<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Philippians 1;21-24<div><br></div><div><b>21. &nbsp;For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.</b></div><div><b>22. &nbsp;If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. &nbsp;Yet which shall I choose I cannot tell.</b></div><div><b>23. &nbsp;I am hard pressed between the two. &nbsp;My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.</b></div><div><b>24. &nbsp;But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>It is both exciting and sad, waiting at the airport, for the call to begin boarding;&nbsp;when your flight is taking you&nbsp;home, to be reunited with your&nbsp;family and the great love of your life.</div><div><span>Awaiting departure from Cam Ranh</span><span>&nbsp;Bay, Viet Nam, I wondered at&nbsp;how I was so glad to be out of that war while at the same time,&nbsp;my heart was still being drawn to those I was leaving behind still&nbsp;in a war.</span></div><div><br></div><div>Jesus, the Servant, gave himself for us. &nbsp;Paul, the servant in whom Christ dwells, desires to do likewise, to&nbsp;continue to give himself to the Church at war, the Church Militant. &nbsp;The desire to remain in the flesh and continue to serve is a desire born of God. &nbsp;<i>“For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” </i>(Philippians 2;13)</div><div><br></div><div>But, <i>“He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will. According to the purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” &nbsp;</i>(Ephesians 1; 9&amp;10)</div><div><br></div><div>This is why Paul says, <i>“I am hard pressed between the two…” </i>(v. 23.) &nbsp;we have been given&nbsp;bodies&nbsp;of flesh in which to <i>“live for the praise of God’s glory</i><i>” &nbsp;</i>(Ephesians 1;12b). &nbsp;W<span>e have been given life and time to&nbsp;spend bringing the Light of true&nbsp;Life into this world. &nbsp;We do this by faith and&nbsp;by the Word and Spirit of Christ. &nbsp;This is our spiritual war.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>But, our ultimate calling is to become perfectly one in the One who is Life, Jesus. &nbsp;That is why Paul says, <i>“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” &nbsp;</i>(v. 21) &nbsp;The ‘putting off of the flesh’ (physical death) is like the removal of a blood sucking leach, called our old-man, old-Adam, our sin-filled human nature. &nbsp;With him gone, all obstacles to our being perfectly united with God the Father through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, are removed. &nbsp;We will be ‘fully home’ and all warfare is ended forever.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Is it not wondrous to think that in the new Heaven and the new earth, we will again have bodies, but they will be glorified, perfected, holy bodies with out sin, just as Adam and Eve had before the fall. &nbsp;But, we will have a better deeper&nbsp;knowledge of the love of God than they ever did. &nbsp;We will be able to gazed upon those precious wounds in Jesus’ hands, feet, and side. &nbsp;From those wounds comes our baptism into Christ and&nbsp;Living Water, which continually refreshes our souls in a unity with God that Adam and Eve did not know.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>So, some internal conflict is good, when it is our present and our future struggling for the Father’s will to be done in us. &nbsp;We should have the same desire to depart. &nbsp;To be in love with this world is a dangerous&nbsp;deception. &nbsp;We do not live for this world, for us to live is Christ also, and for us death <i><u>is</u></i>&nbsp;gain.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, your times for us are perfect. &nbsp;Bless us to be about your business now in this time and place. &nbsp;Our rest has been won and we desire to know it fully, but for a season, we are still called to be a part of the ‘Good Fight’. &nbsp;Bless us then&nbsp;to be skillful with the Sword of the Spirit, your living Word.&nbsp;&nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><b>Collect for the Word</b></span></div><div><span>“Blessed Lord. &nbsp;You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. &nbsp;Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by the&nbsp;patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. &nbsp;AMEN.”<b></b></span></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Philippians 1;21-24
21.  For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.22.  If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.  Yet which shall I choose I cannot tell.23.  I am hard pressed between the two.  My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.24.  But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
It is both exciting and sad, waiting at the airport, for the call to begin boarding; when your flight is taking you home, to be reunited with your family and the great love of your life.Awaiting departure from Cam Ranh Bay, Viet Nam, I wondered at how I was so glad to be out of that war while at the same time, my heart was still being drawn to those I was leaving behind still in a war.
Jesus, the Servant, gave himself for us.  Paul, the servant in whom Christ dwells, desires to do likewise, to continue to give himself to the Church at war, the Church Militant.  The desire to remain in the flesh and continue to serve is a desire born of God.  “For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2;13)
But, “He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will. According to the purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”  (Ephesians 1; 9&10)
This is why Paul says, “I am hard pressed between the two…” (v. 23.)  we have been given bodies of flesh in which to “live for the praise of God’s glory”  (Ephesians 1;12b).  We have been given life and time to spend bringing the Light of true Life into this world.  We do this by faith and by the Word and Spirit of Christ.  This is our spiritual war.
But, our ultimate calling is to become perfectly one in the One who is Life, Jesus.  That is why Paul says, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  (v. 21)  The ‘putting off of the flesh’ (physical death) is like the removal of a blood sucking leach, called our old-man, old-Adam, our sin-filled human nature.  With him gone, all obstacles to our being perfectly united with God the Father through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, are removed.  We will be ‘fully home’ and all warfare is ended forever.
Is it not wondrous to think that in the new Heaven and the new earth, we will again have bodies, but they will be glorified, perfected, holy bodies with out sin, just as Adam and Eve had before the fall.  But, we will have a better deeper knowledge of the love of God than they ever did.  We will be able to gazed upon those precious wounds in Jesus’ hands, feet, and side.  From those wounds comes our baptism into Christ and Living Water, which continually refreshes our souls in a unity with God that Adam and Eve did not know.
So, some internal conflict is good, when it is our present and our future struggling for the Father’s will to be done in us.  We should have the same desire to depart.  To be in love with this world is a dangerous deception.  We do not live for this world, for us to live is Christ also, and for us death is gain.

Prayer:  Merciful Father, your times for us are perfect.  Bless us to be about your business now in this time and place.  Our rest has been won and we desire to know it fully, but for a season, we are still called to be a part of the ‘Good Fight’.  Bless us then to be skillful with the Sword of the Spirit, your living Word.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”
Collect for the Word“Blessed Lord.  You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.  Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  AMEN.”

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