Philippians 4:15-16 - "Mine!"

"But you yourselves are also having known, Philippians, that in [the] first of the Good News, after I went out from Macedonia, no one assembly shared with me unto [the] word of giving and receiving if not you all only...that even in Thessalonica even once and twice unto my need you sent."  

-Yes the Philippians HAD done beautifully.  Even though Paul was content, they had shared with him and showed Paul that they cared about him.

-This wasn't the first time they had done so.  Paul recounts how after he planted the church in Philippi and moved on to plant churches in other places that no other assembly shared with him. Not one. He had helped to plant many other churches throughout Asia Minor to that point, and this assembly in Philippi was the youngest by far, but these were the ones who shared with him. They were aware of the need, they saw the opportunity, and they did something about it. Granted they were the closest to and the most aware of Paul's needs and what all he was doing, but that is part of meeting needs. Proximity definitely helps to facilitate both awareness of and ability to meet needs.

-Paul looks back and remembers how after he had just gone to Philippi and planted the church and had only been with the Philippians a short time, and God had done such a work in their hearts and lives (and used Paul in the process) that they were eager to share in meeting his needs right from the get go.  And it looks like after he left Philippi that Paul next went to Thessalonica but was only there for three weeks (Acts 17.1-2), and yet he tells us here that the Philippians sent multiple times in those few weeks to help meet his needs while he was there.  It could have been easy for them to just send something one time and then feel like they had done their duty. But sharing - giving and receiving - was not for them a duty. It was a delight.

-Paul refers to it as the logos of giving and receiving.  It is the practical expression of koinonia, of sharing not only in the needs but in the lives of fellow believers.  Check out how Paul related what they did to the assembly in Corinth (2Corinthians 8.1-5).  We see an assembly that eagerly gave all that they were as well as all that they had to the Lord and then to others (certainly to Paul - and to one another no doubt, as well as to those they didn't even know). And that, apparently out of some real poverty - they didn't have anything to spare, and yet they gave all that they had.  They trusted the Lord and put it all in His hands - a magnificent picture of worship, this.

-Isn't it interesting that this beautiful expression of God working in and through His people centered on something that is so core to the human condition, such a fundamental lesson we struggle to learn from infancy.  Parents have to teach their kids to share, and they have to do this from the get-go, because we are preprogrammed NOT to share.  This is the native impulse of fallen man, is it not - to scream and hold tightly onto what is "mine!" (Classic illustration of this by Bill Cosby - www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuLKBorjwrk).  Thus eager generosity becomes a core part of the metamorphosis, the beautiful work of grace God weaves into the lives of His people, of those He is gathering to Himself for the sake of His Name, to declare and show off His excellencies both now and forever.

-Clearly the Lord gave the Philippians grace to be incredibly generous. And He is able to give you and me and all believers a similar grace (cf 2Corinthians 9.6-11).  We can hold onto so much of our stuff so tightly, so consumed with taking care of our own, so concerned about what tomorrow may bring, so captive to a mindset of scarcity.  May God indeed give us the grace to let it go, to put our stuff and our loved ones and our future and our entire lives into His hands and free Him up to use all the overflowing resources He has put at our disposal to be a source of blessing to all those around us.

Philippians 4:14 - Beautiful...

"Nevertheless, beautifully you did, having shared with in my affliction." 

-Yes, Paul knows that God’s got this and he is indeed content with whatever he has, but he is not going to minimize the excellence of what these believers in Philippi have done for him.  He uses the word kalos, which was used by the Greeks to describe whatever was so distinguished in form or excellence as to be pleasing.  Depending on the context, it could mean beautiful, handsome, excellent, choice, precious, commendable, admirable, eminent, surpassing, shapely, magnificent.  So he’s not merely saying, good job, or, you did well. He is saying, excellent!  Magnificent!  You have done beautifully!  The Greeks greet each other saying kalimera, which we roughly equate to ‘good day’ (think buenos dias or bonjour or dobry den), but that falls a bit short of what they are really saying.  They are saying, beautiful day!

“...It means a new day has begun.  A day full of sun, sea, joy, happiness, a day full of hope.  A day that follows a magical, musical night and leads to something even more promising.  A new beginning, a chance to meet new friends, experience new tastes, discover an ancient civilization and live your dreams.  As the warm Greek morning takes over, inspiration, inner peace, and love, are only a grasp away.  ‘Good morning’ is always said with a smile and heartfelt hospitality.  For us Greeks, ‘kalimera’ is more than a word, it is a way of life.”

-It may be interesting to note that this is the language that God wound up choosing to write the New Testament, the language spoken by people who have such a zest for life...!  But the point is, that Paul is telling the Philippians, you all have done marvelously!  Magnificent!

-And you know, there is indeed power in our words.  We not only do so much damage with words that hurt, but we leave so much on the table, so much meat on the bone, so much unsaid when we are restrained in our affections and when we understate or fail to state the positive, things that pertain to life or people.  Most of us do fairly well at using build-up words with children (we’ll say, ‘great job, buddy!’ and repeat it once or twice), but something happens when we deal with older folks.  We understate and underappreciate.  We become sort of been-there done-that (and probably project that on others), and maybe even get a bit jaded and wind up feeling as if adults don’t need or perhaps want such positivity?  Silly humans...  We would do well to take a cue here from Paul.

Philippians 4:13 - Inexplicable fingerprints of the Almighty

"All things I am having strength to overcome in the [One] empowering me." 

-Life in a broken world unfortunately comes with no guarantees.  The secret to contentment does not lie in where you are, and it’s not about what you have.  It’s Who. 

-I have the strength to overcome all things.  All things, Paul says.  All things.  It is the first word in the sentence, thus putting it in a place of emphasis.  Paul is stressing that there is not even one thing that he (and we) cannot overcome, not one thing he can’t get through or endure.  No matter how humble his means, what hunger he is feeling or what need he is experiencing, he not only knows how to get through it, he can OVERCOME it.  That word is ischuo, which describes an extraordinary strength and force of body which allows someone to prevail and conquer that which is opposing (cf Acts 19.16, Acts 19.20).  In other words, we’re not just talking about scraping by or merely surviving.  We’re talking about victory, vanquishing the opposition, overcoming and overpowering what ever stands in our way (or better, whatever might be standing in the way of the progress of the Gospel).

-This power to prevail comes from the One Who is the Source of all power in the universe.  We refer to Him as the Omnipotent One - God Almighty, All-powerful.  power that is so far beyond description or compare as to be unfathomable.  Power to create every blazing star in the cosmos with a word, power to hold together every single atom in the universe, more than enough power to sustain every living creature on this planet (Colossians 1.17, Hebrews 1.3).  Inexhaustible.  Unimaginable.  He is the One empowering Paul and you and me, and we know that nothing is impossible for Him, nothing is too difficult for this One Who LIVES IN ME.  So,

“Do not fear, for I am with you; 

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. 

I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, 

Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 

-Yes, God, the God of peace was WITH Paul.  Not just His presence, but His POWER.  We just saw in Philippians 4.9 that the fact of God’s presence in the lives of His people equates to a supernatural difference in their lives which shows off His breathtaking goodness.  Surely we are living in the suburbs of hypocrisy when we overcome and prevail against so little, when there is so little victory and such a dearth of the supernatural in my own life.  ALL THINGS!  Not one thing is excepted!  We cave and capitulate so easily.  We profess that God is with us, that Christ lives in me, and yet how differently do I look and live than happy pagan living next to me, really?  Our lives and our marriages and our spending and our struggles often look exactly the same.  Paul is talking about a glorious victorious life that advances the cause of Christ and shows of His breathtaking goodness and spreads His message of hope and forgiveness and eternal life to those around us and to the ends of the earth.  Instead, we are timid.  We compromise and shrink back.  We do not boldly engage the lost souls around us.  We are fleshy, not walking in the fulness and supernatural power of God’s Spirit Who in fact LIVES INSIDE EACH ONE OF US.  We are worldly, too enamored with the baubles and trinkets and pasttimes with which the world so easily distracts and captures our hearts.  We are largely trying to merely survive the brokenness and the chaos and raise some nice kids (who hopefully know Jesus) and then make it to ‘retirement’ with enough money in the bank to live out our days in comfort and maybe even be able to travel a bit and play some golf.  We somehow have missed the full force of the all-encompassing reality that Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life and have missed the brunt of the urgency and the majesty of the call to go and make disciples of all the nations  (what a monumental mission, this!).  We are prayerless, not availing ourselves of the otherworldly resources which have been placed at our disposal, barely striving against the forces of darkness (Ephesians 6.10), hardly wrestling with the Lord until He opens up the heavens and pours out His blessing (Genesis 32.26)(no doubt the God-Who-blesses - cf Genesis 1.22, Genesis 1.28, Genesis 2.3, Genesis 5.2 et al - wants to bless His people far more than we want to ask Him to do so - cf Genesis 12.2-3, Malachi 3.10).  We are spiritual paupers, laying up treasure on earth while leaving the storehouses of heaven largely empty.  Where is the relentless pursuit of the heavenly pearl, that magnificent obsession?  Where is the unmistakable fragrance of the Rose of Sharon, that aroma of life and death?  Where is the joy inexpressible, that rises above all that is temporal?  Where are the inexplicable fingerprints of the Almighty, the greater works Christ promised to those Who follow Him?  Where is the destruction of strongholds and the doing of all things for the sake of the Gospel?  Where are the incidents of undeniable supernatural fruit, with no other explanation than that, God did it?  We in the west live in a culture that has so dumbed down the Gospel, lowered the bar so far as to make it almost impossible to distinguish a Christ-follower from one who is not, other than a subset of head knowledge, what they do on a Sunday morning and perhaps a marginal difference in politeness.  In Christ I have strength to overcome all things, in the One Who gives me His power - but why does it even matter?  It matters for the sake of being able to present all that I am and have been entrusted with to my heavenly King, the One Who gave Himself for me, in order to live in such a way as to contribute to the forward progress of the Good News in my life and in the lives of my family and neighbors and among every nation, tribe, and tongue to the ends of the earth until the end of time.  It is to run the race in such as way as to win and one day receive a victor’s crown from the Victorious King of Kings Himself which I will subsequently lay at His feet in worship because in truth He alone is responsible for all that I am and have and am able to do and He alone is worthy to receive all honor and glory and blessing and praise.  May we find the grace and tenacity of soul to live all the way into this reality in pursuit of laying hold of that for which Christ laid hold us, of making Him famous unto the ends of the earth and forever.

Philippians 4:12 - Life is like a box of DARK chocolate

"I am having learned both to being humbled and I am having learned to being abounding.  In everything and in all things I have learned the secret, both to being filled and to being hungry, both to being abounding and to being lacking." 

-There is indeed a secret to being satisfied in life.  Because for Paul, like most people not born into privilege, there are seasons and circumstances of plenty, and there are times of paucity.  And even for the wealthy, there is that hunger of soul with which all men are acquainted.  Somehow Paul had arrived at the place where he could say enough no matter his circumstances.  He says he had learned the secret.  The verb is mueo, and it only only occurs here in the NT.  The root refers to something that is closed or shut.  It is the idea of being initiated or instructed into a mystery, into that which is closed to those not so initiated.

-To be sure, life is like dark chocolate - which is an initiation unto itself.  I'm thinking that the chocolates in Forrest Gump's box were DARK chocolate.  There is a bitterness that actually enhances the flavor, and learning to appreciate the combination actually unlocks an entire realm of enJOYment.  But not everybody has been initiated into the understanding of the superiority of that which is more bitter and yet much more flavorful.  The bittersweet truth of life is that sometimes the Lord gives, and sometimes He takes away (Job 1.21).  Sometimes there are seasons of plenty, and sometimes there are seasons of scarcity.  Nevertheless, blessed be the name of the Lord.  Surely, it is better regardless of your circumstances to enjoy peace with the Lord that is grounded in the awareness that He is both sovereign and good, than to have prosperity and good fortune and yet not enjoy peace (Psalm 37.16, Proverbs 13.25, Proverbs 15.16, Proverbs 16.8, 1Timothy 6.6-10).

-Much of it revolves around how you learn to define the idea of ‘need’, and at what level you decide to set that.  Paul points out that all we really need is food and clothing (1Timothy 6.8) - we can learn to be satisfied and content with that.  Those who are intent on acquiring much more than that will be “pierced with much grief” (1Timothy 6.10).  But I don’t think we’re talking about a kind of monastic asceticism or buddhistic detachment that rejects possessions and pleasures altogether.  Paul tells us the secret of contentment in the next verse...

Philippians 4:11 - Enough...

"Not that according to need I am speaking, for I myself learned in whatever I am to be content."

-Content.  Satisfied.  Fulfilled.  The word is auto-arkeo, arkeo meaning to suffice, to be enough, to be sufficient.  Paul knows how to be in that rarified place where he can say, ‘enough’, where he truly feels he has everything he needs - even if and when circumstances suggest something contrary.  What tremendous and uncommon knowledge, this.  Man’s native impulse is to always want more, driven on by the infinite abyss and the law of diminishing returns, constantly looking to fill his heart-hole with something that will never suffice, always in pursuit of just a little bit more.  It is never enough.  Mick Jagger captured it perfectly in what surely is the universal anthem of the human condition - I can’t get no satisfaction.  But Paul tells us he learned to be content, meaning at one point he was living like the rest of us, always seeking yet never getting to that place of real satisfaction.  But now he is able to say enough, no matter the circumstances.  Turns out, there’s a secret...

Philippians 4:10 - Been thinkin' aboutchya...

"But I rejoiced in [the] Lord greatly because already at last you revived the to be thinking on behalf of me, upon which even you were thinking, but you were not having opportunity."

-The main verb is phronein, to be thinking.  It is the action of the phren, which is the understanding mind.  It is thoughts which have actions following them, my mind focused on something such that it directs what I do next, and it has occured more often in this letter than any place else in the NT.  To this point we have been exhorted to be thinking the same/the one (with corresponding actions), to be thinking like Jesus as well as like Paul (with corresponding actions, and to NOT be thinking about earthly things (again with corresponding actions).  We have also seen Paul thinking (a lot) about these Philippian believers, and now we see that they brought Paul great joy because they have (finally) been able to act in a way that showed him that they were thinking about him.  And that’s really the most important part about thinking about someone, isn’t it?  It’s showing them that you are thinking about them.  Anyone can have thoughts about another person.  But showing them that you were thinking about them is what really makes them feel loved and brings them joy and courage - which can be particularly important if someone is, say, in prison (like Paul), or otherwise experiencing some form of hardship.

-Think about it - Paul had been languishing in chains, far from home, no contact whatsoever, no skype or internet, no text messages or phone calls, and maybe not even so much as a letter.  And while we see that he did have Timothy with him, and that he was indeed making the most of situation, imagine that after many long months and perhaps years under house arrest in this strange place, his old friend and comrade Epaphroditus shows up with a gift from the assembly in Philippi, from his dear friends who he thought about and prayed for all the time.  Imagine how encouraged and loved he would have felt.

-And apparently it was not for lack of desire that they didn’t send something sooner.  They were thinking about him, but they didn’t show it (and were somehow unable to do so).  Paul says that they simply did not have the kairos, the God-ordained time or opportunity, to show that they were thinking about him.  He says now at last they have revived their active-thinking for him.  The verb is a rare poetical word, used to describe a tree which was dry but has sprouted and flourished again (Ezekiel 17.24).  It is used only here in the NT, but I think Paul uses it because it actually captures a bit of his heart.  He is the one who has been in a place of dryness, of soul-weariness, and the fact that these folks have finally been able to show him that they were thinking about him has brought him tremendous joy.  Reviving their concern for him has revived his heart.  

-I wonder if perhaps there is someone for whom you might find opportunity to revive your concern.  Would the Lord perhaps open the door for you to bless someone by showing them that you are in fact thinking about them?  Someone who is far from home or possibly in some challenging circumstances?  Life moves so incredibly fast and the precious moments, the opportunities we might have to encourage and bless a fellow pilgrim fly quickly on by as we hurry about our own busy-ness.  Slow down, pause a moment, and seize an opportunity today to show someone that you are thinking about them.  You could easily post on their facebook or shoot them a text.  Or an email.  But what about a phone call?  Or perhaps even sending them a gift.  As it turns out, that’s what these folks did for Paul.  It is the fact of taking the time to reach out to someone that shows them you were thinking about them and that you care. 

Philippians 4:9 - The Presence...

"...And the [things] you (all) learned and received and heard and saw in me, these be practicing.  and the God of peace will be with you (all)."

-In one sense those of us who were not the original recipients of this letter are at somewhat of a disadvantage, as Paul no doubt taught the believers in Philippi many things to which he only alludes in this verse.  The rest of us haven’t received them directly from Paul, we didn’t see them fleshed out in his life while he lived among us.  We have been left to try and glean what we can from what is contained in the balance of this letter as well as what is contained in his other writings.  No easy task, this, but Paul says it will be worth it (cf 2Timothy 3.16-17).  Any effort expended to mine life-changing truths from Paul’s letters (not to mention the rest of Scripture) not only contributes towards helping us gain access to the life which is to come, but also towards gaining access to the very presence of God in the present.

-And so what we have here is the other side of the coin, the rest of the formula, if you will, for experiencing God’s peace, altho not just peace - which remember is shalom, the sense of wellness and wholeness in our hearts and minds which comes from God - but actually God Himself, the God Who IS peace, the Source of this shalom.  When we follow Paul’s example, we not only get more of God’s peace, we somehow also get more of the God OF peace.  We get God’s peace because Paul promises that God Himself will be with us.  Has it ever occurred to you that Emmanuel is in fact God with us (Matthew 1.23)?  The truth is, peace and God’s presence are inseparable (cf Psalm 46.10-11).  Thus the significance of Jesus' promise to be with us always in Matthew 28.20, and for His Spirit to be with us in John 14.16-17.

-We must not underestimate the importance of this concept of God actually being with us - God’s presence is a difference maker!  All through the Word of God we see that when God was with people, when He was with His people, life was different.  When He showed up, stuff happened.  Amazing things happened.  Needs were met, obstacles were overcome, lives were changed forever.  This promise of God’s presence with His people is repeated throughout Scripture (Genesis 26.3, Genesis 26.24, Genesis 28.15, Genesis 31.1, Genesis 46.4, Exodus 3.12, Deuteronomy 31.6-8, Deuteronomy 31.23, Joshua 1.9, Judges 6.16, 1Chronicles 28.20, 2Chronicles 20.17, Isaiah 41.10, Isaiah 43.2, Isaiah 45.14, Jeremiah 1.8, Jeremiah 15.20, Jeremiah 30.11, Haggai 2.4, Acts 18.10, 2Corinthians 13.11), and to be sure, it is the very fact of His presence which distinguishes those who are His people from the ones who are not (cf Exodus 33.14-16; Genesis 21.22, Genesis 26.28, 2Chronicles 32.7-8, Zechariah 8.23).  God’s presence is seen not only in the way His people behave and respond in various situations but also in the shalom and blessings and fruit and success and yes, miracles which the Lord produces in and thru their lives as they walk with Him (Exodus 34.10, Numbers 14.8-9, Deuteronomy 2.7, Joshua 3.7, Judges 6.12, 1Samuel 10.7, 2Samuel 7.3, 2Samuel 7.9, 1Chronicles 22.18, 2Chronicles 13.12, Luke 1.28).  And the inverse is also seen to be true - God’s absence assures ultimate failure and is to be avoided at all costs (2Chronicles 25.7).  Thus we see that the vital nature of God’s presence to blessing and success comes to be a part of greetings (Ruth 2.4) and leave-takings as well as bendictions - instead of wishing people good luck, God’s people wish that the Lord may be with you (1Samuel 17.37, 1Chronicles 22.11, 1Chronicles 22.16, Amos 5.14, Romans 15.33, 2Thessalonians 3.16).  

-Paul says that the means of securing God’s presence, which again is the key to blessing and success (the same principle is found elsewhere in Scripture, cf Joshua 1.8-9) - is to be practicing whatever things he has taught us to do.  Which means doing what God wants.  In other words, God - this God of peace - will be abundantly present with those who are practicing and doing the things He wants them to do, doing so not out of rote obedience, but because they want to get better at doing what God wants.  They are following Him with their whole heart.  We stay close to Him, and whadya know, He stays close to us!  Inversely, God’s presence is removed, He goes away, when His people go away in their hearts (Numbers 14.43).  

-Obviously under the new covenant, God’s people know that God will never leave nor forsake them (Hebrews 13.6), so the experience (or not) of God’s presence for God’s people now is seen in how His Spirit Who indwells them is moving and working (or not) in and thru their lives (Romans 8.9, Romans 8.13-14).  Make no mistake, there should be something qualitatively (abundantly) different about the people of God because He is with them.

-But experiencing the presence of God is thus not merely a question of exposure to truth, to which Paul aluded in the previous verse.  Implementation is equally as important, if not more so.  This was Jesus’ point in the parable of the houses.  The one whose house gets built on solid rock is the person who both hears His Word AND does it (Matthew 7.24-27).  Paul tells us that we must be constantly doing these things, putting them into practice in a way that we get better at them.  Practice makes perfect, right?  At least it makes you better...  Which means there are two vital components to presently experiencing God’s peace and the presence of the God Who is peace - we put our stock in all the things mentioned in verse 8 (TRUST), AND we practice living in conformity to that (OBEY).  What I do is equally as important as what I believe (in fact it shows what I believe), and it is essential to unlocking and securing God presence in my life.

Philippians 4:8 - The bar has been raised

"The rest, brothers, as much as is true, as much as [is] honorable, as much as [is] right, as much as [is] pure, as much as [is] lovely, as much as [is] good-report, if any excellence and if any praise, these things be counting." 

-Having just exhorted us towards joy and peace as well as mutual love, Paul gives us a list of things on which to focus.  Things that could steal our joy and stress us out are undoubtedly not found on this list.  So in addition to the direct command(s) he’s just given us, Paul here is saying, take into account whatever things fit these descriptions.  Count on these things, any of them, and don’t let yourself focus on whatever things don’t match.  It’s not necessarily the complete avoidance of the negative, but rather accentuating the positive.  As in the way people are trained to recognize counterfeit money - they focus on the good ones, and get really good at knowing what those look like.

-So first, Paul tells us to focus and count on things which are true.  As opposed to lies and doubts and uncertain speculations about future things which are out of our control - don’t put any stock in those things.  Much of our self-talk no doubt consists of lies about ourselves and others - false accusations straight from the father of lies himself, the one who in fact does this constantly (Revelation 12.10).  Focus on what you know to be true - on what God says in His Word, and on present reality.  Each day has enough cares of its own (Matthew 6.34).  THINK ABOUT IT, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU KNOW TO BE TRUE?  WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT YOU?  WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT THAT OTHER PERSON?  AND WHAT DOES HE SAY ABOUT HIMSELF?  As much as anything else today, it is true that God is in complete control, and He is breathtakingly good.  He goes ahead of you and with you and will not fail you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 4.31, Deuteronomy 31.6, Deuteronomy 31.8, Joshua 1.5).  He will not allow your foot to slip; He Who keeps you will not slumber (Psalm 121.3).  He wipes out your transgressions FOR HIS SAKE and will not remember your sins (Isaiah 43.25).  This is the kind of truth on which we must ground our lives - trustworthy, take-it-to-the-bank, good-as-gold, reliable, unalterable, unchanging (remember, truth does not change).  Building our house on shifting sand is no way to truly experience the joy for which we were made (cf Matthew 7.24-27).  Focus on what you know to be true today.  

-We should also count on that which is dignified and invites reverence, worthy of being revered.  It could be noble deeds of honor, or people who have conducted themselves such that they are worthy of honor and respect (cf 1Timothy 3.8, 1Timothy 3.11, Titus 2.7).  These ‘nobles’ are examples to us, real heroes.  They are sources of inspiration and hope in the midst of hard times.  Focus on things like these.  WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE HONORABLE?  If you have trouble thinking of any, perhaps it’s time to go looking for a few noble heroes... (and yet remember that even the best nobles this side of heaven will never be perfect...)

-Dikaios means right or righteous, conforming to divine and human laws, just.  It is the way something is ‘supposed’ to be.  Unfortunately, there is much that is wrong with the world.  The world is broken, people are broken, relationships are broken.  Things are not the way they were designed to be.  People do not treat each other right.  Things do not work the way they are supposed to.  Circumstances don’t always turn out right.  I can focus on the brokenness, or I can focus on things that are right.  WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT?

-Incidentally, this invites a commentary on a phenomenon known as the nightly news (altho today it can be round the clock!).  What invariably is our favorite part of those programs?  Isn’t it the ‘human interest stories’?  Yes, it’s good news, those stories of things taking place in the world that are in fact right and honorable and true.  The rest of those programs are devoted to disseminating information about things that are wrong and despicable and tragic.  No doubt they are driven by a worldview that is fallen and secular and opposed to the things of God (Ephesians 2.2).  Not that we need to stick our heads in a hole and remain unaware of human tragedy.  Part of being a good neighbor in a fallen world involves knowing what needs need to be met.  But the constant stream of negativity and speculation spewing forth from the various ‘news’ outlets of our day is something that is perhaps best kept at most on more of a quick perusal level.

-Pure is hagnos, moral and spiritual purity of a very high degree, but that which allows for the possibility of pollution, thus it is distinguished from absolute holiness (hagios).  Hagnos would not then be strictly applied to God the Father, but both words would readily apply to Christ, as He was tempted and could have chosen to sin (otherwise there would have been no temptation - cf Luke 4.2, Hebrews 4.15, Hebrews 2.18).  God the Father could not be so tempted (James 1.13).  So, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE PURE AND UNPOLLUTED?  Think of a cloudless blue sky, a field blanketed with pristine white snow, a sparkling flawless diamond, the miracle of life that is a newborn child, an expanse of nighttime starry sky, a spectacular sun slowly setting across an open sea, a picturesque panorama of unspoiled wilderness (no doubt you can think of others).  Focus on any or several of these things for a minute - can you not feel your spirit lifting?  They are no doubt glimpses of paradise.  They are reflections of the divine.  That’s what paul is talking about.  Get your gaze up out of the garbage and the chaos, and take things like these into account.  Put stock in things like these, pursue things like these and let them somehow factor into your thoughts as well as the decisions you make.

-Things that are lovely... the word is prosphilés, or towards love (phileo).  It means adapted and able to excite love or delight.  Things that are beautiful, exquisite, things which can cause pleasure when exposed to any of the five senses - a lovely sight, or a lovely smell or taste, or a beautiful sound, or something that feels exquisite to the touch.  It is certainly related to the idea of purity.  A flawless diamond would be considered both pure AND exquisite.  A magnificent sunset certainly excites delight for the eyes (in concert with the heart and mind of course).  Consider as well the charming beauty of Eve and her daughters which our eyes also delight to behold.  The intoxicating aroma of various perfumes or spices (such as cinnamon or vanilla) does the same for our noses.  Similarly, such spices along with things like sugar and honey and countless other flavors contribute to a practically endless array of tantalizing tastes in things we love to eat and and drink.  Yes, consider all the things God has created that are lovely, that are full of potential delight.  He Himself delights in that which is pleasurable - in fact God has been described as the happiest being in the universe!  He instilled in His creatures the same capacity to experience pleasure and delights to give them good things to enjoy (most notably Himself as The Most Enjoyable).  And of course the end of earthly delight is intended to be and should be gratitude and worship to the One Who created and provided it.

-So Paul says to focus on the things which are lovely, things which are ‘pros-philés’ (towards or exciting phileo - love/delight).  The problem faced by fallen man is that we tend to overindulge in or want to own the things in which we delight.  It is the cotton candy syndrome, the law of diminishing returns layered over the illusion of ownership.  We imagine that possessing an object will somehow satisfy our deepest longings, will mitigate the gnawing hunger of the infinite abyss - the Creator-shaped hole in our hearts which can only truly be filled by the One Who made us - but it is a fool's paradise.  Those who have gone away from God in their hearts or steer clear of Him altogether wind up looking to the lovely to fulfill their longings, and not only never fill that abyss, but miss out on life’s greatest Joy.  How unfortunate that God’s people miss this as well (albeit to a lesser extent), and inadvertently contribute to the misconception that God is a cosmic killjoy, when He is in fact the happiest Being in the universe.  In the words of John Ortberg, we will not understand God until we understand this about Him...

-The next word is euphémos, which is related to our modern word, euphemism.  It literally means good or well-spoken (of).  A few commentators suggest that euphémos should not be understood in a passive sense (as in something which is euphemized), but rather in an active sense, thus wellspeaking, winning, gracious (so, something which euphemizes).  Consider, however, the context: Paul here has given us six plural adjectives and two singular nouns which can describe a variety of very positive things, circumstances, realities, and this could certainly include people who help create those.  If euphémos is active (i.e. something that euphemize-ES), it would limit all the whatever to which Paul is referring here to people, since things such as circumstances and things generally speaking do not speak well of anything, (because of course they do not speak at all).  It makes more sense in context to suggest that euphémos refers to things which are euphemized.  Anything which is spoken well of (or should be).  The two nouns Paul gives us next serve to reinforce this picture.  All that to say, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE WELL-SPOKEN OF, THAT DO ENJOY A GOOD REPUTATION?  It should go without saying that excluded here are things of low moral value which might be extolled by people of low moral character.  Similarly, we will most likely want to include things which may not be well-spoken of by everyone (things of high moral value can be subject to criticism by people of low moral character)(Jesus Christ and the Word of God come to mind).

-Excellence is areté.  Here Paul posterizes the oft-employed yet ultimately lame justification that ‘there is nothing wrong with it’ - and it extends to the things on which we focus as well those in which we engage.  Paul raises the bar beyond what is permissible or even good to that which is excellent.  In fact, most times areté refers to God Himself.  He is to be our priimary focus and is our ultimate example.  to be sure, the God Who embodies all glory and excellence (Isaiah 43.21, 2Peter 1.3) has called His people to excellence (cf 2Peter 1.5), and the enemy of such can often be that which is merely good.  Our standards frankly are too low.  We should not settle for asking ourselves if there is anything wrong with something but rather we must elevate and narrow our focus onto that which is truly sublime (of such excellence, beauty, or grandeur as to inspire great admiration and awe).  Seriously, why waste your time on anything that is sub-standard?  Even and especially in times of hardship - it is always possible to find things that are excellent, and elevating our focus onto these helps to inspire and motivate and keep us going.

-Finally, Paul says to focus on and consider any epainos - meaning a tale upon, any tale of praise or commendation upon or about a person, object or event.  Again, this would most often refer to praise directed towards God Himself (Ephesians 1.12, Philippians 1.11, 1Peter 1.7), but it can also refer to commendation given to people by God (Romans 2.29, 1Corinthians 4.5) or other people (1Peter 2.14).  These are the verbal descriptions of the sublime excellencies to which Paul just alluded, and to which we would do well to pay attention.  

-We must not simply have passive thoughts about these things, but should actively take them into account and let them factor into the things we do and the decisions we make.  remember the context - Paul has been exhorting his readers to a lifestyle of standing firm in the Lord, living in harmony and leniency with one another, unremitting rejoicing, and exhaustive prayer and gratitude which centers on the sovereignty and goodness of God as a way to eradicate joy-stealing worry and anxiety.  Elsewhere we are exhorted to let no unwholesome words come out of our mouths.  Here we are being told to let no unwholesome objects impact our choices.  We must be taking into account only the things which are really good - not just a little bit good, but excellent.  Sublime.  Absolutely beautiful.  Miraculous even.  Focus and count on these things, dwell on them, and factor them in when you are determining what to do or how to respond.  There is so much wrong with the world, so much brokenness.  When you have the chance, when you are looking for something to consider or contemplate, direct your attention to examples of excellence.  Movies.  Articles.  Books.  Music.  Pictures.  Works of art.  Real life loveliness and miracles taking place and right there for the eye to see all around us, every day.  Things of purity and beauty.  Things which portay dignity and nobility.  Things which are true and right.  Things which show off the breathtaking goodness of God, Who despite the long incessant war on His creation continues faithfully working all things for good (Romans 8.28) and making all things new (Revelation 21.5).  He shows off His wonders in so many ways - in and thru people and all throughout our world, in nature, in the cosmos, in all sorts of nooks and crannies of creation.  We really only need to have eyes to see, and probably to slow down and pause long enough to get a good glimpse.

Philippians 4:7 - Paradise Found

"...And the peace of God, the [one] surpassing all mind, will guard the hearts of you and the thoughts of you in Christ Jesus."

-Walking in the way of gratitude and trust where I am communicating my concerns and needs to the Lord Who I recognize is both good and in control unlocks an amazing and powerful promise: peace.  God’s peace.  Peace beyond description.  Peace that is out of this world (John 14.27).  It is safe to say that in many ways, peace is the greatest need and deepest desire of fallen man in a broken world.  Peace with your Maker (“R.I.P.”).  Peace with your fellow man.  It is the Hebrew concept of shalom (in arabic, salaam).  Not just absence of conflict but a state of completion, unity, harmony, restoration, of well-being and wholeness, growth and prosperity that is truly other-worldly.  All of creation yearns, groans for this peace.  Both Arabs and Jews greet and part from each other with wishes for this peace.  It is an earthly approximation of paradise, and will ultimately only be fully realized in paradise, because God’s peace is rooted in God Himself, and is the result of His work and His presence.  The kind of wholeness and harmony that we all need and are looking for will in fact find its final expression in the finished work of One Who is called the Prince of Shalom.  Certainly it is no coincidence that the city where this Prince will finally establish His rule is called yeru-shalem, or foundation of shalom.  It is also where God first caused His Name to dwell (2Chronicles 3.1), as well as the precise location where the necessary atoning sacrifice of God’s Son for our sins (the one which made possible lasting peace with God) was both prefigured by Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22.2) and finally accomplished by Christ.  This place of shalom ultimately comes to designate heaven itself (cf Hebrews 12.22-23).

-On this side of paradise, however, God’s peace and presence is presently available to God’s people such that it actually guards their hearts and their minds like a fort.  No human fort, this - nothing in the entire universe can break through to take away this peace.  There is no power or problem big enough to penetrate the wall of God’s other-worldly peace when it is surrounding and guarding our hearts.  and this shalom is more than a pipe dream or a random possibility, it is a certainty based on the promise of God Himself.  The only condition which must first be satisfied is found in the previous verse, where we are to be thanking God and bringing our requests and concerns to Him in each and every circumstance, where we are reminding ourselves that He is in control of all things and that He is good.  Having done this, while we are not given a guarantee of any particular outcome or resolution, we know for sure that no matter what challenges or hardship we are facing, peace is ours for the taking, peace with God, peace which comes only from Him, peace that surrounds your heart and keeps the worries and cares of the world at bay, the peace which you only fully enjoy when you find yourself in paradise, where you can look around and truly be at rest.  Harmony.  Well-being.  The ability to relax and say, ‘ahhhh.’  Shalom.  And the promise is as good today as it was 2000 years ago.

-Isn't this what we're pursuing when we go on vacation, to a deserted beach, or to the mountains, when we are fishing, or out on a boat, or in small doses when we just want to get away, when we escape with a cup or glass of a relaxing beverage and a good book or a friend or a movie?  We so want to be able to say, 'ahhhh.'  We are grasping at just a glimmer of peace on earth.  Shalom.  Paradise, that for which we were originally designed.  We were made to live forever in paradise, in perfect peace and harmony with each other, with the world, and with our Maker.  And we've been trying to get back there ever since it was lost.

-Unfortunately, God’s peace is something which a lost world can never truly experience.  It searches in vain to find a counterfeit in various drugs and dalliances, in treaties and in tolerance.  The ability to find and experience real shalom in the midst of busy-ness and brokenness not only eludes the world, but makes the world stop and notice when they see it in God’s people.  The Lord uses hard times not only to provide an opportunity for His people to trust in Him in a way that makes them more like Jesus, but also to provide an unbelieving world the chance to glimpse the reality of His work in the world and in the lives of those whose hearts are truly His (Romans 8.28).

Philippians 4:6 - Outta control (and lovin' it)!

"Nothing be worrying about, but rather in everything by prayer and by supplication with thanksgiving the requests of you let it be known toward God."

-Despite the fact the the Lord is near, there are ample opportunities to take my eyes off of Jesus.  Life is going to happen.  Brokenness is bound to encroach on my world, and when it rears its ugly head, the natural response (i.e. apart from Jesus) is not joy but rather one of fear and concern and anxiety.  I am prone to let things take my eyes and my focus and my trust off of Jesus.  Truth be told, there are so many things about which I can potentially worry or be overly concerned (Luke 10.41) - worries about my life (Matthew 6.25), worries about clothing (Matthew 6.28), worries about food (Matthew 6.31), worries about tomorrow (Matthew 6.34).  The worries and cares of this world can be like an alien sucking on my face - sometimes it’s hard to see anything else, and they want to seize control.  They grab me by the throat and choke out the joy that should be mine in Christ, and so Paul lays out the standard - don’t allow any of these concerns take control of my mind or my heart or otherwise consume my focus.  Be worrying and concerned about nothing.

-Interestingly, in Philippians 2.20 Paul holds up Timothy as a good example because he IS concerned about something.  Paul uses the exact same word, so clearly there can be an exception.  Mary also found an exception (in Luke 10.42).  We CAN and should be concerned about the things that concern the Lord - and we specifically can be concerned about others.  

-But where I run into problems is when I begin to care excessively about things which concern me and are beyond my control.  And that’s really what it boils down to, it’s an issue of control.  I want to be in control of my life, in control of the things that happen to me and to the people I care about.  I want to choose the what and the when and the where and the why.  I like to have my ducks in a row.  I want to be the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.  I so want my life to be in health and not in sickness, richer and better as opposed to poorer and worse.  And in trying to achieve that, even the incessant small, seemingly mundane day-to-day things have the potential to overwhelm my focus whenever I am tempted to try and control those.  But control is an illusion.  Part of me wants to be in control, I try to be in control, I think I am in control, but it is a fool’s paradise.  Yes, I make choices and decisions every day which have bearing on my life and on the world, but life on this orb is always and ultimately orbiting out of my control.  It is under the purview of the One Who made it and Who sustains it and holds it all together (Colossians 1.16-17, Hebrews 1.3).  He is in control - AND He is good.  This is a fundamental lesson of life.  There is One Who made me, Who designed me and every other person on this terrestrial ball for a grand purpose, and Who - because He is in total control and is thoroughly good to a breathtaking degree - is ultimately weaving the myriad threads of the circumstances and details of my life (as well as those of everyone who is in Christ) into a tapestry of unquestionable and unspeakable wonder (Romans 8.28, Psalms 139.14-18).  And you don’t want one without the other - a God in control but devoid of goodness would be a cruel despot.  But a good God without control would be a toothless grandpa.  Neither extreme would inspire worship.  Thankfully, God’s Word assures us that He is fully both.  (so, be still, and know that, He. Is. God. cf Psalms 46.10)

-With this in mind, Paul commands us instead to pray about everything, to bring every circumstance and need to God, to be making our requests known to Him in prayer.  There is not one thing in everything that is exempted.  And Paul employs two different words for prayer which reflect the twin realities which we have just described.  proseuché literally means “prayer towards”, and has in view this One to Whom we are praying, infinitely and inexhaustibly good and in-control.  deésis meanwhile is the word for petition or supplication.  It is specifically asking for provision, and we know that this ineffably good and sovereign God to Whom we pray is also our Provider.  He is Jehovah Jireh.  Paul in just a few verses will give us that great promise that our God will indeed fully supply everything we need (Philippians 4.19).  We can trust Him - fully lean on Him and depend on Him to be working all things together for good in each and every circumstance.  He has our back.  He’s got this.  There is never a time when He is surprised or caught off guard or finds Himself in a situation which He can’t handle or which will ultimately turn out other than how He planned.  Ours then is a marvelous and mysterious dance of keeping in step with what God wants and with what He is doing, to completely depend upon Him and keep trusting in Him in everything.

-This is where thanksgiving comes into play.  Thanksgiving in everything (1Thessalonians 5.17-18, Ephesians 3.20).  Thanking God in every circumstance demonstrates this trust, particularly when my circumstances do not appear for the time being to be working out for good.  But gratitude - like joy - is not a feeling which depends upon my circumstances.  Life doesn’t always feel good.  Brokenness does not feel good.  And it is natural anytime we experience brokenness to wonder if God is really be good and in control.  People call into question even His very existence over this problem of evil.  Evil and brokenness exist, therefore God must either not care or must not be in control, since He is allowing this to happen, or He just doesn’t exist to begin with and fate is a cruel master.  This brand of atheistic fatalism tends to foster either hopelessness or hedonism.  And this is precisely where the living and abiding hope of the believer, the enduring joy and the constant peace, has the opportunity to illuminate this world devoid of hope, the godless darkness all around us.  And it is generated and maintained through this lifestyle of gratitude and the habit of intentionally bringing every request we have to our good and sovereign heavenly Father.

-One might ask why Paul is telling us to make our requests known to the One Who already knows everything.  He designed us, He knows our hearts (1Kings 8.39, Psalm 44.21, Luke 16.15, Acts 1.24, cf Genesis 20.6), He knows our every thought (1Chronicles 28.9, Psalm 139.2, Revelation 2.23) and every word before it is even on our lips (Psalm 139.4).  What we find throughout Scripture is the principle that God is in the business of testing the hearts of His people (Exodus 20.20, Deuteronomy 8.2, 1Chronicles 29.17, 2Chronicles 32.31, Psalm 7.9, Psalm 26.2, Psalm 139.1, Psalm 139.23, Proverbs 17.3, Jeremiah 11.20, Romans 8.27, 1Thessalonians 2.4).  He tests hearts in order to reveal what is in them.  He faithfully provides opportunities for the life of Christ which He is metamorphosing in me to be displayed and strengthened.  And it is precisely in these times of testing that we see whether or not someone truly trusts Him.  When brokenness rears its ugly head or when things are spinning out of control or when life is NOT coming up daisies, a heart that truly trusts in Him and knows He is good and in control will be able to rejoice and will turn to Him in prayer with thanksgiving.  This is the kind of heart that the Lord is producing in the life of a believer.  To obey what Paul is telling us here is actually to cooperate with the Lord in the good work He has begun in reproducing the life of Christ in me (Philippians 1.6, Philippians 2.13).  Turning to Him with all my requests, with a thankful heart and the knowledge that He is good and is in control is how I live into that.

Philippians 4:5 - Dashing expectations...

"The gentleness of you, let it be known to all men.  The Lord [is] near."

-The word means, to yield upon.  Being yielding towards others with regards to what they have (or haven’t) done and with whatever debt they may have incurred.  Mild, yielding, indulgent, gentle, gracious.  What Paul is talking about here is clemency, leniency - that which one might need from a ruler or from someone in charge (cf Acts 24.4).  It is consideration for one another as opposed to strictness of legal right (Titus 3.2).  Not being exactingly just but rather being satisfied with less than is perhaps due (1Peter 2.18).  We saw this in Jesus, Who let go and went low (cf 2Corinthians 10.1).  To be sure, there is an art to finding the balance between pursuing purity & justice and being gentle & gracious, being unwavering and yet being full of mercy (cf James 3.17) - it does indeed require great wisdom.

-But show this to all men, Paul says.  So of course that means all men and women and children.  Show this royal gentleness and leniency to your spouse.  To your kids.  To your coworkers.  To those who share the road with you...!  Most likely they will not expect this.

-A life that is full of joy regardless of circumstances as well as this wise and gentle mercy sounds exactly like what one might expect God to be like.  Or not.  Many no doubt imagine that He is more like some finger-pointing, joyless tyrant sitting on His throne and watching my every move, just waiting for me to mess up so He can throw a flag (some would tend to approach parenting that way).  Most likely He is more like the former, more like the Father in the story of the prodigal son.  Think about it - WHAT WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE THAT FATHER?  We see him being totally merciful and lenient with the younger prodigal on both sides of his waywardness, and well as with the dutiful-yet-resentful older son - who really could have been castigated quite severely for his attitude when his brother returned.  We see the dad at the ready to celebrate, overflowing with joy that could not be contained at his son’s homecoming.  He quite literally was a party waiting to happen.  Both sons failed to see these things in their dad.  They both expected justice rather than mercy, and both sons had forgotten or never even realized the joy that could have been found with their dad.  Not to totally dispense with justice - but this does speak to me as far as how I relate to my heavenly Father (He is probably more compassionate than I expect and a far greater source of joy than I realize), as well as how I relate to my own kids (I wonder if they see me more as an exacting tyrant and less as a merciful party-waiting-to-happen...?).  Again, we’re talking about striking the balance between being firm and fun/loving - it’s a both/and.  I do have a long way to go...  

-Now Paul also adds that the Lord is near.  This noun (engys) and the associated verb (engizo) describe something that is approaching/coming close or has already done so, and it could be in time or in space or both.  Outside of the gospels, this word is used almost exclusively to describe the second coming of Christ - Romans 13.11-12, Hebrews 10.25, James 5.8-9, 1Peter 4.7, Revelation 1.3, Revelation 22.10 (cf Matthew 24.32-33).  And the collective emphasis is that He is close to showing up both in time and space.  Paul is therefore probably not referring here to the immanence of God nor the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, altho those are both encouraging realities which indeed make it easier to live lives of joy and harmony and perseverance even when life is hard (cf Matthew 28.20, Psalm 34.18, Psalm 145.18, John 14.16-17)(granted, some commentators do prefer this explanation).  The repeated reminders of the close proximity of His return are intended to produce both perseverance as well as anticipation for those who have trusted Christ (He Himself gave us such a directive in Luke 12.42-48).  To say that the day is near, this day when our Great Lord and Savior returns and gives salvation to all who are His and puts right all that is wrong, can really help those who are following Christ - esp. in the midst of hardship - stick it out until the very end.  You can do this.  We’re almost there.  And at the same time, just like a child who is told that Christmas is near, there is a growing excitment and even a preoccupation with all things pertaining to the arrival of that day.  The Lord is near!  Get excited!  And do hang in there, cuz He really is almost here!

-Now, it needs to be asked.  Paul wrote this almost 2000 years ago - no doubt he expected this return during his lifetime.  John said it was the last hour (1John 2.18).  Truth is, we’re still waiting.  How near is the Lord, really?  This is perhaps why a few prefer to see this more of a statement of Christ’s constant presence and nearness to His followers.  But to explain it thus does violence to the meaning of this text as well as to the numerous other passages.  All these Scriptures were God-breathed, and He is trying to tell us something.  Some would point out that in God’s eye, a thousand years are as a day.  In any case, the oft-repeated mentions that Christ is engys are not so much about how long we have to wait, but about how we wait.   The emphasis is not on a when or a where but rather on a Who.  It is the Lord Jesus Christ Who in fact is near.  Yes, it is HE Who is coming.  He is coming soon indeed, this One Who makes everything else seem like so much manure.  It could be today, or tomorrow, or in the next few years, or in my lifetime.  Or not.  And even if His return is not in our lifetime or not even for another 2000 years, we can still be eagerly awaiting that day with anticipation and perseverance.  He is so amazingly breathtakingly good, He is so much better than anything this world has to offer, that I can and should be boiling over with joy in this wonderful truth that HE is near.  Truth is, I am more like the prodigal son or his brother, trying to find joy and pleasure in other places or lost in a dull experience of dutiful obedience.  Oh Lord, open my eyes to awe Who You are...

Philippians 4:4 - Jesus vs. the Dallas Cowboys

"Be rejoicing in [the] Lord always.  again I will say, be rejoicing."

-Indeed, what tremendous joy this, the prospect of soon seeing face-to-face the Heavenly Pearl Who in order to gain I have sold everything.  Because I am always in Christ, because He is always with me and He is always better, because the Lord is always breathtakingly good and preeminently in control, always working all things together for good, because I am part of that triumphant heavenly procession led by the King of kings and Lord of Lords, there is never a time or a season when I have any reason not to be rejoicing.

-But one must understand the full force of what Paul is saying in this verse, and HOW he is saying it. He could have just given his readers a simple present imperative, be constantly rejoicing in the Lord. The meaning would have been exactly the same as what he says here. What he does, however, is repeat the command a second time, AND add the adverb 'always'. One might say this is double redundancy, but what it really is, is triple emphasis. Constantly. Continuously. Always. Moment by moment. There is not one second of one single minute that we are given a whiff of excuse to not be rejoicing in the Lord. 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, 13 months out the year. When you're chained up in prison. When you throw your back out. When a relationship is hard, when work is hard, when circumstances are hard (which can be much of the time), when tragedy strikes, when life throws you a curve ball you never saw coming - there is never any justification to even momentarily not be rejoicing in the Lord, and if it ever feels like you might have found some fine print that gives you an exception, read again. No matter what happened to you yesterday, no matter what happens today, Jesus is still alive. God Almighty is still breathtakingly good and sitting on His throne. He is unmoved, and yet totally on the move on your behalf.

-This is possible because joy does not depend on my immediate temporal circumstances, whether they resolve or persist, no matter how hard the hardship.  We’re not talking about happiness.  Happiness is a good feeling that rises and falls in response to events and occurrences.  as such, happiness is a relatively short-term emotional state based on personal gratification—how these events make me feel.  Some events drive away happiness, making it a unreliable emotion, however pleasant or desireable.  Whatever makes me feel good brings happiness.  What makes me feel bad produces sadness.  But Paul does not command us to be happy in the Lord always.  I cannot make myself be happy, it is not a choice.  But joy is.  I can choose joy, regardless and in spite of my circumstances.  Which is why it is commanded, exactly because it is a choice.  In fact, joy is commanded dozens of times throughout the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms, as well as in the New Testament.  Joy is stronger, more enduring and more stable than happiness.  It can coexist with happiness but does not arise out of nor depend on it.  Joy is based on truth (cf John 15.11, 1Corinthians 13.6), and particularly on the unchanging unrelenting truth that God is good (cf ex 18.9).  Truth and God’s goodness persist even when my circumstances are not otherwise pleasant.  Indeed, truth never changes - it is constant.  Which is why joy can be constant.  Which is also why we're not talking about some rose-colored, pie-in-the-sky, stick-your-head-in-the-sand and paste-a-fake-smile-on-my-face kind of denial about the hardships of life.  The fact of God’s goodness is something that at times actually requires a deliberate volitional choice, choosing to focus on the truth that God is always good and is always working things together for good, even when my circumstances and my world manifest the brokenness which has resulted from sin.  Because joy is based on unchanging truth and does not depend on our circumstances, it also allows us to direct our focus outward, towards others.  I choose joy by remembering what is true, what is true about God, about my relationship with Him (assuming I even have one), and about His good work in the world.  When I am focused on truth, living and walking according to the truth, I experience joy (joy is also a trait, a fruit that is produced by God’s Spirit in the lives of those He indwells - Acts 13.52, Romans 15.13, Galatians 5.22).  Also, to the extent that I am able experience reliable truth and faithfulness in human relationships, those can also be a source of joy.  Children who know that their parents (and/or another adult) care about them, adults who know that their spouse or a best friend loves them and is committed to them - these are ones who have the kind of truth that can give rise to joy. This is why we see that the truly joyful child is the one who knows their boundaries, since embracing truth is what allows for the establishing of boundaries, and the parent who gives them healthy boundaries shows them that they are cared for.  Conversely, we see that the adult who rejects truth and maintains that truth is relative is less able to find true joy.  But it is the unchanging truth of God, that He is good and loving and faithful and in control, that He is FOR the one who is in Christ, that He is just - these are the truths that make true joy possible.  And when events or circumstances might otherwise conspire to steal away my happiness, that is when I can choose to remember what is true and choose to find joy in the midst of whatever hardship comes my way.  Always.  Constantly.  Moment-by-moment. 

-These are (or certainly are meant to be) the top two telltale attributes of those who follow Christ (Galatians 5.22, cf John 13.34-35, John 15.10-12, John 16.22, John 17.13) - abiding joy and love for one another, regardless and in spite of circumstances.

-Note that the command here is not just rejoice because of the Lord, but actually rejoice IN Him.  The key word is ‘IN’.  It’s also not simply rejoice because you are in the Lord, which would certainly be sufficient to put you on shouting ground.  And we are not just talking about some vague sense of upbeat pleasantness in approaching life because we have been ‘saved’.  Think about it this way - if we were told to rejoice IN the Dallas Cowboys always, then them 'Boys are not just a cause for general joy (which of course is where the illustration breaks down, not only because everything this side of heaven will let you down eventually but in recent years the Dallas Cowboys have been rather disappointing but I digress) but in fact THEY are the ultimate object of our enjoyment.  We would be finding constant joy and real pleasure in those Cowboys.  Think about it: WHAT IF THE COMMAND WAS TO REJOICE IN THE COWBOYS ALWAYS?  Well, of course to do so would leave one woefully unsatisfied.  And consider this - doing this with anything OTHER THAN the Lord is the essence of idolatry.  Because what we are talking about... is worship.  It is the great command, to love the Lord with all our HEART and SOUL and not just with our mind.  To want Him, to enjoy Him - to find our joy in Him more than anything or anyone.  He is the greatest and ultimate source of unchanging goodness and truth.  He is (or must become) my constant source of greatest joy.

-So, HOW AM I DOING AT REJOICING IN THE LORD?

Philippians 4:3 - Who are Syzygos and Clement? For sure not spectators or lone rangers...

"Yes I am asking also you, genuine yoke-fellow, be helping to them, who in the Good News competed together with me and with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, of whom the names [are] in [the] Book of Life."

-tThere are some definite uncertainties in this verse.  It is uncertain if Paul is addressing an individual named Syzygos, or if he is referring generically to every member of the assembly there in Philippi who would thus be tied to both the problem as well as the solution of the aforementioned conflict.  I think it is the latter.  Paul is enlisting the help of each and every person in that local body to help these two women who are at odds with each other.  We are all stakeholders in how the Gospel is lived out within our assembly.  The word syzygos gives us the English word 'syzygy'.  It refers to a unique connection or conjunction.  It describes two or more things which are actually yoked together.  A yoke is a strong (think tough to break) connection or bond that is used to help two parties work more effectively in unison in order to accomplish a task or further some purpose.  In truth believers in a local assembly do have this kind of connection.  The Spirit of God Himself arranges and assembles each localized expression of the Body of Christ such that the members are able (and meant) to care for and build up one another and work together for the progress of the Gospel among their neighbors and to the ends of the earth (1Corinthians 12.6-7, 1Corinthians 12.24-26, Philippians 1.27, Ephesians 4.16).  If there is a problem that exists between two of my fellow believers, it is my problem as well, because we are part of a body, and if one part of the body is suffering, or if two parts are at odds with each other, it affects the entire body.  My conflict with someone else is not just about me and that person.  It is not ever just about me - it is all about the Lord and about His glory, making Him famous among the nations.  We in western Christendom are so busy in the world living our own lives and so disconnected from would-be Syzygi that we often either don't know the struggles others are having or don't think we know them well enough to get involved.  Or we leave it up to the pastor, the paid professional, to fix - that's his job, right?  Or we figure their families will help.  But that's where we err - we ARE family, we are God's people - He has yoked us together to show off His breathtaking goodness!  So much standing on the sidelines while bodies and marriages and families and friends are coming apart.  We can do better.  We must do better.

-There is also uncertainty about the identity of Clement.  Who is Clement actually?  We don’t know.  He is not mentioned anywhere else in the NT, so there are no details other than what Paul briefly gives here.  It is safe to say that he was a Christ-follower, he was a member of the assembly in Philippi, and that he had served with Paul and Euodia and Syntyche and others in advancing the Gospel there in Philippi and perhaps elsewhere.  Why does Paul specifically mention him here?  We don’t know exactly - most likely he played a key role in that assembly.

-One thing Paul states for certain about Clement - his name is in the Book of Life, along with these others who are following Christ and have been spreading the Good News about Him (the two do go hand in hand - there are no spectators when it comes to the Gospel.  If you’re in the boat, you’re fishing - grab a line or cut bait, or both).  The Lamb’s Book of Life contains the names of those who have trusted in Christ payment for their sins and are on the roll of heaven (Luke 10.20, Hebrews 12.23) - these are the ones who are getting in (Revelation 21.27).  Every one else must pay their own penalty for their sins (Romans 6.23, Revelation 20.15).  The way Paul can be certain about the inclusion of Clement and these others in the Book of Life is the fact of their faithful ongoing work in the cause of the Gospel.  It is not enough to simply pray a prayer or go to a building once a week.  The transformation that Christ will produce in the life of every person who truly trusts in the Good News and follows Him necessarily includes involvement in the work of sharing this Good News with others (Matthew 4.19).  If you are not fishing, then you must ask yourself honestly if you have fully believed the Gospel and truly trusted in Christ.

-And more than scant details for Syzygos and Clement, we do see an overarching theme of this epistle culminating here in this verse.  The prefix ‘syn’ occurs four times - it speaks to qualities and actions that exist or take place together with other people.  Beyond relating his own circumstances, this is what Paul has been describing and exhorting for the entirety of his letter - Philippians 1.5, 1.7, 1.27, 2.1-4, 2.14, 2.20, 2.25-26, 3.17 - people who are part of a body, a family, people who care about each other and long to be together, people who help each other and learn from each other and put each other before and above themselves, people who share life and pursue Jesus together and focus on the priority of making Him famous among their neighbors and the nations, on bringing others into the white-hot enjoyment of His breathtaking goodness.  The Christian life about connections - the connection to Jesus first and foremost, but also connections which transcend both borders AND blood, where I am vitally yoked together with fellow aliens and pilgrims who are citizens of the same realm to which I now belong.  These are my brothers and sisters.  There truly are no lone ranger Christ-followers.  We are made and have been remade for community, to experience and contribute to a common unity which has become rather more uncommon.  There is no place for isolation - that person is in danger of being devoured (1Peter 5.8).  Yes, we need each other.  We were made for one another.  God designed it this way (cf Ephesians 4.1-6, Ephesians 4.12-13, Ephesians 4.16, Ephesians 4.25).  We paddle together in our coracle with our faces set towards Aslan’s land.

Philippians 4:2 - Something better...

"Euodia I am exhorting and Syntyche I am exhorting the same to be thinking in [the] Lord."

-Paul has already set unity and harmony of thought and purpose as the goal to which this entire (and every other) assembly should aspire (Philippians 1.27, Philippians 2.2).  Here he singles out two women in particular who apparently are falling short of that in some way.  Clearly there must have been some ongoing trouble between them, either at some point in the past while Paul was there, or in the present and Paul has been informed of this by Epaphroditus, or even both.  As we learn in the next verse, Paul knows these women personally, and he will give disunity and lovelessness no quarter in the church of Christ, which is His Body and His chosen instrument for showing and carrying His love and breathtaking goodness to the world.

-So the question then comes to us: how is it that one of us can deign to allow any disunity and strife to exist and fester within the Body, between us and another believer?  Jesus states quite clearly that we must do all we can to try and eradicate it - we forgive our brothers and let go of the hurts and offenses, and we seek to make peace with them (Matthew 18.21-22, Matthew 5.23-24).  In fact He so much as says don’t even waste your time trying to engage in worship if you haven’t tried to make peace with your brother.  Don’t bother with the vertical relationship if there’s something messed up with a horizontal relationship, particularly with a fellow believer.  We are NEVER to pay back evil for evil to anyone and we must do our level best to maintain peace in all our relationships (Romans 12.17-18, cf Matthew 5.9, Hebrews 12.14, James 3.18), but our relationships with our fellow Christ-followers must be cultivated and pursued at a MUCH higher level (cf Romans 14.10, Romans 14.15, Romans 14.19-21, 1Corinthians 6.6, 1Corinthians 8.11-13, 2Corinthians 13.11-12, Ephesians 4.1-3, Colossians 3.13-15, 1Thessalonians 5.13-15, James 2.15-16, 1John 3.17, 1John 4.20-21).  We are commanded to PURSUE the things that make for peace and for building up one another within the Body.  We do not have the luxury of allowing even a drop of disharmony any place within Christ’s Body. That means whether we are the offender or the offended, we must go out of our way and make every possible effort to rescue our relationships with fellow believers and drag them out of the garbage.  Leave your offering at the altar today, and go and at least try to be reconciled with your brother or sister.  Every inch of ground we surrender in this area gives the enemy room to manuever and short circuits God’s blessing in and through our lives.  We are called to something higher than disharmony and disunity, something better...

Philippians 4:1 - Semi-sweet morsels of glory

"Therefore my brothers beloved and longed-for, my joy and crown, thus be standing firm in [the] Lord, beloved."

-Paul has called them brothers four other times throughout this letter, and he has called them beloved one other time, but here in this one verse he calls them beloved twice. We know that God loves these Philippian believers deeply, but so does Paul. They are doubly loved. They are family. Not your average dysfunctional family that may or may not need each other. He really cares about them, about how they are doing. He repeats that he cannot wait to see them again. And he truly has great joy when they are closely following Jesus, when they are finding their greatest joy in Him.

-Paul calls them his joy AND crown. Obviously his relationship with these ones is currently a tremendous source of joy for Paul, but he apparently has ultimate motives. To the extent that their faith does not fizzle before the finish, these believers - and others (cf 1Thessalonians 2.19) - signify for Paul "well done." A life well-lived. a race well-run. They are his crown, his victor's wreath of laurels. Paul will have even greater cause for celebration and joy before the judgment seat of Christ, when the books are opened and the lives and thoughts and motives of men are revealed (1Corinthians 4.5), and the eternal impact which the Lord has worked thru Paul will be readily apparent. The countless multiplied lives he has discipled to Jesus will redound to the praise and glory of God forever and ever. And for Paul, his praise will come from the Lord Himself, Who will say, "well done."

-He gives them another imperative here - thus be standing firm. It is stéko, be constantly standing firm like a stake, and in a certain manner which he has just finished describing. He had previously been talking about pressing onward and upward. But he had also just exhorted them to not regress and to be following the example set by himself and others. So we are to be like a stake in the ground, steadfast, undeterred and undaunted in following Paul's example of pursuing knowing and being like Christ above and before all else. Stand firm and resolute in this, because the world and the devil and our flesh will tirelessly and relentlessly conspire to slow us down and get us off track, to distract us from our goal, from our destiny. To somehow get us to forget that Christ is better and that knowing Him and living to make Him famous is not only what we were designed (or re-designed) to do but that it is what we must do if we would find true joy and lasting satisfaction in this life.

-This standing firm is to take place 'in the Lord.'  It is about HOW we are standing firm as well as where we are standing. There is nothing that we can do apart from Him in the first place (John 15.5). Our adequacy, our ability, the power to rise above our powerlessness, all comes from Jesus. So if we are to be standing firm unmoved yet moving forward we must abide in Christ, get out of the way and let Him do it (Galatians 2.20). This is the HOW. But this speaks as well to where we stand. Placing our faith in Jesus automatically means that we are placed INTO Christ. Everything about us, everything we do, everything we are, is in Him and takes place in Him. We are already standing in Him, in Who He is, in His grace and power and joy and passion and perseverance and long-suffering and love. Which means we not only have the chance to be holding on and fighting hard to know and pursue Jesus, but we can also relax and let go and rest in Him, knowing full well that we ARE in Christ, we are in God's hand and NOTHING can ever remove us (John 10.29).

-This imperative to be standing firm is also tied to a therefore. What is the therefore there for? Many are walking as enemies of the Cross of Christ, but the Cross for us is everything. It means forgiveness. Being right with God. Peace. Freedom. A fresh start and a new identity. It also means that we are now aliens. This world is no longer our home. We are citizens of heaven. That is where we belong, and that is where we are headed. We must be resolute, resolved to live out this identity without wavering or shrinking back. No matter the cost, we are obliged to pursue Jesus and make Him famous, to populate heaven with as many neighbors and nations as possible. But no sacrifice or drudgery or unpleasant task, this. We are destined for glory and are tasting semi-sweet morsels of it even now, even as we are eagerly waiting for the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Which suggests that He is coming back soon. So be standing firm in this pursuit, like Paul. Don't shrink back or get off track. Don't slack off or slow down. Run. Run the race. Run with the quickness. Run with endurance. Keep on running. Run to win. Run to Jesus. 

And when you think about it, running well and standing firm happen better when you know you belong to a family that is also running right beside you, encouraging you and supporting you and spurring you on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10.24-25), cheering you on to the finish, towards Jesus.

Philippians 3:21 - From broken to breathtaking

"...Who will transform the body of our humility to conform to the body of His glory, according the energizing of His power even to subject to Him all things."

-Yes, in the present we experience brokenness.  It is inescapable.  It is all around us, and it is in us.  Our bodies and minds begin a natural breakdown process as early as our 20’s.  It is possible to slow the onset of this breakdown through diet and exercise and other habits of health, but no amount of exercise or money or lotions or surgeries or supplements can completely forestall the inevitable.  It is the law of corruption (Romans 8.21) - everything in the universe breaks down, and will continue to do so until God makes the new heaven and earth.  No one is exempt.  It is humbling to have to admit, and one reason that this is so hard to come to terms with is that we were never designed to break down.  Somewhere inside we understand that we are supposed to live forever in paradise and never die or break down.

-The Good News is that Scripture tells us that when we do finally see Him, that we will be like Him (1John 3.2).  Yes, on that day, we will see Him as He really is in all His glory (John 17.24), and in that moment, in the blink of an eye, we will be changed, forever transformed with His glory, eternal, immortal, never to die again (1Corinthians 15.51-53).  No more death or dying or sickness or crying.  No more brokenness, no more tears.  Just glory.  Breathtaking goodness.  Life as it was meant to be.  And we will in fact be transformed into something so breathtaking and splendid that you might be tempted to worship it were you to see it in your fallen state.  

-One might ask, what power is there that is able to completely reverse this curse that so relentlessly breaks down our mortal bodies and breaks down the entirety of creation?  We are indeed living in a tent, ‘this body of our humility’ (2Corinthians 5.4).  Paul reminds us that the One Who made it all has power over it all.  He is omnipotent - there is no limit or end to His power.  It knows no bounds.  Nothing is too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32.17).  He is greater than all, and all things fall under His authority and control.  It may not fully appear that way now.  It may appear that things are out of control, that they are just getting worse.  It may look like randomness increases.  It may appear that brokenness escalates and wickedness proliferates and the enemies of the Cross wax unfettered and unpunished, but one day the supremacy of Almighty God will be plainly manifest for all to see (1Corinthians 15.58), eternal glory will be fully unveiled, order and beauty and paradise will be completely restored, and EVERY knee will bow in subjection before the One True King (Philippians 2.10).  Are you ready?

Philippians 3:20 - Colored Jesus...

"For our citizenship in heaven is being, out of which also a Savior we are waiting - [the] Lord Jesus Christ."

-Following Christ and fixing our eyes on Him necessarily means we are looking ahead to His return.  For the redeemed who are in Christ, those who have trusted in Christ as their Savior and Lord and are truly following Him, their focus is not on the things of earth but rather on heaven, on the things of that realm - on Jesus.  Or at least it should be (Hebrews 9.28).  Because that is our new home, our new allegiance, our final destination, and Jesus is that pearl of great price, our magnificent obessession.

HOW DOES YOUR LIFE FIT INTO ‘EAGERLY AWAIT’?  HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WAITING?  HOW EAGER ARE YOU ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10?

-No doubt Paul was a 10.  There was nothing in life he wanted more than to see Jesus (cf Philippians 1.21-23).  He was not alone in this sentiment (cf 1Corinthians 1.7), but I wonder where this longing has gone in our day.  It is fair to say that to the extent that we are less than fully eager we are probably too focused on earthly things.

-In these last days there are also questions and issues of nationalities and borders and immigration.  For those who follow Christ, there is an allegiance and an identity which supercedes and informs all other ties.  Believers are citizens of the kingdom of Heaven, which has an entirely different system of boundaries and membership.  Our King rules His kingdom and subjects from a different place (John 18.36).  But as such our focus and our conduct and priorities and identity are to be completely other than those who belong to the kingdom of this earth, totally different from those who are only thinking about earthly things.  We are aliens and strangers (Hebrews 11.13, 1Peter 2.11, 1Peter 1.17).

-Those in Christ are now citizens (think city-zens) of the heavenly Jerusalem.  ‘City’ in Greek is polis, which was originally the ancient greek city-state, the ruling center, and extended to the surrounding overseeable territory and inhabitants.  Those who were free members of this society (as opposed to slaves) were called citizens (polités).  They enjoyed a certain lifestyle and were accorded rights and privileges in keeping with the power and wealth of their polis (politeia).  Culture and spiritual values develop in this society, and true self-development is enabled by the freedom afforded by the polis.  Ultimately the polis is a sacred organization, one which originates from and is protected by the supreme God.  The polis was regarded as the most important thing in life for the ancient greek, to which the free citizen gave their entire allegiance.  The polités embodied the polis; city-zenship (politeuma) was identified in terms of the polis.  The way a polités would live and conduct themselves was politeuomai.

-Thus those who follow Christ give their allegiance to a realm which is not of this world, and their conduct is governed by a different set of laws.  Technically believers themselves would be considered the modern day sojourners (ger) of the OT (Leviticus 19.33-34, cf 1Chronicles 29.15), since we are temporarily dwelling and working in land where we do not belong.  We are polités of a different polis.  Our politeuma (the word used here) is in heaven.  And unlike the unbelievers, we are not enemies of the cross of Christ or of heaven, but rather we are citizens.  We belong there.

-By Paul’s day, the polis had lost much of its power and political flavor.  And yet we learn from Paul that politeuma still carried some significance (cf Acts 21.39, Acts 22.28).  These Philippian believers would have understood, since their city was a Roman colony, and this gave them status as citizens of Rome.  No doubt many there were proud of this fact.  But even if the polis and politeuma in it had lost much of its significance at the time that Paul wrote this, it is clear that he intends for those who follow Christ to understand that theirs is a different loyalty, a different allegiance, a different homeland, a different focus and destination, a different code of conduct, a different longing and hope, a different King, a different set of privileges and obligations which (should at least) trump any earthly ties.

-Yes, our conduct (politeuomai) and perspective on life is to be other-worldly, but we do also have an alien longing.  We not only want to know and be like Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, but we are waiting to actually see Him face to face, this One we profess to love and pursue and in Whom we find unspeakable joy having never even laid eyes on Him (1Peter 1.8).  Yes, He is coming back.  He is coming back to finally and fully save those who are His, to once and for all rescue from death those who have truly trusted in His death and followed Him.  For these, it will be glorious indeed.  And so we are waiting.  This verb is usually translated as ‘eagerly waiting’ (Romans 8.19, Romans 8.23, Romans 8.25, 1Corinthians 1.7, Galatians 5.5, Hebrews 9.28).  As if we can’t wait.  We are so looking forward to its arrival, to the arrival of Jesus.  The word was used most frequently by Paul.  He was seriously eager to see Jesus.  And yet I wonder, are we?  I think that perhaps many of us who follow Christ in the affluent west are too wrapped up in the passing joys and pleasures of this life to think much about the return of our Savior.  The exception is usually when tragedy or hardship strike.  Brokenness is good at bringing us back to reality, the reality that this world is not our home. 

-Consider children as they eagerly await Christmas. It speaks to the value they place on the day itself - it is more special and desirable than any other day. but their eagerness grows in proportion to the proximity of the day. In the springtime, they perhaps look forward to Christmas with a modest level of longing, but as the day draws near, their anticipation and eagerness grows. and once December arrives and the signs of Christmas begin to appear all around, their eagerness level skyrockets. Christmas is almost here! They can't wait! They are so excited! Their entire outlook becomes colored red and green and tinsel. Paul says we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Jesus. His return is very close. Our entire outlook should be colored Jesus.