“But what does it matter?  The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.  And because of this I rejoice.”  - Philippians 1:18

The late Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken is remembered by a small band of airline passengers more for his compassion than his secret recipe. During a flight, one young infant was screaming and crying. The feverish mother tried desperately to calm the child but to no avail. She was even assisted by the flight attendants but nothing seemed to work. Finally, the Colonel asked if he might hold the baby. He gently cradled the child and rocked her to sleep. The plane’s cabin became still and quiet. When Sanders returned to his seat a passenger said, “We all appreciate what you did for us.” The stately old man replied, “I didn’t do it for us. I did it for the baby.”  (Humor Connection, Vol. 1013, 1996)

Paul wanted the gospel preached to all the nations.  He got his wish.  It may not have been the way that he expected or even wanted it to happen, but it happened all the same.  He even said that he rejoiced because Christ was preached.  He didn’t rejoice because Christ was preached in exactly the way he would have done it.  Paul had a mission and it was accomplished.
When we are given a task to do, the person who tells us to do it probably has a certain way they want it done.  Their ultimate goal for us is to get it done, though.  That leaves the choice up to us.  My father always told me, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way?”  I’m sure his choice for me was to do it the easy way, but if it had to be done the hard way then at least he knew I would have learned a valuable lesson; the easy way is easier.  Every day we make choices.  Which way are we going to choose?  The easy way is not always the fastest way.  The hard way is usually the quickest way in the short run.  When you are finished with a document, you can either file it where it’s supposed to go or you can throw it on the floor behind your desk.  Which is the better choice?  We know what the final goal is at the end of the day and that is what our main focus should be, but take the time during the day to do things the right way and in the end you’ll see it really was the “easy way.”

“The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.”  - Philippians 1:17

I am a scientist by nature.  Hypothesizing and experimentation are one of my favorite past times.  After 5 years of marriage I know exactly what to do to make my wife mad.  This is referred to as “pushing buttons.”  This process didn’t take long at all to perfect.  First, I experienced my wife in an irritable state.  Then, I created a hypothesis about what I did to aggravate her.  Finally, 10 minutes later, I experimented by repeating the situation previous to her state of frustration.  Voila!  Just like when you add vinegar and baking soda together, you get a volcano.
We all know what to do to our friends, kids, or significant others to push their buttons.  All we have to do is recreate the situation we experienced before and it works every time.  Paul’s followers that were located where he was imprisoned practiced this same routine.  They saw what happened to Paul when he preached the gospel.  They figured that they would get more attention because they knew how to push the authorities’ buttons; preaching about the gospel.
We here at Grace are like a family.  We go shopping, we pay bills, we have a fridge.  We even have kids that leave home, but come back every once in a while just to check up (Superintendents).  Therefore, we know the people around us to the point that we know what buttons to push to get a certain result.  Maybe not a desired result, but a result all the same.  I say it’s each of our responsibilities to know what it is about each other that will make us frustrated and strive to not do those things.  We are team, whether we want to be or not.  Teams need to work towards a common goal and as I’ve stated in earlier emails our goal is to work towards the glory and praise of God and build His kingdom (and a couple houses along the way).  It’s up to us to determine how efficient and effective we want to be.  My theory is, the more we work together, the easier the work will be.

“Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”  - Philippians 1:14

I am an Air Force brat.  About every 4 years of my childhood my family would uproot and move to a different location.  I have lived in Texas, Illinois, Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado Springs, and even overseas for 4 years in Saudi Arabia.  That was an experience!  The word BBQ had a completely different meaning there.  A BBQ in Saudi included inviting the entire family out to the desert to roast a lamb.  Not just roast but haul it up there, cut it’s throat, drain it and then proceed to cook it on a spit in front of everyone.  When it was done you sat it on a table with some rice and other delicacies and then if you wanted a piece, you took it … with your hands.  Aside from the food, and the school which included kids from about 45 different countries, we had our own underground church.  Church was different over there.  We met in a house on a compound which was like a country club for Armed Service personnel and out of country contractors.  One rule that was very important there was to not all park in front of the house on Friday mornings (which was when the weekend fell on).  If you were a Saudi and were caught confessing Jesus most likely they would take you out to the desert and kill you.  If you were military you would be deported immediately.  Many of the people that met in the house were living in Saudi working in the oil fields but had a tremendous heart to reach those for Jesus Christ.  One of the many stories that touched my heart was hearing about Bible smuggling in the airport.  Some stories included the officials finding Bibles in their suitcases and then immediately throwing them in jail.  Many other stories included travelers ahead of those who had Bibles in their suitcase and their things were searched thoroughly and then when it was their turn they would just let them go without touching their things.  My favorite story was hearing about a missionary who set his things on a table to be searched.  After reaching the bottom of the suitcase and finding numerous amounts of Bibles in the bottom, they put everything back, zipped up the suitcase, and let them go through.
We as Christians have a choice.  Do we speak courageously about Jesus Christ or do we let a situation slide because we think the circumstances aren’t perfect.  Opportunities arise daily to share the love of Jesus, and we all sometimes miss them.  Perhaps the opportunities include helping someone change their tire on the side of the highway.  On the other hand, the opportunity may arise when someone tells you the trouble they are going through and they don’t know any way to cope with it.  Whatever the circumstances may be, we, as Christians, have the responsibility to help.
Paul wasn’t mad about his situation.  He used it as an opportunity to boldly share his faith.  Because of that many others were encouraged.  What catches my eye about this verse the most is the word, “most.”  God’s perfect will would have included, “all” of the brothers in the Lord.  We as humans don’t respond the way God wants us to all the time though. However, the wonderful thing about grace is that we can start anytime.  God calls us to him constantly.  Repentance is the act of turning from where we are now and going another direction.  If you feel the Spirit moving you in a different direction, pray for guidance and if it persists, then move in a different direction.  Once you start acting on your impulses that are prompted by the spirit, you will never be disappointed. As I stated in the beginning, we as Christians have a choice.  Do we choose to hear stories like the one above and hide behind our masks of insecurity and shy away from a situation or do we choose to be encouraged to tell others about Jesus in a country where it is still legal and we have the freedom to do so.  What choice will we make today?