February 14
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PRAYER & THANKSGIVING EQUALS GOD’S PEACE
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:5-7
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In this letter of Paul, he recommends to the Philippians the importance of having a gentle spirit and having it manifest for all people to see. Baker’s Evangelical defines “gentleness as a sensitivity of disposition and kindness of behavior founded on strength and prompted by love. In the King James version, it is defined as moderation. Why does Paul advised the Philippians to show it off? Human nature will not automatically be gentle, that is why Paul probably explains in the next sentence of the same verse that the Lord is near. Without the Lord’s presence in our lives, it is impossible for us to be gentle. After the fall of Adam and Eve, our nature is inclined to being selfish. One cannot be gentle, unless they have Christ in them, who is the epitome of selflessness and sacrifice.
Paul also gives the believers an antidote to worry and anxiety which is prayer and thanksgiving. Because of the curse of the fall of our first parents, the key to our freedom and dominion was handed to the serpent. This is why it is so easy for us to sin but very hard to stay pure and holy. Worry and anxiety is sin because when we indulge ourselves in these two negative acts, we are not operating in the image that God created us to be, which is love. Since God is love, and we are made in His image, we are supposed to operate in love. Perfect love casts out fear. So, fear is the cause of worry and anxiety. It is a form of mistrust in the character of God who is our protector, provider and maker. In Matthew 6:26-28, we are given an explanation why worry and anxiety are something that questions God’s provision and love for us. When we pray, we are humbling ourselves to a higher being who is so good to provide all our needs. When we thank the Lord for all his gifts, there will be no room for worry or anxiety. As we pray and give thanks, we reap peace that exceeds all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Jesus. What powerful life lessons Paul gives the believers! He equips us to walk in the Spirit instead of gratifying our flesh and sinful nature.
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REFLECTION
• How does the world view worry and anxiety as opposed to God’s view?
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WALK AS CITIZENS OF HEAVEN ILMA’S VLOG
February 12
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WALK AS CITIZENS OF HEAVEN
17 Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. – Philippians 3:17-21
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In these passages, Paul emphasizes the importance of walking as citizens of heaven. In Hebrew, walk is hâlak. According to studylight.org, it is a general term for going and a specific term for walking regularly in relationship or companionship with another or with a set of ideas. Paul pleads the believers to follow his example of walking with Jesus. He warns them of those who claim they are believers, and yet, walk like enemies of God. In verses19, he explains how they are walking opposite of what Jesus taught because of their appetite on the physical or worldly things. In verse 20, Paul reminds them of their citizenship in heaven, where they are eagerly awaiting their Savior, the Lord Jesus. He reminds them of the promise of Jesus in verse 21 where their bodies will be transformed into like Jesus’ glorious body.
Barclay comments that the enemies of Christ were two sets of people within the church. There were those who distorted the principle of Christian liberty. These people turned Christian liberty into unchristian licence and gloried in giving their passions full play. There were those who distorted the Christian doctrine of grace. They said that, since grace was wide enough to cover every sin, a man could sin as he liked and not worry; it would make no difference to the all-forgiving love of God. They may have been misguided Christians who twisted the loveliest things into justification for the ugliest sins. We need to be careful of these kinds of people in the church. Paul wants them to clearly see the difference of those people and how they can derail them from the path that Jesus wants them to take. Paul admonishes the Philippians to focus on living for Jesus and that means that they need to follow the gospel and look forward to the promise of spending eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ.
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REFLECTION
• How can we continually walk as citizens of heaven?
PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL
February 11
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PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL
12 Not that I have already grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; 16 however, let’s keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. – Philippians 3:12-16
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In these passages from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we hear Paul encouraging the believers to press on toward the goal towards the purpose that Jesus has called them. He admits that he is still in the process of moving towards that goal of that call that God has called him. According to Jonathan Petersen’s article on “When was Each book of the bible written?”, the book of James was written in AD 44-49 which makes it the first book written in the New Testament and Philippians was written in AD 60-62. Paul must have been referring to “becoming perfect” in reference to James concept of being perfect is clearly stated in his book in his first chapter verses 2-4 which explains what perfection is in God’s eyes. It is when we rejoice in trial and suffering so that our endurance can grow and our faith and character grows so we can be content and not needing anything. The world on the other hand view perfection very differently. Most of Paul’s teachings goes back to James’ teachings as well.
The following verses talks about pressing on, in other words, enduring. Just as in a race, the athletes must be able to look ahead towards the goal to reach the prize, Paul also tells the believers to focus their gaze on the prize of eternity that is in Jesus. He admits to them that he hasn’t arrived yet and is still pressing on to that purpose that Christ has called him. Paul recommends that there must be no other distractions and trials that will make them stop looking forward to that goal of being with Jesus in the end. He talks about the mature believers who will not let anything come in the way of their growth or progress toward the goal of becoming more and more like Jesus. He advised them to not look back at their defeats but to get up and run the race to get to that goal and never let anything hinder them from that maturity that Jesus wants them to aim at.
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REFLECTION
• What can be some distractions that stop you from pressing on the goal to Jesus?
COUNTING LOSSES AS GAINS FOR CHRIST ILMA’S VLOG
February 10
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COUNTING LOSSES AS GAINS FOR CHRIST
7 But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.- Philippians 3:7-11
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In the previous verses 3-6, Paul claims the many things that qualifies him to boast about all the legitimacy of his zest to know God’s law and being a Hebrew of Hebrews, in the following verses, he claims that they are not useful for him anymore because of Christ. Though he used to value all his knowledge of the law, he doesn’t consider it that important anymore because he has gained Christ already. He now thinks all these things that used to matter much to him, is no longer of value to him anymore. In verse 9, he rejects any form of self-righteousness he may have gained from knowing and following the law. The Holy Spirit must have changed Paul entirely because in verse 9, he now sees how faith in Christ is the only way he will have the righteousness of God.
Spurgeon says “He was skilled in spiritual arithmetic, and very careful in his reckoning. He cast up his accounts with caution, and observed with a diligent eye his losses and his gains.” We can say that Paul’s attitude was the same that Jesus described in the parable of the pearl of great price in Matthew 13:45-46 which says 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
David Guzik comments that Paul did not only count his religious pedigree as a loss; he counted all things loss – but he counted them as a loss in view of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. It wasn’t so much that those things were worthless in themselves, but compared to the greatness of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, they really were nothing. This counting loss was not merely an internal spiritual exercise. Paul had indeed suffered the loss of all things that he might gain Christ.
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REFLECTION
• What have you given up and counted as losses in order to gain Christ?
PAUL’S LEGITIMACY AS A HEBREW OF HEBREWS
February 9
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PAUL’S LEGITIMACY AS A HEBREW OF HEBREWS
4 Although I myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. – Philippians 3:4-6
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In these passages in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he tells them why he as more reason to have confidence in the flesh. In verse 5, one of his reasons is that he belongs to the tribe of Benjamin, a distinguished tribe, because it gave Israel its first king, Saul as 1 Samuel 9:1-2 states. He was also circumcised on the eight day in accordance with Leviticus 12:3. Since he came from the tribe of Benjamin, he was a true descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, therefore, an heir to God’s covenant with them. Paul also claims that he is a Hebrew of Hebrews, meaning he was a Jew who embraced Greek culture as it spread through the Mediterranean. According to a commentary by David Guzik, during those times, many Jews were ashamed of being Jews and liked to live like Greeks, and sometimes even to the point of having their circumcision cosmetically restored or hidden so they could enjoy the Roman public baths without being noticed as Jews. In contrast, Paul was raised by his parents as a Hebrew of the Hebrews.
Paul has all the reasons why he might have confidence in the flesh. He says that among an elite people which were the Jews, he was of an elite sect, the Pharisees, who were known for their scrupulous devotion to God’s laws. According to another commentary, there were not even six thousand Pharisees, who were called the spiritual athletes of Judaism. Pharisee, their very name, means “The Separated Ones.” Barclays says that they had separated themselves off from all common life and from all common tasks in order to make it the one aim of their lives to keep every smallest detail of the law. Paul was not merely an intellectual opponent of perceived heresies against Judaism; he was also an active fighter against them – even in his blindness to God. This shows that Paul achieved the standard of righteousness which was accepted among the men of his day. So, Paul claims that he is more than qualified than anyone else to boast in the flesh than any of the Jews who claim righteousness and zeal for following the laws. He knows them more than any other Jews who claims they do.
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REFLECTION
• What is Paul’s point in stating that he is a Hebrew of Hebrews to the Philippians?
REJOICE IN THE LORD AND BEWARE OF EVIL ILMA’S VLOG
February 8
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REJOICE IN THE LORD AND BEWARE OF EVIL
Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble for me, and it is a safeguard for you.2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and take pride in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, – Philippians 3:1-3
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In these passages, Paul tells us to embrace a spirit of rejoicing. When we focus on the Lord, we will be amazed and awed by what he provides for us and what protection he cloaks us with. But the Lord also warns us through Paul to be vigilant and watchful for evil that surrounds us in this world that we live in. Paul takes the responsibility to constantly remind the Philippians of how they can safeguard their new creation in Christ. There are some things he particularly calls our attention to such as:
*Beware of the dogs – in a commentary by David Guzik, “dogs” is exactly the term of contempt Jews would use against Gentiles. Paul said a lot by using this word against these Jewish-influenced legalists.
*Beware of the evil workers – the Jews thought they were good workers who obeyed the law strictly, thinking that God approved them, but Paul calls them evil because they deny that salvation is a gift from God, and they turn people away from God.
*Beware of false circumcision – the Jews were proud of their physical sign of circumcision (a covenant with God that went back to Abraham’s time (Genessis17:10) Paul used two Greek words very like each other. Instead of ‘cutting round’ (circumcision), they were ‘cutting to pieces’ (concision). The law forbade Jews to make cuts on the body (Leviticus 21:5). What God required was a ‘circumcision’ of the heart. God does not require people to trust in laws and ceremonies, as the Jews did. He requires a humble trust in his mercy. Paul said that the Jews were causing injury to the true faith. It was as if they were cutting it to pieces.
In verse 3, Paul emphasizes the true circumcision as the true believer who worships God in Sprit who only boasts about truth and the things of the Spirit; someone who never entertains their flesh cravings or depend on their strength to earn their salvation, just like the Jews did. Paul didn’t want the Philippians to be religious, but have relationship with their one and only God.
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REFLECTION
• Why can’t evil people rejoice in the Lord? What disqualifies them from rejoicing?
RISKING ONE’S LIFE FOR THE WORK OF CHRIST ILMA’S VLOG
February 7
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RISKING ONE’S LIFE FOR THE WORK OF CHRIST
25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need, 26 because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. 29 Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold people like him in high regard, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to compensate for your absence in your service to me. -Philippians 2:25-30
________________________________________According to William Barclay’s commentary, the Greek word for risking one’s life is the verb paraboleuesthai, a gambler’s word which means to stake everything on a turn of the dice. Paul is saying that for the sake of Jesus Christ Epaphroditus gambled his life. In the days of the Early Church there was an association of men and women called the parabolani, the gamblers. It was their aim to visit the prisoners and the sick, especially those who were ill with dangerous and infectious diseases. In A.D. 252 plague broke out in Carthage; the heathen threw out the bodies of their dead and fled in terror. Cyprian, the Christian bishop, gathered his congregation together and set them to burying the dead and nursing the sick in that plague-stricken city; and by so doing they saved the city, at the risk of their lives, from destruction and desolation. There should be in the Christian an almost reckless courage which makes him ready to gamble with his life to serve Christ and men.
We see another selfless act of love of Paul in these passages. He sends back Epaphroditus to the Philippians who were concerned that he may be sick. Paul endorses this courageous worker of the Lord, Ephaphroditus, who risked his life for the gospel. Epaphroditus was with Paul in prison, as a way of the Philippian’s support for him. Can you imagine how someone suffering in prison can think of the welfare of others? Paul didn’t want the Philippians to worry about Ephaphroditus, so he sends him back so they can rejoice as to how the Lord is caring for them in prison. He reminds them how selfless and faithful Ephaphroditus in spreading the gospel, risking his own life.
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REFLECTION
• How can we risk our own lives just to bring the gospel to this corrupt world?
TIMOTHY: PAUL’S KINDRED SPIRIT ILMA’S VLOG
February 6
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TIMOTHY: PAUL’S KINDRED SPIRIT
19 But I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know of his proven character, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. 23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly. – Philippians 2:19-24
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According to William Barclay’s commentary, Timothy was a native either of Derbe or of Lystra. His father was a Greek and the fact that he was not circumcised would seem to show that he was educated in Greek ways (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5). We cannot tell how or when he was converted to Christianity, but on his second missionary journey Paul met him and saw in him one whom he could clearly use in the service of Jesus Christ. From that time Paul and Timothy were very close. Paul could speak of him as his child in the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:17). Timothy’s great use was that, whenever Paul wished for information from some Church or wished to send advice or encouragement or rebuke and could not go himself, it was he whom he sent. Timothy’s great value was that he was always willing to go anywhere; and in his hands a message was as safe as if Paul had delivered it himself. Timothy’s one desire was to serve Paul and Jesus Christ.
Paul endorses his beloved Timothy to the Philippians. He trusts his good assistant to be able to represent him because the Philippians have been faithful to the Lord and there is no better person who loves them as much as he did. He was so glad that Timothy could represent him in doing God’s ministry. Paul speaks highly of Timothy, almost like his own son. His letter was full of expectancy as to his coming visit to see them all. Paul could speak of Timothy as his child in the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:17). He was with Paul in Philippi (Acts 16:1-40 ); he was with him in Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 17:1-14); he was with him in Corinth and in Ephesus (Acts 18:5; Acts 19:21-22); and he was with him in prison in Rome (Colossians 1:1; Philippians 1:1). We see the bond and trust that Paul and Timothy had between them. What a wonderful relationship when we are kindred in spirit with another believer!
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REFLECTION
• What is the most important thing that you could ever want to have in a friend?
• Why is trust a very important aspect in a friendship?
WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR & TREMBLING ILMA’S VLOG
February 5
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WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR & TREMBLING
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.14 Do all things without complaining or arguments; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.
– Philippians 2:12-18
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In this letter of Paul to the Philippians, he reminds them of the importance of obedience more than anything now that he isn’t with them. He wanted them to continue to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. “Working out your own salvation” has been so misunderstood by many Christians. Some believers misconstrue it as to work hard to earn their salvation, which is the opposite of what it really means. When Paul tells this to people who already committed their lives to Christ as their Lord and Savior, he meant for them to work in their process of sanctification and living their professed belief in the Lord.
Spurgeon says: “These words, as they stand in the New Testament, contain no exhortation to all men, but are directed to the people of God. They are not intended as an exhortation to the unconverted; they are, as we find them in the epistle, beyond all question addressed to those who are already saved through a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
When Paul says to work out your own salvation in fear and trembling, he meant for all believers to follow a life that is pure and so they can follow the Spirit instead of their flesh. In verse 14, he cautions them from complaining and arguments because they hamper the progress of their growth. They also delay the fulfillment of their purposes for God’s kingdom work. Can you imagine being led to Jesus by whiny people? Would you be a true witness to the gospel? Sadly, many of us Christians fail to refrain from complaining and arguing. Paul urges us to share our faith with rejoicing.
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REFLECTION
• How can the phrase “working out your own salvation” mislead some Christians?
TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN ILMA’S VLOG
February 2
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TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again. – Philippians 1:21-26
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In his declaration of Paul’s great love for his Lord and Master, we hear him proclaim that “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” What does he mean by this? Do you remember how Paul’s encounter on the Damascus road, changed his entire life from a dead life of persecuting the Christians to a new life for Christ?
Barclay comments that for Paul, Christ had been the beginning of life, for on that day at Damascus road it was as if he had begun life all over again. To Paul, Christ had given the task of life, for it was he who had made him an apostle and sent him out as the evangelist of the Gentiles. To him Christ had given the strength for life, for it was Christ’s all-sufficient grace that was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. For him Christ was the reward of life, for to Paul the only worthwhile reward was closer fellowship with his Lord. If Christ were to be taken out of life, for Paul there would be nothing left.
“Death is gain” because it meant that he will be united with his Lord and Savior. Barclay comments again that there are passages in which Paul seems to regard death as a sleep, from which all men at some future general resurrection shall be wakened (1Corinthians 16:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16); but at the moment when its breath was on him Paul thought of death not as a falling asleep but as an immediate entry into the presence of his Lord.
In verse 23, he mentions two desires regarding to die so he can be with Christ or to remain alive so he can still continue to do the work for Christ to the other believers. How many of us Christians have this undying servant heart like Paul? His whole life is about serving and proclaiming the gospel so that Christ may be glorified. Is our life for Christ and are we ready to give up our life to preach the gospel and make disciples of others?
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REFLECTION
• Does your life manifest a life for Christ and do you think to die is gain?