December 4, 2010 (Philippians 1-4)

There is so much in these epistles of Paul. Chapter 1 contains the encouraging verse that God will never give up on us, but will continue to work in us until Christ returns:

⁶And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.

And then, another one of Pauls' prayers -

⁹ I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding. ¹⁰ For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. ¹¹ May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

What really matters in this life? That our love for each other will overflow more and more and that we will grow in our knowledge and understanding. We can't take credit for any of the good things produced in our life - Jesus is the One who does them - and this brings glory to God.

This next verse is another reminder that our focus should not be down here on earth:

²⁷ Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

Now to Chapter two - and this verse is always convicting. I am really going to try to put this verse into practice today. I'm going to focus on it, and not forget about it. I feel like that is what I do so often....I read God's word, am convicted by it, and then just go on my merry way without really implementing the things I just read. How's verse 14 for 'impossible' -

¹⁴ In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life;

Chapter 3 contains a string of verses I have posted to my mirror. The trouble is, they are posted there, but do I read them every day? No, not in the past. But today I am renewing my commitment to read this section every day. I just timed myself - one minute. One minute to get my focus on Christ and be reminded that everything else is worthless when compared with knowing Him.

⁷ I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. ¹⁰As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, ¹¹so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!

¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

¹⁵ I hope all of you who are mature Christians will agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. ¹⁶ But we must be sure to obey the truth we have learned already.

Chapter 4 has another section that needs to be on my mirror that I should read every day. I will print this out later today and tape it up there.

⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And then to end, this ties into not complaining and arguing. If we can control our thoughts, we will control our actions:

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.

Jesus, may Your grace and Your Spirit enable us to put all these things into practice. Please continue to rid us of ourselves and allow us to live in You.