Biosophilia

Day & Night (Psalm 1)

By Jim Wilson

TOPIC: Models of Concern

There are two paragraphs in Philippians (2:19-30) which describe men who are rich in concern for others.

Notice what Paul says about Timothy:

There is no one else here like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

Notice what he says about Epaphroditus:

He is distressed because you heard he was ill” and “because he almost died for the work of Christ risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.”

And what he says of the Philippian Christians:

Whom you sent to care for my needs” and of himself “I am confident that I will come soon” and “therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.

This overwhelming love for others in Jesus Christ seems to be an exception now as it was then—"for everyone looks out for his own interest, not those of Jesus Christ." When a person looks out for the interests of Jesus Christ, he begins meeting the physical needs of people (the money gift to Paul), their spiritual needs (the work of the Gospel), their emotional needs (cheered, longs, distressed, sorrow, anxiety, glad, and great joy).

In the Lord Jesus Christ,
Jim Wilson

Community Christian Ministries
516 S. Main
Moscow, ID 83843
www.ccmbooks.org

Posted by Courtney Huntington at 4:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Day & Night (Psalm 1)

by Jim Wilson

TOPIC: No Form

When the Ten Commandments were first given, that is, before the first set of stone tablets (and certainly before the second set), they were not given in pageantry. They were given in terrifying first person reality. These events are described in Exodus 19 three months after the Israelites left Egypt. Thirty-nine years later Moses recalls these events that surrounded the oral declaration of the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 4 & 5); again in Hebrews 12:18-28 the events are described in contrast to something far more wonderful.

Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of
words but saw no form. (v. 12)

You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. (v. 15)

You were shown these so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides Him there is no other. (v. 35)

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in Heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. (v. 39)

The reasons that no image was to be made of God, no likeness, were two:

1. He isn’t like any of His physical creation, so no creation could be like Him physically: “No form.”
2. He isn’t like any other god, because there is no other God.

God is not like anything or anyone. When He is described, it is not as a likeness. He is described in character, Holy; as the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7 where His clothing and hair are described gloriously; where He dwells—“Heaven is my throne" (Isaiah 66:1); what He does—“the God of Heaven who made the sea and the land (Jonah 1:9); “sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world” (Isaiah 12:5). But these were visions of glory. They were described in such a way as to establish that there is no other.
We today do not make physical images, but we do make mental ones: mental images of form, and not of glory. These mental images of very nature are less than God.

When we think of God, let us think of Jesus Christ (and not physically):

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (II Corinthians 5:16)

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. (Hebrews 1:3)

He is the image of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15)

Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. (John 14:9)

"Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." (John 12:21) [Jesus replied,] “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:23)

That is how He wants to be seen—“glorified”.

Father, I want those you have given Me to be with Me where I am and to see My glory. (John 17:24)

In the Lord Jesus Christ,
Jim Wilson

Community Christian Ministries
516 S. Main
Moscow, ID 83843
www.ccmbooks.org

(Reprinted by permission.)

Posted by Courtney Huntington at 5:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Moving, moving, moved!

We spent most of yesterday moving from our office to our new (used) duplex. We were going to move out of our house into an apartment nearly two months ago, when the current tenant of the apartment didn't move out. But we had already committed to moving out and had found our landlord new tenants, so we moved out of the house and into our office. Thankfully we don't have much traffic during the summer, so it was easy to find space for what we needed. We've been sleeping, eating, and watching TV on our hide-a-bed since about the 8th of June. Our office has a full kitchen and a full bathroom, so it's been easy enough. The hardest part of living here was making sure we kept the doors locked when we were having "family time"--watching TV, having supper, showering, etc. If we didn't lock the doors, someone might just walk in on us. This actually happened more than once, till we learned our lesson. Now we are settling in to our new home, and we are delighted. We spent our first night there on our new mattress and box springs. They are heavenly! Last night would have been nearly perfect if it weren't for the A/C, which is a problem not only in the bedroom but also in the front rooms. The Air Conditioning leaves something to be desired, but life without future hope is empty anyway, so we're glad to have something to look forward to. If you're ever in the neighborhood, please feel free to knock on the door and ask for a tour. (Tour hours: 10:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. [Strictly enforced. :-)]) Our new address is

509 Auburn Ave
Monroe, LA 71201

Our phone number will remain the same and should be hooked up quite soon. If you get the voicemail (VM) and don't hear back from us soon after, that probably means that we don't have the phone hooked up yet, because we only check our messages on the VM every couple or three days or so. But feel free to leave a message anyway. If it's in emergency, beware, however, that we probably won't get the message in time to take you to the hospitol to have your finger sewed back on. Sorry in advance.

That's the news from Lake Huntington.

Posted by Courtney Huntington at 4:30 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack