We’re In This Together!
What makes you happy will be where you place your priorities and where you expend your greatest effort. As Paul continues his letter to the Philippian believers he not only expresses where he finds HIS joy, but where they should find theirs! Paul was convinced that all who believe in Jesus Christ, in whom the Spirit of God is at work, should find joy in living a life of obedience to God. Jesus had prayed in John 17:14-18, that while His followers would be left IN the world, they would understand that they were not OF the world, not a part of this world order in which SELF reigns and life is lived pursuing the passing pleasures of the flesh. Paul wanted the Philippians to know God’s love in Christ and to return that love by living as “light” in the midst of the spiritual darkness all around them. WE need to hear this message today! It is easy to SAY we are a “called-out people,” but if our lives look the same as the lives of unbelievers, then we betray our testimony of faith in Christ. Grumbling and complaining and arguing about anything and everything destroys the witness of the power of God at work within us. Our joy must come from “working out”what God is “working in” us. Our salvation is not dependent on our works, but it is in knowing God’s grace in Jesus Christ that we gain the wisdom necessary to take life seriously and to pursue obedience to our Father in heaven in submission to His will, thus experiencing the joy of obedience. It is then that our lives bring glory to God, who saved us for His good pleasure!!