There are a couple of events lately that have been kept on the forefront of my mind. First off, is the new teaching series we are doing at Christ Fellowship in student ministry called "Philippians: The Painful Paradox."

If you're not familiar with the letter to the Philippian church, this letter was written by the Apostle Paul while he was under house arrest awaiting trial for his personal belief and teaching of Jesus. He wrote to the church about several things, but one thing I would like to concentrate on is the decision that he made for everything he found himself to be apart of in life.

In chapter 1, verse 27, he writes that the church needs to politeuomai (Greek word for "live") in a lifestyle worthy of the gospel. Since the Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, certain words lose meaning and politeuomai is one of them. The idea that politeuomai conveys is citizenship. So in this context, whatever hard circumstance we find ourselves in, our citizenship to the good news of Jesus should change how we live life.

The second event that's been on my mind are my friends Todd, JoAnn and their daughter Abigail (known around her Christ Fellowship friends and family as Abi Jo). JoAnn and Abi were riding their bicycle this past weekend and a driver ran a red light and hit them, knocking JoAnn and Abi to the ground very hard. As of right now, Abi is in the hospital recovering with a blood build-up around her brain, but things have been improving. It was a blessing that the helmet she was wearing relived a majority of the concussion. I write this part for you to know how to pray for the Breiner family right now. Prayer is always appreciated.

What they are going through reminded me of when a great mentor to me, Jason Peaks, was hit by a drunk diver in daylight and severely injured him with a broken leg, dislocated shoulder and shattered elbow that is now made of metal. I couldn't help but think of how frustrated he must have been with a situation that was out of his control, but I will never forget what he said during his healing process. He said that in his situation, he wanted the love of God to be shown through this time.

If I were him, or if we were him, wouldn't we want to get revenge? If we were Todd and JoAnn, wouldn't we want to get revenge on the man who caused pain to their daughter? I would say that would be a completely natural reaction. Although tough realize in times of pain, life has a bigger purpose than just revenge for our injustice.

Paul wrote to the Philippian church in chains and said that the chains he wore for the glory of God so that all who were around him could hear the gospel that may not have heard it before. Jason had his body damaged horribly but decided instead of inflicting misery to a woman who tried to find relief in alcohol to give her the love of God that had been put in his life. Now Todd and JoAnn have the opportunity to do the same. I ask that you pray for them and their strength to be strong for their daughter. I ask that you pray for Abi and her fears that she is feeling right now. Lastly I ask that we all seek God and find what he wants us to do. Paul tells us plainly that we in any situation,

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.