Friday 30 September – Philippians 4
Meeting Each Other’s Needs
One of the main reasons Paul wrote this letter was to thank the Philippians for a gift they had given him.
In vv.10-20, Paul rejoices because of the care displayed to him by the Philippians in the gift they gave him. He politely tells them that he was aware of their concern for him when he knew they had no opportunity to give; but now they are able, he rejoices, not only because he has been blessed by their generosity, but because he knows it will open a door for them to be blessed. In v.12, he goes on to make his famous statement, “I know how to be abased, I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me.”
In v.11, Paul uses the word ‘content’, and this literally means to be self-sufficient; to be able to accept whatever circumstances come your way. For the Greeks, contentment came from personal sufficiency, and in western culture today, we subscribe to the same idea. Statements like, “You need to stand on your own two feet,” and, “You must have a ‘proper’ job and be independent,” are bandied around. Once you are independent, you are thought to be content. This kind of thinking releases us from any obligation to those around us because they need to stand on their own.
Paul finds his contentment in Christ who gives him strength. His ability to weather whatever circumstances come his way is found not in his personal sufficiency, but in the sufficiency of Christ. He looks to Christ to be his personal sufficiency. As we look to Christ, we do well to share in each other’s distress by giving, and we will be blessed with fruit. God makes a deposit into our ‘spiritual/heavenly’ bank account. There is a spiritual maturity that comes from giving because we trust in God. In addition, we offer ourselves as a sweet-smelling, acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God, when we give.
Paul is full because the Philippians gave to him, and in turn they will be full because God will meet their needs out of His abundance, and all the glory goes to God.
Prayer:
* Thank God for all He’s given to you, and continue looking to Him to meet your needs.
* Ask God if there are any needs around you that He wants to meet through you.
Thursday 29 September – Philippians 3
The Plumb line
In November 2005, my wife and I visited Rome. We saw the prison where Peter and Paul were held. The prison was not very big. It had none of the facilities that modern- day prisons have: no bed, no cell, no nothing. The prisoners were chained to the walls. Paul had literally lost everything for the sake of knowing Christ.
In vv. 7-10, Paul states that everything that he could gain is rubbish compared to what he has in Christ. I see this as the plumbline that everything in my life needs to be measured against. The Oxford Dictionary defines a plumbline as “a line with a heavy weight attached to it, used to find the depth of water or to check that something is vertical.” Builders often use a line covered in chalk to make sure things are straight. They line it up taut between two points; snap it on the surface and they have a straight line to work against. Everything in my life needs to line up against this verse, and if I’m honest, I started the day wondering if I could say that I count all things rubbish that I might gain Christ.
We take our faith seriously and we hope we could make the same statements Paul is making in this chapter. The truth of the matter is that many of us have not even begun to suffer as those who are persecuted for the Gospel do. If my family was taken away from me, or I watched my wife and daughters raped and then killed or some equally ghastly event, would the knowledge of Jesus be enough?
If you lost everything today in a flood or a hurricane, would you be content with just the knowledge of Christ? Are there things you are not prepared to lose for the sake of Christ? I have allowed the Holy Spirit to search my heart because I am not sure that I measure up straight against the plumbline.
Prayer:
* Lord, in my heart I want to say “YES” emphatically that I count You as all that is worth having, but I am not sure I can honestly say that. Holy Spirit, search my heart today and reveal it to me. Lord, continue the work You have begun in me.
Wednesday 28 September – Philippians 2
Unity in the Church
At the end of chapter 1, Paul states that our conduct needs to be worthy of the gospel, and that we not only believe in Jesus but we will suffer as He suffered. Therefore as the church we are to:
Be like-minded. It is easy to be like-minded with people you have a lot in common with. How about those you don’t?
Have the same love. In 1:9 Paul prays that the Philippians’ love for Jesus and for one another would abound more and more in knowledge and discernment. Our mutual love for Jesus needs to override any differences we have.
Be of one accord. When was a Honda first mentioned in the Bible? When they were all in one Accord! There are a number of these jokes and sometimes they are funny, sometimes not! But there is a parallel with how we are to be as Christians. We all need to be together in the same car going to the same place with the same goals. It is pretty hard to become separated when you are in one car. What this phrase means is that we are to have a “togetherness of soul”.
Be of one mind. This really points back to “Be like-minded”. Paul re-emphasises the importance of thinking the same way. To have one mind is to have a single mind, which reminds me of an expression that we use when we talk about someone who is focused on achieving something, or won’t be persuaded otherwise in a discussion. We say they are “single-minded”. This is the essence of what this statement means. As Christians, we are to be single-mindedly together as we strive for the furtherance of the gospel.
How do we do this? We are not to do anything through selfish ambition or conceit (vv.3-4). We are to be lowly in mind and esteem others more highly than ourselves. We are to look out for the interests of others before those of ourselves. This is humility, which is a quality that is not highly valued in Western secular culture but is loved by God. So often we are individualistic in our goals and values, rather than group-oriented. We think about our rights first, and then those of others. This is not Biblical culture, and this is not humility.
Prayer:
* Ask God for forgiveness for where you’ve “blown it”.
* Ask God to show you anyone you need to forgive or get forgiveness from.
* Ask God to show you how and where you need to grow in unity with the other members of the church.
Tuesday 27 September – Philippians 1
Introduction
Author: Paul
Date Written
Paul was in prison, most probably in Rome, when he wrote this book. Because Paul was allowed to preach freely, messages travelled back and forth, and he expected to be released. It is thought to have been written between AD 60 and AD 62
Context
On his second missionary journey, Paul went to Macedonia (present-day Greece) to the city of Philippi to establish the first church in Europe.
The city was named after Philip II of Macedon who was the father of Alexander the Great. Philippi was strategically located on the main road that linked the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire to Rome.
In 42 BC, Philippi was awarded the highest status possible for a provincial city in the Roman Empire – that of a Roman Colony. This allowed its citizens to purchase, own or transfer property, file lawsuits in Roman courts, and be exempt from poll and land taxes. This status gave them a sense of pride that bordered on arrogance.
The church was made up of people from all social classes, races, and cultures. It maintained a Gentile flavour to it but the minority group of Jewish Christians exerted a lot of influence over the church.
Main Themes
Joy in serving Jesus.
Partnership in the gospel – we are in this together.
Lots of Encouragement
The first thing that stands out to me in this chapter is v.6; “being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” I think about this verse when I am going through tough times. It brings me hope in my situation that God is doing a work in me and I am being changed and shaped and there is a completion date! I never know how long a season of refining will last, but I do know that it will end. Today, I encourage you to persevere if you are going through a time of refining because it will end when God’s work is complete, and be joyful because God is working in you.
So many times I say to God, “What are You doing with me? Why is this happening to me?” Then, after some time, I see how God is actually working. Paul was the same. He implies that he did not understand why he was in prison, but encourages other believers “that the things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” (v.12). It is encouraging to me that Paul questioned the things that happened to him and concluded that everything was working out for good after all, and that his experiences were being used to help people find Jesus.
In v.19, Paul uses the word “supply” of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This word in the Greek was used to describe what a choir master would provide for the members of the Greek choir performing in a Greek drama. Essentially, he took care of all of their living expenses, and they focused on singing only. This word went on to mean a full supply of any kind. Here Paul is saying that as the Philippian church prays for him, which is the channel for his deliverance, he will receive a full supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Today, this showed me how important our prayers are for our fellow brothers and sisters. We open a channel of deliverance and enable a full supply of the Holy Spirit to come to them. How could we bless someone any more than that! Not much I think!
Prayer:
* Verses 9 – 11 are a great blessing to pray over someone. Ask God who you should pray them over, and then do it.
* Pray for any members of your cell group who are going through a time of refining right now.
Monday 26 September – Numbers 36
A Model of Womanhood
I am sure that Zelophehad would have been proud of his daughters. We last met these ladies in chapter 27, where they were successful in their request that they might inherit the land that would have been given to their father. Now, as the inheritance of that land becomes a reality, new questions arise. The men of their tribe are concerned that if the women were to marry men of other tribes, their land would be lost from Zelophehad’s tribe of Manasseh. At the Lord’s command, Moses passed judgment that the daughters of Zelophehad must marry men from their own tribe so that the problem of the land did not arise.
These women had helped to establish the concept within Israelite society that women were of equal value to men. They were not to be downtrodden, abused or considered of no account. But here, where there is a concern about which tribe their children will belong to, they are submissive and obedient. They are still treated with respect, “Let them marry whom they think best…” (v.6), but they are made subject to certain conditions for the good of the whole tribe – ”only they shall marry within the family of the tribe of their father.” There is no arguing or complaining, no stamping of feet because their freedoms were restricted, but, “the daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses” (v.10). They were a model of womanhood within a liberated yet ordered society – as God intended women to be.
Many women today, even Christian ones, struggle with the concept of submission to their husbands, feeling that it somehow undermines their worth as an individual. As the story of the daughters of Zelophehad illustrates, that is not the issue at all. There has to be structure and order in society. There have to be those who lead and those who follow, or chaos will ensue! God has given husbands the authority to lead within their marriages and women the role of submitting to that leadership. That is God’s recipe for a strong and healthy marriage.
Prayer:
* If you are married, pray that God would help you to conduct your relationship according to His plan and purpose.
* Pray for those in the church who have married within the last few years.
* Pray for the ladies’ cells, that they will help Christian women learn to live as God has called them to.
Sunday 25 September – Numbers 35
Pollution of the Land
My attention was caught today by the statement in v.33, “Bloodshed pollutes the land,” (NIV). This is a theme that is found throughout the Bible and is deserving of our focus today.
The first mention of the pollution caused by shed blood is found in Genesis 4:10. When Cain killed his brother Abel, God said, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” Some generations later when God was about to bring the Israelites into Canaan, He told them that the land was defiled (particularly by the Canaanite’s detestable practice of child-sacrifice to the god Molech), and that because of that defilement it would vomit out its inhabitants (Lev.18:25). Many generations later Ezra recalled what God had said when he reflected on why the Israelites themselves had been kicked out of the land (Ezra 9:11). They too had got involved in the same horrific pagan practices.
You might wonder what all this has to do with us. After all, we don’t go around murdering people or offering child sacrifices, do we? I’m sure none of us are guilty of that, but we cannot claim that our hands, or our land, are free of blood. We live in a nation where a larger number of teenagers and young adults are being shot and stabbed on our streets each year. Why? Because we have failed to give them a moral framework by which to live their lives, and have allowed them to be exposed (through films, computer games etc.) to the most depraved kinds of human behaviour. Not only that, but hundreds of thousands of unborn babies have been murdered in our nation, just so that people can avoid the unwanted consequences of their sinful behaviour. Most of us have just kept quiet and allowed this slaughter to go on.
We cannot just wash our hands of these things. Those of us who are citizens of this country have a responsibility for what happens here. First we need to pray, crying out to God for our nation. Then we need to respond to whatever God tells us to do.
Prayer:
* Cry out to God for our nation. Pray for the young people who are being brought up with no moral guidelines. Pray for those caught up in street gangs, for teenagers who find they are pregnant and for those who seek to help them. Pray for the government, that they might have the courage to do what they know to be right. And pray for the church, that it will proclaim a clear message that will bring hope and direction.
Saturday 24 September – Numbers 34
Assignment of Territory
This chapter is all about the boundaries of the territory that God had assigned to the tribes of Israel. It reminded me that God has assigned specific spiritual territory to each one of us but, like the Israelites, we need to take hold of it by force. In our case, of course, our weapons are not physical, but spiritual. We become rulers of our territory as we use the weapons of prayer and proclamation, based on the Word of God and undergirded by a righteous life.
The first territory we need to conquer is the ground that satan has stolen from us in our own lives and in our families. Then we need to move out into the areas where God has placed us, knowing that we are the head, not the tail (Deut.28:13), and that God has called us to be people of influence in our workplaces and our neighbourhoods. When we have taken all the territory God has assigned to us, then we can pray, like Jabez, “Lord, increase my territory” (1 Chron. 4:10) and see where God takes us next. Have you taken all the territory God has allotted to you, or are you allowing satan to occupy what is rightfully yours?
One other thing to notice is that God spoke first to His appointed leader Moses, telling him that Joshua and Eleazer were to be responsible for dividing up the land. They in turn were to deal with 12 tribal leaders set in place by God, who would be responsible for sharing the land between the families of their tribes. I believe this points to a clear link between our submission to God-given leadership and being strong to take our territory. I will not be victorious if I am trying to be a one-man show. I must be part of the body of the local church and submitted to the leaders that God has put in place there.
Prayer:
* Thank God that He has assigned spiritual territory to you. Ask Him to show you any area of your life where you have allowed satan to steal what is rightfully yours. Ask God to help you reclaim it and keep it.
* Ask God to increase your influence in your workplace or neighbourhood.
* Pray for our church services tomorrow.
Friday 23 September – Numbers 33
Journey To Destiny
This chapter looks back on the journey that Israel had travelled so far. God had brought them out of Egypt to Sinai where He had made a covenant with them. Then He had led them through the wilderness for 40 years before they finally arrived on the edge of the Promised Land, where they now were. During their pilgrimage there had been days of great excitement and days of rebellion and failure. There had been many days of just plodding along behind the pillar of cloud and fire, with little idea of where they were going. Through it all God had protected them, provided for them and kept them on track to fulfil the purposes He had for them.
I realise that this is a lot like my life since becoming a Christian! My journey also began with my deliverance from slavery and reconciliation with God as my Father. As I have travelled my spiritual journey there have been days of great excitement as God has done supernatural things in my life. There have been times when I have made a mess of things, through deliberate rebellion or ignorance, when God has waited for me to come to my senses before dusting me off and setting me on the road again. There have been many days when I couldn’t see any landmarks and I wasn’t quite sure whether I was still on track, but I kept going anyway. Through it all God has provided for my needs, protected me from the enemy and led me towards my destiny. And I am sure He is doing the same for you.
How good it is to have a God who understands that we are like sheep who need a shepherd; a God who undertakes to take us where we need to go, if we will just follow; a God who knows our limitations and takes care of all the things that we cannot do.
Prayer:
* Praise God for His love and faithfulness towards you as you travel day by day with Him.
* Take a moment to identify where you are at on your journey with God. Just starting out? Seeing God do amazing things in your life? Needing to keep going through a difficult bit? Going round in circles because of disobedience? Pray for God’s help to stay close to Him, running the race He has put before you.
* Pray for anyone you know who is struggling on their walk with God right now.
Thursday 22 September – Numbers 32
All in it Together
We saw a few days ago how Israel conquered kings Sihon and Og and took their land on the East of the River Jordan (Num.21-35). Now the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh have come to Moses and Eleazar to request that they be given this eastern territory as their inheritance.
Initially Moses is resistant to their request because he assumes that. having settled on the land, they would lose interest in the rest of the campaign. However, he has underestimated the vision and loyalty of these tribesmen. They knew that the land to the east was only the first part of the land that God had allotted to Israel – that is why they saw that area as their fair share of the whole. And they were not just thinking about their own future, but that of their brothers too. They were willing, even eager, to go and fight, until all of Israel had received the land of their inheritance. They were committed to God’s purpose for all of His people and were ready to do what it took to accomplish it.
I believe this is a picture of what the church should be like. Our society lays a great deal of emphasis on the individual. It encourages “me-centred” thinking. But God wants His people to have a different attitude. Yes, He does have a personal destiny that He wants each of us to fulfil, but that destiny is to be worked out in connection with our Christian brothers and sisters. We are not to be selfish in our thinking, but working together to pursue all that God has for the church. He wants us to be committed to the vision He has given to the church we belong to. We are called to use our gifts to serve each other and to do all we can to help others move into the fullness of the destiny God has prepared for them.
Prayer:
* Thank God for the vision He has put before Ruwach Christian Church, and commit yourself to do your part to accomplish it.
* Pray for your cell group, that God would help you to work together effectively for His kingdom.
* Pray for any fellow Christian God has put on your heart.
Wednesday 21 September – Numbers 31
Obedience vs. Disobedience
God had one last job for Moses to do before he died, and that was to send Israel to war against the Midianites. (They were the people who had previously seduced Israel into idolatry, which resulted in God sending a plague to kill many of them, see ch.25). The battle was very one-sided – all the Midianite men were killed (v.7), while not a single man of Israel was lost (v.49).
This illustrates the strength that Israel had when they were wholehearted and obedient to God. God had promised them that if they were careful to obey all His commands, a hundred Israelites would chase ten thousand, such would be their invincibility before their enemies (Lev.26:1-8) – that is the kind of mathematics at work when men are walking in the favour of God. It has often been said that “God plus one is a majority,” and that can be true for us whenever we line ourselves up with God’s will. If we want to see victories in our lives we, like Israel, need to choose wholehearted obedience to God.
We also see in this chapter the consequences of rejecting God and refusing to be obedient to His ways. Did you notice the mentions of Balaam in v.8 and v.16? He was the sorcerer who had found himself unable to curse the Israelites because God took hold of his tongue. He had come face to face with the God of Israel and was presented with a choice. Would he bow the knee to the One who had graciously made Himself known to him, or would he not? In this chapter the answer is made clear – Balaam chose money rather than obedience. Unable to earn his promised fee by cursing Israel, he had suggested instead the tactic of using women to seduce the Israelites into idolatry. In the short-term Balaam may have thought he had made a good choice, but God is not mocked. Balaam was killed in the battle – and all his wealth was worth nothing.
There are times in our lives when we are torn between obeying God and doing what we want to do. Satan tries to tell us that the things of this world are more satisfying and valuable than the things of God. He is lying! There is nothing better than keeping close to God and doing what He has said.
Prayer:
* Praise God and thank Him for the times when He has given you victory over the enemy of your soul.
* Ask God to show you any areas of your life where you are not being totally obedient to Him. Resolve before Him to do something about it today.