Always Rejoicing 12.05.08

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today we are studying the book of Philippians, please read Chapters 1-4 in your Bible or you can Click Here to read them online. If the link does not work you can copy and paste this link into your browser: biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%201-4&version=9

Today we are reading about Paul's prayer for the Philippians; the privilege of suffering for Christ; unity gained by humility; and the exhortation to rejoice in the Lord. Today's message focuses on the importance of rejoicing in the Lord. We are to rejoice in the Lord at all times for He is the strength to get us through all afflictions.

The book of Philippians is the 11th book and 6th epistle of the New Testament and contains 4 chapters. The author of the book is Paul and it was written to the church on Philippi. The purpose of the letter was to present an appeal for Christian unity. What we are to learn from the letter is that Unity in Jesus brings joy.

The Apostle Paul first preached in Europe near the city of Philippi. On the Sabbath, Paul went to a place of prayer by a river where he met Lydia, a businesswoman from Thyatira. Lydia was saved along with a few others, and a church was planted there (See Acts 16:13-15). At a later date, as a missionary prisoner in Rome, Paul wrote to these converts.

His imprisonment gave him the opportunity to share the Good News about Jesus with the elite guard of the Roman Empire. This was a great opportunity to tell many of them about Jesus the Messiah, who was foretold in the Scriptures, as there was a change of guard three or four times a day. He wrote to the Philippians, "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." (Philippians 1:11-14).

Paul encouraged the church to do all things without complaining, holding on to the Word of God for it is the Word of Life that gives us joy through all things, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." (2:14-16). Our occupation in life may be in politics, the military, business, education, manual labor, or homemaking, but our primary concern should always be labor in vain.

We all have a natural desire for physical comforts, security, and material things. However, in making our decisions, our first loyalty should be to Christ. There is a storehouse of spiritual wealth and peace in Him that surpasses all earthly possessions in importance.

Paul had renounced a prominent career for a life of unceasing hardship and persecution which was destined to end in violent death. Knowing what the future held for him, he said, "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (4:9-13). We too should be able to say with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me".

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." (Philippians 4:4). There is a song based on this verse. It's called a forever song because you repeat the same verses over and over again. It's a pick me up song that actually does lift up your spirits when you are doing something that you really do not want to be doing. Try is sometimes.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice! Rejoice! And again I say Rejoice!
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Jesus, the day to day circumstances in our lives are so uncertain. The solutions to our problems can be very perplexing and seem beyond our grasp. You don’t expect us to have all the right answers or to fully understand all that concerns us, but You do want us to trust You, as we hold on to Your unchanging hand. Jesus, we have trusted You over and over throughout the circumstances of our lives, and today we pray for grace to trust You even more. In your mighty name, Jesus we pray........Amen.

Have a fantastic Friday and weekend too.
God bless,
Christina

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