Skip to main content

Daily Devotion: Philippians 1:27-28

By

Philippians 1:27-28    "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;  (28)  And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

When Paul wrote, Strive together "for the faith of the gospel," he was writing from a heart that is settled upon "the faith of the gospel."  Do I have "the faith of the gospel"? Do you have the faith of the gospel? What does that mean?  I say that I believe the Word of God and it gives me peace and comfort, but do my actions agree with my words?  Do I strive to live according to the faith of the Gospel?

Paul would write to the Thessalonians, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which EFFECTUALLY WORKETH also in you that believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13)   How does this dovetail into the words written to the Philippians?  The Word of God is a spiritual message to a spiritual people, but we still have to contend with all the characteristics of the flesh (carnal mind) that lean toward the natural instead of the Spiritual.  

You might ask, "Steve, what are you talking about?"  The natural mind can only understand the spiritual message as the Holy Spirit reveals the grand truths of God's Word. In Paul's situation, he was saying do not let doubt and fear cloud your spiritual mind as you look at situations and circumstances. But I say, "That is easier said than done because my eyes see and my mind perceives the visible things that are around me."  Therefore, I must depend upon the Holy Spirit to enlighten and empower me to be able to look beyond the natural to embrace that which is only seen by faith. If God tells me that He will never leave me nor turn His back upon me, then my spiritual mind of Christ must be used in order to look beyond what my eyes see and to know (exercise faith) the Word of God is true even when my natural mind doubts and has fear. Strive for the "faith of the Gospel" because it is the "word of God which effectually works in me when I believe."  Receive it. Believe it. Live it.  It's the only path to peace of heart and mind. 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Psalm 88:1-4

By
Psalm 88:1-4  A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:  (2)  Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;  (3)  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.  (4)  I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength" I've said this before and I will say it again (and probably more times before we get to the end of the Psalms) - I love the Psalms because I can surely identify with them. Most Psalms start in a low place and as the writer expresses his thoughts, the Lord begins to lift him up out of that dry place.  Though this entire Psalm is a fervent cry unto the Lord, the Psalmist tells us specifically in three verses that he cried daily unto the Lord. Just a few Psalms ago, we were reminded that God always hears our prayers. ...
Read more

Daily Devotion (Video): I Will Fear No Evil - Psalm 23:4

By
Read more

Daily Devotion: Knowing God By Bearing Fruit

By
Some will notice the title is not “Bearing fruit because we know God,” so to avoid getting sidetracked with that, we can start with the fact that we won’t bear any godly fruit unless our heart has been changed and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll be using the terms “bearing fruit,” “good works” and “service” interchangeably.  I took this article’s title from Part 7, of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” session on Colossians 1:9-12. I greatly encourage you to view that short video to get his excellent exposition on this subject.  When I saw the title of the video earlier this year, I got kind of excited because that’s the direction my thinking has gone in the past several years. My thinking was founded Biblically with verses on good works like Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” But I couldn’t expand it to expla...
Read more