Josh Benner

Tag: devotional

  • You’re (probably) misquoting Philippians 4:13 – and why it matters

    photo-1478829797160-c6f45d1447f6.jpeg

    I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
    -Philippians 4:13
    According to Bible Gateway, Philippians 4:13 is the second most popular verse in the New Testament, only behind John 3:16.
    It’s a verse memorized and beloved by many.
    But for as popular as this verse is, it’s also often misunderstood and taken out of context.
    The context of the passage must always influence how we interpret it.
    And what’s the context?
    Paul has just said, in verse 12 that he knows the secret of how to be content in both good and bad circumstances. And it is in the light of that that he says these glorious words. The secret to being content: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
    I did some searches online of people quoting this verse.
    Instagram, popular photo sharing sight, people have quoted this verse over 56,000 times. The most common references I saw were people quoting it in regards to some sort of exercise or fitness goal. I saw others quote Philippians 4:13 after winning beauty pageants or graduating from college.
    Some people, to my surprise, used it in reference to their diet: “Pre workout meal coming up. Healthy creamy chicken with mushroom and sundries tomatoes + brown rice” Philippians 4:13.
    I think this verse almost always gets quoted in conversation with some sort of goal.
    “This is what I want to do. And it’s me and Jesus.” I’m going to win that pageant, I’m going to run that marathon, I’m going to get that promotion because I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
    And certainly, Jesus is the God of everything in our lives. It’s GOOD to look at everything we do through the lens of walking with Christ.
    But Philippians 4:13 has nothing to do with accomplishing your personal goals.
    Philippians 4:13 is a verse that’s not about us. It’s about Jesus.
    The verse is not about the power of positive thinking, that you can accomplish your goals with Jesus. It’s not saying that you can overcome hurdles because of Jesus. It’s not telling you that you can do anything you set your mind to because of Jesus.
    Those things might all be true also.
    But that’s not what this verse is saying.
    The verse isn’t saying you can accomplish your dreams, it’s saying that you can survive your nightmares.
    And again, I know that goes against the popular keychain, coffee mug, t-shirt, poster interpretation of this verse.
    My point isn’t to ruin a verse for you that you might love. It’s to point you to the glorious Lord Jesus.
    Because our life is more than personal goals. It’s that when we have been run over, conquered, defeated, everything is going against us, that we can be content and walking in joy because of knowing Jesus.
    And that’s something else I notice when I look at people quoting Philippians 4:13. It’s always when something really good is happening in someone’s life.
    I don’t see people saying “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” when they’ve just lost a job. When they can’t afford to pay utilities.
    Philippians 4:13 is just as true in the bad times as it is in the good times.
    Because our contentment and joy and satisfaction need to always be found in Christ.
    This verse isn’t just calling us to be cheerleaders for God when we’ve finally gotten to the top of the mountain. But to always be praising the glorious God who invites us into life when we are at the bottom of the valley.
    But how do we do at embracing the reality of it?
    The secret of contentment in good times and in bad is knowing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
    When things really do get tough, when there is total upheaval and uncertainty, are you still able to walk confidently in faith knowing “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me?”
    In America, things are so comfortable for us, you have people living their lives thinking that they don’t need God. That they’re fine on their own. But what about when you’ve lost everything? What about you’re at your lowest?
    What about when you’re going through the worst experience of your life? In those moments, do you turn your back on God. Do you get mad at God? “Why would he do this to me?” Or do you walk with God? Do you rely on God more fully? Do you trust in Him more deeply?
    I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
    Are you still able to say that when the going gets tough?

    Originally published April 26, 2018

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

    Let’s connect!
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram

  • Marriage as a picture of the gospel

    photo-1532712938310-34cb3982ef74.jpeg
    In the Bible, so much of the marriage language about weddings, brides, and grooms is discussing the relationship between God and his people. In the Bible, in spite of humanity’s sin, turning away from God, the Lord is depicted as a faithful groom.

    In the New Testament, the church is depicted as the bride and Christ is the groom. That’s part of the reason why our passage said “husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (more…)

  • The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life

    photo-1533420896084-06d2bce5365f.jpeg
    But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
    -Galatians 5:16-17
    God is supposed to be the focus of everything we do, everything we have, everything we are, everything we think.
    God doesn’t get the scraps, he gets our whole lives.
    To some, that might not sound appealing.
    “I want to do may own thing,” or “”That’s too demanding.”
    Then you’re not going to have much of a relationship with the Lord.
    But if you want joy, if you want peace, if you want kindness, if you want love, walk in the Spirit.
    It’s about having a love for God.
    Walking with God. Not so he will love you. Not so you’ll earn brownie points. But so that you’ll live on earth as it is in heaven. So that you’ll experience God more fully. So that you’ll have a fuller life, based around God not based around yourself, or your hobbies, or your own pursuits.
    God freely gives grace. But having a relationship with the Lord takes commitment and intentionality. We must cooperate with the Spirit.
    Philippians 2:12-13 says: “As you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
    The Christian life is not meant to be a bunch of rules. It’s living life in the Spirit of a good God who brings life and purpose.
    It’s about seeing the beauty of God.
    Psalm 27:4 says:
    One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
    that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
    to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.
    Psalm 50:1-2 says:
    The Mighty One, God the Lord,
    speaks and summons the earth
    from the rising of the sun to its setting.
    Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
    God shines forth.
    It’s about enjoying the goodness of God.
    Psalm 34:8
    Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
    So again, the Christian life is not about “do this” or “don’t do that.” Rather, the more closely you walk in step with the Spirit, the more your love and affection are in the beauty and glory of God, the more you taste and see that the Lord is good, the more you hunger and thirst for righteousness, the more fruit God produces in your life and the more your life reflects God’s moral character.
    The Spirit enables us to live out God’s law.
    Galatians 5:18 says, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
    Romans 8:3-4 is a significant verse on this idea:
    For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
    We couldn’t follow the Law. We needed a savior. The law is kept by virtue of faith and through walking according to the Spirit.
    Submit your life to the leadership of the Spirit.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

    Let’s connect!
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram

  • The true test of love

    amazing-animal-beautiful-beautifull.jpg
    Everyone loves love.

    But not everyone agrees on what love is.

    Much of society associates love with tolerance and acceptance.

    And while we can agree that love is good, truly having love for people is challenging. Yes, it’s easy to love family and good friends. Jesus addresses that in the Gospel of Luke: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that (Luke 6:32-33).” 

    The Bible shows us what love is on the cross. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).”

    In 1 John 3:16-17, the Apostle John says:

    By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

    -1 John 3:16-17

    It’s easy to agree with that. It’s easy to see the virtue in that.

    But what an incredibly difficult picture of love that is. I don’t think that it exclusively means dying (the second half of the passage talks about helping those in need, which assumes someone is alive to do that).

    Being apathetic to what people do, and calling that love, is easy.

    Just saying you love people is easy.

    Actually loving people is hard. Actually serving people is hard.

    And perhaps the truest test of love is how we treat those who are hardest for us to love. Again, it’s easy to love those who are nice to us. It’s easy to love those we like.

    But we’re sinful. And we all have those who are harder for us to love. Who is it who is hard for you to love? Maybe it’s someone who believes differently politically. Maybe those of another religion. Maybe it’s those who are rich or those who are poor and on the bottom of society’s rungs. Maybe it’s criminals or those who battle an addiction or have a mental disorder. Maybe it’s more than one of these groups.

    Again, it’s easy, in theory, to agree that we should love everyone.

    But whoever it is who’s the hardest for you to love is who you need to love. It’s a message that makes no sense to the world. And it’s a message that Jesus died to bring to the world.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

    Let’s connect!
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram

  • Difficulties as seasons for joy

    DSC_7306.jpg
    In his book “Above the Line,” Ohio State’s football coach Urban Meyer talks about his coaching philosophy. One of the things Meyer talks about in his book is what he calls “the R factor.”

    And by the R factor, Meyer is talking about the Response Factor. In the book, Meyer says: “We don’t control the events in life, and we don’t directly control the outcomes. But we always have control over how we choose to respond.”

    While this is certainly true on the football field, Meyer goes on to talk about how this is also true in life. (more…)