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!

Daniel 2:45

Whereas you saw the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, it ground to powder the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold. Thus the great God has made known to the king what must come to pass after this. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.

Encouraging Words

The passage in Daniel that this verse comes from reminds us that God can use anyone He chooses to do His work. Here we have Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon and a non-Jew, non-believer in Jehovah, rendering a very prophetic image in his dream that was interpreted by Daniel. This verse sums up the explanation of the dream by pointing out that there will be a great one someday who will surpass and overthrow all world governments. He will be the one who sets up a new government and a new kingdom. This one is our Lord Jesus Christ whose kingdom is beyond any kingdom of this earthly world. He is our King Eternal. Glory be to God!

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.

Encouraging Words

In Paul’s day, he encountered people that were preaching Christ for one reason…personal gain. This new Jewish sect, as they saw it was the latest and greatest thing to latch on to and use for personal gain. Here we are over 2,000 years later and this is still happening with name-it-and-claim-it preachers, men and women, who have built empires on the backs of other believers, and many people that see Christianity as fire insurance. How did Paul deal with this? He praised God because He knew that ultimately the gospel of Jesus Christ was still being spread, even if for nefarious reasons. He knew that God will always use the seeds of truth that are planted to grow His church and that He would burn the lies of personal gain in the fires of eternity. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Susanna 1:22-23

Then Susanna sighed deeply and said, “I am hemmed in on all sides, for if I do this thing, it is death for me; yet if I do not, I will not escape your hands. But it is better for me not to do it and to fall into your hands, than to sin against the Lord.”

Personal Challenge

The story of Susanna is a powerful story that is not found in the Western versions of the Bible. It was included as a preamble to the Book of Daniel, in the Septuagint, which is the Old Testament used in the version of the Bible used in the Orthodox church. Susanna was the daughter of Hilkiah and married to Jehoiakim, a very wealthy leader in the Jewish community. She was a young and beautiful woman. In the community, there were two elders in the community who were appointed as judges over the affairs of the people. They met daily at Jehoiakim’s estate and listened to the cases of the people. One day after all the cases had been heard and all of the people had left, Susanna went for a walk in the gardens. These two men had stayed behind for they were infatuated with Susanna’s beauty. They followed her into the garden and demanded that she have relations with them. They told her that if she did not that they would accuse her of meeting up with a young man in the garden, which was punishable by stoning. With the two of them acting as witnesses and being pillars in the community, she would surely be condemned. This is where these two verses pick up. In her love for her God, she chose to take her chances in the courts rather than to sin against Her God. Every time I read this passage I ask myself if I would be this committed to my God or take the easy way out. For the rest of the story… read Susanna. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!