Loving others is difficult

Philippians 2 starts with how we should be treating each other, how we should be interacting with each other, and how we should value each other.

Since early in Genesis, God has been telling us and teaching us how to behave towards other people.  Obviously, it is hard for us. We’re selfish, blind to our own faults, tempted by sin, prone to be prideful, and not quick to take responsibility for our faults.

It is hard work to be good at relationships.

Philippians 2:1-4 points us the right direction.

 

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What will we know in heaven?

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Pretty simple

Philippians Two has a fairly simple outline. How to treat each other, vs 1-4. God exalting Christ, vs 5-11. Obedience and getting along, vs 12-18. The sending of Timothy, vs 19-24. And the sending of Epaphroditus, vs 25-30.

The first three are connected. And the last two are connected. It’s pretty simple.

If you study it, try finding the key verse in each section, or the main verb, or try to craft a single and fairly short sentence that explains the section.

If you want a bigger goal, try memorizing verses 5-11.

 

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Agree or disagree

Interesting quote

Philippians Two

For the month of November we’ll be reading the second chapter of Philippians.

It contains one of the most famous and treasured and helpful passages about Jesus (vs 5-11).

It also contains the famous tension verses (12-13).

And it contains two very, very helpful portrayals of men who serve and love Jesus; Timothy (vs 19-24) and Epaphroditus (25-30).

Enjoy. Let this chapter run deep.

 

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A healthy take on a important Bible verse

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Worthy

Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27

This is big verse. The bar is high.

How can a Christian live up to it?

Humility. It is the answer to a lot of how of question about how to follow Jesus, how to love and admire Him, and how to obey Him.

Humility is thinking more about Jesus than that voice in our heads, than our emotions, than social media, than almost everything on the internet, and our wrong-headed desires.

Humility is possible. 

 

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This is helpful

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Three times

Three times Paul says it. He is moving forward. He’s intentional about it.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

This is a good and helpful lesson for us.

 

 

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Some wise advice here

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Seven words

These seven words, “For to me to live is Christ” stand out (Philippians 1:21).

We get the idea, but it is hard to wrap our minds around it. How does one live THAT singularly?

One of the ways, perhaps the best way, is to think about the depths of love we have for family, or spouse, or child. That sort of love can run very, very deep.

Paul loved Jesus because of what he saw in Jesus. What did he see? Lots of things. Reading Paul’s letters to the churches and to Timothy and Titus reveal those things. He saw the goodness and greatness and majesty and wonder of God through Jesus. He also saw the depths of his sin, his weaknesses, and his need for Jesus. He saw how good Jesus was in light of how sinful his heart is. He also saw the glory of God which surpasses all other good and great and wonderous and amazing things.

Also central to this, Paul, like us, wanted to live for something great, something fully satisfying. He found that in Jesus.

This is hard stuff. It is easy not to see Jesus as Paul saw him. We might think it is impossible. It’s not.

The more you seek to understand and find pleasure in the love of God through Jesus, the more we’ll love Jesus, and the more we want to live singularly for him. There is nothing greater to know or persue.

 

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This is a good answer

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A long request

The ninth, tenth, and eleventh verses of Philippians is one one long request. It’s a bit complicated. But it is one of those string of verses in God’s Word that is full of meaty truth.

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

It starts with Paul saying this is his prayer. Then it gives the topic, which is love, which Paul wants the Philippian church to abound more and more in. That’s the easy part. And we can grasp that part.

He moves next to say that their (and our) love should be with knowledge and all discernment. This is no small thing to grasp. We get the idea. But getting it into practice is work. It requires personal depth. And time. And practice. And intentionality. And prayer. And a lot of God’s word.

The rest of the verses fall logically and helpfully behind that. The hard part is loving with knowledge and discernment (of God’s will, truth, and wise and careful application).

The verses end with two supreme parts. First, love rightly done is a fruit of righteousness, which is from Christ. In other words, the doing of love and the gaining of knowledge and discernment come from Jesus. He helps. He leads. He supplies. Second, this is all to be to the glory and praise of God. Loving people well is not about us. We do it because we love God. Because He loved us first.

 

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This is true

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An interesting partnership

What is a “partnership in the gospel”?

Paul writes of it in Philippians 1:3-5

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

The term and the idea is largely lost today.  Paul is writing about how the church in Philippi partnered with him in the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. And not just in salvation, but how the gospel shapes Christians as the grow in their faith.

It is good to see this. Sometimes we are not altogether aware of the purposes of the church. This is a good reminder.

 

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This is helpful

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God makes a promise

Sometimes we Christian struggle to believe the promises of God. It’s natural to do so. It’s human. On one hand we believe. On the other our trust in God can be weak.

Paul makes a promise in opening sentences of Philippians 1.

I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Believe it or not, this is true. It’s in Scripture, God’s Word. It is truth.

So what are we to do with such a promise? Wrestle with it. Put your mind to thinking about it. Pray about it, then pray some more about it. Let the Holy Spirit do His work in moving your heart and mind to believe it more and more. This may take time.

Until then, lean towards trusting it. Lean towards believing that RIGHT NOW God is at work in your heart and life. Lean towards trusting God is maturing you, bringing you along, looking after you, loving you.

This can be tough stuff sometimes.

Hang in there. God is good.

 

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This is very interesting

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