Philippians 4:6 – 7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This is one of my favorite scriptures, in theory. The practice of […]
Public Relations
Philippians 4:5 “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” As Paul encouraged the members of the Philippian church to get along with one another, he reminded them to be gentle. This word can also be translated as sweet reasonableness, goodwill, generosity, charity toward the faults of others, friendliness, yieldedness, leniency, mercy […]
Rejoice in the Lord Always
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” This is an interesting statement, coming from a man in prison, facing possible execution. When we look at Paul’s circumstances, he clearly did not have much reason to rejoice. But he didn’t tell us to rejoice in our circumstances always. He told […]
A Tale of Two Women
Philippians 4:2 – 3 “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names […]
How to Avoid Getting Burned
We had everything we needed for a grand adventure. Or a disaster. I was six years old, Stephanie was seven, and Rudy was eight. We had a magnifying glass, a pile of dead leaves, and a sunny day. “Let’s build a campfire!” I said. Stephanie and Rudy looked at me skeptically. “Oh, I know how […]
Stand Firm
Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!” A few days ago, I received an e-mail from a dear friend. “My Baby’s Coming Home!” the subject line read. My friend’s daughter, who lives in Iceland […]
Beam Me Up
Philippians 3:20 – 21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” The idea of a glorified body […]
Home, Sweet Home
Philippians 3:19 – 20 ” . . . Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Mark, the kids and I lived in Louisiana for a short time. While we were there, we met some wonderful people! We built […]
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
Philippians 3:18 – 19 “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” If the devil himself came […]
Be Like Me
Philippians 3:17 “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” Throughout the New Testament, Paul speaks of his failures as well as his successes. In 1 Timothy 1:15, he referred to himself as the worst of sinners. So why does he […]
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