Joy and Crown

 

 

“But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.” (Philippians 2:17-18)

 

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; however, let’s keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.” (Philippians 3:14-16)

 

“Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:1, 4)

 

Paul wrote to the Philippians of his love for them and his desire to see them. His love was so great that he longed for them to grow into the image of Christ for which he himself strived. 

 

Paul began by reminding them of the mind of Christ—absolute humility for the salvation of all people. He wrote challenging the people to have that same mind, to be humble and changed because of the salvation they received by and from Jesus. Should the Philippian Christians think this too great a sacrifice—such humbling of oneself—Paul put himself as an example of a person who was and had everything, giving it all up, and being considered nothing by the people who once considered him so great. Even this, Paul said, does not make him like Christ. He said he had not attained the prize for the goal toward which he ran. 

 

Paul gave the prime example of humility—Jesus— and then himself, as one striving to be like Him, so the Philippian believers would realize it is doable and a worthy task.This task is to what Christ calls each of His followers. “It’s the standard to which we (believers) attained” but whose goals are not yet reached.

 

After reminding the Philippian believers of the prime example and goal Christ gives and a human example (himself), he then expressed his love for them. He said he loved them and longed to see them. Paul said these believers were his joy and crown. He felt like a father who loved them and was proud of them. Paul followed that statement of his love for them with the challenge to keep following Jesus and look to the example he himself gave them. And even in the hardship that living a life of absolute humility, Paul taught them to rejoice in the Lord always.

 

Rejoice that Jesus saved you. Rejoice that you are called to follow Jesus’ example. Rejoice that Jesus considers you worthy to be His example to the world. Rejoice that you get to tell other people about Jesus. Rejoice that you have the privilege to suffer like Jesus because it shows your identification with Him. Rejoice because the way you live imitating Christ is considered so true to Him that people want to torment, trouble, and persecute you like other people did Him. Rejoice that you have fathers and mothers in the faith to be examples for you and pray for you. Rejoice that the strength, endurance, perseverance, and love you need for the task to which Jesus commanded His followers has already been given to you through His Holy Spirit living in you. 

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” as Paul said in Philippians 4:4. “Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:5) You are beloved. Keep up the faith. Walk in Jesus’ strength and according to His humble ways so that anyone who hears or sees you will see and hear Jesus. Run for the crown all who run the good race receive from God. And rejoice always! “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” (Phil.4:23)

 

Abundant and Pure

 

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,”

— Philippians 1:9-10

 

Abound means to exceed beyond what is normal. It is to have an overabundance that pours out of the storehouse. In this case, Paul means a Christian. He prayed that the pure love God gave to them would be so great it could not be contained in themselves, but would pour out on people who were around them so they would be blessed, too.

 

Paul also prayed the Christian’s’ pure agape love from God would abound so that they would have godly knowledge from their continual and growing relationship with God. God’s love won’t be evident and overflowing in a person’s life without a growing relationship with Him. 

 

Along with knowledge, Paul prayed the Christians would have a “depth of insight.” He wanted them to have a profound understanding/insight/discernment of their situation through their intellect and by their senses. By this, they could size things up correctly and understand it rightly because of their growing relationship with God. That growing relationship with God brings growth in having His wisdom and knowledge so they can have His understanding/insight and act, speak, and think correctly. 

 

By having a continual and growing relationship with God, a Christian can have overabundant pure, godly love, knowledge, and insight. With these three things, he/she can know what is best, may be pure, and not stumble into sin. All of these can only occur when we have a close relationship with God. They only come from God because only He is pure and sinless.

Peace that Surpasses

 

 

“And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:7

 

Jesus gives this peace-a wholeness of being without fear that results in the tranquil state of a soul being assured of its salvation through Christ. This peace removes fear of being unforgiven by God, separated from Him, and eternal judgment resulting in eternal hell and it gives love, joy, union with God through Christ, forgiveness, mercy, hope-no reason to fear. That is true peace, which only Jesus can give a person when he or she believes in Him as the Son of God for the forgiveness of his or her sins.

 

This peace goes beyond anything we can understand. We do not know how to get or give this peace because it’s beyond our comprehension and abilities because we are sinners. Only Jesus, the righteous Son of God, has and gives the unifying peace-unifying the parts of ourself and us with God.

 

Not only does the peace of Jesus give us wholeness, lack of fear, and union with God, it guards our hearts and minds. Where Jesus is, Satan cannot be. Darkness flees when light enters. 

 

So seek Jesus. Acknowledge He is God’s Son. Believe in Him and receive His salvation. Let the peace of Christ have reign and rule in your heart, mind, body, and spirit. You will be anxious for nothing and can ask anything of God while thanking Him for His answer in advance knowing He loves you and will answer you. 

 

That is true peace. That is union with God through Christ. Jesus gives peace that unites the parts of ourself living without fear now and knowing our eternal future with Him is secure. 

 

“Peace, peace, God’s peace. Peace that is greater than all our sin.”

Poverty and Riches

O God, I beg two favors from You; let me have them before I die. First, help me to never tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and, thus, insult God’s holy name. Proverbs 30:7-9 (NLT)

These verses from Proverbs 30 appear to be an obvious teaching, especially after living as an adult for a while. We realize we tend to forget about God when life is easy. We leave Him. Parties, friends, vacations, and buying new things occupy our minds, as do thoughts of how smart we were to earn that money. Instead, we could praise God for what He gives and tell people of His faithfulness and love. When life is hard, we can grow closer to God because we recognize He gives what we need and because we pray to Him continually. Alternately, we can insult Him by blaming Him for not providing what we need and/or then stealing those items. Once we realize these tendencies, most probably after we have experienced both excess and poverty, we can learn from them.

When we read Proverbs 30:7-9, perhaps we think of tangible things we need, like money, shelter, food, drink, clothes, and medicine. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus addressed people’s need for these things. He spoke of clothing and food and said if the Father clothes the flowers is such fine colors and feeds the birds without them worrying what they will eat, how much more so will He take care of our needs, we whom He made in His image. Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came to give us life more abundantly.

As we take this thought a step further, what other needs, non-physical, do we have? Jesus cares about the whole being. Humans have mental, emotional, and spiritual needs, along with physical needs. We need to feel safe and secure, be fed, know truth, experience peace, endure, and trust physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Life is more than just food, clothes, and where we will sleep, Jesus said. It includes every facet of who we are-mind, spirit, heart, and body. God takes care of the whole person throughout his or her life.

Jesus saves us from sin and death, a timeline of now and not yet. Most people consider the salvation He gives as something they will receive in the future after they die, the “not yet” of the timeline. Salvation happens when we believe in Jesus as God’s Son who died for our sins and when we confess and repent of our sins. When we accept the salvation He offers, He cleanses us from our sins, making us pure so we can live eternally with Him in heaven. Still, salvation is more than “not yet” in our lives. Jesus came to save us now and throughout our whole lives, too, the “now” part of the timeline. The saving now is spiritual, bodily, mental, and emotional, a feeling safe from torment, persecution, prejudice, abuse, and a host of other things. This saving “now” includes feeding our minds, spirits, and hearts with good things, too. Paul wrote about what we should think upon to feed us in Philippians 4:8-9 when he gave a list of “whatevers” to consider. We need to feed ourselves with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Jesus became wisdom for us, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:30. His Spirit teaches us God’s wisdom and knowledge and gives us understanding. We need to know truth. Jesus said, in John 14:6, He is the truth, way, and life. Jesus is truth. We can seek and rest secure knowing Jesus always tells and teaches truth while other people tell their “truths.” We can feel safe and secure knowing Jesus as the Truth. We can stand and endure knowing Jesus saved us. Ultimately, no matter what happens while we are alive, we recognize God wins and we will be with Him in heaven.

We, who have accepted the salvation Jesus gives, can know we are secure with God and can ask for His guidance, protection, and provision. Jesus’ saving us includes clothing us. Just as He feeds the birds and feeds us with His truths, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, Jesus, in Matthew 6, promised God would clothe us. Part of the clothing God gives to each of His children is about what Paul taught the Ephesian believers in Ephesians 6:10-20. He told them to put on the armor of faith. Faith in God is what enables each believer in Jesus Christ to “stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” We can stand firm and trust God because of who He is and His attributes - all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, wisdom, grace, mercy, and love. To stand firm, Paul told the Ephesian Christians to put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, and to hold the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. And, while wearing this armor, he told them to pray in the Spirit. Always keep in close communion with God while staying alert, Paul said. Notice all the pieces of armor come from God. God is faithful and gives faith. His strength never fails. Jesus is Truth and makes us righteous, gives us salvation, with His righteousness. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and His gospel, good news, is peace and gives peace. He is the Way to the Father. No one can go to the Father except through Him. Jesus gives His Spirit to each person when they believe in Him for salvation. By the Spirit of Jesus with faith and prayer, we can clothe ourselves with the armor of faith, then stand firm by trusting God. God provides and clothes us with His armor.

Because of the “armor of faith,” we, Christians, can be secure, feel safe and secure, be nourished spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Believers can rest sure of their ultimate salvation. God will give us His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding if we ask. Jesus reveals His truths to us when we seek Him. God meets our mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Jesus told His followers not to worry about what they would eat, drink, or wear and where they would sleep. With Jesus as our Savior, we realize God cares and provides for our whole being. He feeds and clothes us and gives us shelter. God knows what we need before we even ask, but desires to hear from us and commune with us, so pray continually in the Spirit. Understanding this about God’s provisions, recognize when we have plenty and little, and be content with what He gives. Take note that what we own comes from God, not ourselves. Glorify Him for what He gives. Seek His plan for the gifts. Do not hurl insults at Him for what we do not have. Trust His heart and praise Him. Be faithful to God because He is faithful to us.

Will you deny the Lord when He gives overabundantly to you by walking away from a close communion with Him? Or will you seek Him and His purposes for what He gives you? Will you insult, blame, and curse God with your actions and words when He seems not to listen to your prayers and provide for your needs? Or will you trust in Him and His love for you while praising Him for what He has done and will do? Proverbs 30:7-9 brings us to the point where we must consider choosing faith in God and His purposes and love and being content with what He gives. Without trusting that God loves and cares for us, Satan might lead us astray with his lies, so that we insult God and turn our backs on Him. Trusting God means we will praise Him and be content whether or not He gives overabundantly. Will we seek His will, and trust and praise Him or insult and walk away from Him?

I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

In whom do you trust?
Who gives you strength to live in this world?

In poverty and wealth, Jesus is still your Savior and Lord.

Whom will you trust and praise?

 

Love Abounding

 

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. (Philippians 1:9 [NIV])

            “Love,” some say, “I understand all about it.” Others may disagree and say it confounds them. Love, without understanding its basis, is just another word whose meaning may change with the times. Paul had a particular and perfect standard in mind when he wrote his letter to the church at Philippi.

            The starting conjunction in verse nine requires us to understand what Paul said earlier in the letter. In verse three, he said he thanked God for the Philippian believers and prayed with joy because of their partnership with him in the gospel. Verse six tells us the basis for Paul’s prayer. It says, “Being confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul understood God would complete the work He began in them upon Jesus’ return. Because of his close relationship with God, he understood what God begins in a person He completes. God is the basis for love.

            With verse nine, Paul stated what God would perfect and how and why He would complete it. His prayer spoke about the Philippians’ love, knowledge, and depth of insight. Upon looking at these words further, we understand the word “love” comes from the Greek word agape. Agape is love defined by God because it comes from God. Agape love is part of God’s character. Nothing changes it. God’s love is pure, true (Psalm 86:15), faithful (Psalm 107:8-9), and unending (1 Chronicles 16:34) like Himself. John stated in 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 the love of God is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, rejoices with truth, protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, and never fails. When Paul wrote in Philippians 1:9, “This is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more,” he meant may the love of God, that overflows abundantly to you from Him, grow in you and overflow more and more from you. The love of God in a believer occurs because that person prefers to love Him above his or herself. This Christian chooses to love God, which means growing to know Him more by listening to Him, studying His word, praying to Him, and obeying Him. Paul prayed the Philippian believers preferred to love God more than any other earthly thing, including themselves, their families, their aspirations, and their stuff. This love, Paul prayed for them, would abound. It would exceed and overflow in abundance from God’s overflowing love.

            This love would abound more and more because of their knowledge and depth of insight. The knowledge Paul wrote about is what they would gain firsthand from a relationship with God because of their preferred love for Him. Paul said this knowledge would come from walking daily in close communion with God. It comes from a growing experiential knowledge about God and from God. God’s love would abound from each believer because of His love for them and his or her love for God. God is the source of agape love and the giver and growth of it. The growth of agape love would cause a growth of knowledge about God, divine knowledge. This knowledge includes who God is, was, and always will be, what He has done, and the relationship each person can have with Him through Jesus. The depth of knowledge Paul wrote about was divine knowledge about God.

            The depth of insight about which Paul wrote is God’s ethical laws. Knowing God’s ethical laws and obeying them is a growth process that leads to purity and blamelessness, sanctification. When a person’s love grows for God and other people, sanctification of the person (growth as a Christian) occurs. Sanctification is the growth of holiness. Holiness comes from righteousness as given by God upon a person’s profession of faith, upon forgiveness each day as a person repents and confesses his or her sins to Him, and as that person strives to live by His ethical laws. God gives the ethical laws and the power to live by them, like He gives His love. God can give ethical laws because He absolutely is righteous and holy. Morality emanates from Him. God enables each believer to love Him more and more and to live with a growing depth of insight into His moral laws. The Christian must seek Him and ask for His strength to stand strong in his or her faith. This standing firm for God grows and shows the person’s love for God and other people. It refines the character of the believer. God gives insight from His moral laws to Christians about what is best. In that action, He refines the person by removing the dross of secularity from him or her. This discerning and purifying is sanctification growth. This process continues until the day of Christ’s return to earth to claim His followers.

            Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians and prayed their love would abound more and more from the source of love, God, and overflow abundantly from them to God and others because of their growing relationship with Him and their understanding of His moral laws. God gives the love that grows and the knowledge of Him and His ethical laws. He enables Christians to have His love and to live morally. God gives the power to live as His child in a sinful world. He is the source for love and morality. Paul wrote a Christian’s abounding love, knowledge of Him, and depth of insight bring glory to and praise of God.

            How far have you walked on the road with Jesus in your discipleship? Did you trust in Jesus and confess your sins, but not return to Him? Did you believe and confess, then get trapped trying to get the best things the world offers? Did you profess faith in Jesus and follow Him with the rest of your life? A Christian’s journey is a marathon. Your commitment to God is forever. Have you been faithful to Him? God’s love is always faithful, true, pure, and righteous. He asks you to keep walking with Him day by day and year by year. Stand firm. Run resolute. Let your love abound more and more in the knowledge of and depth of insight in God. 

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! (Philippians 4:1 [NIV])

Life and Breath

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?” (John 16:31 [ESV])

Imagine you work for a diving company and your job is to teach people how to dive and to lead them on underwater adventures. One day, you forget to check the air in your air tank. You take people for a dive and within ten minutes, while you are deep in the ocean, you realize your air tank is empty. When you realize this, you panic then make excited motions for everyone to surface, but you don’t have enough oxygen to surface without getting decompression sickness; you get the “bends.” Sometimes people die when this happens.

Christians can get the “bends,” too. We forget to check with our source of Life and salvation each day and moment, then live in our own strength. We run into problems and wonder why that happens since we are Christians. The problems come because we walk in our own strength instead of seeking God who is our Source of life and strength.

As Christians, we know salvation from God came at a moment in time. Many of us remember the date on which we asked Jesus to be our Savior and Lord. Salvation is not only in the past but is also in our present and future. Only God can save us, and He gives us the power to continue to be saved from sin today and have the hope of eternity with Him. Still, many of us say to ourselves, “Okay, I’m saved, now I can go about my life. God’s got me.” God saved us from hell, but we must work out our salvation. We must put shoes on it and live it out. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:23-24,

If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. [ESV]

Jesus equated obedience to Him and the Father as love. He said if you love Me, you will obey Me. In John 8:31-32, Jesus told the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” [ESV]

These statements by Jesus are often starkly different to how we live our lives. We think we’ve been saved, so let’s get on with the business of living. When decisions need to be made, we consider ourselves able to make those choices either from our own intellect or the counsel of friends, professionals, or the internet. “Why bother God with everyday needs. I’ve got it,” we may say within ourselves. Or, another possibility is that we’ve heard from God, had a vision, and proceeded to work as He led us, then we just got into the task to which God told us to work and broke off communication with Him. We don’t talk to Him daily about the work, praying over it for guidance, safety, and provision. We get into the rote task of just doing the work. This, too, is not working out our salvation, as Paul spoke of it in Philippians 2:12-13. In this passage, Paul said,

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. [ESV]

Keeping God’s word, that is obeying Him, shows our love for Him. When we get lost in the myriad tasks of living, we forget to seek Him and His will, and instead do the next best thing we know. When we do that, we show our limited love of God. If instead we keep God’s word, we put shoes on our faith in God and work out our salvation. The purpose of working out our salvation is to grow more in our relationship with God, become more Christlike, and show/tell others about Jesus. Paul said to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We realize our salvation only comes from God through Jesus. It doesn’t come from ourselves. We recognize God’s might, sovereignty, and mercy. We come before Him in awe and reverence of who He is. On top of this, we realize what we can’t ever do. We cannot save ourselves, but we can grow in our relationship with God and show our love to Him by obeying Him and living out His love and salvation so the people of the world can know about Him. This is working out our salvation.

Today, the questions for us Christians are: Do you love God? Do you obey Him? Do you seek Him daily to grow your relationship with Him and to live each moment of your day in His strength and power and with His wisdom and understanding doing His will? Alternatively, did you believe in God for salvation, but then only speak to Him in dire emergencies? Did you listen to Him tell you what to do, what ministry He wanted you to join Him in, then not turn to Him for daily guidance? That creates burn-out and frustration with the people to whom you are ministering. Possibly you are thinking, “Those people are ungrateful; they don’t try to help themselves by learning what I am teaching them. They just want me to keep giving and helping but do nothing for themselves.” Stop. Consider what you are thinking or saying. That is not God’s attitude. You’ve forgotten to go to the Source of your vision, resources, guidance, and love. Instead of having the mind of Christ, you follow the thoughts of your own mind. Consider what Paul said of the mind of Christ in Philippians 2:5-11. He said Jesus was humble. He emptied Himself by becoming a servant in the likeness of man. Jesus was obedient to God even to the point of dying on a cross. Is that the mind you have? Do you love the Father so much you would obey Him in anything? Do you hear His voice in prayer, Bible study, and preaching? Have you humbled yourself to do God’s will?

Loving God, obeying Him, and having the mind of Christ come from working out your salvation. Without seeking to love God daily, living will lead you to get the “bends” like scuba divers can get. You can’t have breath without Life, and you can’t have Life without breath. God gave and gives us life and breath. One without the other is not living; it’s gasping for breath. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also.” (John 14:6-7a [ESV])

All Christians should be working out their salvation. If you aren’t, you need to ask yourself if you truly know Jesus and the Father.

Loving God leads to working out your salvation.

Working out your salvation means loving God.

 You can’t have one without the other.

If you are not a Christian, today you can make that decision. Recognize Jesus is the Son of God who came to die the death penalty for your sins. Confess your sins and repent of them. Ask Jesus to forgive you. Give Him your life to be your Savior and Lord. If you made this decision today, contact me through messaging or through the contact form on my website. I want to pray for you and connect you with a Bible-based church, if possible.

Lord, I made a decision to follow You, but sometimes I end up thinking of answers for myself and looking to guidance from within myself. I consider I am smart enough to do what You ask, and I forget to seek You for guidance even on the miniscule decisions that need to be made. I’ve not been working out my salvation. I’ve not been loving You through obedience to You. Forgive me for forgetting You or for putting You on the sidelines of my life. I need You every moment of each day otherwise I am not living; I’m just gasping for air. Lord, help me work out my salvation with fear and trembling. Help me remember You and to seek Your will in all things. Use me to tell someone about You and to help them in Your name. Forgive me of my sins of independence and making myself more important that You. You are sovereign God, the One who knows all things, has all power, and does good in all things. I am sinful and do not. I am not You. Lord, here’s my life again; I give it back to You. Amen.

Craving You

There's a craving in my soul,

A cry comes out from me

To meet You in this day

To connect deep to deep.

This yearning deep within

Assuaged it cannot be

By trifling songs and mere deeds,

By thoughts without You I see.

This desire within my soul

Bubbles, gushes uncontained

As praise and worship I sing

For only You worship should aim.

This overflowing fountain,

This ecstasy within me

Draws me ever closer

To the Savior of whom I sing.

No force can pull me away 

From God's love that draws me in.

No sin can separate me

From His presence in which I live.

Though death, pain, persecution

Try to draw me away from Him,

God's strong arms, Jesus' love, 

No, nothing, can take me from Him.

Neither height nor width nor breadth 

Can keep me away from God;

Neither demons, powers, no, nothing

Will quench my love, nothing at all.

This craving for His presence

To meet Him face to face

Ends not with Sunday service,

But continues day to day.

A keenly desired communion,

A humbling within my soul

To come before gracious God

The true lover of my soul.

No act or words can express

The depth of love o'erwhelming me.

No thoughts or exclamations

Make my love of Him plainly seen.

This life God has given me

Is all I can give to Him;

To Him I offer all I am 

For it's what means most to me.

This craving deep in my soul

To be with You each new day

Calls within as deep to deep

Beckoning me to stay.

Worshiping, praising, communing

As offering up to You,

Closer to You my heart yearns 

The utmost, I give my whole self, too.

Fin'ly the craving to draw near,

It's impulse to closer be,

Is fulfilled with greatest gift

My self to You - Deep to Deep.

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and the participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. (Philippians 3:10 [NIV]) 

’Let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:24 [NIV])

 ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plants to give you a hope and future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.’” (Jeremiah 29:11-14 [NIV])

Coup de Grace: His Blow of Grace

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7 [NASB]

Verses four through seven spoke to me. We all know these verses, but I don’t think I had seen them this way before. Verses four through six are commands. Verse seven is a blessing of shalom, heart peace that only God can give. After you have done those three things in verses four through six, then you have blessing-from Paul and from God. As I walked through those commands, I was like, “Yeah, yeah,” but then connections were made that hadn’t been there before for me. And I was like “Yes, I am going to have shalom!”  I am claiming. And I prayed that way for my family this morning.

Verse four: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Rejoice at what God is going to do, at what He has done, at what He is doing, and at Who He is-I AM, Immanuel, Creator, Savior, Provider, etc.

Verse five: “Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” Don’t let what happens to you deter you from being who God has made you to be. Show the world God’s goodness, kindness, compassion, love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness even when things are not what you want them to be.

Verse six: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made know to God.” This one has been on my radar for years. Thanksgiving is not something I regularly do. Maybe you are like me. Today, I began thinking of all the things I could be thankful for and recognizing they all come from God’s hands.

Then the coup de grace (There is a reason grace is part of this French idiom.) is in verse seven. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” When you do these things, you will have peace because you recognize from where peace comes. God is your peace. Nothing that comes against you will prevail when you thank God for who He is, rejoice no matter what your circumstances, continue to be gentle in spirit, being anxious for no thing at all, but seek to keep in relationship with the Lord. This is how you have peace. And you don’t have it because you manufacture it. You have heart peace because of God’s grace, His blow of grace-the soft breeze that glides by your skin or the tumultuous wind that gets your attention and you know, despite it, you have peace because you are in a relationship with God.

What is coup de grace normally? In French, it’s an idiom that means a mercy killing, or the blow of grace. We could say that is what God does with His mercy toward us. His Son’s crucifixion was a mercy killing to save us from a dying misery. It’s God’s blow of grace on us that gives us eternal heart peace. Paul meant this when he wrote, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” God’s blow of grace may be a soft breeze across your mind or heart or may be a stiff knock to get you to that place, but His peace, no matter what your circumstances, will guard you and keep you. It’s a heart peace-shalom-that comes from knowing God, from being in a saving relationship with Him.

Verse seven is the coup de grace when you look at those four verses together. His blow of grace-His heart peace-will keep your hearts and minds when you rejoice always, remain gentle in spirit, stay calm and un-anxious, while giving thanks in expectation. Grow and keep on growing in your relationship with God and this peace, this shalom-heart peace-will be yours. That is coup de grace. This coup de grace is a different way to look at the French idiom, a Christian way.

Then finally we get to the familiar “whatevers” list in verse eight. Dwelling on the “whatevers”-whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, worthy of praise-can only happen because of having a close relationship with God and because they come from Him. Paul didn’t stop with the command to dwell on them. He told the people to practice them. Why? Because the “God of heart peace will be with you.” Just as Jesus taught people what comes out of a person in words and actions comes from his or her heart, Paul told the people to put into action those excellent things that God puts in them by practicing them. Following these last two commands, Paul gave a promise. The same promise he gave the people in verse seven. When you do these things, God’s heart peace will be with you.

It's not a magic trick. You don’t do things just to get peace. You have peace, God’s peace, the blow of God’s grace, when you are in a saving relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. The grace that brings each of us into relationship with God upon our profession of faith in Jesus as our Savior is how we get this peace. When you are in a relationship with God through Jesus, you dwell on those excellent things that come from God, and you have heart peace because God is with you.

A big sigh is expressed as relief and release enters and we understand much better than before. Rejoice. Show your gentle spirit from God. Be anxious for nothing but pray and supplicate with thanksgiving. These things come from the mind and “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ.” More than this, dwell on excellent and praise-worthy things, which only come from God, then practice them. And again/still, the God of peace shall be with you. Three verses of commands, then a promise of God’s peace. Next, two commands, and again a promise of God’s peace, heart peace.

Are you ready to breathe that sigh of relief? Are you seeking heart peace, the peace that passes all understanding? God gives it through His Son, Jesus Christ. Come walk in relationship with God. Rejoice. Be anxious for nothing. Have access to the Father through the Son. Be thankful before God answers prayer. Think on excellent and praise-worthy things and practice them. Receive unending heart and soul peace, the blow of God’s grace across your heart, soul, mind, and body. His merciful love calls to you.

Lord, God, many times I did not rejoice always. I was anxious and did not seek You first. I acted and reacted based on my best judgments or on my fears. Help me to walk with You so I can keep my eyes focused on You. Help me to recognize Your grace and merc,y and sway towards Your ways instead of my own ways. Forgive me my stubbornness and conceit thinking that I always know what is right. Without You, I flounder and fail. With You, I have learned I can have Your peace-heart peace-even in the middle of difficult times because You are God and nothing surprises You. Amen.

What Do Your Actions Show: A Philippians 4:4-9 Devotion

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9 [NASB]

Paul taught the Philippian Christians in the previous chapter things would not give them salvation – neither status nor physical things. He taught and encouraged them to press on for the higher calling. Paul meant they were to grow more Christlike and with that process become more perfect and complete in Christ – more holy. He affirmed he had not yet attained that calling, but had hope of its occurrence when he went to live with Christ in heaven. Paul believed and knew with his whole being salvation from his sins through Jesus Christ would give him eternal life in heaven with the Father as a co-heir with Jesus Christ.

With chapter four, Paul gave comfort to the believers in Philippi. In verses five, seven, and nine, he spoke about the Lord. He said the “Lord is near,” “the peace of God will guard their hearts and minds,” and the “God of peace will be with you.” Knowing that God is near will give courage to any believer to be and do as God expects His children to be and do. Since God is near, nothing could overcome them. On top of knowing the Lord is near, knowing the Lord will give you His peace is comforting. In the mist of any circumstance, we can rely upon God knowing He will take care of us. The peace that comes from knowing and believing this is great. Christians do not have to fret or worry. Paul noted another aspect of this peace in verse seven. He said, “And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The phrase “the peace of God” speaks of the way that leads to peace – salvation. A person has this peace of God because he or she is assured of his or her salvation. Even if a believer is killed, he or she knows without doubt he or she is not eternally dead. Eternal death is separation from God, but Christians have eternal life. They are saved from their sins and will be in God’s presence. Salvation begins while alive and continues to eternity.

Within these six verses Paul spoke of actions and attitudes of a Christ-follower. First, though, he told the Philippian Christians to rejoice, to feel and show great joy. He emphasized it by repeating it. Why should the believers rejoice? Paul explained it in the previous chapters and sums it in these verses as noted above  - the Lord is near and He gives His children His peace. Rejoice is the first external action Paul taught the Philippian believers to do. He told them another external action to do.

Paul said, Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.” Gentleness becomes apparent to other people through actions. Gentleness is a mildness of temperament, a fairness. This mildness comes from an internal calm and care for others. Gentleness comes from the attitudes within a person. Gentleness can be known to other people when this mildness of temperament is acted upon in one’s daily life. It comes from inside a person and is enacted externally. Gentleness can be lived internally, too, by kindly considering others. From this kind consideration, gentleness is lived out in relating to people. In verse eight, Paul speaks about the internal qualities of a believer, just as he spoke of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. From the living out of the internal qualities of a person, that person’s likeness to Christ can be seen by people. Jesus taught this same thing in the Beattitudes in Matthew 5.

Other external actions Paul taught the Philippian Christians while considering the Lord’s nearness and the hope of salvation He gives them are praying and seeking God’s help while thanking Him for who He is and what He will do. Knowing of the Lord’s great love that would provide salvation and knowing He wants to be near brings out a state of thankfulness at all times. Praying, seeking God’s intervention, and thanking Him are external actions, but they come from an internal awareness – of awe and knowledge  - of God and His power and love.

So far, Paul taught in this Bible passage four things for the believers in Philippi to continue doing – rejoice, be gentle, pray, ask, and be thankful. Each of these comes from an internal awareness of who they are in relation to who God is and what He did. Next, in verse eight, Paul taught them to consider and meditate on eight virtues, virtues that come from God. Meditating on something is considering it and acting upon it. These eight virtues of God Paul wanted the believers to consider, absorb, and act upon so they become more like Christ and show who God is to those they encounter. The believers, like Paul, were Christ’s emissaries. Paul told them to consider and meditate on:

·         whatever is true – correct and right

·         whatever is honorable – virtuous and honest

·         whatever is right – righteous like God, guiltless

·         whatever is pure – sacred, clean, pure from all fault

·         whatever is lovely – acceptable to God, delightful, pleasing

·         whatever is of good repute – spoken well of, spoken of favorably

·         whatever is of excellent – virtuous of thought, feeling, and action

·         whatever is worthy of praise – commendable, exemplary

Thinking on these eight attributes can make a person acquire them as part of his or her personality and character if he or she chooses to live by them. These eight attributes come from God – His being – and involve a change of attitude of a sinful person, which can occur when a person accepts Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior. Paul became more Christlike throughout his life, as did the disciples of Christ and most other believers in Jesus Christ.

Paul closed this section of his letter to the Philippians reminding the believers there they learned these attributes, received them into themselves as they meditated upon teachings by disciples of Christ, and heard and saw them through Paul’s words and actions. These attitudes and actions worthy to be emulated Paul taught and commanded the Philippian Christians practice them. They were to take them into their minds, consider them and put them in their hearts, then act upon them. This is a very Hebrew idea. Moses used this idea with the Israelites when he told them in Deuteronomy to keep all the commandments of the LORD. The word “keep” comes from the Hebrew word shamar and means to hear, listen, and do. In the Hebrew thought, a person cannot hear something without actively listening and considering it and then acting upon it. Paul meant this same thing in verse nine when he commanded the Philippian Christians “practice these things.” He gave the added incentive that God’s peace would be with them when they practiced these worthy things.

When a person sins, the Spirit of God convicts him or her about his or her sin. That conviction gives no peace to the person. God’s peace comes into a person’s life when he or she confesses his or her sin and accepts God’s forgiveness. Added peace comes when the person’s relationship with God grows and he or she becomes more Christlike. Then the person knows the Lord is always near and will always take care of him or her. Becoming more Christlike means taking on the attributes of Christ, which are the fruit of the Spirit. Paul taught the Philippian Christians to recognize, meditate on, and practice eight worthy attributes in verse eight.

When reading and studying this passage, we must ask ourselves questions. Do we see and recognize these attributes of which Paul spoke? Are we practicing them as we live? Are we near to God? Do we have the peace of God guarding us? I do not know about you, but in studying this list of attributes Christ portrayed and considering myself, I recognize I need to grow more. To do this I will have to study God’s Word, pray to Him for the power to overcome the temptation that leads me to fall short of these goals, and practice the attributes. As I do these, my relationship with God deepens and I begin to look more like Christ. I begin to emulate Him and portray His/these characteristics.

What about you? On which characteristics/attributes do you fall short? Before that even, do you have the peace of God that comes from knowing He has saved you from your sins and brought you to Himself? We each have a ways to go to be Christlike. We must each, like Paul said, press on for the upward calling.

What will you do about this today?

Pressing On Philippians 3:12-16 A Devotional

Philippians 3:12-16

“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call (holy life) of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.” [NASB]  

 

In the first eleven verses of this chapter, Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians about not amassing things and striving for higher status in society. Those things would not give them salvation and perfection. Paul said only being in a relationship with Jesus Christ and accepting the salvation He gives will give them an eternal relationship with God, give them eternal life, and make them heirs with Christ. Nothing they did or earned would save them or give them eternal life.

In the next five verses, verses twelve through sixteen, Paul urged the Philippian Christians to continue on the path toward Christlikeness. He used himself as an example and said he had not obtained resurrection from the dead (he was still alive on earth) or perfection (completeness in Christ). Paul did not earn his salvation from his sins by anything he did and he was not perfect yet either. He said he pressed on toward that goal. That does not mean when a person is a Christian any wrong he or she does can make him or her lose their salvation. This verse means we must continue to work out our salvation as Paul stated earlier in the chapter. This working out of our salvation leads us into a deeper relationship with Christ so we grow more like Him. Our whole lives are a process of becoming more perfect, Christlike.

In addition, Paul said he had not yet attained to the resurrection from the dead. This only happens when our physical bodies die on earth and we are taken to heaven. Knowing this was in the future did not stop Paul from reaching for it. His hope came in Christ and His love for humankind. Paul’s trust came from the hope Christ put into his heart through the Holy Spirit assuring him he would have eternal life with Christ in heaven. Christians do not die and eternal death.

This hope for the future did not make Paul rest and not strive forward. He strove towards perfection, completion. Perfection as a Christian is a becoming more like Christ – more holy and walking a holy life. Paul said he had not attained that yet. He kept striving forward that goal. Paul chose to have the attitude of being like Christ and seeking to grow more like Him. He called this the upward calling to a holy life.

Many people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive the salvation from their sins and hope of eternal life with Him. Some people let the matter rest there without working to grow their relationship with God, for which God allowed Jesus Christ to die and be resurrected. God wants a relationship with every person. When a person accepts Christ’s salvation and allows Him to enter his or her heart, a love relationship begins. When a person loves another, they want to grow in their relationship with each other. They want to meld their lives together so when another person sees one of them they see the effects of the other person in that one. That is relationship. That is what Paul spoke of in verses twelve through sixteen. He said, “I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ (a relationship).” We grow in relationship and our relationship grows with the person. In Paul’s case here, he spoke of his relationship with Christ.

What then was Paul’s challenge to the Philippian Christians? He said it this way, “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.” Have this attitude to grow in your relationship with Christ. Have the attitude of Christ who chose to die for your sin to be in a relationship with you. Do not stop seeking Christ, but in growing in your relationship with Him, become more and more like Him. Know, too, if you have a different attitude, choose not to continue your relationship with God, and stop growing more Christlike, God will reveal it to you. Mostly though, keep living by the standard Christ died to give you. Keep growing more like Christ – more holy, more perfect, more complete in Him each day.

That is our challenge today, too.

• ·         If you are a Christian, are you still in a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ? How long has it been since you read your Bible, meditated on what God said to you through it, and prayed to God? How long has it been since you heard God tell you to do something and you obeyed. Maybe it has been so long you do not even recognize His voice anymore. The time is never too late to open the door to re-starting your relationship with God. He waits for you to come to Him.
• ·         If you are not a Christian, the question is: Do you want to be in a love relationship with God? Do you want to receive His forgiveness and become a child of God? Do you want to know you will have eternal life with Him? You each get to decide for yourselves. If you want to talk about this with me, write me through this media site.

What will you do?