Philippians 4:1-7
Philippians 4:1-7
New King James Version (NKJV)
1 Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer
2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
My Thoughts:
- Let’s start with (v. 2) we read “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.”
- Perhaps Euodia and Syntyche are the Christian women who owned the home that the Church was meeting.
- We do not know what the women were fighting about but Paul has felt the need to step in. As a pastor I have seen our own members fighting, when we should be of like mind. It is true that we will never agree on everything but we should at least be able to agree to disagree.
- In (v. 5) we read “5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.”
- Forgiveness and acceptance these are the traits that Christ taught us. This is not just a theory; it should be part of our lives. How many times have you see someone that says they are a Christian, turn and blowup and someone for a simple mistake.
- Paul says that the Lord is at hand. We should never it is not up to us to judge some ones actions, when the time comes Christ will judge all of us and then and only then will we truly know what is in some ones heart.
- How can we receive forgiveness on the Day of Judgment if we ourselves cannot forgive?
- Let’s finish with (v. 7) “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”
- Christ is the standard to which we all fall short but He will stand with us and guard or hearts and minds in all matters as long as we ask him too.
Thought of the Day
“When we put our cares in God’s hands, He puts His peace in our heart”
I heard about a woman who kept a box in her kitchen that she called her “Worry Box.” Every time something troubled her, she would write it down on a piece of paper and put it in the box. She resolved not to think about her problems as long as they were in the box. This enabled the woman to put her troubles completely out of mind. She knew they could be dealt with later.
Occasionally she would take out a slip of paper and review the concern written on it. Because she had not been drained by anxiety, she was relaxed and better able to find the solution to her problem. Many times she discovered that a specific worry no longer existed.
Writing your worries on paper and putting them in a box may be helpful, but how much better it is to place them in the hands of God. Worry robs us of joy, drains us of energy, stunts our spiritual growth, and dishonors God. Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).
Let’s believe the Lord’s promises and trust Him to meet our needs. Placing our problems in His hands is far better than putting them in a worry box. —Richard De Haan
Never a trial that He is not there,
Never a burden that He does not bear;
Never a sorrow that He does not share—
Moment by moment, I’m under His care. —Whittle
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- What are your thoughts on (vv. 3, 4)?
- How do you treat your fellow Christian? And how do you treat others?
- What other things do you see in the text?
Prayer Activities
- Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Continue to have a prayer list and continue to praying for them.
- Pray with them and ask for the following;
- For God to help you find the strength to bring people back to the church.
- For God to strengthen us through Christ.
- For the individuals on your pray list.
- Let’s use (Psalms 131) for today’s prayer verse.
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Verses 3 and 4: Paul is wanting peace between these two women. The arguement was not just some silly fight, but was something that was potentially divisive. He wanted the church members to help resolve this dispute. He was also telling the Philipians to rejoice in all things. We as christians will face trials and tribulations,but we should always rejoice because we know God is using these situations to improve our character. We are tried by fire, and yes it is so hard at times to find a reason to rejoice. Just always remember, our Lord is with us and He will not give us more than we can handle. It doesn’t seem so when disaster strikes. My sister’s house burned in Feb. and so many pictures and things of her life with her husband were lost. She had lost her husband the Dec before so she was still grieving over his loss. She was able, by the grace of God, to replace the pictures and get her house redone with major improvements that she and Ty talked about but could never do. Ty is still gone but she has learned to rejoice. As for the rest, even though some people call me a trouble maker :), I try to treat everyone with respect and dignity. I fail, a lot , but God is still working on me.
That is one of the things I love about Christ, He never said that being a Christian would be easy, just the opposite we read in Mark 8:34-35 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” and Mat 10:38 “… anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Christ has told us that there will be tough times but He also said that he would never forsake us; Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
As for me I try to be thankful for the good and the tough times, because the truth is that we learn from our mistakes and the suffering that comes from them.
The day of the Lord is at hand…2000 yrs later, the saying is still true. We need to have our hearts right, now before the actual day of the Lord comes upon us and we’re not prepared. The fear of the Lord is the begining of wisdom. When we put off the day of his coming off to some time in the future, we’re decieved to give into our sinful nature easier with the though we would still have time to fix things before He comes…that’s when He comes to them like a thief in the night while their still in darkness and in their drunkness. We need to be faithfully working being a light while the light shines brightest. We’re on the long stretch and should be rejoicing knowing our redeemer is coming and with Him the reward to those who stand firm. It’s not a race for the weak, we must endure! But He doesn’t leave us to mange helplessly on our own; He wants us to be reliant on Him. He is desires to give us what we need and want to help us along. Above all, He wants us to have peace! These are hard times so He offers us His peace, which will guard our hearts and minds, just it did for Him through the cross. We are able to stand the Lords day..but only through the grace and intervention of Christ himself on our behalf.
I like this quote from Ellen White; “Act of the Apostles” {P. 634}
“the Evil servant says in his heart, “My Lord, delay his coming.” He does not say Christ will not come. He does not scoff at the idea of His second coming. But in his heart and by his actions and words he declares that the Lords coming is delayed. He banishes from the minds of others the conviction that the lord is coming quickly. His influence leads men to presumptions and careless delays”.