{"id":25241,"date":"2020-06-03T17:36:27","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T21:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=25241"},"modified":"2020-06-03T17:36:27","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T21:36:27","slug":"worship-wednesday-standing-firm-side-by-side-not-afraid-in-gods-strength-and-his-salvation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=25241","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – Standing Firm, Side by Side, Not Afraid – in God’s Strength and His Salvation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Philipp M., Pexels<\/a><\/p>\n

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit<\/strong>, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel<\/strong>,\u00a0and not frightened in anything by your opponents<\/strong>. This is a clear sign<\/strong> to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.<\/strong><\/em> – the Apostle Paul to the Philippian Church <\/span>Philippians 1:27-28<\/a><\/p>\n

God’s Word is powerful and freeing. We are emboldened and sustained by it – for life, for love, for forgiveness, for endurance.<\/p>\n

When I read this passage again a few days ago, a charge from these words sizzled through me like electricity. Goosebumps and all.<\/p>\n

Another translation of Paul’s writing introduced the above Scripture passage with the phrase “Just one thing”<\/a>. We are living in confusing and shaky times, but God is unchanged. His truth is as riveting and reliable as when first written for us.<\/p>\n

For months now, we have been kept apart by the social distancing of COVID-19. Since last week, we have been brought together by the terrible loss of George Floyd<\/a>. Brought together and at the same time torn apart. Protests and a pandemic. Racial unrest and a radical disease.<\/p>\n

A group of friends and I are going through a Bible study together which has turned out to be incredibly timely. We can’t be together so we meet over a video call, working through Jennie Allen<\/a>‘s Get Out of Your Head<\/em><\/a>. In this book, Allen talks through our struggle with the kind of thoughts that spiral downward taking us with them. The text she takes her readers through is Paul’s letter to the Philippians<\/a>. He was in prison and yet wrote this short life-transforming letter to encourage the church experiencing its own hardship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In confusing and chaotic times, our thoughts can be our worst enemy. We juggle the “what if’s” until they become more than we can manage. We question what’s right, what’s true, what’s our place in all of it…what’s God’s place. We become suspicious of others’ motives, and even sometimes our own. We grow weary of sorting it all out. We can withdraw…making six feet apart<\/a> way too easy.<\/p>\n

Jennie Allen reminds us that we have a choice; we can flip the downward spiral. We can make our aim, in all things,God’s glory and His headship. Keeping our focus on God, we then seek peace<\/a>, do justice<\/a>, love even our enemies<\/a>, and trust God with our lives<\/a> (whether the threat is COVID and or violence in the streets).<\/p>\n

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\n
\u201cAs theologian and emeritus professor D. A. Carson has observed, People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.\u201d<\/em> – Jennie Allen<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
So how do we avoid that drift Dr. Carson talked about above?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In community.<\/strong> Standing firm, side by side, not afraid – in God’s strength and His salvation – Philippians 1:27-28<\/a>.<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
However, even if community is shaky, God never is. We remind ourselves and each other that He is our refuge and we never have to be shaken..<\/strong>.no matter the situation.<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Psalm 62 – Trust in God Alone<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the choir director; according to Jeduthan. A psalm of David<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

I am at rest in God alone;<\/span><\/strong>
\nmy salvation comes from Him.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe alone is my rock and my salvation,<\/span><\/strong>
\nmy stronghold; I will never be shaken.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

How long will you threaten a man?<\/span>
\nWill all of you attack<\/span>
\nas if he were a leaning wall<\/span>
\nor a tottering fence?<\/span>
\nThey only plan to bring him down<\/span>
\nfrom his high position.<\/span>
\nThey take pleasure in lying;<\/span>
\nthey bless with their mouths,<\/span>
\nbut they curse inwardly. Selah<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rest in God alone, my soul,<\/span>
\nfor my hope comes from Him.<\/span>
\nHe alone is my rock and my salvation,<\/span>
\nmy stronghold; I will not be shaken.<\/span>
\nMy salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.<\/span>
\nMy refuge is in God.<\/span>
\nTrust in him at all times, you people;<\/span>
\npour out your hearts before Him.<\/span>
\nGod is our refuge.<\/strong> Selah<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Common people are only a vapor;<\/span>
\nimportant people, an illusion.<\/span>
\nTogether on a scale,<\/span>
\nthey weigh less than a vapor.<\/span>
\nPlace no trust in oppression<\/span>
\nor false hope in robbery.<\/span>
\nIf wealth increases,<\/span>
\ndon\u2019t set your heart on it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

God has spoken once;<\/span>
\nI have heard this twice:<\/span>
\nStrength belongs to God,<\/span><\/strong>
\nand faithful love belongs to You, Lord.<\/span><\/strong>
\nFor You repay each according to his works.<\/strong> – Psalm 62<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Philipp M., Pexels Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,\u00a0and … Continue reading Worship Wednesday – Standing Firm, Side by Side, Not Afraid – in God’s Strength and His Salvation<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3396,5628,926,2986,799,2126,1705,1618,1148,794,3976,3208,5253,1454,1277,5221,910,903,2556,3394,33,18,1732,317,263,795,2611,433,1221,719,761,610,4159,32,47,203,946],"tags":[8004,2854,290,8294,8312,651,8311,1835,8313,8310,898,8314,2652,213,49,360],"class_list":["post-25241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-america","category-anxiety","category-attending-or-focus","category-attitude","category-church-2","category-community","category-conversations","category-courage","category-critical-thinking","category-faithfulness","category-fear","category-finishing-strong","category-forgiveness","category-fresh-start","category-glory-of-god","category-god-the-father","category-gospel","category-grace","category-grief-and-loss","category-habits","category-inspired","category-jesus","category-leadership","category-lessons-learned","category-lives-full-of-god","category-love-2","category-love-your-neighbor","category-pray","category-rebellion-and-sin","category-reconciliationforgiveness","category-redeeming-restoring","category-thanksgiving-or-gratefulness","category-trauma","category-walk-with-god","category-wednesday-worship","category-word-of-god","category-worship","tag-covid-19","tag-d-a-carson","tag-forgiveness","tag-george-floyd","tag-get-out-of-your-head","tag-god-the-father","tag-jennie-allen","tag-jesus","tag-philippians","tag-racial-unrest","tag-salvation","tag-side-by-side","tag-stand-firm","tag-unity","tag-worship","tag-worship-wednesday"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-6z7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25241"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25257,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25241\/revisions\/25257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}