Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (9) Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."
Truly the inspired Word of God is remarkable in its content and in the manner
it is presented. That should not surprise us for we also know that our Heavenly
Father is the God of order. I begin the devotional in that manner this morning
because recently we talked about the "peace of God" and in today's
verses, Paul easily transcends from the peace of God to the "God of
peace." It is one thing to seek peace in our lives, but the absolute
truth of the matter is that we will not have the true peace of God until we
earnestly seek for the God of peace.
Paul admonishes us to do those things which we have learned, received, heard,
and seen in him. How could he use himself as an example? In Paul, we can see
both the positive and the negative of the spiritual walk. He had tried his own
power to achieve righteousness and it just didn't work. He could not attain righteousness
through the keeping of the law; though, he admitted that as far as humanly
possible he felt himself to have been as close as could be. But that was not
enough, for there is no righteousness outside of Jesus Christ. So he was
telling the Philippians and us to learn from that. Strive to attain unto true
righteousness which is found in Christ.
How do we seek Jesus and to be found in Him? It seems to me that we look
for those principles which express His Person and His purpose for having come
to this earth. So we begin with searching for that which is true. Where do we
look? For most people, it is obvious that we search the Word of God to find
that which is true. All things authored by man are subject to change. The Word
of God stands true throughout all time. It has been tested over and over again only
to be proven.... true. We should look for things that are honest, just,
and pure. We seek for that which brings honor and not shame. We seek for that
which is right and understand that it requires our making a decision to do
that. Our parents always taught us, "Just do the right thing." It is
a conscious decision that we must daily make. We are to strive to do that
which is without blame. When we do those things, we can be assured that which
follows will indeed be lovely and of good report. The question has been
asked, "Is there enough evidence in my life to convict me if Christianity
was a crime?"
We cannot do those things in order to try to please man. It just won't happen.
Our ultimate goal is to please our Heavenly Father, the God of peace.
"When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at
peace with him." (Proverbs 16:7) Think on these things.