Daily Bread 2011 - Philippians 4
Daily Bread 2011 – Philippians 2
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.8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
What Does This Mean?
As Paul makes his closing comments, and thanks the Philippians for their generous gifts to support his ministry (at a time when not many other of the churches were) he gives them these admonitions. Paul gives them three practices that will help them to stay firm in the Lord despite their circumstances. First, he tells them to “Rejoice”. And importantly He says “rejoice in the Lord always”. The source of their joy is the Lord and that is why it is possible to have joy in any circumstances, because it is Lord’s joy that sustains us and allows us to rejoice in all things. Secondly, he tells them not to be anxious, but to pray about everything and a peace which passes all understand will guard their minds in Christ. Finally, he gives them a framework for what to think about. This will also keep them from being anxious, as they focus on what is excellent, admirable and true!
What Does This Mean For Us?
Can you imagine the changes that you could have in your life if you applied these three principles? Many people, even Christians, lead joyless lives full of anxiety and devoid of peace. Their thought life is governed by things that are false, impure and unlovely. We all have experienced this for sure. But it is not how God wants us to live. God wants us to have lives characterized by peace and joy. This is the abundant life that Jesus promised to us.
Does this mean we won’t have trials and temptations in our lives? No, we will always have spiritual battles in this life, but these trials can make our faith stronger as we can maintain joy and peace within them as we keep our mind’s set on God’s truth and not our enemy’s lies. Being in God’s word on a daily basis will help renew your mind with things that are true. What you read and watch on television, or look at on the computer i.e. what you think about; will also have an effect on how much peace and joy you can maintain. Importantly, when we are going through hard times we can pray and God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!
Jesus despite our circumstances we will rejoice in You. Despite the hard times in our lives, we will pray and experience the peace You promise. Keep our thoughts in alignment with Your Word which is truth, especially the central truth that our identity is one of being Your Son or Daughter, which forms how we think about ourselves, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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.8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
What Does This Mean?
As Paul makes his closing comments, and thanks the Philippians for their generous gifts to support his ministry (at a time when not many other of the churches were) he gives them these admonitions. Paul gives them three practices that will help them to stay firm in the Lord despite their circumstances. First, he tells them to “Rejoice”. And importantly He says “rejoice in the Lord always”. The source of their joy is the Lord and that is why it is possible to have joy in any circumstances, because it is Lord’s joy that sustains us and allows us to rejoice in all things. Secondly, he tells them not to be anxious, but to pray about everything and a peace which passes all understand will guard their minds in Christ. Finally, he gives them a framework for what to think about. This will also keep them from being anxious, as they focus on what is excellent, admirable and true!
What Does This Mean For Us?
Can you imagine the changes that you could have in your life if you applied these three principles? Many people, even Christians, lead joyless lives full of anxiety and devoid of peace. Their thought life is governed by things that are false, impure and unlovely. We all have experienced this for sure. But it is not how God wants us to live. God wants us to have lives characterized by peace and joy. This is the abundant life that Jesus promised to us.
Does this mean we won’t have trials and temptations in our lives? No, we will always have spiritual battles in this life, but these trials can make our faith stronger as we can maintain joy and peace within them as we keep our mind’s set on God’s truth and not our enemy’s lies. Being in God’s word on a daily basis will help renew your mind with things that are true. What you read and watch on television, or look at on the computer i.e. what you think about; will also have an effect on how much peace and joy you can maintain. Importantly, when we are going through hard times we can pray and God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!
Jesus despite our circumstances we will rejoice in You. Despite the hard times in our lives, we will pray and experience the peace You promise. Keep our thoughts in alignment with Your Word which is truth, especially the central truth that our identity is one of being Your Son or Daughter, which forms how we think about ourselves, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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