PEACE
May God richly bless you today as you celebrate being His child,
We have just read of worry and anxiousness in the previous text. Today we hear Paul speak to where we should be directing our hearts as we live in the brokenness of this world. Hear his words and take to heart what he has to say to us.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9
What are the words Paul uses to direct our hearts onto what is good and which will be encouraging to us? He speaks of what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, anything excellent and worthy of praise. We do not often find Paul providing such a long list to meditate upon. What we see is that Paul is overwhelming us with what is good so that we can overcome the challenges we face in our lives.
The key for us to understand is that there is always something which is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. This does not erase the challenges we face in this life, but it does enable us to lift our eyes beyond the momentary circumstances we are facing to see better days ahead. I have yet to experience or witness a negative circumstance in my life or the life of another which was not, in the end, temporary. Even the worst of circumstances will eventually pass.
What Paul wants us to see is that we will face trials and hardships in this life, but these do not negate all the positives which are always around us. I would suggest that we begin with what Paul said last week. God loves you, Jesus died for you, and the Holy Spirit is present to bless you. You belong to your Father in heaven because He loved you when you did not love Him. He saved you when you did not think you needed saving. He has claimed you as His own, and through faith in Christ, this will never change.
Beyond God’s grace and love, what are the things which bring joy and blessing to your heart. The list could be never ending but a few would be your family, friends, church family, the ministry of the Gospel in which you are privileged to participate, as well as the physical blessing of home, food, clothing, and so forth. Is there really anything God has not done to bless you?
Paul then declared, think about these things. I have been told more than once recently that a person’s attitude is their choice. If we focus on all which is wrong or bad, our attitude and emotional state will reflect this. If, however, we focus on God and His blessings in our lives, we will reflect this in the type of person we are and the things we do.
This is extremely important as we reflect on who we are to be in this world for Jesus. There are far too many believers who walk around all day looking like they have been sucking on a sour persimmon. Who wants to believe in a God whose followers appear and act like they have just lost their best friend?
It is as we focus on all the blessings which are present in our lives that the joy of the Lord will fill our hearts, and this joy will be reflected in our lives. If this is who we are, then the unbelievers of this world will be drawn to us, and through us to Christ.
Let me say this another way! We are emotional beings. But we are not to allow our emotions to be the driving force in our lives. When something negative transpires in our lives or in our world the way we choose to react to it will either be driven by our emotions (negative), or we will focus on God and His promises (positive) and walk forth in confidence. There are too many of us who have lived life on an emotional roller-coaster rather than standing firmly on the promises of God.
Paul then says this, As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Even as Paul writes this, he is facing circumstances which are beyond anything most of us have experienced. He is telling us that he has lived in such a way as to set an example for us to follow.
But today, Paul is not here with us as a witness to the peace of God which can fill our lives. His witness was great for the Christians of his day, but what about us today?
Do you know any strong believers? Have you seen how they handled trials and difficulties in their lives? Have you ever stood back and said to yourself, “I am so thankful I have never had to go through anything like that!” And have you not stood amazed at the steadfastness of faith in others who were experiencing such trials? We may not have Paul with us, but God has provided so many faithful witnesses through whom we can witness exactly what Paul is addressing.
Jesus told us “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul is simply directing our attention to the promise Jesus made to all who believe in Him. If we are looking there is always something good and positive we can focus our hearts upon.
It is as we focus on what is good that we will experience the peace which can only come from God. The world we live in is painful. The God we believe in is filled with love for us and it is as we focus on all the blessings, we have received from Him that we will find peace!
Blessings in the name of Jesus,
Pastor Russ
We have just read of worry and anxiousness in the previous text. Today we hear Paul speak to where we should be directing our hearts as we live in the brokenness of this world. Hear his words and take to heart what he has to say to us.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9
What are the words Paul uses to direct our hearts onto what is good and which will be encouraging to us? He speaks of what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, anything excellent and worthy of praise. We do not often find Paul providing such a long list to meditate upon. What we see is that Paul is overwhelming us with what is good so that we can overcome the challenges we face in our lives.
The key for us to understand is that there is always something which is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. This does not erase the challenges we face in this life, but it does enable us to lift our eyes beyond the momentary circumstances we are facing to see better days ahead. I have yet to experience or witness a negative circumstance in my life or the life of another which was not, in the end, temporary. Even the worst of circumstances will eventually pass.
What Paul wants us to see is that we will face trials and hardships in this life, but these do not negate all the positives which are always around us. I would suggest that we begin with what Paul said last week. God loves you, Jesus died for you, and the Holy Spirit is present to bless you. You belong to your Father in heaven because He loved you when you did not love Him. He saved you when you did not think you needed saving. He has claimed you as His own, and through faith in Christ, this will never change.
Beyond God’s grace and love, what are the things which bring joy and blessing to your heart. The list could be never ending but a few would be your family, friends, church family, the ministry of the Gospel in which you are privileged to participate, as well as the physical blessing of home, food, clothing, and so forth. Is there really anything God has not done to bless you?
Paul then declared, think about these things. I have been told more than once recently that a person’s attitude is their choice. If we focus on all which is wrong or bad, our attitude and emotional state will reflect this. If, however, we focus on God and His blessings in our lives, we will reflect this in the type of person we are and the things we do.
This is extremely important as we reflect on who we are to be in this world for Jesus. There are far too many believers who walk around all day looking like they have been sucking on a sour persimmon. Who wants to believe in a God whose followers appear and act like they have just lost their best friend?
It is as we focus on all the blessings which are present in our lives that the joy of the Lord will fill our hearts, and this joy will be reflected in our lives. If this is who we are, then the unbelievers of this world will be drawn to us, and through us to Christ.
Let me say this another way! We are emotional beings. But we are not to allow our emotions to be the driving force in our lives. When something negative transpires in our lives or in our world the way we choose to react to it will either be driven by our emotions (negative), or we will focus on God and His promises (positive) and walk forth in confidence. There are too many of us who have lived life on an emotional roller-coaster rather than standing firmly on the promises of God.
Paul then says this, As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Even as Paul writes this, he is facing circumstances which are beyond anything most of us have experienced. He is telling us that he has lived in such a way as to set an example for us to follow.
But today, Paul is not here with us as a witness to the peace of God which can fill our lives. His witness was great for the Christians of his day, but what about us today?
Do you know any strong believers? Have you seen how they handled trials and difficulties in their lives? Have you ever stood back and said to yourself, “I am so thankful I have never had to go through anything like that!” And have you not stood amazed at the steadfastness of faith in others who were experiencing such trials? We may not have Paul with us, but God has provided so many faithful witnesses through whom we can witness exactly what Paul is addressing.
Jesus told us “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul is simply directing our attention to the promise Jesus made to all who believe in Him. If we are looking there is always something good and positive we can focus our hearts upon.
It is as we focus on what is good that we will experience the peace which can only come from God. The world we live in is painful. The God we believe in is filled with love for us and it is as we focus on all the blessings, we have received from Him that we will find peace!
Blessings in the name of Jesus,
Pastor Russ
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