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Philippians 2:14-16

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Personal Challenge

I have had more than one Christian ask me how they are supposed to live their life. It is presented throughout the scriptures and the teachings of the church. This passage has some clear instructions. Do all things without complaining and disputing. God has called us to love our neighbor and to take care of them. We do this without pushing back on God or them. Live our lives without fault, or as another verse says elsewhere, above reproach. We are to shine as lights in this dark world holding on fast to the word of life, rejoicing in the day of Christ. The instructions for living a godly life are available, to those who seek it. Glory be to God!

Philippians 2:12-13

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Personal Challenge

Our salvation in Christ is not a “one and done” event. We are saved from eternal death by the work that Jesus did on the cross. Just because we say a prayer or call out once to Him to be our Lord, does not mean that He is done with us. He will be doing His work of salvation from within us the remainder of our days and He expects us to be coworkers in that process of sanctification all of those days. We do this fear and trembling out of our love for Him and our thankfulness for His love, mercy, and grace poured out on us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Philippians 2:5-7

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

Personal challenge

We are being asked here to adopt the mind of Christ Jesus in our lives as Christians. What does this mean? What is the mind of Jesus Christ? This is truly a question that we can never fully answer because Jesus is fully God and we will never know the mind of God but we can understand that which Jesus portrayed as the incarnate son of God. Jesus was humble. He gave up His place in Heaven to be born of a lowly virgin, in a stable no less, and lived a hard and humble life in one of the most challenging times in the history of mankind. He lived His short life loving those around Him, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick. He willingly gave His life, without resistant, to a terrible and vicious death. He descended into hell to destroy its gates and set its prisoners free. This is the mind of Jesus Christ that we are to adopt, to give up our hold on this temporal earth, to love our God above all else, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do this out of love for Him and all that He has done for us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Philippians 2:1-4

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Personal Challenge

We are charged to not just look out for our own interests, but for the interests of others as well. We are also to not do anything through selfish ambition or conceit, but in a lowliness of mind, esteeming others better than ourselves. Why should we do this? By living our Christian life this way, we will receive consolation in Christ, comfort in love, fellowship of the Spirit, and affection and mercy. We will experience Christ in ways above imagination. Glory be to God!

Philippians 1:27-30

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

Personal Challenge

The gospel of Christ is the message of grace, mercy, love, joy, and peace. It is a message loving God above all else and loving our neighbor above ourselves. We are charged by Paul to live our lives in a way that is worthy of that gospel. That means living out those expectations every moment of every day. We are to do this whether someone is watching or not. We are to do this whether it is easy or hard. He do this by standing fast together as brothers and sisters in Christ in one spirit and one mind. We do this knowing that God will bring us through all adversities. Glory be to God!

Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Personal Challenge

As Christians, we must make a choice, a choice that has to be made every moment of every day for the remainder of our life. Am I going to live for Christ and die to myself and this world or not? Our life, both this temporal life and the eternal life, must be given over to Christ if we are to experience His blessing to the fullest. He does not want us to physically die, but to choose over and over again, to sacrifice our fleshly desires and passions so that we can pursue Him and His desires for us. This is dying to ourselves in order to live for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Philippians 1:15-18

Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

Personal Challenge

Paul rejoices, as should we, that in many ways, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News, is being preached. In today’s world, even as it was in the day of Paul, there are many who are preaching Christ out of selfish ambition and personal gain. Even in these circumstances, God can winnow out the chaff of deceit and error in order to use the truth in these preachings to reach the unreached. God knows what each person needs to hear and can use any means to get that to them. How much better it is to preach His truth, and His truth alone, to those who need to hear. We also need to realize, and embrace, that many times preaching Christ happens with no words, just our actions. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Philippians 1:3-8

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

As we continue to walk in Christ throughout or lives, we can rejoice in the truth that the work that Jesus began in us will continue until it is complete in His perfection. We are His and as the Master potter, He is forming and shaping us into His image. Glory be to God!

Philippians 1:2

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

What a perfect verse to show up for today. Tomorrow, in the Orthodox church, we begin our journey of Great Lent toward Pascha (Easter). This journey can be enlightening as well as challenging. This journey is not just about giving up food. We are to be focusing on our relationship with our Lord. We observe how far from Him we have strayed and strive to close that gap. We search our lives to see how little we have loved our neighbor and strive to becomes lovers of our neighbors. We take the savings from limiting our intake, both food and any other indulgences, and give alms to those in need. This journey is a time to recognize how much God loves us and how much we need Him. We set our eyes on the cross, knowing that Jesus gave His life for us and our hope is in His resurrection on Pascha. We do all this knowing that God’s grace and peace is being poured out on us. Glory be to God!