December 11–Philippians

“He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him”(2:8-9).

No part of Scripture is more joyful or optimistic than Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Doubly inspiring because it is written despite the dangers and discomforts of prison, this short epistle radiates Paul’s confidence and hope!

“I am CONFIDENT,” he writes in 1:6. “In this I REJOICE,” he says in 1:18. “I KNOW that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit,” he says in 1:19. All-conquering optimism! Paul’s focus is not on discomfort or danger. His eyes are on Christ!

It is a lesson he insists for all believers. If joy is a noun, rejoice is a verb! An action. A choice. A safeguard. As Nehemiah said to the beleaguered wall-builders, “the joy of the Lord is your strength”(Nehemiah 8:10). We are not joyful when we are strong. We are strong when we are joyful.

The door to joy is HUMILITY. 2:5-11 is the great “kenosis” passage in the Scripture. (kenoo is the Greek word, “to empty”). Christ emptied Himself of divine privilege and prerogative in order to be made a man. By gladly accepting the limitations placed on Him in this God-given assignment; by not claiming His rights, Christ became a victor. Through humble obedience, not resistance or complaint, He found joy on the journey and victory at the end of his path. This is our same assignment, says the Apostle!

Proud people never know true joy. They (we) are too determined to point out injustice, too prone to feel slighted or insulted. Humble people, on the other hand, embrace the goodness of God’s plan. Accepting this “low place” (the literal translation of the word humility) they (we) find supernatural joy and energy for living.

As Christmas comes, the Babe in a manger teaches an eloquent lesson. Humble yourself! Don’t fight against God or the parts of His plan that seem unfair or painful! Trust! Be small! Let God be large! Take the assignment He gives you! Obey! Rejoice! At the end of this path, and every step along the way, the joy promised by angels in their song will be yours.

“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you”(James 4:10).

December 10–Ephesians 1-6

“Now unto Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen”(3:20).

To see a thing, you sometimes need to get away from it. Get some distance and perspective.

The Letter to the Ephesians was that opportunity for Paul. For years he had been busy and challenged in his missionary work. Enemies and friends, joys and sorrows.

Now, he was in prison. House arrest in Rome. See 6:20. Rather than be frustrated or frightened, the old apostle used the “down time” to rethink the gospel, the things he had seen, the lessons he had learned. Much needed time to reflect.

The longer he meditated, the more the beauty of God’s plan appeared to him. In the relative quiet of prison, he gazed at “the heavenly places” (1:3), saw the “spiritual blessings” that are already true for believers. The BEAUTY and REALITY of heaven. “Unseen things above,” sings the old hymn. In the “heavenlies” Paul found sweet hope and encouragement.

As he reflected, Paul saw God’s eternal purpose to, “sum up all things in Christ. . .to the praise of His glory” (1:10, 1:14). In the end, no one will honor mankind. The glory will be God’s alone.

Paul also saw the great role of the church! (1:22, 3:10, 3:21). God’s elect will be His vindication. His redeemed children will be undeniable proof of His grace and His justice. “His inheritance in the saints,” Paul writes in 1:18. Saved people will be what the Father treasures above all other accomplishments.

Sometimes the failure and blindness of the visible church discourages us. Not true for Paul. In eternity, we are already what we will be. Glorious in robes of white, with grateful hearts and joyful songs, we are (and will be) a glorious church!

Friend, are you ever so busy with church that you lose perspective? If, like Paul, you took some time to be quiet, to look into the heavenly realities (hopefully without a stay in prison), would your vision change? Would you arrive at a greater confidence for the future and God’s great purpose for His people?

“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awesome as an army with banners.” (Song of Solomon 6:4. As the bridegroom spoke to his bride, so Christ speaks to His church.)

“After these things I looked, and behold a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb’ ” (Revelation 7:9-10).

When Paul saw the church standing in eternal reality, he was encouraged. You?

December 9–Galatians 4-6

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things you please”(5:16-17).

Paul is concerned for the Galatian believers. They were weakening under intense intellectual and political pressure.

Judaism was known and respected in Rome. Religio licita (a legitimate religion) was the official Roman classification. A more “Jewish” form of Christianity, therefore, would have been less divisive in the Empire. The pressure was intense for the Christians to strike a truce with Judaism.

A return to Judaism, however, would be a rejection of the gospel. Even a partial concession would be a contamination of God’s message. Paul stood in strong opposition!

He knew the arguments. His opponents claimed that without the Jewish Law individuals and society would dissolve into immorality, “Nonsense!” said the bold Apostle. The Spirit is God’s new life-principle! Much stronger than the sinful tendencies of man.

As believers walk in the Spirit, a new virtuous humanity emerges. Flesh (Paul’s word for humanity apart from the Spirit, limited to self, and controlled by sin) can never produce the same result. Flesh and Spirit are opposite systems, says Paul. All of us must choose one or the other.

Friend, do you know the Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered life Paul is describing? In the words of J. I. Packer are you, “keeping in step with the Spirit?” Does He fill you? Do you walk daily with Him?

“God with us,” is the promise of Christmas. In the Holy Spirit believers experience the joy and power of this promised life!

“If I were Satan and my ultimate goal was to thwart God’s kingdom, one of my main strategies would be to get churchgoers to ignore the Holy Spirit” (Francis Chan).

“Will the Father not give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13).

December 8–Galatians 1-3

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed” (1:8).

On his second missionary journey, Paul came to Galatia (modern Turkey). Though pressed by personal illness, he boldly preached and saw the beginning of many churches in this mostly rural area. After his departure, false teachers came behind Paul claiming that believers must obey the Law of Moses (effectively keeping Christianity as a form of Judaism, rather than the miraculous new thing that it actually is). The letter to the Galatians is Paul’s vigorous response.

If he sounds contentious, it is because he is alarmed. If the evil one cannot defeat the gospel, he will seek to distort it. He will influence men to make the gospel “fit” the logic and preferences of men. See 1:7. There are no “different gospels” argues Paul. He is stubbornly intolerant on this point.

The gospel came by REVELATION, a word that means “an uncovering”. Our eyes were previously blind to truth. God opened our eyes by sending Christ. (Here Paul probably hints at his own conversion.) See also 1:16 and 2:2.

Non-negotiable truth! THE GOSPEL CAME FROM GOD! Since it isn’t man-made, it cannot be man-corrected, man-marketed. The gospel is a timeless message from heaven.

The content of the gospel is CHRIST, the glorious and sufficient Son of God! FAITH is the means by which we receive Him. As Abraham believed God and was reckoned as righteous, so the believer is united to Christ in child-like faith. In Christ. By faith. A new standing with God. This is the unchanging gospel.

In his day, Paul had courage to confront every corrupted version of this life-giving message. It is not enough to preach the gospel, we must also DEFEND it from every attempt to distort or weaken it.

Friend, have you received the gospel? Will you now preach and protect it?

“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints”(Jude 3).

December 7–2 Corinthians 12-13

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. . .concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it would leave me”(12:7-8).

Familiar passage. Rich in wisdom.

The passage doesn’t say what the “thorn” was. Migraine headaches? Partial blindness? Scholars debate. Whatever the specifics, the situation weighed on Paul, weakened him.

Like Jesus in Gethsemane, Paul turned to prayer. He prayed for relief. Unashamedly so. The best place to begin in prayer is always child-like trust. Tell God what hurts. Ask for His help.

There are times, however, God doesn’t answer. Not, at least, in the way we imagine. He allows the pain to stay, uses it to press us forward in sanctification. As Paul prayed, a surprising answer came. “My grace is sufficient,” said the Lord (12:9). “I am enough for you, Paul. Lean on Me. Face the pain. Endure it.”

Paul didn’t argue. Not only did he surrender to the Lord’s decision, he did so gladly! God is GOOD and WORTHY of trust. So, Paul embraced the larger will of God and learned the power of God that is perfected (comes to full strength) in weakness. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves” (Viktor Frankl).

Friend, as you hear Paul’s testimony, do you sense the Spirit of God teaching you a similar lesson? When painful circumstances come, the Lord calls us to gladly boast in them, to accept pain as a necessary part of life in Christ. “No pain, no gain,” says the world. “Power is perfected in weakness,” says the Savior.

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. . . It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes”(Psalm 119:67, 71).

“Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me” (Thomas Shepherd).

“Let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4).

December 6–2 Corinthians 6-11

“Therefore, ‘Come out from their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord, ‘and do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you. I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty”(6:17-18).

It is a paradox. Two truths, BOTH taught in Scripture. They seem to be opposites.

Our job is to go INTO all the world. Salt only works when it comes into contact with corruption. Like Jesus, we are called to connect with sinners, to talk with them and listen to them. The Father sent Christ into the world. Christ sends us.

Our job, however, is also to be SEPARATE from the world, distinct from the people we are trying to reach. In identity. In values. In morality. We are to be a counter-culture, walking the “road less traveled”.

As Paul deals with the problem-prone Corinthians, he emphasizes separation (the second duty). When association with lost men blurs the lines of a believer’s distinctiveness, when the ways of the world creep into the congregation, action is required!

The Holy Spirit is our guide. Only He can provide the required balance. When we are too close to the world, too similar in our thoughts and practice, He will call us to, “come out from their midst.” When the church becomes isolated and inwardly focused, He will call us to, “Go out into the highways and byways and compel them to come in”( Matthew 21:31).

In Acts 13:2, this wisdom came again to Paul. “Separate for me, Barnabus and Saul(Paul) for the work to which I have called them” said the Lord to the leaders of the church at Antioch. First, we separate from the world. Ultimately, we also separate from other believers, embracing our unique assignment, learning anew the sufficiency of Christ.

The Lord commands both of us, dear reader. Be in the world, not of it! Be with people, saved and unsaved, but never take your identity from them, nor let them hinder your pursuit of holiness.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”(Romans 12:2).

December 5–2 Corinthians 1-5

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things that are not seen” (4:16-18).

The Corinthian church was a challenge for Paul. Their criticism stung him. Their tolerance of sin baffled him. Added to the other stresses of his ministry, the immaturity of this stubborn church was at times overwhelming. Are you ever, “excessively burdened” dear reader? Paul was. See 1:8.

I hope you will not be surprised when you are. The world is broken and defiant. Sufferings will be abundant for those who follow Christ.

If, however, our sufferings are abundant, our comfort is equally so! See 1:5. For all the stress and disappointment, Paul never surrendered to pessimism. His word for comfort was the name Jesus gave for the Holy Spirit. (Parakaleo, “one who walks beside us, calling, guiding). Please note that Paul makes it singular. We have many sufferings, just One comfort.

In the Spirit, believers experience constant, infinite, daily inner renewal! See 4:16-18 above. It is a daily miracle! Stronger than any heartbreak. It comes to those who fix eyes on invisible things.

When we look at our problems, when we obsess on visible things, we are led to (and left in) despair. When we look to God, His character and promises and power and faithfulness (invisible things) we experience, as Paul did, a fresh, full flow of restoring power and hope.

The outer man decays. No denying this fact. Our energies drain away. Our political systems fail us. Even so, God’s children move from glory to glory. See 3:18. Day by day, as we focus on Him, the Spirit flows into our inner man, renewing us, filling us, giving us energy and hope.

Does life hurt, sometimes? Yes. Does God daily renew His children with supernatural power? Yes. Christian, will you live this promise today? Will you seek the Lord, waiting on the Holy Spirit until He renews you?

“He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2-3).

“The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace”(Romans 8:6).

December 4–1 Corinthians 15-16

“If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God”(15:13-14).

The resurrection of Christ was (is) a MIRACLE. An act of supernatural power. The Scripture makes no attempt to reconcile it with science. Science is the ordinary operation of the universe. Miracles are the extraordinary operation. Both are true. Always.

It is a common mistake to think that miracles are illogical. Just the opposite, actually. The very idea of a God assumes the possibility of the miraculous. “NOTHING is impossible with God,” said Jesus.

God is not captured or limited by the universe of His own making! A VERY logical assertion. Rather than rejecting the miracles of Scripture, some of the brightest minds of history have taken them as worthy subjects for intelligent reflection.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul challenges those who deny the idea of a resurrection for all men. You will remember that the Sadducees denied this doctrine, even though it is clearly predicted in Scripture. The Greeks were equally skeptical.

Building one idea on another, Paul makes his argument. If resurrection is categorically impossible, then the resurrection of Christ didn’t happen. And, if Christ was not raised, our faith is empty. Worse than empty; factually false!

Doesn’t nature itself provide an analogy? A seed dies and then lives again in a plant. Different form, same life. In this way, the coming resurrection is written into Creation, says Paul in his thoughtful letter.

One of the weaknesses of modern theological thought and preaching is the absence of eschatological teaching (eschatos, “last, final outcomes”). Attempting to avoid controversy, we don’t teach (not often, or well) the supernatural promises for the end of time. Paul’s warning? Avoiding the subject of the coming resurrection only makes people unprepared and morally lax. Resurrection at the end of time is a conviction both of Scripture and logic.

A supernatural universe created by a supernatural God will come to a supernatural end. All people will be resurrected to meet God. It is only logical.

“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment”(Jesus, John 5:28-29).

“Each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (Roman’s 14:12).

December 3–1 Corinthians 13-14

“But now faith, hope, love abide these three; but the greatest of these is love”(13:13).

All things are NOT equal. Order and rank are part of God’s design. Some gifts are good. Others are better. There are angels and there are archangels. There are works and there are “greater works”. See John 14:21. God’s call is, therefore, always “upward”. We are to be ever reaching for the higher thing (Philippians 3:14).

As Paul taught the fractured and divided church in Corinth, he urged them to prioritize and pursue LOVE

Faith is good. It is the entrance to and the permanent practice in God’s Kingdom. Hope is a step higher. It is the confident expectation of a glorious future in Christ. “We exult in the hope of the glory of God.”

Love is a still higher step. God’s objective for every child. We are to LOVE Him. We are to LOVE those He loves. Gently, compellingly, Paul challenged the proud Corinthians. Spiritual gifts and experience were meaningless without this higher gift. LOVE is God’s heart. LOVE is God’s goal.

If we start a journey, should we not finish it? If we don’t finish, weren’t the early steps taken in vain? Friends, if we have trusted in God and hoped in Him, should we not, now, give ourselves to learning love?

” ‘You shall love the Lord your God’. . .this is the great and first commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor’ “ (Jesus, Matthew 22:37-39).

“ ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’ “(John 21:16).

December 2–1 Corinthians 10-12

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, so that you may be able to endure it”(10:13).

Saved and safe are not the same word. “In the world you will have tribulation,” warned our Savior. See John 16:33. Those who follow Christ are will be required to walk through difficult days. We are called to courage. No pouting. No retreat.

If we are honest, the hardship often comes from our own unbelief and disobedience. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul tells the sad story of Israel in the wilderness. Despite compelling spiritual evidence of God’s kindness and power (parting of the Red Sea, provision of daily manna), they sinned and brought down harsh discipline upon themselves. God was, in Paul’s great understatement, “not well-pleased”(10:5).

Self-caused or not, our tribulations are not stronger than God. Carefully He shepherds us, assuring us that our struggles are not unique (common) and that He will not allow our temptations to rise above the level of our spiritual resources. He promises, in time, to open a door that leads out of the present pain and into the promised and glorious future. Our part in this holy equation is endurance.

Do not panic, my friend! God sees your struggle and knows well the pain-price you pay for every faithful step. Don’t quit! Don’t complain or forget His promises! Just as He did for Jesus in the sealed tomb, the Father will soon open the door and whisper to you, “Come this way, my child.” There WILL be a way of escape. God promises.

My Grandmother used to sing an old song. I can still hear the melody of her courageous wisdom. “Wait till the darkness is over, wait till the tempest is done, hope for the sunshine tomorrow, after the shower is gone. Whispering Hope, oh, how welcome thy voice, making my heart in its sorrow rejoice”(Septimus Winner).

Wait, dear one! Walk on, even with slow step and tears in your eyes! Your endurance honors Him and completes His work in you. Victory, not pain, will be your story. There will be a way of escape. The Lord will see to it.