The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 4:1-9 (day six) 

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. Philippians 4:6-7

We have every reason to be on edge, at our whits end…anxious. Even prior to the pandemic, life was hectic enough, and tensions tight enough to nudge us over the cliff.

Anxiety, anger, burnout, frustration, all of it makes complete sense, apart from God. That’s the point of these verses. The promise of God is that he is our peace when there seems to be no peace; he provides a way when there seems to be no way.

It’s the kind of peace that surpasses understanding.

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 4:1-9 (day five)

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

What is the byproduct of a deep  understanding and appreciation of the sovereignty of God?  Peace. Paul promises that the Peace of God will guard the human heart and mind. Paul uses a picture which he has observed over and over. Guarding.  Nothing comes in or out of prison without someone’s approval and awareness. When we pray (about everything as Paul encourages) God posts the centurion of peace right outside of our hearts and minds. And that peace stands to guard our hearts and minds from anxiety at both surface and deep levels. Nothing comes in that He doesn’t desire and approve. Because we can pray about everything, we can trust that God is sovereign over all the activities and events of our lives (everything). As we pray, we are reminded and assured that God is aware, and wisely and lovingly gives us what’s best for us.

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 4:1-9 (day four)

If I am a true believer, won’t I have good relationships with other believers?  Not necessarily!  Paul has taken the time and love to correct a broken relationship between two…no three…fellow believers.  He says their names are written in the book of life.  Somewhere along the way, Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement have lost sight of the importance of harmony and peace.  They have not lost their salvation though.  They are secure in their eternity, but misguided in their discipleship.

Believers are not always perfect.  Even though we have victory over sin, we still retain residual effects of the sin in our lives.  It would be nice to be instantly sanctified when we are instantly saved.  We are grateful for repentance though.  When we lose our way and fall into sin, we have a path back to a right relationship with God…we can repent and be restored.  During this season of Thanksgiving, let’s thank God for repentance and forgiveness.

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 4:1-9 (day three)

“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.”

There are parts of you that never forget the emotional wounds you’ve sustained. They fight to protect you from further pain. Those parts – the skeptic, the critic, the self-medicator, or the one who just wants to disappear – they all work to protect you, but they end up causing more harm than good. Paul knew this reality in his own life (see Romans 7). Rather than berating these troublesome parts, or trying to destroy them, he simply says, “The real you that God made isn’t reactive, but courageous, calm, confident. The more you open your eyes to the Lord’s availability – his nearness to you – the more he will teach you who he’s made you to be: one who can bring healing to your inner wounds and comfort to those around you.”

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 4:1-9 (day two)

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. vs. 9

OK, be honest, have you ever struggled through a particularly dense passage of scripture and wondered…how can I apply this to my life? There are times when the broad stroke of God’s grace unfolds in scripture over generations of people. Those moments need a greater context of the plan and purpose of God. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians is chock full of applicable life lessons.

To live is Christ and to die is gain. 1:21

Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. 1:27

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. 2:3

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 2:12

Do everything without complaining or arguing. 2:14

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 3:12

And now at the end of this letter he sums up the formula for continued growth in our faith: focus on the things that matter. Focus on the true things, the beautiful, noble, pure, right, and excellent. These are the things that should occupy your thoughts. The promise is that God will be near.

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 4:1-9 (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through Philippians 4:1-9 in our Fall Sermon Series: “Pure Joy” a study of Philippians.

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 3:17-21 (day seven)

“[Christ] will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.” vs 21

God knows every hair on our head. He created us and knows us better than we can ever know ourselves. We are perfect the way he made us: in His image. Why then are there so many in this world that seek changes to the way God made them? Either in personality or image, it seems like people are not comfortable in their own skin. They think if they look different and act different, then maybe they will feel different.

Sin has distorted our perception of goodness. Pain, shame, guilt, envy: these are the things that creep in and tell us we are not good enough. The only way we rectify this problem and feel different, is to begin to conform into Christ’s image now. As we begin the process of conformity, we will find we get tastes of what heaven will feel like as we await our final transformation.

^“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Cor 3:18

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 3:17-21 (day six)

Let’s be honest, we squirm just a little, maybe a lot, when Paul encourages the Philippians to “imitate me.” It comes off smug and self righteous, but Paul does what we are reluctant to do. Paul’s “imitate me” is discipleship. He doesn’t just teach them, but he invites them to look into his life and do what he does. And not out of a sense of self-righteousness, quite the opposite. Paul’s invitation allows them to see how he responds to sin, temptation, and suffering; all the areas when his life is not perfect (3:13-14).

Paul’s call to imitate me sounds like someone else doesn’t it?

Jesus. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Discipleship.

Is there someone in your life you can disciple in this way? Or do you have a Paul?

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 3:17-21 (day five)

“For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,”  Every day we brush up against people who (from their actions and language) we know are not believers. We feel the darkness of culture in their minds and hearts. We sense their animosity towards God and holy things. Our responses and reactions in those moments can be very telling.  Anger. Avoidance. Apathy. Paul’s response is amazing.  Honesty. Vulnerability. Compassion. Kindness. Paul never compromises the truth. Paul never loses hope for the power and sovereignty of God to change a human heart.  Paul continues his work and ministry through tears and tension. What a balance!  What a deep confidence in God’s promises and provision.

Let’s weep and continue to worship. Let’s cry and be filled with compassion. Let’s partner sadness and sorrow with service. Let’s follow Paul’s example.

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 3:17-21 (day four)

Was Paul being judgmental?  In today’s ‘woke’ society, passing judgment on someone is taboo.  That is…unless it is the ‘woke’ person who is doing it.  They have the proper facts to accurately discern the situation and arrive at ‘truth’. (tongue in cheek!)  Paul would not have fared well in our society.

Many who condemn other’s judgment…while expounding their own…use themselves as examples of what is right.  Paul set the example, but his life had been totally and completely changed by Jesus Christ.  Paul was transformed by the cross so that he was no longer set on earthly things but rather on heavenly things.

How about you?  Are you seeking to conform to the world around you?  Are you guided by the opinions of others instead of the opinions of God?  Are you so invested in the Word of God that you recognize false truth when you hear it?  To follow Paul’s example is to follow Christ’s example.  Choose God’s glory…your citizenship must be in heaven!