Category Archives: Philippians

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The Secret To Satisfaction

Reflect:
Philippians 4:19

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

I love this verse and quote it in my prayers for others, and myself, all the time. What a guarantee: God will meet all my needs! Not some of them, but all of them out of the unlimited treasury of heaven that has been made possible for me by the glorious death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Such a deal!

Ah, but wait a minute. Look at the preceding verses. As much as we love to quote this fantastic verse guaranteeing God’s provision, notice how Paul qualifies it with some other thoughts. In verses 11-12, Paul says,

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

That doesn’t sound like a guy who is getting everything he wants—an unlimited supply of stuff to make his life comfortable, successful and pain-free. No, this is a guy who has learned one of the most important disciplines for happiness, one of the essential attitudes for Christian living: Contentment. When you learn the secret of contentment, you will understand how to differentiate between true needs and fleshly wants.

The word translated “content” appears five times in the New Testament—and they all suggest a perfect condition of life in which no aid or support is needed. In extra-biblical Greek, one ancient writer used it to describe a country that supplied itself and had no need for imports. Biblically, contentment means to be satisfied with what God has supplied and confident that he will supply what is needed in the future. That is why Paul can say in I Timothy 6:6, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

The Bible not only identifies contentment as a virtue to attain, but also as a command to obey. We’re commanded to be content in every area of life:

Hebrews 13:5 warns us to resist obsession with material things, “Be content with whatever you have, for God has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’”

You are to be content with your food and clothing—I Timothy 6:8 says, “And having food and clothing, let us be content.”

You are to be content with your job and wages—John the Baptist said in Luke 3:14, “be content with your pay.”

You’re to be content with your marriage—Proverbs 5:18 says, “be satisfied with the wife you married when you were young.”

Contentment ought to be a no-brainer for the believer! Why? Because you understand that an infinitely wise, supernaturally resourceful, incredibly generous, intimately involved, all-knowing, all-powerful God will never leave you or forsake you and will see to it that you have what you need.

Contentment is a character trait that reveals great confidence in God. It is a spiritual discipline that demonstrates great obedience to God. It is an act of worship that greatly glorifies God. And it is a step of faith that releases the provision and results in the peace of God.

So practice contentment!

“Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” ~Jeremiah Burroughs

Reflect and Apply: Arthur Pink states, “Instead of complaining at his lot, a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are. Instead of greedily desiring something more than the supply of his present need, he rejoices that God still cares for him. Such an one is ‘content’ with such as he has.” (Hebrews 13:5) Offer a session of praise and thanksgiving this morning—and every morning—and see if contentment doesn’t grow in your life.

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I Think, Therefore That’s What I Am

Reflect:
Philippians 4:2-9

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Do you want to know the key to everything in your life? Here it is: It is how you think.

The term Paul uses for “think” in this verse is from the Greek term “logizomai”. It literally means to compute, to calculate—to think deliberately, proactively and strategically. It speaks of an exercise in mental reflection that affects one’s conduct.

Now herein lies an important truth about the human mind: What we do—our behavior—and what is done to us—our circumstances—do not produce what we think. Rather, what we think produces our behavior in any given set of circumstances.

Psychiatrist William Glasser, the father of reality therapy, discovered in his study of how the brain works that man isn’t controlled by external factors, but by internal desires. Furthermore, our desires are predetermined by our thinking. So he concludes that the mind is the command center determining conduct, and therefore, the critical issue for man is how he thinks.

Glasser only discovered what the Bible had long ago said—that we are the product of our thinking. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks within himself, so he is.” We are what we think! That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart” — the heart in Hebrew thought was the center of thinking — “for it is the wellspring of life.”

So if you want to improve your experience of life, deliberately and strategically change your thinking. When Paul says, “think about”, he doesn’t mean leave it up to whatever pops into your brain. He’s saying to intentionally and rigidly allow only certain things into your mind. He is referring to the spiritual discipline of setting godly virtues and Biblical values as the gate-keeper of your mind. He is not simply talking about positive thinking, mere optimism, self-hypnosis or silly mind-games. Rather, he is saying to think deeply, rationally and habitually about the things of God.

God created us with a mind, and he commands us to think. Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, let us reason together.” And the primary path for our reasoning is to be God’s Word. When God gave us his revelation, he didn’t give us a movie, or a series of music videos, not even a book on tape with background organ music. He gave us the written Word, which by nature calls us and causes us to think.

When you get serious about the spiritual discipline of Biblical thinking, it will produce a new pattern of thinking. That new pattern of thinking will produce a new pattern of living. That new pattern of living will lead to a new experience of life, the abundant life, that Jesus said he came to give.

Everything God’s wants you to experience in this life is keyed by how you think. Ruthlessly tune out that which is inconsistent with Biblical truth and evaluate everything that presents itself to you with your Scriptural values (Philippians 4:8), then simply practice thinking. Then what you think will produce Godly behavior.

Allow the mind of the Master to be the master of your mind.

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

Reflect and Apply: Let the truth of God’s Word saturate your mind before you leave the house today. Ask God to take my mind and let it be always, only thinking of him throughout the day. Let the mind of the Master be the master of your mind, and allow your thinking to produce Christlikeness in all you do.

 

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Be Gentle

Reflect:
Philippians 4:5

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

When was the last time you prayed, “God, make me a more gentle person”?

Just what I thought!

Back in the 1830’s, George Bethune, a Dutch Reformed pastor and hymn writer, said,“Perhaps no grace is less prayed for, or less cultivated than gentleness. Indeed it is considered rather as belonging to natural disposition or external manners, than as a Christian Virtue; and seldom do we reflect that not to be gentle is a sin.”

Did you catch that? “Seldom do we reflect that not to be gentle is a sin.”

If that’s true, and I believe it is, then we ought to pay greater attention and give greater effort to making God’s call for gentleness the prominent character feature of our lives? Now that may not be so easy to do, since we live in a culture that venerates power and promotes aggressiveness and elevates domination as much higher virtues than gentleness—by far. Chances are, none of your heroes, and certainly none of mine, would be noted for their gentle natures.

But let me remind you that two of the greatest heroes of the Bible—the greatest hero in the Old Testament, and the greatest hero in the New Testament—were noted for their gentleness. These two great men, Moses and Jesus, are the only two men the Bible describes as being gentle. But these two were anything but weak and wimpy, which is how our culture defines gentleness. They were incredibly powerful men. They changed their worlds. Jesus was no weakling; Moses was not a wimpy guy. They were strong, charismatic, winsome individuals, but their lives were guided by love, kindness, compassion, understanding and patience—in a word, gentleness.

Biblical gentleness has nothing to do with being weak or inferior. A. W. Tozer says,

“The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather, he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is, in the sight of God, more important than angels…He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring.”

The secular Greeks used the word for gentleness to describe people or things that had a soothing quality about them. It was used of words that calmed a person who was agitated, bitter, angry or resentful. It also referred to an ointment that soothed the pain of a wound. It even meant to tranquilize. And it referred to a powerful leader, such as a king, who had the power and authority to harm or punish, but could be gentle and forgiving of human errors. Gentleness was power under control: It is being strong enough to be gentle.

It is gentleness, in all of these senses, that Paul says is to be evident in us for all to see. So let me suggest that your gentleness ought to be evident to the following people in your life:

  • Number one, with the people who serve you. Take time to be tender with those who meet your needs.
  • Number two, with the people who disappoint you. Be compassionate and gracious, refuse to be judgmental and harsh.
  • Number three, with the people who disagree with you. Be tender without surrender.
  • Number four, with the people who correct you. Be teachable and submissive, not stubborn and inflexible.
  • Number five, with the people who hurt you. Refuse to react. Respond with acts of love.
  • Number six, with people who don’t share your beliefs. Refuse to be critical.
  • Number seven, with the people that live under your roof and in your own home. Be the embodiment of Biblical gentleness with your own flesh and blood.

The God to whom you belong is by nature gentle. He has given you his Holy Spirit to produce the fruit or character of gentleness within you. Now the only question that remains is, will you clothe yourself with his gentleness?

“Mildness in dealing with others…it is to display a sensitive regard for others and is careful never to be unfeeling for the rights of others.” ~Billy Graham

Reflect and Apply: Here are a few ideas for putting on gentleness: One, reflect on the gentleness of God toward you. Two, ask God to produce gentleness in your life. And three, pray for a specific person on whom you can bestow gentleness.

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Settled Assurance

Reflect:
Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I like how Dallas Willard, an influential Christian thinker, defines the peace that the Apostle Paul promises as the fruit of prayer and petition:

The peace of Christ is the settled assurance that because of God’s care and God’s competence, this world is a perfectly safe place for me…even though it doesn’t always seem so.

When you and I come to trust that God cares for us, and is competent to do so, we can live confidently—we will experience the transcendent peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. And when we live in the settled assurance of that promise, all of life will change for us.

That’s the kind of settled assurance that Jesus lived in. Author John Ortberg describes it in this helpful way—which I will summarize:

In Matthew 8, Jesus and his disciples are in a boat in the middle of a storm. The disciples are frantic, but Matthew reports that Jesus is sleeping! Why does Matthew include that detail? He wanted us to know what Jesus knew about life in the Father’s hands: That given God’s care and competence, the world was a perfectly safe place—even in the midst of raging storm! So he sleeps right through it. Now in their frantic state, the disciples went to Jesus since they trusted he’d do something to help them. They had faith in Jesus, but they didn’t have the faith of Jesus.

Wouldn’t you love to have not only faith in Jesus, but the faith of Jesus? What would that look like for you? In your financial life you would be more generous and less focused on yourself. The me-centeredness and materialism that robs you of joy and energy and freedom would take a back seat to calm and contentment and compassion. In your emotional life, there would be a whole lot less anxiety, guilt, insecurity and frenzied living. There would be inner calm and poise even under the most intense pressure. In your relational life there would be less hostility. You would be much better at resolving conflict. You would not be so caught up in who likes you…or doesn’t. People would die to be near you because of your confidence.

When you live in the settled assurance that God cares for you—and will take care of you—your whole life will change. Oh, your circumstances may not change, but you will change. You will become an oasis of calm in a world of conflict and chaos. You will think more clearly, pray more gratefully, love more unguardedly and serve more energetically. You will not only have faith in Jesus, you will begin to operate in the faith of Jesus. Your life will be characterized by the truest of kingdom fruit: righteousness, peace and joy. That is the upside of trusting in God and his promises. So settle it now: God cares for you!

So choose to live in the settled assurance of God’s care and competence, and watch your life change, watch God’s peace settle over you. The peace of God that will God your heart and mind—that is what God promises to give you when you exchange your anxiety for his peace through prayer. Thankful prayer is simply the practice of reflecting back to God an acknowledgment of his careful and competent involvement in your life.

Exchanging of your anxiety for God’s peace That sounds like a pretty favorable exchange, I’d say!

“You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list. The longer your list, the smaller your God.”

Reflect and Apply: Anxiety is your cue to pray. Your anxious feelings may or may not subside right away, but just do it. If you will begin to lift thankful prayer, you will experience what God guarantees: The peace of God—no matter what!

 

 

 

 

 

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Others

Reflect:
Philippians 2:3-4

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

To this day, my all-time favorite football player is Gale Sayers, the “Kansas Comet”. Gale not only was a star running back for the University of Kansas, in the early 1970’s he ran circles around defenses as a pro playing for the Chicago Bears—literally. If you ever get a chance to watch film of Gale, do it! It’s as if the man could run in two directions as the same time. Gale was also an incredible human being, whose life philosophy was captured by the title of his autobiography, “I Am Third”.

What is the “I Am Third” philosophy of life? Simply this: God is first, my family and friends are second and I am third. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Jesus, in the Great Commandment, said as much:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Not only did Jesus issue that as a commandment for his followers, he modeled it as a way of life. Philippians 3:1-11 is a short but stunning description of the “I Am Third” principle on display in the life of Jesus. That was fundamentally how Jesus lived, it was at the core of who Jesus was, it is how Jesus is now presented to the world through the lives of his followers—or at least, should be. Simply put, Jesus’ life and ministry was characterized by “I Am Third”. His orientation was others!

What about you? Is that your life-philosophy, too? Not just in theory, but in practice—are you “others” orientated?? I hope so! I hope that for me as well. It is not a philosophy that is easy to pull off because of the gravitational pull of our selfish nature, but we have been given the Holy Spirit to boost us beyond our sinful atmosphere into the orbit of “I Am Third” living.

Others—that is the Christian orientation.“I Am Third—that is the fundamental philosophy of the authentic Christ-follower. God first, others second, me third—from heaven’s perspective, that is the most powerful use of a human being’s life.

“I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” ~William Penn

Reflect & Apply: C.S. Lewis wrote, “Our prayers for others flow more easily than those for ourselves. This shows we are made to live by charity.” That is true. Though we’ve been corrupted by sin, God’s original design had us oriented toward others, not ourselves. As you seek to return to his design today, with his help, of course, you will discover the descent to serve will lead you to the summit of exaltation. (Philippians 2:9, James 4:10, Luke 6:38) Enjoy the view!

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I Think—Therefore [That’s What] I Am

Read Philippians 4

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
(Philippians 4:8)

Thoughts… Do you want to know the key to everything in your life? Here it is: It is how you think.

The term Paul uses for “think” in this verse is from the Greek term is “logizomai”. It literally means to compute, to calculate—to think deliberately, proactively and strategically. It speaks of an exercise in mental reflection that affects one’s conduct.

Now herein lies an important truth about the human mind: What we do—our behavior—and what is done to us—our circumstances—do not produce what we think. Rather, what we think produces our behavior in any given set of circumstances.

Psychiatrist William Glasser, the father of reality therapy, discovered in his study of how the brain works that man isn’t controlled by external factors, but by internal desires. Furthermore, our desires are predetermined by our thinking. So he concludes that the mind is the command center determining conduct, and therefore, the critical issue for man is how he thinks.

Glasser only discovered what the Bible had long ago said—that we are the product of our thinking. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks within himself, so he is.” We are what we think! That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart” — the heart in Hebrew thought was the center of thinking — “for it is the wellspring of life.”

So if you want to improve your experience of life, deliberately and strategically change your thinking. When Paul says, “think about,” he doesn’t mean leave it up to whatever pops into your brain. He’s saying to intentionally and rigidly allow only certain things into your mind. He is referring to the spiritual discipline of setting godly virtues and Biblical values as the gate-keeper of your mind. He’s not simply talking about positive thinking, mere optimism, self-hypnosis or silly mind-games. He’s saying to think deeply, rationally and habitually about the things of God.

God created us with a mind, and he commands us to think. Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, let us reason together.” And the primary path for our reasoning is to be God’s Word. When God gave us his revelation, he didn’t give us a movie, or a series of music videos, not even a book on tape with background organ music. He gave us the written Word, which by nature calls us and causes us to think.

In  his book, “Your Mind Matters, John Stott wrote, “Sin has more dangerous effects on our feeling than our thinking, because our opinions are more easily checked and regulated by revealed truth than are experiences.” That’s why Paul calls us in verse 8 to think deliberately, deeply, and critically about six things:

One, about truthful things—Jesus said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). This calls for meditating on God’s Word.

Two, about noble things—the Greek term means “worthy of respect” and refers to what is noble, dignified, and reverent, as opposed to what is profane!

Three, on righteous things—this which is in perfect harmony with the eternal truth of Scripture.

Four, about pure things—that which is morally clean and undefiled.

Five, about lovely things—this word appears only here in the New Testament, and it means whatever is gracious, uplifting and ennobling.

Six, about admirable things—which refers to that which is worthy of veneration by believers and reputable in the world at large. In other words, things that are “excellent and praiseworthy.”

When you get serious about the spiritual discipline of right thinking, it will produce a new pattern of thinking. That new pattern of thinking will produce a new pattern of living. That new pattern of living will lead to a new experience of life, the abundant life, that Jesus said he came to give.

Everything God’s wants you to experience in this life is keyed by how you think. Ruthlessly tune out that which is inconsistent with your spiritual values and Biblical truth and practice thinking Christianly. Allow the mind of the Master to be the master of your mind. Then you’ll act Christianly and you’ll feel Christianly.

So start today—think about these things!

Prayer… Father, take my mind and let it be always, only thinking of you. Let your Truth saturate. Let your Word consume me. Let the mind of the Master be the master of my mind. Today, O God, guard my mind in Christ Jesus.

One More Thing… “Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

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Guardrails

Read Philippians 3

“Rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same
things to you again, and it is a safeguard to you.”
(Philippians 3:1)

Thoughts… Paul is saying that the joy of the Lord is such a critical piece to an authentic experience with Christ that he doesn’t mind reminding us of this truth over and over until we finally and fully “get it.” In fact, Paul says that Christian joy is so important that it actually serves as a guardrail to our faith.

Now just what is it that our faith needs to be safeguarded from? Simply this: Trying to achieve salvation—which is the fountainhead of our joy—through human effort. That is the crux of Paul’s attack in the next several verses.

The truth is, we can never achieve our way to either salvation or joy. So Paul launches an assault in verse 2 against those who teach that you can: “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.” He’s talking about a group of “false teachers” who came to be identified in the New Testament era as Judaizers. These folks believed that Jesus was the Savior, but they taught that true salvation was evidenced only as believers observed the Old Testament Law. In their theology, you not only had to believe in Jesus, but you also had to conform to the Jewish rituals, observe the Jewish feasts, follow the Jewish traditions, and above all, submit to the Jewish rite of circumcision. This was a very big controversy in Paul’s day—the first heresy the Apostles came up against.

Did you notice the “kind” words Paul uses to describe these Judaizers? He calls them “dogs,” and he is not referring to the kind of family pets we’re used to, but the kind of dogs you see a lot in the third world: mangy, flee-bitten, vicious, dangerous scavengers. Paul also calls these Judaizers “men who do evil.” That is, they pervert the Gospel of “salvation by grace through faith” by teaching that salvation is by grace plus by works of the Law. People who corrupt the truth that our good works are the result of and not the means to salvation are, frankly, evil! Literally, the Greek says they “promote evil.” And Paul takes it a step further calling them “mutilators of the flesh”. He is referring to the practice of circumcision and he uses a very descriptive and forceful word. The normal word for circumcision is “peritome”, but the word he uses in verse 2 is “katatome”, which some translations render as “false circumcision”, but the NIV translates with blunt and brutal accuracy, “mutilators of the flesh.”

Paul uses such graphic language here since what these false teachers were insisting on was akin to butchering the precious work of Jesus Christ on the cross to provide your salvation free of charge. Paul himself understood the folly of trying to gain salvation apart from grace. He describes his own well-intentioned but fatally flawed efforts in verses 3-9, which I will paraphrase this way: “I was a church member all my life. I attended church every Sunday—it was the biggest and best in town. I took notes, sang in the choir, served as an usher, taught junior high. I was a deacon, too! I was sprinkled as an infant, and just to make sure, baptized as an adult. I never missed communion and I always gave more than my tithe. I spoke in tongues and even interpreted my own messages. I was the model Christian. But it was all a waste…I was still completely lost!”

Paul had climbed the ladder of spiritual success, only to realize when he got to the top, his ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. All the accomplishments, awards, and applause that were once the foundation of his righteousness and joy were gone in an instant when he met Christ on the Damascus Road.

Here is what Paul is saying: The joy of our salvation that safeguards our faith from the devastating effects of trying to gain salvation by works is simply the pure pleasure of knowing—intimately knowing—Jesus Christ as our Savior—the one who saves us by his grace, and as our Lord—the one who rightly rules over our lives with love and mercy.

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss …to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” (Verse 7-8)

You can safeguard your faith today, and each day, by making every other pursuit, every other effort, every past accomplishment, everything else, a distant second to the simple pleasure of just knowing Jesus. Rejoicing in the Lord places guardrails around your faith by reminding you of the powerful and profound fact that Jesus paid for your salvation in full—when you couldn’t pay a dime for it. The joy of the Lord will prevent you from steering into the ditch of human effort by keeping you focused on the fact that your salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone—and nothing else.

So I will join Paul and say it again—rejoice in the Lord!

Prayer… There is no greater thing than knowing you, Lord Jesus. You are first, you are best, you are the greatest, you are my all in all. And I lovingly give myself to you.

One More Thing… “Everything that Jesus did while He was here, He did it for you.” —Maze Jackson