Rejoice and Rejoice

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

REJOICE AND REJOICE

Phil 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

NIV

Life has such a variety of circumstances, some of which might not give much opportunity to rejoice in. If we recall some of those horrific moments in our past, could we say we were rejoicing in the midst of them? Even the present has its days which could, if we allowed them, to push us into a state other than one of rejoicing. But that is not what we are admonished to do. We are told to rejoice in the Lord always and we are told twice. The fact is our situation in life should have no bearing on our always rejoicing in Jesus. It has been said we may not feel like rejoicing for a situation, but we can always rejoice in that situation. But that might not be accurate. Sometimes we might find ourselves in some unpleasant circumstance and it might be because of our own doing, or our own plans. However, we make our plans, but the Lord orders our footsteps. Therefore, it also might be possible our situation is due to the leading of the Lord for his purpose, which we may not yet be aware of. If that were the case, it could for our best, and therefore, we would have to rejoice because God is always about doing what is best for us. Yet, if none of that is at play in our lives, and things just happen because they happen, due to simply being alive and living in the flesh, then we still would have to always be in the attitude of rejoicing in the Lord because he is the one who has given us eternal life. No matter what this life brings our way, he brought eternal life our way. So we rejoice and rejoice because we have eternal life, in a perfect place, in a perfect body, in the presence of our Lord forever and ever. However, there is more regarding rejoicing, it also produces a condition of gentleness. The Greek word translated gentleness carries the meaning of seemly, suitable, equitable, fair, mild, and gentle. This would be opposed to being grumpy, or complaining, or acting as we have been treated unfairly or unequally. Who likes to be around a person like that? But let our gentleness be evident to all. Then just perhaps, people might enjoy being in our presence and we can share the goodness of the Lord with them for he is near. This rejoicing that results in gentleness also relieves us of anxiety. We are told not to be anxious about anything, that means anything which would include all aspects of this life and the one to come, although, we have already begun our eternal life the day we were born again. However, for the moment we are still occupying this physical body and in this temporal world and thus subject to some of its circumstances or situations. Yet, we are not to be anxious about any of those things. We also should not be anxious about our future, for it has been provided for by our Lord. Anxiety breeds discontentment, which leads to disappointment that drives that complaining spirit who has not an ounce of rejoicing and that would then result in being disobedient to the Lord. If we are not always rejoicing, we are on a slippery slope downhill. Instead, as we rejoice and reveal our gentleness to all, we have no anxiety, but instead, with an attitude of always being thankful, we present our requests to our Lord. We talk with our Lord, we converse with him about our life, our circumstances. If we are going to complain to anyone, it should be the Lord, letting him know how we feel, although he already knows. But it does us good to get it off our chest and in doing so, although we have to keep this attitude of thanksgiving, he will give us his peace. By our praying, talking with him, he comforts us, and his peace overwhelms us even though it is beyond or transcends understanding. Then our hearts and minds will know the path of God and we will know peace, contentment, joy, patience, gentleness, goodness, love, kindness and self-control.

In The Same Book

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

IN THE SAME BOOK

Phil 4:2-3

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

NIV

This seems to be a rather strange, yet personal note in this letter. Our scholars have found so much to say, however, point out many have made many conjectures as to who these named individuals are, but with no evidence, it is useful to propagate conjecture. What we can tell from the scripture, at least on the surface facts, is there are two women in the church who have some kind of disagreement and Paul is asking some fellow minister in the Lord to work with them to iron out their differences. We think it might be important for us to consider what family life was like in Eastern culture at that time. Our culture today has a far different view of the role of women, even in the church, then they did in Philippi at that time. Were these women opposing each other in open debate within the church over some doctrinal issues? Was there a more subtle opposition between them that waged within a family structure? We know nothing and everything is conjecture. Again all we know is they are opposed to each other about something and because Paul is exhorting agreement, we would have to think their disagreement has to do with doctrine. Nevertheless, the point here is there should not be any disagreement in the body of Christ. We do not know if theirs was even over a doctrinal issue, they could have been arguing over what type of music is played, or how the seats were set up, or over some other mundane subject. We have no clue, only that they were so opposed to each other, they needed someone to break in and arbitrate their differences. It would certainly seem these two women worked alongside or aided Paul in his ministry while he was in Philippi. It might be natural, in the flesh, for us believers to have some disagreements, or differences in opinions regarding the truth of the scriptures, or in the style of music in the service, or how the church looks, in fact, many choose which church to attend based on appearances, or style of music, or the personality of the pastor or pastors. The mere fact, we contend with a multiplicity of denominations proves all us believers cannot agree on the truth, or have doctrinal differences. What is all comes down to is that whoever has their name written in the book of life, is a solid believer in Jesus Christ and we should see that unites us rather than divides us. For once all of us whose names are written in the Book of Life are resurrected into the presence of our Lord, we are all going to be praising and honoring our Lord together as one people. Any differences will immediately fade into oblivion in the light of our Lord. Therefore, as Paul admonishes these two women to attend to their differences with the help of another, we too should see our brothers and sisters in the Lord as just that, our brothers and sisters and see each other in agreement, both within the same church, as well as within different churches. If we are in the Book of Life, our names are altogether right next to each other’s, in the same book.

Standing Firm

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

STANDING FIRM

Phil 4:1

4:1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

NIV

What we should first note is the love and affection Paul has for these believers in Philippi. He says that he longs for them, he would like very much to be with them again, to fellowship with them, to have that close personal relationship face to face. He considers them his joy and crown. Should we not also think of those who we have ministered the gospel to as our joy and crown? Those who have accepted the gospel because of our labor among them should be a great joy to our hearts. They should be our crowning achievement, not the number of things we have accumulated in life, nor any degree of success. Sometimes we want to think about our accomplishments in the world rather than in the Lord. Although in reality, even those things we have done well in the Lord, we have not done them. All we have done and are doing and will do is the Spirit of God working in us and through us. Nevertheless, the best of his work in us is sharing the gospel so others may know the joy of being saved. When that happens, we can rejoice and consider them our joy, as Paul makes that clear. Then he exhorts them to stand firm. It is suggested by some of our scholars this verse belongs as the concluding statement to the previous verses in Chapter 3. We tend to agree with that assessment because of the word, therefore. Paul had just laid out the example and had exhorted them to a way of life and now he tells them, and us, that we should stand firm in the Lord. Stand firm in the face of those believers whose god is their stomach. Stand firm against those believers who are enemies of the cross, who do not fully trust in Jesus, but their minds are set on earthly matters. Stand firm in the faith. Stand firm believing Jesus is coming back and he will transform our lowly bodies into his image. We are reminded of his letter to the Ephesians where four times he uses that phrase in one way or another, stand firm, take your stand, stand your ground and stand. We face enough obstacles from the evil one, we really do not need to face them within the church. However, considering the previous warning about those in the church who are enemies of the cross, those who live in hypocrisy, we have to stand firm against their style of Christianity as well. So in light of all things, let us live with joy and stand firm.  

What A Day That Will Be

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE

Phil 3:17-21

17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

NIV

There is something rather disturbing in these words of Paul as he was inspired by the Spirit to write. First, he is admonishing those in the church in Philippi to live in accordance with the example he gave them while he was with them. Secondly, he is not happy with how some of them have left that example and developed a form of Christianity of their own, which he defines as being an enemy of the cross. What was going on in the church that Paul would call a believer an enemy of the cross? He uses the phrase, their god is their stomach. He says their glory is their shame and that their mind is on earthly things. What does that look like? How can a believer become like that? Could there be church members or attendees that have never been born again? It is possible there are people in the church that are indulging in known sin? Could there be people who say they are believers but do not manifest any of the attitudes or behaviors of those who truly love Christ? Could some in the church have a deeper interest in the affairs of the world, then of their Redeemer, and would not be induced to give up their worldly concerns, when God demands it? This may well be what Paul is saying about their god being their stomach, rather then they like food too much. It certainly appears this is what he means by their minds being on earthly things. Could there really be that much hypocrisy in the church? It really goes back to the fact we cannot serve two masters, God and money. Someone has said about believers who are totally into God, really trusting in God, that they are so heavenly minded, they are no earthly good. But the truth is there those in the church who are so earthly minded, they are no heavenly good. When Paul says our citizenship is in heaven we can see the truth in the concept of citizenship. In the physical realm, in this life, we are indeed citizens of the United States of America. As such we abide by the laws of this land. We do not abide by the laws of France, or Germany, or any other country, nor do those who are foreigners to us enjoy the benefits of being a citizen of our country. Although it is true some people may have dual citizenship in this world, we cannot have dual citizenship if we are citizens of heaven. We must give up our rights as sinners, and take on the role and responsibility and enjoy the rights as saints. Our citizenship is in heaven and we live in anticipation of our coming Lord, of his return, when he will call us heavenward. Our mind is set on this course, this path. There will be a day when we can shed these corruptible lowly bodies and our transformation will be complete and we will then be in the same glorified state as Jesus. What a day that will be, when my Jesus, I will see. When I look upon his face, the one who saved me by his grace. What a day, glorious day that will be!  

On Being Mature

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

ON BEING MATURE

Phil 3:15-16

15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

NIV

Paul has been discussing being found in Christ, not having a righteousness that comes from the law, but that which is found through faith. He has been telling the Philippian's righteousness comes from God and is by faith. That he wants to know, as we should want to know, the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. He goes on about forgetting the past and pressing on to the goal, to that which God has taken hold of us. He then makes it clear we all should have the same view. Well, at least those of us who are mature. It may well be true those who are still babies in the Lord may not be able to understand these truths of God. Either being an infant or mature in the Lord may not have anything to do with the number of years a person is a believer, but rather how they live out their relationship with the Lord. Some can only handle milk while others are ready for the meat. Some may live on the milk all their lives, while others want the meat right from the start. So if we are among the mature then we need to see this truth and take the same view of things. We should know without a doubt the only righteousness we have is in Christ. We should know unquestionably we need to forget about our past mistakes and move on with our life in Christ, pressing on, keep on keeping on, not giving in to guilt or shame over past sins. If for some reason we do not fully understand or grasp this view or thinking differently about any of these truths, God will make it clear to us. The key is that we are listening to God, that we understand his voice. Again, an infant may hear his voice, but what he is saying may well be unintelligible, as a newborn hearing its mother’s voice. But as an infant begins to mature, slowly it begins to understand the words and then the meaning of those words. Once completely mature those words are fully understood and the meaning of the word of our language is known. This is how we become mature in the Lord, listening, learning his words, their meaning, and making them our language, our native tongue. God will both reveal himself to us and his will for our lives. He will clearly show us how we are to walk, the path we are to walk. He will give us the light to follow and we will indeed follow in his footsteps. However, if for some reason we have not fully attained maturity, we can at least live up to what we know at this time, what knowledge and understanding we have already attained. However, in that position, we should also know we have much to learn and understand, we have a way to go before we are mature. Still, that does not mean we should abandon what we already know in search of more. We need to live up to what truths we already are understanding, then gain more and more. It would seem this is a lifelong project that we will never be over, learning more about Christ, and living in him. The maturation process never ends, until the day of our death and resurrection, then we will truly be with him and like him. Even that we still do not fully grasp, but someday we will. For now, we live up to however mature we are, looking to become more mature.

Press On

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

PRESS ON

Phil 3:12-14

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

NIV

We are picking up in the middle of this whole thought of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ and not through works or in the case of Paul, through the Law, which is works. We just saw who he was in the past, the Hebrew of Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, of the people of Israel, circumcised on the eighth day, a Pharisee in regards to the law and as for zeal, persecuting the church, as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. We also saw how he now considers all that rubbish compared to the righteousness in Christ. But he is also saying he has not attained perfection yet. He has not fully reached being the perfect little Christian, pure in every way. We have to be careful not to have the attitude that we have reached that state of being a perfect Christian. We have encountered some believers who seem to have that attitude or at least project they're being without sin. But we know the truth, no one in this world, no matter how many years they have been a believer, is completely faultless. We know one thing for certain, we have not yet attained perfection. We admit, sin still resides in this body. But we also know we have been completely forgiven, yet we do not decide to sin just because we have been forgiven. We make every effort to keep from sinning, but we just fail. However, as Paul makes the point, we forget the past, we cannot live in the past, in our failures, in the sin we committed yesterday, or the day before that. There are others who do a good enough job of reminding us of our past failures. It is difficult enough to forget them, but we do not need to be reminded or remind others of their past indiscretions. We all should be living together in this forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. Each day has its own challenges, we do not have to be living in yesterdays.  We have often said to others, as we believe, if we are chained to our past, we cannot move into our future. This is what Paul is saying in other words, forgetting that which is behind and straining toward that which is ahead. We cannot do anything about our past, even the past of yesterday. Sure we can learn from our past failures and make an effort not to repeat the same mistake, the same sin again and again, but the fact remains we just might, but we cannot live to accept that as the norm.  We need to strain toward that which is ahead. We need to be focused on doing that which is right and not on that which is not.  We need to press on, making every effort each new day to be the person of God, the child of God we should be. We need to attack each new day with the attitude that this day is the day the Lord has made and that we will be glad and rejoice in it. Tomorrow is not here yet, but we have today. Someone once said that yesterday is a canceled check and tomorrow is a promissory note, but today is cash in hand and we need to spend all of it, for we cannot take any of it forward. At the end of each day, what we have not spent, we lose. But, in regards to spiritual matters, we press on toward that mark, the finish line. We press on toward the goal of heaven. We keep on keeping on, always looking forward. Yes, we have the memories of the past, the far distant past as well as those of yesterday. But again they do not define our future, each new morning is another day to rejoice in our Lord as we live in his compassion and faithfulness. So we press on.

Lam 3:22-24

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

NIV   

Faith in Christ

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

FAITH IN CHRIST

Phil 3:7-11

7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

NIV

Paul just finished talking about how good a Jew he was. A Hebrew of Hebrews, that he did everything according to the Law, and he had every right to boast in the flesh. But not a bit of that matters to him and he considers all his former life as the best Jew every as a loss for the sake of Christ. What can we learn about our lives from this? Everything we have ever considered as important in life should be considered as rubbish to gain Christ. What does that mean? What do most people consider important in life? Such things like education, or degrees, titles, success, financial security, expensive things, big homes, fancy cars, boats or even an airplane. It would seem many people find something in this life to focus their attention on as being their idea of achievement. It seems many parents desire to see their children succeed. However, the fact is we should not be looking at the world’s view of success or gage our life on its standards. We need to consider all that as loss, it is meaningless as it has nothing to do with attaining righteousness and eternal life. What good is having everything the world has to offer only to die and end up in hell? It is not that we should live in poverty and own or have nothing, it is a matter of our focus. Then we also have to consider our spiritual life. How do we look at attaining righteousness? Is it by works or faith? Paul said his former life was based on attaining righteousness through works, but now he considers that all a loss, compared to gaining Christ, who brings righteousness from God through faith. Again, we should not live as the pagans do just because we have the freedom in Christ. It is true we should live a life pleasing to the Lord. We should endeavor, at least the best we can, not commit sin. However, the fact remains, we will fail to attain perfection and sin occurs because we live in these corruptible bodies. Sure, we should not make any excuse for the flesh, but this is not an excuse, it is a reality. Jesus made that clear when he asked those men who wanted him to condemn the woman caught in adultery. He said, go ahead and stone her, however, the one who has no sin should cast the first stone. All the men had to turn away because all of them had some sin in their lives, none except Jesus, were perfectly free of sin. So we cannot look at our form of spirituality, or keeping some form of the law, adhering to our form of rules and regulations that may or may not be completely biblically based, as a means of attaining righteousness. All of that kind of Christianity is as rubbish compared to the righteousness that comes from God through faith. Yes, faith brings a change in our lifestyle. Faith causes us to refocus our life on Jesus, instead of on the world. Faith stimulates us to know more about God, to study his word, to explore his working in our lives. Faith motivates us to works which further his kingdom. Faith brings us to becoming more like Christ in both his sufferings and in his death, but also in his resurrection. There is no resurrection from the dead without faith. True all the dead will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, but those who died without faith are still dead, they will not see life eternal. We who have faith will be resurrected onto eternal life in the everlasting presence of our Lord. Why would anyone refuse to have faith in God, and believe in the world?  We chose faith in Christ.

Worship and Glory in Jesus

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

WORSHIP AND GLORY IN JESUS

Phil 3:1-14

3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

NIV

It is difficult to break up this third chapter as it seems it is all one continuous thought. However, at the same time, there are nuggets of truth along the way. We see Paul reminding them again about those Jewish Christians who think the gentiles need to be circumcised in order to be a true Christian by first following the law as a Jew. Paul calls them dogs. This gives us the sense that we too should not get too caught up in following the law, but rather live by faith. We cannot put our confidence in the flesh. Although Paul is making that point regarding being circumcised, it applies to follow the law in general. Of course, we are not following the Jewish law, or the Law of Moses, yet, it appears we make a great deal of the Ten Commandments. That has always posed a question as to if we follow those ten then why do we reject the rest of the Law. Why do we say we live by faith, but adhere to a portion of the Old Testament Law? Paul makes the point that if anyone was living fully by the Law, it was him. Yet he will go on to say, as we will get to, that he counts it all loss, but Christ as gain. However, before he says that, we can take note he tells the Philippians they have no need to get circumcised in the flesh for they are already circumcised, they are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. Here we can learn this lesson about not putting any confidence in our abilities, or our efforts to live according to the law, or our rules and regulations we set up as some standard in order to be a “good Christian”. The fact is, if we allow God to circumcise our heart, then we will live and worship by the Spirit of God and we will glory in Christ Jesus. That is we walk in glory, we live in the joy of peace of Jesus. Do we have trouble in this life? Sure, there are always things that happen which may not be the greatest moments in life. Yes, we get sick once in a while or have some infirmities we have to deal with. Paul had a thorn in the flesh, but he made sure he let people know that he was content in whatsoever condition he was. God has told him, His grace was enough. That is the same for us. It does not matter what situations or conditions we find ourselves in, for we are always in Christ. It is not up to us to work for our salvation, or to work to keep it, or to look like a “Good Christian”. Of course, we want to live in a manner that pleases the Lord, but it would appear that manner is one of faith. It pleases God if we have faith in Jesus. It would not appear that it pleases God that we have faith in our behavior or our abilities to live righteously. That would be having confidence in our flesh, doing all the right things, or what we think are the right things. Yet, at the same time, we do need to do whatever God requires of us. Perfection is not one of them. Appearing to be the perfect Christian isn’t either. We look at the one man who God testified was a man after His own heart. David was far from a perfect man, but the reason God said that about him, was that he knew David would do everything God told him to do. We think this is the key. Not so much doing what we think God requires of us, that is to live righteously, or sinless, because that is not possible and God would not ask us to do the impossible. What God requires is for us to do whatsoever he asks us to do for His purpose. Living by faith in one of them. Worshipping him by his Spirit is another. Having glory in Christ Jesus is also his desire. In other words, the center of our life is not our self, but Jesus, not in how we live, but in how he lives in us. So we glory in Christ Jesus.

Together

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

TOGETHER

Phil 2:25-30

25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

NIV

This is most definitely a personal note to the church in Philippi about their fellow Philippians who they must have sent to assist Paul while he was in chains in Rome. There is nowhere else in the scriptures which mentions this man, Epaphroditus. All we know about him is what is said here. Paul considers him a brother, a fellow worker, and a fellow soldier who was their messenger sent to take care of him. What we should see is the three descriptions and what they say about the Christian character. First, the Greek word translated brother implies the same one from the womb. There is nothing closer than being a brother of the same mother, and this is how Paul felt about Epaphroditus. What is miraculous about this is Paul is a Jew and Epaphroditus is a gentile, yet he is considered as close as a brother. Should we not also consider all our fellow believers as close as a brother or sister? Sure, us siblings might have our ups and downs, but in the end, we would do anything for our brother or sister, at least, we should. Second, Paul refers to him as a fellow worker, which again implies that Epaphroditus was not just sent to care for Paul, but was actually involved or had a hand in the work of the gospel, as he was also referred to as a fellow soldier. This says he ministered to others in the name of Jesus. All of these titles should be able to be applied to all of us within the body of Christ. We all work together as one family, for the furtherance of our Father's kingdom. What is also interesting is that Paul says that Epaphroditus almost died and that Paul was very sad over his illness. It appears no miracle of healing took place by the hands of Paul. That is, Paul did not simply anoint him and he was healed. There appears to be the natural mercy of God here. Sometimes we think we have to get anointed with oil by a pastor in order to be healed, but God is more than able to heal us all on his own. Now, we are admonished to come forward if any of us are sick so the elders, or pastors can anoint and pray and the sick person will get well. The letter James wrote to the church is very clear on this. What we have to know is we cannot put God in this box of having to do everything just the way we think he should. He is God and he can have divine mercy, healing someone, without having to be anointed, and he can heal someone because they are being anointed, seeking his divine healing, and the forgiveness of sin. There is also something else here in the life of this man which we should note. He almost died for the work of the Lord, risking his life for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of helping Paul spread the Gospel. Maybe we have not done enough. Maybe we hold back more than we should. It does not matter how we feel. We should put it all on the line for the work of Christ, whatever we have been called to do in this work. Maybe we baby ourselves more than we should. However, the reason we should put ourselves at risk is not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the kingdom, for the work of Christ. It certainly appears although Epahriditus did so, God in his infinite mercy healed him, making him well and able to continue in his labor. As long as we are doing the work of the Lord, he will either sustain us or heal us.  Let us keep our eyes on the Lord, on the passion he has sent before us. Let us not waiver from the task he has called us to and he will keep us. Then we also should note the concern Paul had for this man, to the point of being anxious about his health. Again, this should apply to all of us, in our concern for each other, our brothers and sisters, or fellow workers, our fellow soldiers in Christ. We are all together in this work of the Lord.

Our Fathers' Trade

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

OUR FATHERS’ TRADE

Phil 2:19-24

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

NIV

It would certainly appear on the surface this is simply a personal note regarding the character of Timothy so that when he does arrive at the church in Philippi, they will accept him as they would accept Paul. However, what we see is that if we are looking out for our own interests, we are not looking out for the interests of Jesus Christ. In essence, that is what Paul is saying, and in a sort of roundabout way telling the Philippians that is how they should be behaving toward each other. If a person is a believer in Jesus Christ then they should be looking out for the interest of Jesus, which is looking out for the interests of others, rather than of self. So how does that look today? How do we relate to this style of Christianity? How do we relate to this relationship as a son to his father which Paul speaks about? It seems there are two different relationships that would actually melt into one, or the one would cause the other. Because we have this Father to son relationship with God, we would have to determine just how Paul was defining his father/son relationship with Timothy. In those days, it was most common for a son to work in the same trade as his father. The son would grow up learning his father’s skills and as he matured and the father aged, the son would inherit the business and then look after his father. The family would remain intact and as the son married he would simply build onto his father’s house. The father would always remain the patriarch until his death, then the firstborn son would take his place. We may not be the firstborn of God, but we are co-heirs with the firstborn, Jesus. So we are sons of God and as such we learn our Fathers' trade, which would be looking out for the interests of the whole family, putting them ahead of our own interests, as Jesus did on that cross. He put the interests of his Father before his own. He asked his Father if there was any other way. In the flesh Jesus did not want to have to endure the pain which was before him, nevertheless, he determined to do his Father's will, putting his Father’s interests before his own. Jesus gave Paul the example that he used as an illustration to the Philippians in explaining his relationship with Timothy, as well as the customary human example of father and son. Being our Father’s sons we learn his trade, we learn the example Jesus set before us, and so we must learn how to set our own agenda aside for others. The Vulcan saying, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” express this idea rather concisely.  This may be one of the more difficult lessons to learn, to incorporate into our being. It is so easy to be concerned about our own interests, especially when it comes to our time and/or money. They need to be about furthering the gospel, the needs of our Father. Just indiscriminately giving of the either or both without the gospel at the core may not mean much. Paul makes sure the Philippians know Timothy proved himself working like a son with a father in the gospel. The core of all our energy should be about the work of the gospel. Our relationships should be centered on the gospel. So we are still learning how to do this. Will we ever get it right? Hopefully, with the help of the Spirit, we will learn our Fathers’ trade.

No Complaining

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

NO COMPLAINING

Phil 2:14-18

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

NIV

Who likes someone who complains about everything all the time? But this is more than just being a big baby about having to do something we may not want to do, or about something that is going on we do not like. This is about being unhappy with our situation and blaming others for it, thus arguing with them, wanting them to change for us. This is putting ourselves above them, thinking more highly of ourselves then we should. This is about being so self-centered, we cannot see anything other than our own wants, or not being able to see past the nose on our face. The reason we have to stop any complaining or arguing about our lot in life is so that we may become pure and blameless, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation. In other words, we are supposed to live as children of God rather than children of a depraved generation. Children are usually a reflection of their parents, not just in general appearance, but in personality or attitudes. There are always exceptions, of course, but generally, the way the parents live, so do the children. As Children of God, then we should be living as Jesus lived.  Besides, he told us that he gives us his peace, not as the world gives peace. We have studied that word before and we know it means a secure sense, confident of our salvation and content with our lot in life whatsoever that is. That simply means we have no reason to complain or argue with anyone about what we do or are required to do, or not do. The fact is we should be a beacon of light in this depraved generation, holding out the word of God to them, so they too might find the peace of Jesus. We are to shine like stars in the universe. That means although we are not to be snobs holding our nose so high we would drown in a rainstorm, we are to live differently in attitude and behavior than the rest of the world. We are not to withhold ourselves from them, as the stars do not without themselves from the universe, but rather we are to be that star, like the North Star, or like the Bright and Morning Star, Jesus, a beacon, giving a constant direction for those traveling in the lost and depraved sea of life. In addition, we should also be aware of everyone else, our brothers and sisters in the Lord and rejoicing with them because of their faith and we should be willing to be poured out as a sacrifice, which simply means we serve rather than being served. Again, this goes back to this not thinking more highly of ourselves then we should. So we live content, no complaining and arguing, instead we live being the light to the world.

Work Out

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

WORK OUT

Phil 2:12-13

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

NIV

This seems to be a strange statement concerning working out our salvation with fear and trembling. What can we do to save ourselves? It would seem nothing at all, yet what does it mean to work out our salvation? Jesus is the one who saves us. Of course, it is by faith in Jesus that we are saved. That does mean we have a part in our salvation. Our faith is required. Without faith in Jesus, we would not be saved but would be in danger of hell. It is also true that God gives every man a measure of faith, which would imply that he desires everyone have what is necessary to believe in Jesus. However, as with any gift, the recipient must open it and use the gift to enjoy its benefits. So even though God gives us a measure of faith, we must use that faith to believe in Jesus to enjoy the benefit of eternal life. In a world much the same as the one the Philippians lived in we are faced continually with opportunities to have faith in something other than Jesus. We are drawn to this self-reliant attitude because we have been raised in a world that focuses on that type of life. Even in our Christian walk, we are the only ones who can work out our salvation. No one else can do that for us. Our salvation is dependent on our working it out which in some sense affirms relying on self rather than others. The fear and trembling have to be due to our failure to live perfectly. Yet we have in some sense a duty to walk in the ways of the Lord. It sounds unfamiliar to use the term duty when it comes to living as a believer in Christ. We usually think about the freedom in Christ, that he set us free from the bondage of sin, that he set us free from the penalty of death. We usually talk about being a child of God, a co-heir with Jesus. Although all that is true, we also should consider that we are admonished throughout scripture to walk that narrow path, to put off our old nature or self and put on the new self. We are told or perhaps we should use the term commanded to rid ourselves of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander in the letter to the Ephesians. We are commanded to rid ourselves of such things as anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language as well as taking off the old self and its practices and putting on the new self which is being renewed in the image of Christ in the letter to the Colossians. In James’ letter, we are commanded to rid ourselves of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent. In Peters’ letter, we are commanded to rid ourselves all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind, which is gossip. So then that is a lot of working out and we should fear and tremble if we are not working on ridding ourselves of such attitudes and behaviors. If we are not ridding ourselves of these then are we truly being transformed into the image of Christ? We have to do our work getting rid of those things and look to God so he can do his work in our lives. If we are still focusing on those old attitudes and behaviors how much room have we given God in our lives to do his work? Once we are working in getting rid and focusing on Jesus, then God can do his work in us in order to accomplish his goodwill according to his good purpose. Just as we work out physically in order to be strong in our body,  in order to be strong in the Lord, we need to work out our salvation, exercise our faith.

The Extreme Makeover

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

THE EXTREME MAKEOVER

Phil 2:5-11

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

NIV

If we are to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, then it would make perfect sense we should not compare ourselves to anyone else other than Jesus. In other words, it does not matter how someone else appears or behaves or what ministry or calling they have upon their lives. It does not matter if they have more resources, material goods then we do, or less than us. What matters is that we have the same attitude as Jesus. From the description Paul uses, the main attitude is humility. To believe Jesus is actually God, not simply the Son of God. Because we are Trinitarians, we believe God is three persons, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So then God made himself nothing, he took on the form of his creation, and took on the very nature of a servant. That is how we should think as well. Not that we are God, but that we should humble ourselves as though we are servants. This would prevent us from thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. This goes against everything we have been taught from childhood. Our society promotes being proud of accomplishments, it rewards us for a job well done. It publicizes those who have done, what is thought as, great things. At least according to their agenda. The prime example we have become aware of is this sixteen-year-old girl who is lauded as an expert on climate change, while another sixteen year old has actually developed a method to remove all the plastic from the oceans, and has had no attention from the media. Our society has gone haywire. That is why we are not to live as the pagans do, but to live like Christ, being humble even onto death. We are not to live according to the standards of man, but according to the standards of God. Having the same attitude as Jesus requires a complete makeover. We have to forget about how we were raised, how we were influenced by other people, even other Christians, for they may not be a prime example of having the same attitude as Christ Jesus. This is all about allowing the Spirit to have His way in our lives, to be under his influence. Then our makeover will be into that which God intends us to be. This should be an extreme makeover, leaving the attitude of mankind, and entering into the attitude of Jesus. It is the same as how we are instructed to put off the old self and put on the new self.

Eph 4:20-24

20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

NIV

When a house or an automobile goes through an extreme makeover, the older version is no longer there, no longer visible. Only the newer makeover version stands and is far better than that older version. This is how our lives are changed as well. That older self no longer is there as we have been changed, made over in the attitudes of our mind. Why then does that old nature want to creep back in? Maybe we have not yet been finished in this extreme makeover. Maybe God is not yet through with us and we are still in the process of this extreme makeover. One day we will be, but then we will be glorified, we will be exalted being in the presence of our Lord and Savior. So, for now, we are content to be going through this extreme makeover.

The Perfect Church

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

THE PERFECT CHURCH

Phil 2:1-4

2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

NIV

Why would we not have encouragement from being united with Christ? Of course, it appears Paul might have been using a little sarcasm here. In other words, Paul was saying then because you have encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, and compassion, then be like-minded. Because we are united with Christ, we are tremendously encouraged because we have eternal life. How is that not an encouragement? How could we walk around with our continence all stooped over, looking sad and forlorn when we know death is only the beginning of life and we are going to be in the most glorious place every prepared for us by Jesus. No, we should be walking around leaping and jumping and praising God for we were once crippled and blind, but now we have been completely healed. Jesus gives us a comfort the world cannot. It is much like the peace he gives not as the world gives, but his peace, his comfort, his consolation. So then there should be no reason we live in discomfort and we are not thinking about physical discomfort, but rather an emotional and spiritual discomfort. Our mind and heart should be in comfort because he does love us. As far as having fellowship with the Spirit it would seem almost natural as he dwells, or lives within us. Sometimes it seems difficult to comprehend the Spirit lives within every believer if he is one Spirit. Yet, he is God who is omnipresence. He is not limited to one place in time or space. So he can and does live within each of us and therefore it is the most natural thing to be in fellowship with him. Of course, it is also possible for us to squelch his work in our lives and thus not be in koinoonia, partnership with the Spirit. But because we are, he influences our lives and thus we exhibit this tenderness and compassion. Paul tells them if they are like that, it then would make his joy complete if they were like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. All this sounds like the perfect church. A place where no one does anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility considers others better than ourselves. The perfect church includes each of us looking to the interest of others as much as we look to our own interests. Does this perfect church exist? What we have to consider here is to not see all this in view of whether everyone else lives like this, but that if the church is ever going to be perfect, in the sense of living as this scripture suggests, it has to start with us.

One Man

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

ONE MAN

Phil 1:27-30

27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved — and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

NIV

We have to remember from the account in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas were in Philippi they had some trouble because of casting a demon from a slave girl. In short, they were beaten, flogged and thrown in jail. Of course, as a result, the jailer was saved, but the point is they had received persecution at the hands of the pagan people of Philippi. Now Paul encourages them to stand firm against those who would oppose them, who are the pagans, or non-believers in Philippi. They are not willing to accept Jesus. Here we also learn that no matter what situation we find ourselves in we should conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. We, the church, should be standing firm in one spirit, contending or striving together, as one man for the faith of the gospel. That ought to cause us to think. If we are to contend as one man, that is we are not a group of individuals, but we are as one man, one person, singular in mind, then there would be nothing like jealousy, envy, bitterness, judgment, unwillingness to forgive, or anything other than total all-out love for each other, as if we were one person, loving themselves. Paul encourages them to stick it out, being of one mind, holding fast, standing firm, for undoubtingly they are under some form of persecution from the same type people who beat and flogged Paul and Silas. This standing firm brings to mind Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he tells them to put on the full armor of God. He exhorts them to stand firm, to stand their ground, to take their stand, and then after they have done everything, to stand. It might be doubtful that we, here in this country, would receive that type of persecution. However, we are still under some small form of attack as Christians, from those who would oppose Christianity in general, especially being expressed in the public forum. Still, we do have an enemy who would flog us in a sense and wants to throw us into hell. He tempts us to lose our ground, to slip and slide, instead of standing firm. It is a struggle to fight off his attempts, but that is the beauty of the shield of faith. As we stand firm side by side, as one man, of one mindset, together with each other, we form a complete wall of faith against the flaming arrows of the evil one. But that requires we are as one man.

Torn Between the Two

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

TORN BETWEEN THE TWO

Phil 1:18-26

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.   20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

NIV

Torn between the two is the main focus of this portion of this letter. It would seem we have something to learn here as well. There is no question that being with our Lord is far better than remaining in this body. Remaining here in this body has several issues which give us some amount of trouble. First, as it ages, it develops these aches and pains which keep us from doing many of the things our youthful form enjoyed. Secondly, this aging body has other problems with health issues. It seems the cold is colder. What has been advertised as the golden years of life seems more like anything other than golden. However, what we can be confident of is that as long we are still here, God has something for us to do for the furtherance or betterment of his kingdom. We are not here for our own benefit, but for his. It seems a bit judgmental, but we are not thinking in that vein, but rather questioning why it seems so many store away so much so they can do nothing after reaching a certain age. Paul makes the point that if he is to go on living in the body, it means fruitful labor for him. That surely appears he has no plans for retirement, even from doing the work of the Lord. Again, not judging, but questioning how ministers retire from ministry. How does that work? If we are in the body, then we are to have fruitful labor. This agrees wholeheartedly with what God told Adam when he was cast out of the garden. Adam was told that he would have to work by the sweat of his brow all the days of this life. So then as long as we are in this body we will be about some form of fruitful labor. Whether that is actually working at some form of employment, or in some capacity in the ministry, we know God will sustain our physical form until he decides to bring us home. To die would certainly be gain, as we would be in the everlasting presence of our Lord, in a glorified state. No more aging, no more aches and pains, no more suffering any illness, no more conflicts, just pure joy and peace in his presence. However, remaining here in this body is Christ. Paul says to live is Christ. That is to say, all we do and all we say are to reflect Christ, and we are to continue to do so until we die. The other question which comes to mind is Paul says he desires to depart, die, and be with the Lord, but for the sake of those believers it is more necessary he stays. If our desire is to depart, then why do we make such an effort to stay? The only reason should be so that we can benefit others. It is necessary that we stay so that we can aid others in their progress and joy in the faith. Our reason for staying is so others will overflow with the joy of the Lord on account of us. So we are torn between the two, but as long as we are here, we labor on.

Motives

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

MOTIVES

Phil 1:15-18

15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.   18 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.

NIV

From a contextual and historical perspective, we understand these preachers who declared the gospel out of envy and rivalry were those who are called the Judaizing teachers. These were the men who were not opposed to Jesus as the Messiah, but rather opposed to the doctrine Paul was preaching against the need of circumcision. The others whom he mentioned also preached the gospel, Jesus as the Messiah, but also held true the same doctrine as Paul regarding circumcision. This concept of preaching because of selfish ambition and stirring up trouble for another preacher of the gospel seems to not have been restricted to this historical period. What these men were actually doing was taking advantage of Paul being in chains, in prison, claiming his doctrines are what caused his downfall and the believers in Philippi need to see that circumcision is the right way to follow. They wanted the people to leave the teaching of Paul and follow their teaching. We see that happening all throughout history and it still is a practice today. This is not over circumcision but over various other doctrinal issues. Some of these who preach Christ out of selfish ambition actually twist the scriptures in order to gain large amounts of followers who will support them and their lavish lifestyle. Some would say Paul is saying that is alright as long as they are proclaiming Jesus. In some sense that is true. As long as Jesus is preached, whether from whatever denominational bias, Jesus is still at the core of their belief and people are being saved from their darkened lives. However, Paul was greatly opposed to having to live under the law in order to live as a believer. That is we are saved by grace and nothing else, no kind of law, or works are involved whatsoever, such as those who taught circumcision in that day. That was Jesus plus circumcision, or Jesus plus the law. However, they still preached Jesus. Today, we have to discern whether some of those who preach out of selfish ambition actually preach Jesus. We also have to consider if what we say is from a selfish attitude. In other words, are we doing anything to promote Jesus and making ourselves look good in the process? Are our motives true or false? Why are we preaching Jesus? Is it out of the love for him, and for those who still live in darkness? Are we preaching Jesus out of love to those who have accepted him as Savior, or out of some self-serving purpose? What we think the difference may be is as in the case of Paul, he was most certainly called by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Those who taught Judaizing doctrine may not have been called by God, but by self. Today, the same applies. Those who are called by God will preach Jesus out of love, those who have called themselves will preach out of selfish ambition. Does the motive matter? Only God will judge that.

Advance the Gospel

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

ADVANCE THE GOSPEL

Phil 1:12-14

12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

NIV

Once again, this appears to have nothing to do with anything other than a report of the circumstances of Paul at the time of his writing this letter. However, the point that he is making is that it does not matter his situation as long as the gospel is being advanced. In some respects, it is difficult to understand why others would be bolder in their preaching the gospel because of Paul being in chains for preaching the gospel. Still, there is something we might glean from Pauls’ attitude regarding his situation. Sometimes we have a tendency to think of life as a believer is like a bed of roses. That is because we are believers, God blesses us abundantly in every area of our lives. We live in paradise already, so to speak. He watches over us, he protects us, he provides all are needs, and even many of our wants. If we need anything we merely have to ask for it in the name of Jesus and we will be given it as long as we believe. Well, at least that seems like the mindset of some believers and it is easy sometimes to take on that same attitude. Most of the time we are blessed beyond measure. Our life is good, we live well. However, perhaps we should not be thinking so much about our life and how well we live, but as to how can our life advance the gospel. Is not the purpose of our life to bring glory to God? Are we not supposed to testify to the mighty power of God in our lives? Should we not be given God all the glory for all we are, all we say, and all we have? Our lives are not about ourselves, to die is gain, to live is Christ. It is not about our achievements, our success, or anything about us. Maybe we should get rid of the personal pronoun “I” altogether. Instead, maybe we should be saying it is because of Christ in my life, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. That is the type of influence we should be having on other believers. Our lives should be lived in a manner that advances the gospel so that it is clear throughout the whole workplace, the whole church, the whole neighborhood, that our lives are in Christ. It would seem whatever our situation or circumstance in life, we should be using that to advance the gospel.

Knowledge and Discernment

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNMENT

Phil 1:9-11

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.

NIV

Paul had told them he would thank God every time he thought of them and that he would pray for them and here is what he says he prays. As we take his attitude as an example of how our attitude should be toward each other, perhaps this might serve as an example of how we should pray for each other. This is not the typical laundry list type prayer, which includes all our wants and desires, or even a prayer for healing or some other need. But this has to do with our love abounding more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. What does that mean? This love is the agape type love, which denotes love toward men, love toward God, the love of God toward men, it is all-inclusive love that looks past all faults and simply loves without restraint. It is not a reciprocal type of love, but a love that loves first. It has no limits, much as the Greek word translated abound implies. Just as a river that keeps enlarging until it overflows its banks and floods the entire area. Our love for God and for each other should abound in this same manner. However, this knowledge and depth of insight carry additional meaning. Our manner of love should not be a blind love, but it should be based on the divine things of God. Our love should be based on the truth of God, and intelligent affection and that is it discerning. We are to discern in regard as to how and what we have an affection for. At the same time understanding, being discriminating regarding the love of God toward us and how we are to exercise this love toward others. Because God gives us this depth of insight through the gift of the Spirit, which is defined as discernment, we are able to discern what is best so that we may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. Now we know that it is Jesus who makes us pure and blameless in the sight of God. Paul makes this extremely clear in his letter to the Ephesians.

Eph 1:3-10

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

NIV

This is his prayer for us that we abound in this love and that we overflow with this love for God and for man, because of the knowledge and discernment of this truth. In addition, he prays that we will be filled with the righteousness that comes from Christ. Everything we are, our salvation, our purity, our holiness, our blamelessness and our righteousness has nothing to do with us, or our ability to achieve any of it, but only because being in Christ. This is the proper knowledge and discernment we need.

Sharing in Grace and Affection

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

SHARING IN GRACE AND AFFECTION

Phil 1:7-8

7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

NIV

This certainly is a personal note from Paul to the church in Philippi. Yet it offers us the opportunity to an insight as to how we should feel about other believers. That is to be thankful for them because they are partners with us in the gospel as well as in the grace of God. We all share in the grace of God. Just think about that. Who among us can say we have something others do not? We might have more material goods than some others, or we might have fewer material goods than some. But the fact remains we are all equal when it comes to the grace of God. Some of us might have what seems a more public ministry than others. Some might appear to have a more important position in the church, such a pastor, elder, deacon, etc. However, no one has more of the grace of God than anyone else. We need to feel thankful for each of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, no matter what their amount of material possessions or their position in the church. We should feel equally the same about all believers as we all share equally in the grace of God. It is right for us to feel that way about all of them since we have them in our hearts. There it is, we are supposed to have all the other believers in our hearts. That would imply we should love them, all of them. In fact, Paul says he longs for them with the affection of Christ Jesus. Again, we have to ask whether we can say we long to fellowship with other believers and if we actually have the affection of Christ Jesus toward them. This truth points to how we are to live with each other, in love, peace, and harmony. That is putting aside all such attitudes that do not fit with loving each other as Christ loves us. Living with affection for each other means we would never do any harm to each other, in fact, it would mean just the opposite. Living with affection toward each other would mean we are always looking for the good or welfare of each other. Sometimes that is difficult because we forget and think too much about ourselves, how we feel, what we want or need. But this passage reminds us to refocus our minds and think more about the affection we should have for all the other believers, the same affection as Jesus has for all of us. So we share in God Grace and we share in affection.

Day of Completion

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

DAY OF COMPLETION

Phil 1:1-6

1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

NIV

It is good to remember all the fellow believers we have encountered over the years. We have fond memories of our times together. The question is whether we remember to thank God for all of those who we have known and fellowshipped with. Of course, in the hectic day to day affairs of life, we do not have those memories in the constant forethought of our mind. It would make sense that Paul did not either. He spent much of his time as a believer traveling around various regions, spending time sharing the gospel message first in the synagogues and then in the streets or various public forums. His daily life was quite filled with the present activity and at times he was persecuted, beaten and thrown out of town. So for him, as with us, the memories of past fellowships may not be our only thoughts. However, when something happens and we do remember those past associations, we should voice a prayer of thanksgiving, thanking God for bringing us together. In addition, when we do remember them and thank God for those believers, we should be filled with joy, because of them and their faith in Christ, and for what that have done and may well still be doing for the kingdom of God. Of course, some of those faithful believers we once knew well have gone home to be with the Lord. But we still have fond memories of those times together. Hopefully, they who are still alive would have fond memories of the times spent with us. What both of us can have confidence in is that it is God who began this good work in us. He was the one who broke through the darkness of our lives and shown his light into us. He is the one who called us into his service and filled us with His Spirit, empowering us to do that which he has called us to do. It is God and God alone who is going to complete that work in us. He is the one who has transformed us and is continuing to transform us into the image of his Son. That good work of his will continue until Jesus comes for us. We are always being in the state of being transformed. We will never arrive at a complete transformed state until the day of Jesus Christ. But we know it is God who does it all, from the beginning to the end. We live with anticipation of that day, however, we also live with confidence that God will do what he does best in our lives. So we live with our great memories with joy, and we live in the present with confidence, and we look forward to our day of completion.

Grace and Peace

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

GRACE AND PEACE

Phil 1:1-6

1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

NIV

It is interesting this is a joint letter from Paul and Timothy. Why we have not given Timothy any authorship seems a little strange. Most of our scholars do not ascribe any of this letter to input from Timothy. The major thought among the scholars is that Paul simply attached Timothy’s name to this letter because Timothy was with him at the time. However, we cannot help but considering that Paul discussed the framework of this letter with Timothy, getting his views of the subject matter and what was going on in the church at Philippi. Nevertheless, we also note the letter included all the saints, the whole church, and Paul called out the bishops and deacons. In order words, Paul made sure the leadership of the church was included so they knew to also pay attention to his instructions, corrections, encouragements or rebukes. Again, our scholars cannot agree on any central theme of this letter as Paul seems to jump from point to point as well as informing them of his current situation. What we are going to attempt to do is to view this letter not so much in its entirety, as a central theme, but consider various statements or points that Paul makes. We will consider the historical or cultural references as well as look at it theologically, so to glean some truths for our lives today, as it has been placed in the canon, the Bible for generations after this letter was written to a specific church in a specific time and culture.  So then, we will accept the grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, as we have considered many times before this Greek word translated grace can be used to define an act of graciousness, which God the Father and Jesus most definitely did. The Father, by sending the Son, and the Son by dying on the Cross, taking our sin with him to the grave, leaving it there, when he was resurrected. Our sin has been buried and forgotten by the Father and the Son. In addition to that view of the grace, the Greek word is also used in the context of the church, as the divine influence upon our hearts and how that is reflected in our lives. So then as we are blessed with the grace of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, we have his divine influence upon us, directing us, watching over us, giving us the assurance of his love. We also have the blessing of his peace. Again, this could mean the absence of the havoc of war, but that is not the appropriate use in this context. There is a view of this Greek word that is distinct to Christianity which best fits the intent of this letter and to all generations of believers that follow. This meaning is the tranquil state of the soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is. Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Romans that the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. This is the divine influence referred to in this peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. We live with and by their grace and peace.