Philippian's Message of Joy IV

Hello readers! May God bless you with this post!

When I think of Philippians I remember to rejoice in the Lord always; what a reminder it is. I begin to change my demeanor just thinking about it. How easy it is for us to forget God’s promises. This is probably what Jesus said to the disciples; when the Holy Spirit is come into the world He will remind us of the things Jesus taught. In the next post I will talk about joy and rejoicing, but I want to finish chapter three in this writing.

I want to emphasize that believers can follow Christ’s example and can emulate His life as much as possible. We can continue to improve our faithful and spiritual walk in the Lord. The Apostle Paul meant business when he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. Anyone of us can do the same, and more. God’ love for us is equal. God is not a respecter of persons. The Apostle in verse 17 says “emulate me, follow my example”, as he said in Ephesians 5:1 and in I Corinthians 4:16. What a confidence of faith, what an assurance of faith and conviction that he was doing the right thing and that he was walking the steps of Jesus himself. This is the faith I want us all to work and live with everyday. It will come by properly learning God’s word. It is not impossible and it is not magical, it is the way of Christian life. What is sad is that some believers begin on the right track but allow the worldly pressures and worldly demands and attractions to choke their spiritual life. Apparently there were some with Paul who got overconfident and thought they are important and ended up serving themselves instead of Christ. Paul calls them the enemies of the cross. I am sad to say I know some like them! The fame, the fortune, etc. have gotten to them.

We are heaven-bound and citizens of heaven. The angels are talking about us and about our work and everything that concerns us. We are not to lower our standards by getting consumed with earthly and material possessions. All these things are temporal; “We are not to look at the things that are seen, but the unseen; because the things that are seen are temporal but the unseen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18). In my life there was a time that material things meant something, there was a time that when I heard a story of success it would mean something. Thank God that’s not the case anymore. Now when I hear of a prayer answered and/or a spiritual victory, I am moved. I know God wants us happy, healthy and prosperous. I also know that a good Christian is a good worker and that God blesses what he does. There are no defeated Christians, and that all a Christian does shall prosper. This is God’s promise and you find it everywhere in the Scriptures, beginning with Psalm 1.

You must remember there are battles in the Christian life; this is why we have victories. If everything is handed down to us on a silver platter, then where would the victories be. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and the angels of heaven are involved in our daily lives, how dare we worry and forget this honor (I Peter 2:9).

The glorious event is coming as we await our Lord and Savior from heaven, who shall change our earthly bodies to be like Him in His glorious and heavenly condition. He is able to do any and all things that He wishes to have done. This God is our friend, and He said so. He did not call us servants, but friends. This last father’s day I was thankful that He is also my Father and yours! Amen!

Philippians The Joyful Message!

Although we are exploring the Book of Philippians and its message of joy that it carries, this portion deals with the Apostle Paul and his mission. There are other places, as well, which deal directly with his Christian commission and his outstanding qualifications. He was Saul of Tarsus, a well-respected theologian, well educated under the one and only Gamaliel. He was a very devout religious Hebrew. He was a Pharisee, which meant adherent to the law and its letter. He was granted a Roman citizenship, meaning he was a free man equal to those who were in control of the country. Jesus picked him to preach and carry the message to the Gentiles, and to stand before kings. In the book of Act chapters 25 and 26, the Apostle Paul was preaching to King Agrippa and others of equal stature. King Agrippa told him “you almost persuaded me to be a Christian and to be like you.” Paul responded by saying “I wish you could be like me.”

This is the Apostle Paul, no other believer is like him, and, as a result of his conversion, millions upon millions came to know Jesus because of him. Christianity was an Eastern religion and because of Paul, it is considered a Western religion now. All those who were jealous, including the leaders of his former faith, and the high priests were trying to discredit him and execute him. He called these people dogs, and that their circumcision of the flesh was a waste. He said we who believe are the true circumcision of God. The dog in those days was considered the lowest of all the animals, and when he called them dogs, it had to be the most demeaning description ever uttered. I know how people love their pet dogs now and the SPCA would not be happy to describe bad people as dogs, but in Palestine at the time of Paul that’s how it was, and to a certain extent it still is! Paul had it right, and he is making it clear in this book, as he did in his letter to the Galatians, that the true mark of the believer is the love of God in our lives, not the mutilation of the flesh. Jesus said “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”

Despite all the critics, and the fact that he was in prison when he wrote this letter, Paul could say “rejoice in the Lord always.” He also said “worry about nothing but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving let all your requests be known unto God.”
The Apostle Paul said we are to follow his example because he is following and emulating our Lord Jesus. I do thank Christ for a man like Paul and for all the Christians who were sacrificed so that we may believe. Most of all I thank Christ for His sacrificial love for me, and His unspeakable gift. Amen!

More from Philippians!

Philippians, chapter three, gives me the clearest identity of who the Apostle Paul is, and the value that we should place on the meaning of knowing Jesus. The early believers of Christ did not accept, nor recognize Paul’s authority as a leader in the Church. Remember that the Apostle was a very dedicated and zealous Pharisee, and in his enthusiasm he persecuted the converted Christians, he thought they were abandoning the faith of their fathers, and he went around rounding them up for execution. When he met Jesus on the road to Damascus his dedication to the faith remained the same, but his new realization of Jesus opened his blind eyes spiritually and physically as well.

The conversion of Paul has to be the most dramatic and most effective in the history of the Christian Church. He went from a persecutor of the faithful to a persecuted believer. After his conversion, without hesitation, he used everything he had learned for the benefit of spreading the Gospel. I can tell that Paul was a very learned individual in all that pertains to religion and godliness. He graduated from the Harvard and Princeton of his day. He learned from Gamaliel, the best teacher there was in Palestine! Paul stated, “But what things were gain to me, I count as loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (verse 7,8).

The Apostle is saying all his learning, his influence, and authority are trash compared to serving Jesus. Not only did he say it, but he lived it every day of his Christian life. Remember that he served The Lord well to the end; he was beheaded in Rome for his faith. Here is what he said, “For now I am ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2Timothy 2:6,7). This is Paul, clear in his faith and belief in Jesus, unwavering to the end. What an example he sets for us. I can say that millions and millions of followers of Jesus have come to know Jesus and have been saved as a result of The Apostle Paul’s writings and witness. He alone could tell us to follow his example as he followed the Lord’s example.

I will continue this chapter in the next post. God bless you as you begin to value your salvation. It is the apex for any human being in every respect. Thank Christ for His work on the cross to save us, Amen.

Philippians II, What a Blessing!

Years ago our church would send the young people twice a year to a lake around the San Bernardino Mountains for a retreat. We had what we called a Praying Mother named Jeannie Roberts living in a cabin there. She used the cabin for Christian retreats. I will devote a post in the future about some of the wonderful experiences we had there. Anyway one of the girls named Linda at one of the camps discovered the letter of Philippians for the first time and said she thought these books were in the Bible to make it thicker and look impressive, but now knew how valuable every part of the Bible is. Before the camp was over, she gave her heart to the Lord. You too will be blessed as you study this letter of the Apostle Paul.

There are two biblical personalities who were privileged to get a glimpse of Heaven; one is Paul and the other is John. So, in chapter one verse twenty-three Paul states, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” He knows what he is talking about, he saw it himself. It must be wonderful and I am looking forward to be with Jesus there. In a Christian funeral, this verse is a must. It helps us to understand why Jesus permits martyrdom of the saints. And we need to remember that the death of a believer is a graduation from the temporary to the eternal (John 11:11).

Jesus said that the sign of His followers is love; “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” Verse 27 shows that we are admonished to reflect in our life a manner of the believer (Ch 4:8). We cannot live carelessly like everyone else. In the Bible, it states that we are special; “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1Peter 2:9). Here the Apostle Paul is cautioning us as to how we should conduct our actions. It is important because others watch us and expect from us something different and better. We are to bear fruit worthy of our salvation.

Another good reminder is found in chapter 2, verses 3 through 5, “But in humility count others better than yourselves, look after other’s interests as well as your own, and Have this mind in you which you have in Jesus.” This quotation is not verbatim, but the message is relayed here. One of the requirements of following these studies is the need to have a good study Bible in hand while you read. You should become very familiar with your own Bible and you will be able to use it anytime on your own. I am happy to share with you what I know, but it is your life and no one should have more interest in it than you.

Every believer must be familiar with the following passages until verse twelve. These verses speak of who Jesus is, that He is God, but loved us so much to humble and incarnate Himself (to reside in a human flesh), suffer, and be obedient even unto death! Here is the key that His name is above every name.

know this first hand, I use the name of Jesus to scare the Devil himself, and it works every time. The name of Jesus is not just any person; He is wonderful, full of wonder from His birth. Even the satanic world shudders at the sound of His name. We need to exercise this power in our life. Jesus said in John Chapter 14 that whatever we ask in His name, in faith, will be done. You also can look in Mark 16 the authority of the believer. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus. This means growing up as a Christian; not staying a baby feeding on the milk of the word. But this portion in Philippians is a vital part of our Christian walk.

In future posts I will continue with more of blessings found in this book. But for now I thank Christ for this and other books in the Bible. Amen

God’s Word Blesses Everyone!

Sorry for the delay with the posts, but I’m back! May God use this site to bless you!

There is so much to share about Jesus, and not enough time. It is the most important activity of the Christian. Remember, the flame that does not spread dies. There are two very familiar examples I want to write about; sharing and blessing others. The Sea of Galilee has been receiving water from Mt. Hermon in Lebanon for thousands of years, and has been feeding the Jordan River ever since. The water level never went down; in fact it is slightly higher than it was in the days of Jesus. The opposite is true of the Dead Sea; it has been receiving the waters of the Jordan River for just as many years, and sadly enough it is drying out. Do not be like the Dead Sea!

Do you know that a smile can accomplish a lot without having to say anything. The Lord gives us opportunities, and we must use these opportunities for His service and His Glory. People around us are thirsty and dying in need of the living water. We have that water in Jesus. God’s Word gives soles, comfort, and encouragement like nothing else on earth. It rescues people from hell. It turns people’s lives around 180 degrees. It is not us who do the miracles, it is Him. We are to do our best and He does the rest.

There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that you are helping other people and that God is using you. It is more blessed to give than to receive. God helps us in both. Glory to His Name and I do thank Christ today and everyday.

P.S. Please, after you read any of the posts, share with us and with the other readers how God is blessing you through this ministry. All you have to do is click the Comment button below. You can remain unknown if you wish.