Philippians 1: 27-30

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Philippians 1: 27-30

I follow the Professional Golf Association on my Twitter account. Recently they posted a photo of Webb Simpson and his wife on the occasion of his winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Both Simpson and his wife are known for their Christian faith. Below the post were several comments made by others who follow the PGA on Twitter. Some of the comments were positive, many were like “cat-calls” directed toward Simpson’s wife and a few of the comments were demeaning the Simpson’s faith. Such is our world culture. In our passage today Paul lifts up the importance of the followers of Christ maintaining their Christian integrity in the face of such hostility.

The culture in the USA is becoming increasingly hostile to the Christian movement. The followers of Jesus had a profound influence on both the initial settlements in America and the eventual founding of the US. That influence shaped the prevailing culture in the US until the post-Civil War era. Since then the prevailing culture has been increasingly anti-Christian. Paul’s words to his friends in Philippi are certainly apt for our times as well: “For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him” (Philippians 1:29).

When Paul encourages us to not be intimidated in any way by our enemies, he includes our enemy within which continually wars against our new life in Christ. We are challenged each day to do our part to be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we choose to believe that what is true for Jesus is just as true for his followers. When we do, we can joyfully receive Paul’s charge: “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ” (Philippians 1:27a).

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.