Because You Belong To The Lord

Meditations on the Book of Philippians

June 30, 2020

Because You Belong To The Lord

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8

Read: Philippians 4: 2-9

Philippians 4 is densely packed with one gem after another.  We would do well to memorize much of Paul’s wisdom. Today’s brief passage of seven verses has three huge helps for us as we seek the life in Christ as our way of life.

First, verse 2 reveals the essence of our life in Christ. I believe this one simple phrase says all that needs to be said: “Please, because you belong to the Lord” (Philippians 4:2). Therein is our motivation to strive for unity in the body of Christ. Therein is our motivation to strive to be fully transformed, to seek the life in Christ as our way of life. Therein we are reminded that our life does not belong to us. Our life belongs to God. By creation and redemption, our life belongs to God. Learning to live with this phrase ringing in our ears, “I belong to the Lord,” should lead our life until our faith becomes sight and we rest in the loving arms of Jesus.

Because we belong to the Lord, verses 6 and 7 can map out our daily life: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Paul didn’t promise all of our problems will go away. He promises us that resting in the assurance of what God has done to reconcile us to Himself through faith in Christ Jesus will overcome our anxious thoughts. This opens the door to the third help: focus on God’s goodness.

Every day we have choices with what we will fill our minds. We can read Steven King novels or watch horror movies, or we can fix our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. We can think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8)

My Takeaway: Paul’s teaching is needed more today than perhaps any time in my life. Today our culture is dominated by partisan fighting, identity politics, and the celebration of violence and ungodliness. However, when our daily life includes large portions of Scripture, and devotional readings such as, Jesus Calling (Sarah Young), Guideposts, This Day with the Master (Dennis Kinlaw) or any of the countless devotional resources available to us, fixing our mind on what is true becomes our way of life.

Sē’lah

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(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.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

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

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

We Are Resident Aliens

Meditations on the Book of Philippians

June 29, 2020

We Are Resident Aliens

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

Philippians 3:20

Read: Philippians 3: 17 - 4:1

In the closing verses of Chapter 3, Paul again refers to his vision of the future which kept him fighting the good fight: the victorious return of Christ Jesus the King. This vision was particularly conspicuous in Philippi which was a Roman colony and where citizenship in Rome was their paramount cultural value. In the first two chapters, Paul modeled how his allegiance to Christ Jesus called him to value the ways of Christ over and above his Roman citizenship. In today’s passage, Paul powerfully asserts this point: “we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20-21).

When Paul says we are citizens of heaven, he is not saying heaven is our home. He is saying our churches are colonies of our King, Christ Jesus. As we are taught to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, the mission of our colonies is to build for the Kingdom of God so that God’s will is fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. As resident aliens, we are laboring for our Master here until he comes in Final Victory to fully establish his reign on earth.

My Takeaway: Many Christians, when reciting the Apostles’ Creed, are unsure of the meaning of the phrase, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” and assume it must be referring to the resurrection of Jesus. Paul’s assertion in verse 21 (above) should clear up any confusion. Paul firmly believed that all of the followers of Jesus who have died will be resurrected and receive glorious bodies like Jesus’ own when our Savior returns in glory.

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.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

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

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Harmony With God

Meditations on the Book of Philippians

June 26, 2020

Harmony With God

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

Philippians 3:12

Read: Philippians 3: 12-16

In verse 12, Paul said, “I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” John Wesley urged his pastors to always have the mind-set that they were ‘going on to perfection,” and that phrase is still used today when new pastors are ordained in the United Methodist Church. Wesley’s intention was rooted in his understanding of the Biblical word holiness. John Wesley loved the word holiness. He talked about scriptural holiness, holiness of the heart and holiness of life. Many people mistakenly think holiness has to do with rigid laws, or rules, which through obedience make a person holy. Not so; holiness is a state of being. As Christians, we know that our state of being, our acceptance by God, comes as a gift of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. The definition that best fits John Wesley’s use of the word holiness is a state of being in harmony with God. In the context of today’s passage, because we have holiness of heart as a gift of God’s grace, we, like Paul, are pressing on to make what is true in our heart, true in our way of life.

It is so important that we hold tight to the truth that Jesus calls us to perfection. Jesus calls us to make our life in him our way of life. This truth has been captured beautifully by Max Lucado in the title of one of his books: God Loves You Just The Way You Are, But He Refuses To Leave You There. He Wants You To Be Just Like Jesus.

My Takeaway: The NASB translation provides me with another take on verse 12. “. . . but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” I love the visual image of this translation which reminds me of John 10:28-29 where Jesus says he has us securely, for all time, in his hand. I never tire of this image of Jesus holding me securely in his grasp as I reach out to grasp him.

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.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

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

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.