Christ-Active Living - Finding Joy in Philippians – October 18 Readings: Philippians 4:4-7

By

 

Finding Joy in Philippians  

Background: For the next three weeks, we will be studying the Book of Philippians, another of Paul's letters from his Roman prison. In Philippi, men were using Paul's imprisonment as proof he was not genuine and seeking to undermine his authority. Many in the church were shaken at the fact that the Apostle was imprisoned. He wrote the letter to explain his imprisonment and to encourage his readers to walk in joy despite all the evil in the world. 

Philippians is not nearly as easily outlined at Ephesians was - it is much more personal and exhortational compared to the theological intent of Ephesians. Philippians was the church that was founded when Paul received the vision of the Macedonian man saying, "Come and help us."  

As often as time allows, the reader is encouraged to read the entire book - it will not take more than a few minutes. Each day we will work our way through the book passage by passage. 


Today's Reading:  Philippians 1-4  Focus Passage - Philippians 4:4-7


Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.


Through the Bible Readings: Jeremiah 39-40, Colossians 1:1–23, Psalm118:25–29, Proverbs 25:15–16 

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Devotional: Christ-Active Living    


There are some weird things in God's word, let's admit it. Jesus told his disciples to love their enemies. Who says things like that? He constantly told them to forgive those who sinned against, even many times (77 times or 70 times 7 - either way, it's a lot!). The night before he died, he told his disciples to be at peace. Their world was about to come crashing down around them and he told them to be at peace. In Philippians 4:4, Paul gets into the act with a verse that boggles the mind. Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. 

I understand how to rejoice when everything goes your way, when you get a promotion, or a large check, or some great blessing. But Paul said to rejoice in the Lord always. Always. That means that we are to rejoice when things are going terrible, when there's a pandemic, when we don't feel so good, when we lose a loved one, when someone mistreats us. How can we possibly be expected to rejoice when things like this are going on around us? 

It is what I've called Christ-active living. Most of the time we are reactive. "If you treat me nice I will treat you nice." Even a world-class awful person can do that. The world tells us to be proactive, to make our own choices and to live by our own decisions. That is certainly an improvement but it may not help when the world crashes down around you. Living a Christ-active life means that you live according to what Jesus Christ is doing in you. How do you love your enemy? You look to Jesus who loves you infinitely and eternally and you let his love guide you. You love because he first loved you. How do you forgive someone? You consider the forgiveness given to you freely by the work of Christ on the cross and you let that forgiveness flow from Christ to the person who sinned against you. Your life is governed not by how you feel or how others treat you, but by what Christ has done for you. 

How, then, do you rejoice always? Well, in the Lord! You remember that no matter what is happening in your life, God loves you and Jesus will never leave and the Spirit is working in you. The eternal realities do not change based on earthly circumstances. You remind yourself of what is true in Christ in your life and rejoice - in the Lord. 

I assert two things. This is a marvelous biblical principle that works. Second, I fail to work it in my life all too often!

Practically, what do you do? You don't worry about life's circumstances, but take them to the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving. When you give your problems to the Lord, the peace that passes understanding guards you and you can experience joy and peace regardless of what this world throws at you. 

Father, help me to live a Christ-active life, not according to circumstances, but by your grace and mercy. 

Think and Pray:

Are you motivated by how others treat you? By life's circumstances? By your own emotions? Or are you motivated by the work of God in your life through Jesus Christ? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Battle Begins" February 9 Readings: Numbers 31-36

By
Image
   Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Numbers 31-36 Background:    We wrap up our reading of Numbers today with another difficult reading. Chapter 31 tells of a war with Midian and then the journeys of Israel are recounted in detail. The boundaries of the Promised Land are spelled out - far larger than modern Israel. Then we read of the founding of the cities of refuge and the inheritance of Zelo...
Read more

"Not Many Wise" October 6 Readings: 1 Corinthians 1

By
Image
  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   1 Corinthians 1 Background:    Introduction to the Book of 1 Corinthians Paul started a lot of churches. He had great churches like Philippi and Ephesus, who brought him constant joy, who demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit and a passion for the gospel. He had the Bereans who searched the Scriptures to see if what he preached was true. He started churches in Thess...
Read more

"He Prayed for ME!" September 2 Readings: John 17

By
Image
  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   John 17 Background:    John 17 is truly "The Lord's Prayer." This is the prayer that the Lord prayed the night before he died, pouring out his heart to the Father on behalf not only of his disciples but for all of us who would follow. Daily Devotional:   He Prayed for ME! The night before Jesus died, just before he agonized in the Gard...
Read more