Be a giver

"Not that I seek the gift but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account"   

                                                                                    Philippians 4:10-20  NKJV 

The subject of giving can be a contentious subject. Even from the beginning of time it has been this way. We tend to savour the thought of someone giving a gift to ourselves, but when we are the actual giver, it can be a different story.

Paul saw the value but his desire was for the giver to be blessed, not himself. He writes in verse 17, 'Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.' Paul knew what it was like to have nothing and also, he knew what it was like to abound v11-12. He was content, 'he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him' v13.

Paul trusted God for his needs; he was a part time tent-maker but, because of all his travels, this was not always easy to do. He needed funds, just the same as any Christian worker needs today. He also knew that he could never out give God; when we give to a God directed work, He will always bless us in return but, not always with funds. 

I remember a few years back, I had bought myself a new calfskin leather bible. I loved it and carried it around for the first couple of days as if it was a block of gold. During a service that weekend, God pointed out a man who I had led to Him recently. God said to me, 'Give him your new bible.' I was shocked and refused point blank to do this. For the rest of the service God kept saying the same thing over and again; and then He changed His words, 'Look at  him, the poor chap hasn't got a bible.' That was it, I gave in and gave the man my brand new bible. Since that day, I now have an abundance of bibles - when I give one away, God replaces it quite quickly.

I blessed this man so God blessed me. People blessed Paul and God blessed the people filling up their heavenly account. It is true, we cannot out give God as I have said, and when we realise and accept that it is His money in the first place, as we continue to give, He'll give to us -

'And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus' v19

There's no need to worry about having enough to live on. God is in charge. You just have to learn to trust Him for all you need and also, not be afraid to help someone out, who is less wealthy than yourself.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Praying in Crisis

"Don't worry about anything" v6                                   Philippians 4:6-7   CSB 

God doesn't want us to worry at all. Worry is a killer; it's a killer to faith, a killer to your prayer life and it's a killer to your body. It causes stress, high blood pressure, cancers and heart disease. Don't allow it into your life.

As we can see from our text above, we are told not to worry about anything. Note the word, 'anything'. We are not to worry about anything whether it is a large concern or just a small one. Things will crop up but, we are not to worry about them. Instead, we have a formula written here by the Apostle Paul:

Prayer  Worry is an indication that we need to pray. Tony Evans says, 'The more you worry, the less you pray but, the more you pray, the less you worry.'  Write that down in your bible, it is a good reminder when things are getting bad.

Petition  The petitions we make to God must be realistic, not centred on our usual prayers of the day. They must be in the specific details that you need.

Thanksgiving  Your prayers need to be filled with thanksgiving. Giving thanks is a faith thing - asking, believing, receiving and giving thanks to God for the answer before it has happened and for no matter how long it will take.

When you pray as such, you will receive a peace which:

'surpasses all understanding and will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.'  v7

There will be a calm that wasn't there before, even if there is still unrest and chaos around you. The calmness will confirm God has heard you and He is at work on your behalf.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Don't argue - rejoice. Part 2

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, Rejoice"v4   Philippians 4:4-7   CSB 

The difference between joy and secular happiness is with the latter. It depends on what happens in our life. When things are going well in your life, you feel great; but when they are not, when things take a downward spiral, this happiness is very hard to maintain.

Heavenly joy is much more stable. As we know, it is a strength (Nehemiah 8:10) and offers us a firm ground when everything else around us, is sinking. Why is this? Because spiritual joy is built upon the Lord. If we refuse to accept the joy of the Lord and begin complaining and getting involved in dispute, we forget that, 'The Lord is near' v5, and it feels like He is very far away, we also spread this around to others.

When we act like this and feel like God has left us, we know it is a lie from the devil. But it is ourselves who have brought this about. God has not left us and, He never will (Hebrews 13:5).  However we cut ourselves off from the flow of the Holy Spirit - we become out of step with Him. When this happens, and the signs are obvious, repent and get back in fellowship with God by rejoicing. Yes, I know it is hard to rejoice when you have had a grump, but you'll be out of step with Him until you do.

There are times when we have to offer a sacrifice of praise to Jesus (Hebrews 13:15). It is rather like sitting in church when the speaker is giving a call to come to the front. You know that it is for you and you know you should go forward. However, you continue to sit glued to your seat. If you break through this, and walk forward, you receive a blessing. It is the same with rejoicing and praising God when you don't feel like it. As you do, the blessings come and God's arms open towards you. So start rejoicing, again I'll say rejoice

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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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

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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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!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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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.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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