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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

It is clear in the scriptures that we are saved only by God’s grace and mercy through the Work of our Lord Jesus Christ. But our salvation does not stop there. We are to be spending the remainder of our lives working out our own salvation by living for Christ, pursuing Him, and striving to be like Him. This is a process and our God is active in this process working within us. Glory be to God!

Daniel 6:5-6

The administrators and governors sought to find some charge against Daniel, but they could find no charge or wrongdoing or fault against him because he was faithful. Then the administrators said, “We will find nothing against Daniel unless we find it in the laws of his God.”

Personal Challenge

This little tidbit about Daniel speaks volumes about who he was and makes me wonder if someone would ever look at my life this way. Unfortunately, I know that I could never rise to the level that Daniel had achieved in his life. So what is the backstory here? Daniel was another one of the young Jewish men that was taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar, given a new name, and merged into the Babylonian empire. However, the king never realized how committed Daniel, and his three friends Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were to their God, Yahweh. Not only were they committed to their God, but they lived their lives in their new roles in such a way that both glorified their God and honored the ruler that they now lived and served under. Daniel was so faithful to his God and living a godly life, that those in the courts where he was serving the king could find nothing that they could accuse him of to get him out of his position and good graces with the king. The only way that they could find to trap Daniel was to use one of the laws of his God. And this is what they did. Read the rest of the story, you will love it. My prayer is that someday I will be living my life in such a way that I could be seen as a Daniel. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

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

Throughout the expanse of eternity, Jesus is and has been God the Son, past, present, and future. However, a little over 2,000 years ago, in a small and obscure village, Jesus humbled Himself and became a little child, born of a virgin, into poverty and oppression, and grew into a man. He lived a humble life that was comparable to being a servant, submitting to God the Father and His fellow human being oh love, even unto a horrible death. He arose from that death, victorious over the gates of hell paving the way for each and every one of us to receive eternal life in His kingdom. We are reminded by Paul in this letter to the Philippians that we are to be like-minded with Christ and to be willing to give our lives, humbly and complete to Him and our neighbor as He did. This is being a Christian. This is being a follower of Christ, loving our God above all else, including life, and loving our neighbor above ourselves. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Daniel 3:40

So let this be our sacrifice before You today,
And may it be accomplished for those who follow You;
For there is no shame for those who trust in You.

Encouraging Words

Daniel is another one of those books in the Old Testament that is different in the Septuagint versus the version used in the Western church. Inserted between the accounting of the three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, entering into the fiery furnace and their coming out, is the prayer of Azariah. Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael were three young Israeli men that were taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar, along with Daniel and other young men. Nebuchadnezzar gave them new Babylonian names as part of his indoctrinating them into his kingdom. Hananiah was renamed Shadrach. Azariah was renamed Meshach. Mishael was renamed Abednego. In verses 26 through 45, we have this prayer of Azariah (Meshach). This verse pops out to me as a reminder that everything that we do in our lives should be a sacrifice for our God. We do these sacrificial offerings to our God out of our love for Him and our appreciation for all that He has done for us, and we know that there is no shame before Him and His great love and mercy. Glory be to God!

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

Contrary to popular belief in our modern Christian church, Christianity is not just about our own “personal” relationship with Christ. Granted, He died for each and every one of us, and we must each enter into a personal relationship with Him, but the personal-ness stops there. Our salvation is worked out, or manifested, in a community, our body of believers that God surrounds us with. It is in that community that we are to be like-minded with each other, have the same love for God and each other in, and be of one mind and accord in the work of God that He has given us. There really is no room for the individualist, the selfish ambition that proliferates the world, or the mindset that we are better than everyone else around us. Being a Christian is about being in Christ and not of the world. Glory be to God!

Daniel 3:95

So King Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed is the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His Angel and saved His servants who trusted in Him; for they altered the word of the king and handed over their bodies to be burned, so as not to serve and worship any god other than their God.

Personal Challenge

So! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego survived the fiery furnace. Then what happened? Were they praised for their behavior? Were they given a parade for their victory? Not at all. Their God, our God was given all of the praise and even blessed by King Nebuchadnezzar. This is how it should be. We are not to be looking for praise or glory for doing what God wants us to do, even the hard things. Life should always be about pointing to Him. 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

Jesus gave His all to bring us the gospel, the good news of our hope and salvation in Him. Paul, Peter, James, and many others that have gone before us also gave their all so that this good news would continue on as long as there are still people on this earth. We are asked to do the same, to live our lives in a way to show that we are worthy to be recipients and sharers of this precious gospel. This is not easy, especially in these days where our society keeps moving away from God. This is all the more the reason to shine our lights for Him, so that all may know who He is and how much He loves them. Glory be to God!

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need to answer you in regard to this thing. For there is a God in the heavens, whom we serve, and He is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us from your hands, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image you set up.”

Personal Challenge

Would I be as bold as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when being confronted by the option of worshiping a foreign god or being put to death? Sitting here in the warmth of my comfortable home with no threat or danger, it is easy to say, “Yes!”. However, these were not the conditions for these three young men. They knew that King Nebuchadnezzar was a vicious ruler and that he would surely follow through with his threat. A choice had to be made, and that choice was to stand firm on the promises that they had from their God. Even if they were to die in the fiery furnace, they believed that it would only put them closer to their God. This is truly active, living faith. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Philippians 1:21

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

Personal Challenge

Jesus gave us the ultimate example of what it means to fully commit one’s life to God and His neighbor. Yes, He was fully God incarnate, but He was also fully a man. He had temptations like all of the rest of us, however, He resisted those temptations and chose not to sin. He had plenty of opportunities to be angry at those around Him and to call on the heavenly host to protect Him, and yet He chose not to. He could have said “No!” to the cross, and yet, because of His love for God and His neighbor, He did not. This is what Paul is talking about. Paul gave his life for the work of Christ and the spreading of the gospel. He suffered much for His Christ and his neighbor setting the example for us to do the same. With Christ being the center of one’s life then loving is all about Christ and only Christ, and dying is to gain the reward of eternal life in the presence of our glorious God. Both living and dying are full of Christ and love for Him and our neighbor. Glory be to God!