Legacy of the Woman in Purple

Reba Butler is the woman who wore purple.  It was simply her favorite color.  She loved to wear this color, decorate her house with this color, and of course, her Christmas tree was always decorated with  purple.  She simply was the woman who loved and wore purple.

Anytime I think of purple, I think of Reba Butler or Grandma Butler as I call her.  I met this lovely lady when I was still in high school and I was dating her grandson.  She had such a way about making you feel so welcome when you were in her presence.  She made me feel accepted and loved from the moment I met her.  When I think of purple now, it makes me want to welcome others in my life just like she welcomed me into hers.

As I got to know the lady in purple, I started to learn about what was most important to her.  Her relationship with God was at the top of that list.  It was not simply a religion, but a life style.  It  wasn’t just how she accepted and loved others that stood out.  It was how she lived out her ministry.  She ministered in so many ways, but one that continues to impact me the most was her role as a 2nd grade Sunday School teacher.  She taught in the same 2nd grade Sunday School class for over 50 years -let me say that again- “over 50 years”.  For 50 years, she was able to love on and speak the truth of the gospel to sweet 2nd graders.  My husband, her grandson, was one of those 2nd graders she taught.  The amount of time she spent teaching and loving 2nd graders tells me a lot about her character.  Think about how the curriculum must have changed over those 50 years.  The differences in children ministers. All the changes in how children are incorporated in a church and she stayed with the same age for 5 decades.  Needless to say when I see purple, I think of commitment and consistency.  

 welcoming spirit             love         commitment         consistency

These are just a few things I have seen and learned from this amazing woman.  And honestly, I married into this family, this legacy.  The impact she has had on my husband, his brothers, and their cousins... well I simply do not have the words to tell how this amazing woman impacted all of them.  But she did, I see it in their eyes today.

Today we are celebrating her life and we are mourning her death.  She lost her battle  with ovarian cancer last thursday, but won her battle of sin and death because of a choice she made many many years before to give her heart and life to Christ.  Today in honor of this beautiful woman  the grandkids  wore purple.  And I am crying as I write this post because this amazing woman in purple has impacted my life on so many levels.  I am so very honored that I was able to be touched by her life and that I have had the privilege to be apart of her legacy.  The lady who wore purple is not gone.  She now lives in heaven with her Savior.  And someday I will get to see her again...

2 More Examples

Today we are going to look at 2 more examples that Paul gives in scripture.  Instead of going into who these people are outside of this verses, I want to zero in on how Paul describes them here.  I think we can learn a lot simply by looking at the words Paul uses to describe them.  So let’s get started!  Let’s read Philippians 2:19-30 and see what were the characteristics of Timothy and Epaphroditus?  What made them so different?

 List out characteristics that Paul talked about to the Philippines.  List out the characteristics Paul listed out for Timothy and Epaphroditus.

Characteristics of Timothy:

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Characteristics of Epaphroditus

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How does your life stack up?  How would a mentor or someone who is in authority over you describe you? Circle which statement best describes you.

-Are you consistent or all over the place

-Are you a hard worker even when it’s not convinent or do you only work hard at the things you are passionate about

-Are you loyal or do you only stick around when it’s best for you

-Do you care more about the things of God or do you care more about yourself

Spend sometime looking at your life and allowing God’s spirit freedom to show you areas that you struggle.  

What Unity is Not

“Do all things without complaining or disputing...”

Philippians 2:14

Today we are going to focus on what unity is not and why.  We have seen that we are to be like minded putting others above ourselves. Let’s start by reading Philippians 

2: 12-30.

Which of the two do you struggle with the most?  Complaining or Disputing.

I struggle with disputing the most.  I am naturally a rebellious spirit-I simply do not like rules and certainly do not like people to boss me around.  In the flight or fight scenario, I am definitely a fighter.  This has been an area of my life that has brought some conflict with other believers.  You see I naturally want my own way.  Isn’t that the reason why we fight with others or we complain because we want things our way?  

How have disputes or complaining brought disunity into your life?

Anytime we care more about getting our own way rather than our relationship with other believers it is impossible to have unity with those people.  Now there will always be conflict with others, but we must strive for common ground and have a heart that cares more about them than ourselves.

Are there relationships in your life where you care more about getting your own way rather than having unity with them? Yes or No Explain

As we are thinking about what unity is not lets discuss why does it matter?  We will look at a couple of scripture in this passage to see why it is important to understand what unity is not.  Lets start in verse 13, “to do and will for His pleasure...”.  Have you ever thought about the pleasure God receives from us finding unity with believers?

Lets think about this-especially the ones that it is unnatural to do so! God finds pleasure in bringing together those things that unnaturally should not coexist.

How do you deal with the idea of unity with people that you naturally do not connect with?

How does finding unity with those types of people bring pleasure to God?

Lets know look at verse 16, “for the ministry of the saints...”  The ministry of the saints are those people who have poured into you-so that you will bring glory not only to those people, but God will have been glorified thru the “pouring in” of the saints.  I mean that for us to be able to give back to those who have poured into our lives by glorifying thru Himself the time, energy and sacrifice of the believers who have poured into your life that it will be seen as such-so that a sacrifice others will be able to see the power , the majesty, and the love of God.  How amazing is our God that He would desire unity with other believers.  How truly awesome is our God!  

So what does that look like?  Lets start by thinking of the people who have poured into your life.( a sunday school teacher, youth pastor...) Write their names below and write a brief description of how they poured into your life.

Spend some time thinking how God received glory by these people pouring into you.  List some ways.

Lets take it a step further/deeper.  How does God continue to receive glory through you finding unity with other believers?

How do the people who pouring into you receive a blessings from you having unity with others?

Lets spend some time in prayer today as we continue to allow the Spirit of God to teach us what unity is not.

What is Perfect Unity?

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...”

Philippians 2:5

Today we are going to look at our ultimate example.  The past two weeks we have seen how God has provided a way for us to live a different standard.  Today we are going to see how Paul gives us a beautiful picture of how unity through the life of Jesus.  So lets read Philippians 2:5-11 as we begin.

What verses stick out in your mind of how Jesus lived out unity?

One of the most amazing things that I see in these verses is the sacrifice of Jesus.  So many times I think we see that Jesus left heaven, came to earth, walked among us, and died on the cross, but we fail to realize what Jesus gave up to obey His Father.  We some how forget that when scripture says that Jesus was equal to God that the position came with more than a title, but He was truly worshiped-He was given all authority, all power.  He sacrificed it all so it would be possible for us to have unity with the Father.  The sacrifice was completely one sided and He still choose to sacrifice.  The scripture describes Jesus as a bond servant.  A bond servant was a person who choose to be a slave to repay a debt. This is a beautiful picture of exactly what Christ did for us.  He choose to become a slave-to sacrifice-to forfeit His rights-so that  He could pay a debt that was not even His to pay.  What an amazing gift!  What a beautiful picture of unity.

How does this picture of unity change your understanding of how unity should be lived out?

Let look at why we should live out unity this way.  Read Philippians 2:1.  I love the Amplified version of this scripture, it says 

“So by whatever [appeal to you there is in our mutual dwelling in Christ, by whatever] strengthening and consoling and encouraging [our relationship] in Him [affords], by whatever persuasive incentive there is in love, by whatever participation in the (Holy) Spirit [we share] and by whatever depth of affection and compassionate sympathy,...”  

Scripture is very clear on why we should live out unity with others.  It basically says if you have gained anything from your relationship with Jesus, then we should strive for unity with other believers.  If you have ever been encouraged by the Spirit of God, if you have ever felt His peace, if you have found purpose in His will, then you should strive for unity with believers.  You may be saying “But this is too hard, you don’t know what you are asking, this is going to cost me something.”  “ I mean I could try to be like minded with this other believer- I could try to find common ground.  I could even try to think of their interest above my own, but they will probably not accept my sacrifice-they will probably not want to have unity with me”  

My question is this my dear sweet believer-what if Jesus would have said that-I know that I could leave heaven-I could sacrifice-I could try to find common ground with these people-I could put their interest above my own-but they will probably not accept my sacrifice- they will not want unity with me-so why bother?

 This is the thing-there are a lot of people who did not and still do not accept the sacrifice of Jesus and yet He still sacrificed and made a way for unity to be possible!  And we should realize that there will be people who will reject our sacrifice-who will not want to have unity with us and yet we should still strive to make a way for unity to be possible.

How does the picture of Jesus choosing to sacrifice change your perspective on how you should live?

What is it going to cost you to make a way for unity to be possible with that believer?

Spend some time in prayer asking God for the strength, the wisdom, and the desire to sacrifice to make a way for unity in your life.

Philippians bible study postponed

I have had 3 sick kids over the weekend - so sad for them.  It breaks my heart when they are sick.  My oldest quarantined himself away from the other 3 hoping to avoid getting sick and so far so good.  Needless to say, there was not much writing going on this weekend.  So I will get the Philippians study out later this week.

A Different Standard Part 2

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Last week we looked at the first part of living out a different standard.  It revolved around the idea of having the same mind or finding common ground with all believers.  This week we will be looking at Part 2 of living out a different standard.  In my opinion finding common ground with other believers is easier than what we are going to be talking about today.  It is all about putting others in front of yourself.  And honestly, I do not struggle with this idea with people that I love - but living this standard out with people that I do not like or respect is really tricky for me.  But that is why it is a different standard.  If it was easy to live this way than everyone would do it, right?

Many times we think we should think of others because that is the way we were raised.  Or because it is following the “golden rule”.  But isn’t that a really shallow way to think of it when it comes to being a Christian?  One thing I have learned through the years of being a Christian is that God always has a deeper, more relevant reason for us to choose to obey His Word than just because it’s the right thing to do.  So lets dig a little deeper into why God wants us to think of others.  

When we look at the Old Testament Law and why God put it in place-we see in Romans 3:19-20 that His desire was to use the Law as a way to show us our need for Him.  It was a way to draw us into an understanding of how our sin separates us from God and that separation can only be enclosed by God.  As a believer would should have an understanding of our sin and our need for God to save us, but what amazes me is that even after our salvation experience-God still uses His law, His Word, to lead us to an understanding of our need for Him.  So we can see that through knowing why we should  think of others-it leads us to an even deeper understand of our need for God.  Because we know that it is unnatural for us to think of others-especially before ourselves.  In living out this different standard we are reminded once again for our need for Him so that we can think of others.

Another reason for us to  think of others is the glory it will bring to God.  Just like when other people can see that we can find common ground with people who are different than ourselves-in the same vein when we put others before ourselves, think of some else, or put their interest before our own-people will be stunned by how unnatural that is and you will be given a chance to testify of the glory of God!  How truly wonderful that opportunity is in our life!

Why is it important for you to think of others?

In what areas of your life do you struggle with thinking of others?

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Describe a time when you only looked out for your own interest?

What was the outcome of that experience? 

What are some ways you can start to live out the different standard God is calling you?

Living this different standard is not natural or easy.  In my life, it is full of failure and mistakes.  But as I continue to strive to live out this different standard, I do find common ground with believers that I struggle to like or be around.  I am also reminded when I do see victories of putting others before myself how much I truly need God.

The Truth About Honesty...

Growth

This past week, God has been all over me about the idea of honesty.  I have had several circumstances from family to church life that has made me have to look truthfully about being honest with people in my life. The Truth About Honesty is that it is never hard or cold, instead it should be multilayered and should produce growth.  The truth about honesty is that it is rarely comfortable and it can be really hard to navigate, especially as a Christian.   So here have been some of my thoughts on The Truth About Honesty.

 What is honesty...

The definition of honesty is truthfulness, frankness, uprightness, and freedom from fraud or deceit.  Synonyms of honesty are integrity, sincerity, candor.  

How much is too much... 

The truth about honesty is that it must come from a pure heart that seeks truthfulness and freedom from deceit without a desire for revenge, setting the record straight, or making excuses.  

When is it the most important...

When something is at stake.  If we say we love this relationship, ministry, or people then we must be honest. We must speak it in a pure heart out of love, but we must speak.

How do you speak honestly in love...

We speak it in a heart of truth, reconciliation, and integrity.  Never rush to speak honestly - take the time you need to make your heart right.

The truth about honesty is that it can sting at times

The truth about honesty is that it can break your heart at times

The truth about honesty is that it can divide us at times

But...

The truth about honesty is that it is needed for trust to exist

The truth about honesty is that it is essential for a healthy relationship

The truth about honesty is that it can be given in love

The truth about honesty is that it shows how much you care

The Truth About Honesty is that it is essential for me if I want to be a person of integrity.  I need to use it when something is at stake with family, ministry, and people I care about.  I should always wait before I speak and make sure I have a pure heart and that I come at it with a heart of love.  The Truth About Honesty is that i should never use it in a  hard or cold way, but instead I should use it in a multilayered approach with a desire to produce growth in my family, ministry, and relationships. 

My desire is to be a person of integrity and a person who knows how to speak honestly, especially when it impacts my family, ministry, an friends. The Truth About Honesty is that I am still navigating my way thru this idea.  I am still learning The Truth About Honesty...