Praying for a wise love - Philippians 1:9-11

Hi Ladies,

I can't pick a favorite prayer of Paul's. It usually happens to be the one I'm meditating on at the moment. 😊 But this one below is a prayer that in my role here at ABC, I have personally needed and prayed often. Because it has been on my mind extra, and because I know I'm not the only one who needs it, I believe this is the prayer God wants us to meditate on and pray for each other this week:

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, SO THAT you may approve what is excellent, AND SO be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Phil. 1:9-11, ESV)

Love continues to be redefined by our culture, but it's so important that we hold fast to what God has revealed about love in His unchanging character, words and actions. 

(Pause: How would you define love from Scripture?)

Paul had such a big heart. And he is praying that the Philippian believers (and we) would have one too - one that is continuing to grow in order to love bigger and better all the time. But he's not only praying for love to abound. Notice the word "with." He's praying that their love would grow in proportion to knowledge and all discernment. 

What does that mean? The Greek word here for knowledge doesn't simply mean knowing about something. It means a real, precise, and thorough knowing. And the word for discernment means a moral perceptiveness. Both of these words necessitate relationship. 

A big heart without accurate knowledge of God or the person we are seeking to love can be dangerous. And a fierce loyalty to knowledge and truth without a heart that has been radically transformed by God's love can do a lot of damage. And so Paul prays that these would grow alongside each other.

Love is not blind. Love is wise. Love considers - and speaks - God's best for His children, even if the circumstances are difficult. Even if the feelings don't match. Even if it means sacrifice (as it often does). But this love willingly, genuinely and lavishly pours out, because it is rooted in the unending Source of truth and love: Christ (Jn. 15)!

Truth-filled love. Love-filled truth. Abiding. Abounding.

Why does Paul pray that the Philippians would grow in this way? Notice the sequence:

> So that they (and we!) might approve what is excellent. (I encourage you to pull up Blue Letter Bible or the STEP Bible, or use your cross-references/concordance and read the verses that use this word.) Approving what is excellent carries the idea of determining (and then championing) truth over falsehood, good over evil, right over wrong. 

> So that they (and we) might be consistently living sincere (unsullied) and blameless lives until we stand before Christ. This can't mean sinless perfection, as Paul makes clear multiple times in this same paragraph and letter (Phil. 1:6, 11; 3:12). But it does mean a heart that is quick to repent (1 Jn. 1:9), that is striving for holiness (Heb. 12:14), and that is resting in Christ for His righteousness (see v. 11, and 2 Cor. 5:21).

> The next phrase doesn't have a "so that." Paul just says "filled." This is In the perfect tense, meaning it can be read "having been filled." It's something that has been accomplished and needs no more completing. I believe Paul is showing that the power to live pure and blameless lives practically only comes from having been filled with Christ's righteousness - our positional righteousness because we are in Him. As Paul says, it is "through Jesus Christ." In other words, we work hard, all by His grace! 

And why is Paul praying all this? Because loving this way brings great praise and glory to God (v. 11). We can't conjure up this wise love on our own, but the Spirit of Christ is at work in us as we respond moment by moment in obedience and submission. And the result is our conformity to Christ, which brings our triune God great glory!

Is your love filled with knowledge and discernment? 

Is your knowledge and discernment governed by love? 

Let's pray for one another this week, that our love would grow in proportion to our knowledge and discernment, in order that we might live practically as Christ has made us positionally, so that we might be ready for Christ's return and bring great praise and glory to our God. 

We need to pray this way for one another, as we will not drift into this kind of love. I encourage you to write out Philippians 1:9-11 on a 3x5 card or something that you will see or carry with you this week as a daily reminder. And know I am praying this for you and for me. ❤️🙏🏼

Anna 

Retreat Sessions

Hi Ladies,

Thank you to each of you who prayed, came, provided food and helped clean up. What a sweet weekend together! 

If you missed any part of it, below are links to each session. You can find them on our ABC YouTube channel:

Session 1: Why Abide? - 

https://youtu.be/5j2NkNsD4X8?feature=shared

Session 2: The What (Union with Christ) - 

https://youtu.be/ZHNdkuu9YSQ?feature=shared

Session 3: How do We Abide? - 

https://youtu.be/ZLA5Y3xq1_I?feature=shared

How to Share Your Testimony, and Q&A - 

https://youtu.be/7U1fLfEGMJM?si=d4qfEh6_1fWMSzxw

Anna 

Prayer for Abide

Hi Ladies,

In light of the retreat this weekend, I am sending this a day early and asking you to pray extra and specifically, both this weekend and this coming week. Prayer is not the only work, but it is the greatest work. And apart from the One in Whom we abide, this weekend will have no eternal significance. So I covet your prayers tremendously.

Please pray:

1) For spiritual protection for all of us. That Satan and his hosts would stay far away this weekend. 

2) That sickness would not hinder leaders or participants from God's purposes.

3) That Liz, Brenda and I would be clear in our teaching and sensitive to the Spirit's leading.

4) That the truths taught and learned would not simply increase knowledge but would also increase love, both for our triune God and for one another.

Many, many prayers have already gone into this weekend, and I know many more will continue. Thank you for this sweet and powerful gift, Ladies! It's such a joy to share in this life with you. ❤️🙏🏼

Anna 

Unpacking John 15:1-11, part 7 - Abiding and Obeying

Hi Ladies,

Unless I get long-winded, this will be our final week of unpacking John 15:1-11. I didn't plan it this way, but how fitting that next weekend is our retreat on abiding! I pray that your heart has been primed for it by meditating on this passage. Mine certainly has!

Read the passage this final time, noting the bolded section in context:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you…"

How much does the Father love the Son?
John tells us: "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand." (Jn. 3:35)

Matthew tells us: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Mt. 17:5)

And Jesus Himself tells us, first in His words to the disciples: "For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing" (Jn. 5:20), and also in His prayer to His Father: "So that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me…. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." (Jn. 17:23, 26)

The love among the Triune God is beyond our full comprehension. And yet Jesus equates that love with His love for us. 

Think about that…. The degree to which God loves Christ (or we could say the Triune God loves each other) is the degree to which Christ (or the Triune God) loves us. Incredible!! What more could we ever need? And yet, how easily we forget. 

But this love requires something of us. Jesus says next, "Abide in my love." It's as if He is saying, "This amazing love? Remain in it. Stay attached to it. Be fully at home in it, so that you may receive and then channel My love." (See Jn. 15:12)

How do we know if we are abiding in His love? He tells us: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love." (v. 10) 

Hear Him correctly. He is not saying that we earn His love by obedience. We've looked at passages proving this already. Rather, He is saying that our deepest longing for love can only be satisfied in following Him. God has ordered our steps for our good. When we walk in them, we experience His love, and then we are able to love as we ought.

Remember, we were created to dwell with Him - to abide! Sin has profoundly messed that up, but Christ has come and lived and died and risen to conquer sin and restore our broken fellowship. As He told His disciples, "Just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love," He invites us back into the fellowship we were created for, walking with Him, modeling our life after His, as we abide in His powerful love to do so. We know that this side of eternity, we can't keep His commandments perfectly. But Christ has done this for us. And as we abide in His love, we become more and more in practice who He has already made us positionally. This means that we can live with joy, with confidence, and with humble gratitude for all that He is in us and for us.

Let's pray for one another this week, first, that we would come to understand just how much we are loved, and second, that we would rely more and more on His loving power within us to live as He has called us to live - for His glory, and for our good! ❤️🙏

Anna

Unpacking John 15:1-11, part 6 - Living for Eternal Significance

Hi Ladies,

We're nearing the end of our dig into John 15:1-11. I'm sure we could mine diamonds all year long, but I also don't want us to miss the forest for the trees (or get too mixed up with analogies 😊). 

This week, let's look at what might be the most familiar section to us. Read the entire passage once again, noting the bolded section. Perhaps you'll have it memorized by the time we finish!

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

"Abide in me and I in you…" Many of us have likely read or heard this phrase so many times that we've not stopped to consider the double wonder. Hopefully we are grasping more of what it means to abide in Christ - to receive all that He has and is giving to us, to rely fully on Him, to believe His words, to trust and obey Him, to find our joy and satisfaction in Him. But flip that understanding and apply it backwards. If Christ also abides in us - "and I in you" - does that mean He receives from us, relies on us, believes our words, etc? We don't have to apply too many of our interpretive tools to know that can't be what this phrase means!

Thankfully, Jesus explains what He means by using the vine and branch metaphor. The branch is in the vine, and the vine is in the branch, but not in the same way. While they are attached - united - one is the source and the other is the fruit of the source. Cut off the branch, and the vine remains. But cut off the vine, and the branch quickly withers. 

So it is with our mutual abiding. We abide in the Source, and the Source abides in us, enabling us, fueling us to bear His fruit. Apart from Christ our Source, we cannot bear spiritual fruit. We cannot bear the Spirit's fruit. We cannot be, or do, anything of eternal significance. 

Paul's prayers reflect this being and doing over and over: "Asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might." (Col. 1:9-11) He prays that we would know "what is the immeasurable greatness of [God's] power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ." (Eph. 1:19) And he prays "that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." (Eph. 3:16-17)

The order of being, then doing is important. Paul says with different words, "If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done." (1 Cor. 3:12-13) 

Many of us do a lot of things. But are they things that will last into eternity? Are they supported by attitudes and actions that evidence our first abiding in Christ? 

Did you know you can clean toilets (or wash laundry or scrub dishes or … [fill in your least favorite chore]) in a way that bears spiritual fruit or not? Wouldn't it be sad to spend so much of your life doing mundane tasks that have no eternal value?! 

Here are a few ideas of ways that you can abide in Christ as you work, turning mundane tasks into eternal significance:

- Pray, "Lord, thank you for giving me a family who uses this bathroom (or these clothes or dishes, etc.). Thank you for your example of serving. Help me to serve You well as I serve them in the strength You give me."

- Put a notecard on your desk or at your kitchen sink window or on your bathroom mirror with John 15:4-5.

- Set an hourly chime on your phone to remind you to stop and recognize your dependence on the Lord.

- If you like short-hand reminders, write, draw or paint something that says "Being -> Doing," or even shorter, "Abide."

- Come up with your own idea! 

Our total dependence is a reality we easily forget. And we need frequent reminders to abide in Him. Let's pray for each other this week, that God would make us more aware of our need, and that we would respond with joyful and increasing trust in His abiding power to live for eternal significance. 🙏🏼❤️

Anna