Philippians 4

Last chapter! This chapter is probably my favorite one. I memorized it with Maddy, Lenita, and Jenna one summer, and it still sticks with me, though I can't say it word for word anymore. Definitely has some of my favorite verses in it. Have you all noticed the undercurrent of joy that Paul puts in this book?
Philippians 4:4-8 "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men, the Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." There is so much to learn in these 4 verses! Paul is stressing the importance of rejoicing in the Lord. He says it twice. It's obviously important if he repeats it. We need to rejoice in our savior. Why? Because He sent His Son to die for us, and He granted us salvation and eternal life. He gives us the ability to love others in a more unselfish way, He gives us the fruits of the Spirit. And soooo much more. :) And along with our rejoicing in the Lord, we need to let our gentleness be evident to others around us. We need to be gentle. Not forcing our opinions on others, not being mean and cruel, not being judgmental and hypocritical. Being loving, caring, being a good listener, and the list goes on. We don't need to worry about things. Let tomorrow worry about itself. I am so guilty of worrying about tomorrow. I don't rest in God the way I should, and I get stressed out over dumb things and then treat others around me badly because I'm not resting in Christ and letting Him take care of me. Yes, I need to talk to God about my worries and needs and wants, but I need to leave those things in His hands. He'll take care of me! And so many times I behave and live on my own strength, not on God's. If I just rest in God, His peace will guard my heart and mind. How cool is that? I mean, seriously. And then we get a whole long list of all the things we need to be thinking on. If the things you think about are not noble, lovely, praiseworthy, of good report, etc... stop thinking about them! We're supposed to meditate on things that ARE lovely, praiseworthy, etc...
Philippians 4:11b-13 "For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." First off, I want to encourage you to look at verse thirteen in light of the previous verses. I can be content in any situation because of Christ. I can be rich, healthy, happy, etc. because of Christ. I can be hungry, and needy, and poor because of Christ. Being able to be content in those two extremes and any situation in between is not because of me. It's because of Christ. So, think about it. Are you content in whatever state you're in? Maybe when you go to school you feel like the people who call themselves your friends aren't treating you like one. Are you content to just let Jesus be your friend? Maybe the messages you're getting at church aren't what you'd like them to be. Are you giving that situation to God and then spending time in His word to help supplement the message you've already heard? Maybe you're having trouble loving your family, or vice-versa, are you loving God the way you should be and then letting that poor our into the way you love others? Just something to think about.
Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." This verse seems to state how God supplies our need. He supplies it through giving us His son and salvation! Pretty self-explanatory. Of course, there's more than one way to look at this verse, but that's the way I look at it. But, you could also look at it in the sense that we talked about in the verses above. We don't need to be anxious for anything, God is taking care of us through His Son.
Next post we'll be getting back to the "Why do we say it?" theme. Thanks for listening (or should I say reading?) my ramblings on one of my favorite books!