site, and even managed to get out with Shannon for a little bit as well.  And while I’m still not completely recovered from this invasive little bug Father, I want to thank You for Your comforting, soothing and healing presence while my body holds the line against these invaders.  You are truly ever-faithful Lord, and I thank You for remaining by my side no matter the circumstances.

Driving in to work this morning, I was confronted with something I seldom run into in this area; pea-soup thick fog.  Now, we certainly get our share of morning “mist” around here, but this was some of the heaviest fog I believe I’ve ever seen in central Delaware.  Visibility was minimal, with only a 30 foot-or-so view in front of the truck before the milky haze completely enveloped the road ahead.  Nervously gripping the wheel, I slowed from my usual morning pace, peering cautiously into the haze as I drove.  I was anxious, and the trip to work seemed to go on for ages.

Then I realized… This reminds me of my life before I knew You Father.

I was anxious, cautious, and fearful…

Quite often I felt cut off, and alone…

The roadblocks and detours in my life often left me feeling insecure and vulnerable…

Every “bump in the road” became amplified, at the thought of the chasm that may lie beneath.

I lived one day at a time, never knowing what lay ahead of me…

And then Lord, You lifted my fog from me.

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” – John 8:12 (ESV)

Your Light cut through all that haze Father, and changed my journey in so many ways.

My fears are now opportunities for hope…

I know that no matter where I am or what I’m doing, I’m never alone…

While I still have quite a few struggles and trials in my life, I know that You desire what’s best for me, and that You’ll guide me down the best path…

“bumps in the road” are exactly that, and are given no more importance that they’re due…

Following Your light Lord, I know exactly where I’m headed. 🙂

Heavenly Father,

As we begin our week together Lord, I lift to You my thanks and praise for all You bring to our lives each day.  Please continue to light the path through the fog that shrouds our earthly journeys, diligently searching us out as the mists of this world threaten to engulf us.  Guide us down that path Lord, and lead us home.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil