Philippians 1:27
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.”
Life Application Study Bible Notes on Philippians 1:27: “Paul encourages the believers to be unified, as they “stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith.” How sad that much time and effort is lost in some churches by fighting against one another instead of uniting against the real opposition! It takes a courageous church to resist in-fighting and to maintain the common purpose of serving Christ.”
BarbTalk:
When I read this, I am saddened by all the grief that has happened in the Body of Christ in recent years. So many have been tempted, and so many have fallen, letting their passions dictate their behavior rather than the Word being their guide. Usually, there is a bit of hiding and isolation involved, in which things can go too far, too quickly.
I truly believe that each one who steps out in faith to serve the Risen Savior has a big bull’s eye painted on them, and they become a target. An enemy wants to take down anyone who stands for righteousness. We see the results in the news almost daily. So many have been disillusioned and have walked away from the faith because of the actions of a few.
How do we deal with this hypocrisy? How can a body of believers stand for what they believe in and not fall prey to temptation?
Everyone needs accountability. This is not my ministry, my Word, or my outstanding zealousness. God has leveled the playing field. We are all servants on an equal footing of the One True God. We are instructed in Romans 14:4: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.” The Message version of Romans 14:4: “Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.” I love the statement that our Pastor Gary has made: “No one has ever said to me: you are so judgmental and critical, I can’t wait to go to church with you and meet your God.”
I believe that everyone who steps out in faith needs a prayer team backing him or her up. We need to be authentic and truthful about what we are going through, and engage a few mature believers, so we can let people see into our lives, and pray for us.
Last night some of us attended an iDisciple training. In the discussion, the point came up that we can spend lots of resources putting on events, when the Word tells us Jesus’ instructions is to “go”: Matthew 28:17 – 20, the Amplified version: “And when they saw Him, they fell down and worshiped Him; but some doubted. Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, ‘All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with youc]" > all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be).’”
When we read ‘some doubted’, we can be sure that Jesus knew their difficulties yet still spoke to them. He did not say, okay, doubters, over here, and worshippers over there, and then proceed to speak only to the worshippers. Amazing that even when the believers doubted Him, He still gave them the charge to “go!”. “Go” is very different from stay or sit. A Christ Follower needs to be ready to ‘go’ at a moment’s notice. Therefore, we do not have the luxury of laziness, or unpreparedness.
We are told to ‘go’. We can’t sit in our big churches and expect people to ‘come’. We are to walk as Jesus walked. We do not have to be scholars; we can just speak about what we love. Most do not hesitate to expound on the great pineapple upside down cake they had last night, and share the recipe. Why do we hesitate so much to tell of our First Love?
Why do we speak one way and act another? Just because we are on God’s side we are not perfect. We make tons of mistakes in what we worship, and how we conduct ourselves, so often in contrast to the instructions we are given. Accountability is the key. We need each other to be able to talk the talk, and, almost more importantly, walk the walk. People who pray for us to be sensitive to the Spirit are our best friends. They know how hard it is to walk in right standing with God at all times.
Just because we are in right standing with God, we do not somehow become a robot who does everything correctly. God has given autonomy, and He loves us to freely choose Him and His Ways. He loves it when we love Him and involve Him in even the minute parts of our lives. Yes, He cares about all things in our lives, from parking places to health challenges. 1 John 2:5-6: “If anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.” Walking and living as Jesus did. We go, we speak about what we love, we do not judge others, and we stay close to Him in prayer, which is how Jesus did it. That is how we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
My prayer today is that we walk in love. May we be alert to what God is doing and walk with Him into every situation, knowing that He is the best Advisor and Advocate we can ever have. May He bless us with His eyes to see and His heart to feel what He feels. I am praying for an outpouring of love and grace upon us all, and that we will not hesitate to talk about what we love.
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.”
Life Application Study Bible Notes on Philippians 1:27: “Paul encourages the believers to be unified, as they “stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith.” How sad that much time and effort is lost in some churches by fighting against one another instead of uniting against the real opposition! It takes a courageous church to resist in-fighting and to maintain the common purpose of serving Christ.”
BarbTalk:
When I read this, I am saddened by all the grief that has happened in the Body of Christ in recent years. So many have been tempted, and so many have fallen, letting their passions dictate their behavior rather than the Word being their guide. Usually, there is a bit of hiding and isolation involved, in which things can go too far, too quickly.
I truly believe that each one who steps out in faith to serve the Risen Savior has a big bull’s eye painted on them, and they become a target. An enemy wants to take down anyone who stands for righteousness. We see the results in the news almost daily. So many have been disillusioned and have walked away from the faith because of the actions of a few.
How do we deal with this hypocrisy? How can a body of believers stand for what they believe in and not fall prey to temptation?
Everyone needs accountability. This is not my ministry, my Word, or my outstanding zealousness. God has leveled the playing field. We are all servants on an equal footing of the One True God. We are instructed in Romans 14:4: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.” The Message version of Romans 14:4: “Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.” I love the statement that our Pastor Gary has made: “No one has ever said to me: you are so judgmental and critical, I can’t wait to go to church with you and meet your God.”
I believe that everyone who steps out in faith needs a prayer team backing him or her up. We need to be authentic and truthful about what we are going through, and engage a few mature believers, so we can let people see into our lives, and pray for us.
Last night some of us attended an iDisciple training. In the discussion, the point came up that we can spend lots of resources putting on events, when the Word tells us Jesus’ instructions is to “go”: Matthew 28:17 – 20, the Amplified version: “And when they saw Him, they fell down and worshiped Him; but some doubted. Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, ‘All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with youc]" > all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be).’”
When we read ‘some doubted’, we can be sure that Jesus knew their difficulties yet still spoke to them. He did not say, okay, doubters, over here, and worshippers over there, and then proceed to speak only to the worshippers. Amazing that even when the believers doubted Him, He still gave them the charge to “go!”. “Go” is very different from stay or sit. A Christ Follower needs to be ready to ‘go’ at a moment’s notice. Therefore, we do not have the luxury of laziness, or unpreparedness.
We are told to ‘go’. We can’t sit in our big churches and expect people to ‘come’. We are to walk as Jesus walked. We do not have to be scholars; we can just speak about what we love. Most do not hesitate to expound on the great pineapple upside down cake they had last night, and share the recipe. Why do we hesitate so much to tell of our First Love?
Why do we speak one way and act another? Just because we are on God’s side we are not perfect. We make tons of mistakes in what we worship, and how we conduct ourselves, so often in contrast to the instructions we are given. Accountability is the key. We need each other to be able to talk the talk, and, almost more importantly, walk the walk. People who pray for us to be sensitive to the Spirit are our best friends. They know how hard it is to walk in right standing with God at all times.
Just because we are in right standing with God, we do not somehow become a robot who does everything correctly. God has given autonomy, and He loves us to freely choose Him and His Ways. He loves it when we love Him and involve Him in even the minute parts of our lives. Yes, He cares about all things in our lives, from parking places to health challenges. 1 John 2:5-6: “If anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.” Walking and living as Jesus did. We go, we speak about what we love, we do not judge others, and we stay close to Him in prayer, which is how Jesus did it. That is how we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
My prayer today is that we walk in love. May we be alert to what God is doing and walk with Him into every situation, knowing that He is the best Advisor and Advocate we can ever have. May He bless us with His eyes to see and His heart to feel what He feels. I am praying for an outpouring of love and grace upon us all, and that we will not hesitate to talk about what we love.