Don't argue - Rejoice

"I urge you Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord." v2     

                                                                                       Philippians 4:2-4    CSB 

Settle your disagreements  and walk in harmony. This church, which was started by women, was now being torn apart by women. The word 'harmony' describes an orchestra who, after tuning up, flow together as one - in perfect harmony. It couldn't be said about this church. The dispute had spread to the whole church and it was like a cancer.

You've heard the phrase, 'Chinese Whispers', (with no intention to discriminate with racial connotations), it describes people whispering in each others ear until the final person declares what was passed on. It rarely matches what was originally said. This is like gossip - what is said can usually be taken as the truth.

This was what was happening in this early church. Now, wherever there is a dispute people will usually take sides and this is where the disputes escalate, causing church splits. It needs to be nipped in the bud. William Barclay comments, 'A quarrelling church is no church.' Very profound words.

There are leaders and there are followers, rather like a shepherd and the sheep. Each are of great importance. The problem begins when other people see themselves as the leader too. Rather like a magnet, two like cells repel each other. Take note.

Paul advised rejoicing, 'Rejoice in the Lord, always, I will say it again. Rejoice' v4. This is in line with what he had said earlier in chapter 3:1, 'In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is not trouble for me and, a safeguard for you.' 

Paul considered rejoicing so important that he rubber-stamped it to get the message over. After all, it is difficult to rejoice when you are in dispute - it's hard to show joy to one another when you are at logger-heads.

Therefore, let us always be ready to rejoice, always and in everything

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Drop the past - Reach forward Part 2

"Not that I have already  reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it, because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus."v12  

                                                                                       Philippians 3:12-21    CSB 

Considering yesterday's commentary, I must add that it is very hard to completely drop the past without a fight. For some it may take an age; however, it can be attained, we just have to keep trying without the temptation to quit.

Paul tells us in this piece of scripture, that he hasn't reached it yet, he's also nowhere near as perfect as he would like but, he is working towards it. 'making every effort to take hold' v12. In other words, he is going flat out, taking every opportunity he can and fully focused too. He has a 'nothings going to stop me' attitude; he is determined, 'I'll take hold of it because Jesus took hold of me - gave me a chance, therefore I'll give it my all' 12 (my paraphrase). 

We need to have a short memory as far as the hurts in our life go, because these hurts can't stop us moving on. In fact, stop looking in the rear view mirror and concentrate on looking through the windscreen -  it's bigger and clearer. 

There's a prize to be won (v14), there always is in a race, which this is. It's a heavenly prize that is promised by God's heavenly call, so press on with a forward focus. You determine your future by the choices you make - Jesus or self; the past or the future. You know what the right way is, 'live up to the truth you have attained' v16. You have attained Jesus, who is the truth (John 14:6). So, you know the truth and he knows you. You also know the way to go.

Don't be focused on earthly things (v19). Your citizenship is in heaven, the Lord Jesus is there at the righthand of His Father, urging you on. It's almost like he is shouting, 'They can do it Father, look they're almost there; they've left the past and are headed to the 'signpost'. What does the signpost say? 'THE FUTURE'.

If Jesus says you can do it, you can do it!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Drop the past - Reach forward

A Thought:

"It's hard to see your future, when you are staring at your past"  Tony Evans

"but one thing I do; forgetting what is behind, and reaching forward to what is ahead.'                                                              

                                                                         Philippians 3:12-13    CSB 

One thing that really trips us up, is our past. This past may contain what happened years ago - that painful divorce, arguments, unfaithfulness, abuse or the loss of someone very special. Alternatively, the past can be more recent such as yesterday. Someone may have said something or upset you somehow and it has completely floored you.

It may be playing on your mind so much, that it is affecting your sleep, you don't want to eat and you're irritable- like a bear with a sore head. You are even having conversations with yourself about what you are going to do to the people who have done this. Stop this, right now and let it go! Allowing yourself to become wound up about something from the past - whether years ago or more recent, is poisoning your mind, building a bad root within you and robbing you of your joy, which is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

It is pretty difficult to work towards a future when you are focused on the past. It is rather like having a giant rubber band tied around your waist - as you move forward making some headway, you are catapulted back to where you started. The past holds a lot of memories, many of them bad ones. Don't you think you should move on? Don't you think the enemy has kept you imprisoned for far too long. It's never easy to give up the past, it takes effort but, you will never know unless you try.

You have a choice to make - keep hanging on the the past, or ditching it. Let me ask you a question, can you do anything about what happened years ago, or even recently? If you can, then try and address it. However, bear in mind, forgiveness has to be uppermost and also the need to avoid being judgemental. Count the cost; you may open a can of worms so, is it worth it? If not, why not start on your new future - today!

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A Shining Example

"But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I may also be encouraged when I know your state. 20 For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state." v19-20                           Philippians 2:19-24    NKJV

It's surprising to read that Paul had no one that he could trust more than Timothy. Paul considered Timothy to be his son in the faith and knew he was an extension of his ministry. Paul commended Timothy for his faithfulness; they worked together well, in fact, when Paul wasn't with him, Timothy became Paul to the people, rather like Paul was Jesus to everyone when he met them. Timothy loved the people as did Paul and, it was obvious to one and all, that he had had a good mentor. Tony Evans writes in his commentary to this piece: 'Timothy serves as a wonderful example of human servanthood.'

What a wonderful testimony to have as a person of God. How do we accomplish this? Well, one of the ways is to have a self less attitude, and we do this by putting others first, We let ourselves down by seeking approval from people when we have done a piece of work. The only approval we need is God's. If we have God's approval, then that is good enough.

Paul had mentored Timothy well but, a lot of it was down to Timothy as well. He had to be willing to listen and learn and he also needed to be willing to take second place, allowing others to do their work before he could step up to do his own. There is a time of waiting when we are at this stage; we must be willing to give the reins to others until we are considered ready to serve. This is where the self less attitude fits in.

To be a shining example, we need to allow people to notice that there is something different about us. People are desperately seeking something but, they are uncertain what it us. Therefore, they experiment with drugs, booze and wild living but, mostly they don't find it. If they can see you managing your life well they might, just might ask you how you do it. You will then have the opportunity to tell them and be Jesus to them.

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Take a look at Jesus

"Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus" v5     Philippians 2:5-11    CSB 

If you want to be like Jesus, take a look at His attitude and His attributes:

V6  He never puffed Himself up. Let us not forget, He was fully God - the Son, who was there at creation and died on the cross. He never, sang His own praises or had the attitude of, 'Look at Me'.

V7  He emptied Himself of who He was and took on the role of a servant by becoming human. He didn't empty Himself of His deity, he didn't stop being God. Rather, He poured out His deity into His humanity taking on Human flesh. He came to this world as a man - the Word made flesh John 1:14 and walked humbly among us.

V8  He knew His mission yet, His flesh struggled because of His humanity, but He never sinned. He even asked God the Father, to take the burden of the cross from Him, 'If You are willing, take this cup away from Me - Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done' Luke 22:42.

Therefore God exalted Him because of His humility - 'Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.' Matthew 23:12. This is something that we all need to take on board. Jesus was exalted and given the name that is above every name V9. There is power in the name of Jesus, this is why we should always use it in prayer. At the sound of His name, every knee will bow in heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. People who don't know Jesus and have no intention of either, will have a shock when this happens.

As we have seen, Jesus poured out the fullness of His deity into His humanity. In other words, He emptied Himself V7. When this happened, Jesus was fully God and also fully man. This is known in theology as the hypostatic union - two natures in one person.

With all that Jesus did, He was secure in who He was. He knew His Father; He knew His mission and, He knew what the cost would be but, He still went and did it for each one of us.

Are you secure in your relationship with Jesus? Are you fully sure that, if everything went drastically wrong, Jesus would be right by your side? (Psalm 23). We need to be secure in our relationship with Him and also feel secure in ourselves, knowing with Jesus, you are unstoppable!

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You are accepted

"This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I am the worst of them."    1 Timothy 1:15    CSB 

We have times when we feel so unworthy of God's love and acceptance. Why would He care to give us a chance in life? What have we ever done to deserve such love? We could never earn it; many people in the world, go to great levels of service  in an attempt to gain the attention and acceptance of another. We could never do this with God, we could never buy our way into His attention and acceptance and, thank goodness, we will never have to, thanks to Jesus who took our place on the cross at Calvary, declaring us, 'Not guilty'.

Paul felt like this occasionally and wrote in 1 Timothy 1:12-14, 'I give thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord who has strengthened me because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry - 13 even though I was formally a blasphemer, a persecutor and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance, in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus'.

If you are in Christ Jesus, you are accepted and loved and will inherit a place in Heaven when you die. You are not a misfit - a square peg in a round hole, type of thing. You fit into Jesus - perfectly. In the world, you may have to try very hard to be accepted into something. People may make you feel unwanted and unloved, don't let them, you are a child of God.

At school, college or Uni, you may have failed miserably, but in Jesus, you are top of the class. You may have been told that you will never amount to anything. This is a lie from the devil, Jesus says you are a light of the world in Him John 5:14. Someone may have said that you will not achieve anything. However, scripture tells us, 'I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.'  Philippians 4:13.

You are accepted by the King of kings - Jesus Christ your friend  John 15:15

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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If they preach Jesus, that's all that matters

"Some, it is true, are (actually) preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry (toward me) - for no better reason than a competitive spirit or misguided ambition; but others out of goodwill and a loyal spirit (toward me) v15       Philippians 1:15-18   Amplified Study Bible 

At the time of writing this Epistle to the Philippians, Paul was in prison awaiting his trial. He began hearing stories about people preaching who didn't belong to the brotherhood. The protestors were concerned but Paul, despite his surroundings, remained calm and controlled about it all. 

Let us look at what was happening; some were preaching out of love, loyalty and goodwill but, others for Selfish gain? Insincerity? Selfish ambition? and Self promotion? I have written these accusations down with question marks so that you can decide if they were in the wrong or were right.

Take today, for instance; we have TV Evangelists and Prosperity Preachers. They are often suspected of lining their own pockets from the 'Tithes and Offerings' that they ask for. The evidence, we are told, is their fancy lifestyles - living in mansions and having their own airlines etc. But is this wrong? What does Paul say about it all? Read in v16:

'What then (does it matter)? So long as in every way, whether in pretence (for self promotion) or in all honesty (to spread the truth) Christ is being preached, and in this I rejoice.'

To paraphrase this, it would probably read, 'as long as Jesus is preached, this is all that matters.'

At the end of the day, God knows people's hearts and their motives; if they are in the wrong, He will know about it and deal with it accordingly. However, if Jesus is preached and people are saved, this will go a long way with Him too. We have to be wise, yes, but we need to be careful that we are not in judgement over them. Paul rejoiced, as long as Jesus was preached and souls saved, this was ok with him. Leave the rest to God.

Sometimes, we may not like the look of someone who preaches; perhaps they have tattoos, ear rings and have long hair. Perhaps they may crack jokes whilst they are preaching. However, if they are preaching Jesus, so be it. They may be very young; they may be very old. but, God is not into ageism - He is into Jesus and this is where we should be too

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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