My God Will Fully Satisfy Every Need Of Yours

 Meditations on Philippians

June 7, 2021

My God Will Fully Satisfy Every Need Of Yours

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

Read: Philippians 4: 14-23

I love verse 19. After Paul has cataloged all the many ways God has met his every need, he then assures his friends (and us), “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NRSV). God will meet your needs out of His riches in glory in Jesus! Is any need in your life too big for God to meet?

Paul follows this awesome promise with a simple benediction, “Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen” (Philippians 4:20). It seems the letter has concluded. But wait! There’s more!

Chapter 4 has a very interesting flow. It began slowly, and then with each passage it continues to gain momentum until it reaches the dramatic and surprising climax in verse 22. Paul encourages us to rejoice, pray, seek peace, focus our life on the things of God, follow his example, experience peace, and be content. The chapter seems to reach its highest point at “I can do everything through Christ,” and then Paul pronounces a benediction, “all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen” (Philippians 4: 13, 20).

Paul saved the very best for last. “And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household” (Philippians 4:22). Caesar’s household sends greetings to the church in Philippi!

My Takeaway: Paul’s new community of believers has reached the most unlikely of places: Caesar’s household. Paul had asked his friends to pray for him, that he would boldly proclaim Christ even from his jail cell. This simple verse is a testimony that God honored Paul’s prayer request, and it is a towering reminder that God can use all of us exactly where we are. The fields are ripe and ready for harvest, now, if only we would see with the eyes of Jesus, if only we would love with the heart of Jesus.

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.

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.

 

Live In The Grace Of Each Day

 Meditations on Philippians

June 4, 2021

Live In The Grace Of Each Day

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

Read: Philippians 4: 10-13

My friend had been selected to give a talk on a women’s retreat where I was serving as the spiritual director. It was the tradition of this retreat that I would escort the speakers to the podium for their talk. As I stood with my friend for the opening prayer, I could feel her trembling. She was terrified. Although she was an elementary school teacher, she was not comfortable speaking to adults, especially when she had been asked to speak about her faith and her walk with the Lord. As the prayer closed, she stepped behind the podium and began her talk, and what a powerful and eloquent talk she delivered! The Holy Spirit touched many lives through her talk, including mine. My friend experienced the fulfillment of Paul’s assertion in her own life: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

Paul also said that he had learned how to live on almost nothing or with everything, with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. Paul had “learned the secret of living in every situation” (Philippians 2:12). That secret was the presence of Jesus Christ in his life. Paul experienced the fulfillment of this most precious promise of Jesus: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus is not a prescription for avoiding pain, discomfort, want, lack, illness or distress in our lives. It is God’s provision that no matter what issues we face in life, we can rest in the unalterable truth that we are the beloved children of God, and that we are never, ever alone. Jesus is with us even to end of the age! With this good news we can, to borrow a phrase from Paul Young (author of The Shack), live in the grace of each day.

My Takeaway: I have found it helpful in my life to always remember today’s verse (Philippians 4:13) in the context in which Paul shared it with his friends in Philippi.

“For I can do everything Christ calls me to do

because Christ gives me the strength to do it.”

This is just another way of internalizing the truth Paul shared in the earlier verse 13: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.

Because You Belong To The Lord

 Meditations on Philippians

June 3, 2021

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

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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 Philippians

June 2, 2021

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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 Philippians

June 1, 2021

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.