All Things Through Christ
May God be with you as you delve into a new day!
I wonder, have you ever encountered a person who was absolutely content? I do not mean a person who was happy go lucky and simply had an easy life. Have you ever encountered a person who lacked so many of the blessings we take for granted and yet they were absolutely at peace? I will say up front, these types of individuals are rare!
Paul is speaking to us today about life with its ebb and flow which we all experience. Do you remember when you were younger, and every month was as struggle to simply make ends meet? Or what is it like to have an unexpected experience and no money to pay for it? Can you remember those days?
Listen to what Paul shares with us today.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act. 11 Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty. Philippians 4:10-14
This is Paul’s thank you to the Philippian Church for the support they have provided for him. It is also a teaching moment for Paul as he reminds them and us that our momentary circumstances can change anytime.
Paul speaks of living with little and having times of prosperity. He says he has been hungry and full. He has had abundance and there are times he was in need. I believe we can all relate to this on some measure. I doubt many of us have ever been hungry and had no means of obtaining food, but there have been times when we did without the things we wanted and lived on the basics. The point is that Paul is voicing God’s faithfulness in all things and in all times of his life.
The key phrase in this text comes near the end. Paul proclaims this, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Paul was a man who was sold out to Jesus. There was nothing we faced in life which was more important than living his life as a faithful servant of Christ.
There have been very few times I have encountered someone who lived with this simple, humble, yet powerful witness to Christ. One such time came years ago when I would make shut-in calls on an elderly couple who had next to nothing. John was a tall lanky old farmer, and his wife was sweet as pie. They had sold their farm but had a living estate to live in the old farmhouse for the rest of their lives.
The house of barely more than a shack. The front porch with its roof was literally detaching from the house and falling in. Their furniture was older than I was at the time and even then, it looked like I had stepped back into the 1050’s. I would sit with this couple and share the Word of God and the Lord’s Supper, but as I left, I knew I was the one who was blessed. Their meek and humble manner along with the simple peace and contentment was beyond my ability to fully comprehend. All I knew is that each time I visited, I left feeling as if I had encountered two saints of God unlike any I had ever known before. This elderly couple witnessed to their pastor in a way words never could. I was blessed to know them.
I share all this to say that Paul had found in Christ the fullness of all he needed in life. His peace came from the grace of God and his confidence was placed solidly in the promises of God and in his heart, he knew God was good. There was no situation in life which could take away from him what Christ Jesus had freely given to him.
Paul statement, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me is a witness to us today that as we hold onto Jesus the things of this world take on less and less meaning.
The challenge is we are so often consumed by the world and all that it offers that we base our sense of happiness and well-being on all the world offers and not on Christ. How do we change this in our lives?
I would suggest we take stock in all that we have and the lives we are living and then turn our faces toward heaven and simply ask, “Lord, what do You want of me?” What is lacking in most of our lives is a sense of absolute dependance upon God and far too much trusting in ourselves.
Our world is changing and the Christians in our nation are shrinking. We must prepare ourselves for a life in which many of the creature comforts we have cherished are no longer available to us. We must learn what it is like to place ourselves in the Lord’s hands and find in Him all we need or desire.
I pray each and every one of you will join me in seeking the Lord first in our lives. It is as we humble ourselves under the mighty hands of God that He will lift us up.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
I wonder, have you ever encountered a person who was absolutely content? I do not mean a person who was happy go lucky and simply had an easy life. Have you ever encountered a person who lacked so many of the blessings we take for granted and yet they were absolutely at peace? I will say up front, these types of individuals are rare!
Paul is speaking to us today about life with its ebb and flow which we all experience. Do you remember when you were younger, and every month was as struggle to simply make ends meet? Or what is it like to have an unexpected experience and no money to pay for it? Can you remember those days?
Listen to what Paul shares with us today.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act. 11 Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty. Philippians 4:10-14
This is Paul’s thank you to the Philippian Church for the support they have provided for him. It is also a teaching moment for Paul as he reminds them and us that our momentary circumstances can change anytime.
Paul speaks of living with little and having times of prosperity. He says he has been hungry and full. He has had abundance and there are times he was in need. I believe we can all relate to this on some measure. I doubt many of us have ever been hungry and had no means of obtaining food, but there have been times when we did without the things we wanted and lived on the basics. The point is that Paul is voicing God’s faithfulness in all things and in all times of his life.
The key phrase in this text comes near the end. Paul proclaims this, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Paul was a man who was sold out to Jesus. There was nothing we faced in life which was more important than living his life as a faithful servant of Christ.
There have been very few times I have encountered someone who lived with this simple, humble, yet powerful witness to Christ. One such time came years ago when I would make shut-in calls on an elderly couple who had next to nothing. John was a tall lanky old farmer, and his wife was sweet as pie. They had sold their farm but had a living estate to live in the old farmhouse for the rest of their lives.
The house of barely more than a shack. The front porch with its roof was literally detaching from the house and falling in. Their furniture was older than I was at the time and even then, it looked like I had stepped back into the 1050’s. I would sit with this couple and share the Word of God and the Lord’s Supper, but as I left, I knew I was the one who was blessed. Their meek and humble manner along with the simple peace and contentment was beyond my ability to fully comprehend. All I knew is that each time I visited, I left feeling as if I had encountered two saints of God unlike any I had ever known before. This elderly couple witnessed to their pastor in a way words never could. I was blessed to know them.
I share all this to say that Paul had found in Christ the fullness of all he needed in life. His peace came from the grace of God and his confidence was placed solidly in the promises of God and in his heart, he knew God was good. There was no situation in life which could take away from him what Christ Jesus had freely given to him.
Paul statement, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me is a witness to us today that as we hold onto Jesus the things of this world take on less and less meaning.
The challenge is we are so often consumed by the world and all that it offers that we base our sense of happiness and well-being on all the world offers and not on Christ. How do we change this in our lives?
I would suggest we take stock in all that we have and the lives we are living and then turn our faces toward heaven and simply ask, “Lord, what do You want of me?” What is lacking in most of our lives is a sense of absolute dependance upon God and far too much trusting in ourselves.
Our world is changing and the Christians in our nation are shrinking. We must prepare ourselves for a life in which many of the creature comforts we have cherished are no longer available to us. We must learn what it is like to place ourselves in the Lord’s hands and find in Him all we need or desire.
I pray each and every one of you will join me in seeking the Lord first in our lives. It is as we humble ourselves under the mighty hands of God that He will lift us up.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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