In all things with supplication and prayer place your life and the lives of your family into the protection and guidance of our loving God. He is ABLE to accomplish His will in our life when we place it into His hands. By supporting the Body of Christ we we support Christ and spread the Gospel of Grace that He gave His life for.
Philippians 1:3–8
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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; 7 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. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. The New King James Version
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
The Jewish believers in Peter’s time thought that the return of Jesus was imminent. Jesus, with His divine intervention in the life of Paul of Tarsus, changed everything opening the salvation that only Christ could give to ALL who would accept Him. His love would cover a multitude of the sins of mankind. We just need to humble ourselves and accept Him as the head of our lives. We live in anticipation of His return now as in the past. As we wait we love and support others showing God’s love for them by sharing our gifts and talents with them. God’s love changes everything!
Matthew 24:1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Though the OT temple was a beautiful sight Christ knew that it would be destroyed. The disciples wanted to know the future of the reign of Christ. He did not want them to be deceived. In their time, and in ours, many will come in His name saying that they are the only ones with the truth. We need to be very careful to compare the truth of Scripture to their words. Wars will come and go but the end will only come in God’s timing…not mans. Nations will always fight for power and control. The world is continually being prepared for the return of Jesus. Gods’ long suffering puts it at bay because He longs for all of His creation to accept His gift of salvation and be saved through the Cross of Jesus.
Jeremiah 30: 7
Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah telling him that the day would come that He would return the Israelites to their land. In His timing it would happen. They would face Jacob’s trouble in the tribulation but He would shorten those days so that a remnant will survive to usher in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
Our lives should reflect us as stewards of the word of God faithfully keeping Jesus’s command to love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves. Holy Spirit will guide us into His perfect will for our life.
Paul continually expresses gratitude for the Philippians and the benefits he received from them. The Philippians provided financial support that helped Paul spread the gospel message. Their partnership in his ministry is the reason he prays with joy. In Paul’s time, friendship meant that two parties of equal standing—in this instance, Paul and the Philippians—would participate (koinōnia in Greek) in an ongoing exchange of gestures for mutual benefit. Paul first met the Philippian believers during a missionary journey through Macedonia. When he departed, the Philippians continued to support him financially. The Christians at Philippi seem to have aligned themselves strongly with Paul’s missionary endeavors. Paul did not always accept financial assistance from church communities, even those he planted. For example, the Corinthians also offered to help him financially, but Paul rejected their gift because they had not aligned themselves with his values or concerns; rather, they were interested in improving their own status by helping him. Paul is certain that the Philippians will progress in faith because God is committed to transforming them.
He Who Began a Good Work refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ. In Paul’s letters, the “Day of Christ” is synonymous with the old testament phrase “Day of the Lord”.
Romans did not use prisons for punishment, but only to detain those awaiting trial or execution. Faithlife Study Bible
The tense of the Greek verb indicates that Paul was continually thankful to God for the Philippian Christians. Every time God brought them to his mind, Paul gave thanks.
Joy, a prominent theme in Philippians, filled Paul’s prayers for the Philippians even when he interceded for their needs. This is the first of five uses of the Greek word for joy in the letter. Paul also uses the Greek word for rejoice nine times in this letter.
Fellowship is a commercial term for a joint-partnership in a business venture in which all parties actively participate to ensure the success of the business. In the Christian community, the word expresses intimacy with Christ and other believers. In this case, Paul may be using the word fellowship to refer to the financial contributions the Philippians had given Paul from the first day until now. Immediately upon becoming Christians and continually thereafter, the Philippians had dedicated themselves to living and proclaiming the truth about Jesus Christ, and specifically to helping Paul in his ministry. Paul had become convinced some time in the past that God would complete His good work among the Philippians, and his confidence remained unshaken.
Since you is a plural pronoun, the good work that God was doing was taking place “among” the believers rather than “in” any isolated believer. Until can also be translated “as far as.” It expresses progress toward a goal and indicates that a time is coming when God will completely finish His work among the Philippian Christians. The ministry in which the Philippians participated continues (like a relay race) up to the present, and it will continue until Christ returns.
Paul calls Christ’s return “the day of Christ”. On that day, Christ will judge nonbelievers and evaluate the lives of believers.The word right conveys a sense of moral uprightness (in keeping with God’s law) and is often translated throughout the NT as “righteous.” In this context, the word indicates that Paul’s thoughts regarding the Philippians were in perfect accord with God’s will.
Since defense implies speech, we can be certain that Paul was not silent while in prison, but boldly spoke about Jesus Christ. Paul may have also been indicating that he would testify about Christ at his judicial proceedings. Defense and confirmation are the negative and positive aspects of Paul’s ministry. He defended the gospel against its opponents’ attacks, and he confirmed the gospel through powerful signs. Paul revealed that he had the “heart” of Jesus Christ. His feelings for the Philippians were like those of Jesus Christ, who loved them and died for them. The NKJV Study Bible
Philippians 4:14–16 Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only…
Romans 1:8–11 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers…
Philippians 1:16–20 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…
2 Corinthians 7:3 I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.
While God doesn't always answer our prayers like we'd want Him to, He does always promise us that nothing can separate us from His presence (Romans 8:38-39). And that truth is the secret to having peace in circumstances where fear begs us to believe God has abandoned us. When it is hard for me to feel this, I've learned to declare it over and over to help manage my fear.
He is with me. He will not leave me. There is a hard truth I've come to realize through difficult seasons of my life: Thankfulness is not always a feeling. It must become a habit. First5
In every specific life circle, every single human being is irreplaceable and inimitable. (Thank you Victor Frankl)
So. Empathy, compassion, generosity and kindness are the cornerstones to a life of meaning, to making a difference in our small world. "This little light of mine..."
I'm honestly not sure what I will "accomplish" this week, but in any small way I can, I want to build a world where people matter. Where humanity blossoms, permeating inclusion and dignity and mercy and creativity and kindness and magnanimity and hope. Where we walk the earth each day in search of good deeds and acts to carry out.
Because how we live makes a difference. Sabbath Moments
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Victor Frankl
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