LifeLink Devotional

Friday, March 9, 2018

Philippians 1:9  ⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more…

2 John 1:5 – 6   I ask that we love one another.  ⁶And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

Last month, American’s spent 19.6 billion dollars on Valentine’s Day. The average American spent $89 on the person they love. I was way below that average. The danger is that some of you will question the love I have for my wife based on that fact. However, it is not the amount that is spent that determines the level of love, but rather it is the motive of the giver that validates or taints the expression of love.  In the best-case scenario, the gifts are well thought out and have been planned for days or even weeks in advance. These gifts are the expression of true love that considers the other person first with no thought for the return benefit. The giver of the gift is stating clearly, “No matter what happens in life or regardless of your response, I will love you and give myself for you because you have captured my heart. Nothing in life can separate me from you.”

But other gifts are designed to elicit a certain response from the recipient, and in varying degrees are manipulative and self-serving. The giver has planned a gift that they know will be meaningful to the recipient, but the purpose of the gift is to have a reciprocation that makes them feel loved. In their mind they are saying, “I know this will make you express your love to me so that I can feel like a valentine to someone.”

Still others are caught scrambling to find that last minute card or gift in an attempt to avoid the appearance of not caring, when in fact the lack of planning to express love proves the self-centered nature of the gift. This person is saying to himself, “Oh no! I had better find something good to cover up for the reality that I didn’t care enough to plan this out. If I can find just the right thing she will never have to know that other events in my life were more important than her.”

You will notice the intentional use of the male personal pronouns in the last example, because my informed guess is that men fall into this category far more than women do. But to be fair, selfishness affects us all. But it has never affected God. His gift of love to us in the person of Jesus Christ was planned before the foundations of the world. Read with joy the following passage from the heart of God:

Ephesians 1:3 – 8 (NIV) ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  ⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

He gave His gift with no strings attached and no need for reciprocation. John 3:16 quotes Jesus when He says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  God’s gift was an expression of His heart and His unconditional love. Paul says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God’s perfect gift of love makes the experience of real love possible. And now that we know God’s love, we are filled with joy when we share His love in relationship with others.

So today, love others in such a way that it is an accurate expression of God’s love – unselfish, undemanding, and with no need for reciprocity. Let your actions towards others show a commitment to loving them regardless of their response. Let God’s love be lavished on that person just as it was lavished on you by Jesus Christ. You will become the joy of someone’s life.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Philippians 1:9-11  And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰  so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Wristwatches have sure come a long way. They not only keep track of the time of day, but you can get them with stopwatches, calculators, and games. There is a watch that tracks the weather for you. It features a barometer, thermometer, time and date function, stopwatch, compass, altimeter, two daily alarms and an hourly chime. Its raised impeller fin is magnetized so it always points north, making it easy to determine wind direction. And now there are watches that track your physical fitness and medical condition, and are connected to the internet.

But I need a watch that does something even more phenomenal than that – I want it to chime with joybells. It will ring loudly every time God does something in my life that reveals He is working all things out for His glory and my good. I know if I had such a watch, I would be annoyed at first by the constant chiming. I would be tempted to turn it off so I could enjoy my moments of complaining about circumstances that aren’t working out according to my desires. But in the long run, if I endure the initial annoyance, it will be good for me to learn to look at things through God’s eyes and learn to celebrate the joybells, rather than be annoyed at them because I am looking at circumstances from my own skewed perspective.

God has given us such a watch – He is the Holy Spirit, and He dwells within us to constantly remind us that God is in the process of completing His work in each of us, and it is a work worthy of joyous celebration.

There is a term used in boxing to describe what happens when a punch lands squarely and makes the opponent unstable – it is called “getting your bell rung.” People who attempt to live life without Christ are constantly getting their bells rung. The situations of life make them unstable. But for those who are in Christ Jesus, every situation of life is used by the Holy Spirit to ring our bells – our joybells. We have been brought into an affectionate relationship with God through the blood of Jesus Christ and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, and God is completing His work in each of us. Every circumstance is a part of that work, and we have a choice to either believe our bell has been rung or that the joybells are ringing.

The people in the church at Philippi understood this truth. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul says that he is justified in feeling the joy of the Lord for the people of the church. No matter how good or bad the circumstances of life, they stood by him. They shared an affectionate relationship that was not affected even by prison. They remained a constant support and encouragement to Paul through the good times and the bad. They had a perspective on life that looked beyond the immediate to the eternal. These people had discovered the freedom to ring the joybells, even when circumstances indicated that their bells had been rung.

What was it about their faith that brought them to this point of trust in God and love for one another? What had the Holy Spirit built into them that gave them such a positive attitude?

Paul’s prayer for the people in Philippians 1:9-11 gives us the 4 principles upon which a life of joy is to be built.  Here they are:

1. A growing love for God and for people, which will produce…
2. …the pursuit of transparent excellence, which will produce…
3. …a life of verifiable integrity, which will produce…
4. …a life of good works pleasing and glorifying to God and filled with the fruits of righteousness.

Each day beginning tomorrow we will look at one of these principles and discover that God is ringing the joybells in our lives. Read today’s Scripture passage again, and then pray Paul’s prayer for the Philippians as your own – that God’s love would abound, producing excellence to the core, resulting in a life of visible integrity and good works that honor God.

Then let the joybells ring.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Our joy principle for today is this – God designed joy to grow best in the fertile soil of fellowship.

Philippians 1:7-8  ⁷  It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸  For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Several days ago I met with a pastor who is on staff at a church that has the appearance of fellowship, but is filled with friction. Friction and fellowship can’t coexist. Warren Wiersbe relates a story in his commentary on Philippians about a woman who is counselling with her pastor because of marital tension.

“There seems to be friction in our home,” she said. “I really don’t know what the trouble is.”

“Friction is caused by one of two things,” said the pastor, and to illustrate he picked up two blocks of wood from his desk. “If one block is moving and one is standing still, there’s friction. Or, if both are moving but in opposite directions, there’s friction. Now, which is it?”

“I’ll have to admit that I’ve been going backward in my Christian life, and Joe has really been growing,” the wife admitted. “What I need is to get back to fellowship with the Lord.”

This woman knew that the way to reduce friction, and to improve fellowship, was to travel in the same direction with her husband.

The Apostle Paul declares his fellowship with the people of the Philippian church because they were moving in the same direction. He tells them that it is right for him to be experiencing joy because his fellowship with them is based on their mutual participation in God’s grace. Even when the circumstances became hard and harmful, they stuck with him as a confirmation of the Gospel. Their fellowship was so fulfilling that his heart yearned for them.

There are three ways that we categorize our relationships with others. First, they can be on our mind. We think about them, but that is all we do. Second, they can get on our nerves. Third, they can be in our hearts. This is what Paul says about his relationship with the church at Philippi. He held them in his heart. They were not just on his mind, nor did they get on his nerves. Rather, as he thought about them, his heart was filled with affection for them, and as a result he was filled with joy.

God designed joy to grow best in the fertile soil of fellowship. But the affection necessary for such joyful fellowship is not of human origin – it is only available in Christ Jesus. We cannot love others in such a way that they never get on our nerves. But Jesus can, and He does. His love in us is what gives us the affection we have for others. We do not channel our love through Christ to others. God channels His love through us to others.

We are guilty of trying to love others. We wonder why our nerves are on edge. When we stop trying to love, and experience God’s love, He will overflow from us onto others, and joy will grow in the fertile soil of Godly fellowship.

How do we know if we really have God’s love for other Christians? For one thing, we will be concerned about them, and that concern will result in activity. The believers at Philippi were concerned about Paul and did something about it. They sent Epaphroditus to minister to him. The Apostle Joh said it this way – “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

Another evidence of Christian love is a willingness to forgive one another. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

One day a man responded to a radio quiz program. The radio host asked him, “What are some of the blunders your wife has made.”

“I can’t remember any,” the man replied.

“Oh, surely you can remember something!” the announcer said.

“No, I really can’t,” said the contestant. “I love my wife very much, and I just don’t remember things like that.”

First Corinthians 13:5 states that “love keeps no record of wrongs”.

The fertile soil of fellowship consists of two elements – love in action, and forgiveness. Christians who are in this type of frictionless fellowship will always experience the growth of joy.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Have you ever heard of joy-suckers? They can be people, who constantly suck the joy right out of your life. They can be circumstances that become problems and deplete your delight with life. Maybe at times the to-do list is so overwhelming that the enjoyment of simple things escapes you. Having to face things that aren’t done yet can easily exhaust your energy.

It can be that way in our spiritual lives as well. One of the joy-suckers of our relationship with Christ is worry, and we tend to worry most about what isn’t done yet. The apostle Paul address that in our next lesson on the pursuit of joy. Read his words in Philippians 1:6.

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

How many unfinished projects are there around your home or office right now? I know I have quite a few. In fact, I am working on a big project right now at my house. I pray that it will not become a joy-sucker, because if it does, I know what will happen: when it is finished, I will lose all interest in beginning the next one, and things will remain undone.

I am so glad that God’s work on me is not a joy-sucker to Him. In fact, God doesn’t even put me on a “To Do” list, but rather keeps me on His “Being Done” list. He is always actively working on my life.

Grandchildren provide wonderful opportunities to illustrate spiritual principles. I remember the day we sent our daughter Rochelle and her husband Brad off to the hospital to deliver her second child. When they left, Denise and I were given the wonderful task of watching our grandson Caleb until went to the hospital to see the baby.

For the first 90 minutes I devoted my entire attention to Caleb as we ate breakfast together, played with Play Dough, and he showed me his incredible computer skills at playing games. He was only 2 at the time and had better hand-eye coordination on the mouse than I did.

When I was done, Denise gave him her attention, and she followed him from one thing to the next as he showed her all the things he knows and enjoys. But every now and then there would be a cry for help.  He would admit he needed our assistance to complete a task, correct a problem, or ease a pain. There were also teachable moments where we would talk to him and show him something new. He would listen and learn intently. That was not a joy-sucking experience, but rather the exact opposite, as we were filled with the joy of relationship.

Our relationship with God is to be like that as well. Every moment of every day God devotes his complete attention to us. We spend most of our day moving from one thing to the next, showing God all the things we love about our life and the things we enjoy doing. But then come those moments when we admit that we need His help, or when He wants to show us something that He knows we need to learn. Because we know that He loves us and wants what’s best for us, we listen to Him and humbly accept his help and teaching. God is at work to perfect us just as a parent or grandparent is at work to perfect a child as they grow.

Jesus Christ not only began the work of salvation in our lives, but He authored it before He began it. As the Divine Writer of the plan of humanity’s salvation, every word is absolutely trustworthy. When we were regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God based on faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross, Jesus began the good work of perfecting His truth in our lives. Nothing can stop that work. There is no reason to be weary and lose heart. There is only reason for rejoicing, because Jesus Christ is with us every moment of every day and is perfecting His life in ours. Someday, when Jesus returns to earth to take us into His presence forever, we will experience perfect joy. With that guarantee from God, we can endure whatever the journey brings us today, and we can do so with joy. Nothing will go unfinished in God’s plan, and that includes the perfection of our lives. With our eyes fixed on Jesus, all joy-suckers can be eliminated.

Hebrews 12:2 – 3 (NIV) ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, March 5, 2018

Philippians 1:5 …because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

I know it’s the middle of winter, but I’m starting to get the urge to go golfing again, especially when friends from warm climates post their daily golf adventures on Facebook.

Bear with me, as I tie that urge to today’s principle of finding joy in life. Great joy is to be found in partnership with other people who are serving Jesus.

When I think about partnership, my mind immediately goes to the golf course and the wonderful experiences I’ve had on four-man teams playing in best-shot tournaments. They are called scrambles, and there is a good reason for that. On every hole, every man on the team hits a first shot, and then the team decides who hit the best one. The other three players scramble around the hole picking up their balls and bringing them to the spot of the best shot. From that place, all four golfers hit again, and the process continues until the ball is in the hole. The final total score of the round of golf is far superior to the score any one individual could have made. Bad shots are immediately forgiven and forgotten, because one of the partners has stepped up and hit a good shot. Every partner is essential. Each partner’s strengths are identifiable, yet they never demand individual recognition. The total focus is on the team and the glory of the outcome is shared equally.

What a beautiful picture of our partnership with one another in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit has given us all individual gifts and strengths, but in humility no one partner demands individual recognition. When one of the partners hits a good shot toward the target of fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, the other partners join him at that spot. The partner who did the good work for God doesn’t stand and gloat, but rather immediately melts back into the team, and together they continue the process.

It’s just like Henry Blackaby says in his book Experiencing God, “See where God is working and then join Him there.” That’s what partners do – come together to accomplish God’s purpose.

Partners also recognize that the final outcome of the team is far greater than what any one individual could have accomplished on their own. Not one of the partners is capable of perfection, and when one of them hits a bad shot, the rest of the partners are there to quickly encourage and help bear the burden. The next partner picks up a club and takes a swing at the problem, not the person. Partners immediately forgive the erroneous shot because they know the heart of the partner, and that he did not intentionally hit poorly. They encourage and build up the person who messed up, and get personally involved in correcting the problem. That’s what partners do – they forgive and forge ahead.

Partners also share equally in the final reward for the team’s efforts. When one of the ministry teams in your church accomplishes a task that glorifies Jesus Christ, no one team member is honored above the others and no team member is excluded from the celebration. In fact, according to 1 Corinthians 12:24 – 26, “God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” That’s what partners do – they share the sorrows and the joys equally.

Paul was filled with joy because the Philippian church understood partnership. I am filled with joy because you do too. You will be filled with joy when you become such a partner in your church.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, March 2, 2018

Philippians 1:3-4   I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,

Today’s joy principle from Philippians 1:3-4 is this – Be thankful!

I am deeply concerned about the minimized emphasis we place on thanksgiving in our lives, and the comfort we seem to find in complaining. What is it that makes us believe that we are better off by talking about what’s wrong with life rather than what’s right with it? Why do we believe that it feels good to focus our attention on the bad? What strange kinds of rules are dictating our behavior when we think we can lift our spirits by looking down on our situation? It could be jealousy over someone else’s success, or it could be pride trying to inflate itself at the expense of others. Maybe it’s an expression of insecurity that somehow gives us a sense of temporary control. But whatever we use as our justification for complaining, God doesn’t recognize it. We are commanded to rejoice and be thankful.

On our journey to joy, we must make a stop at the twin cities of prayer and thanksgiving. When I was a boy, I was commanded to say thank-you to people for anything I received. But simple obedience to a command does not create a thankful heart. Without the intentional intervention of grace into our hearts, saying thanks for things becomes nothing more than a polite response, or a tool we use to gain more benefit for ourselves. But when God’s grace overwhelms us with salvation and the gift of eternal life, the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of joy in our hearts, which causes us to rejoice in the Lord always.

I will admit that there are things about life that warrant complaining, but none that warrant the loss of joy. I am not so concerned about the immediate and spontaneous negative reactions to tragedy and loss. I am more concerned about the overall attitude of gratitude that seems to be lacking in many of us.

I remember the day years ago when my car was struck on the side by another vehicle. My initial reactions were, “What was that guy thinking?” and “Oh great, I can’t afford a new car.” But within a few seconds I was saying thank-you to God that I was not hurt and that the other driver was not hurt.

Upon further reflection, I later realized that I still did not understand true thanksgiving. My thanksgiving was simply a response to a positive outcome in a negative circumstance. I could have been rejoicing in the faithfulness of my Father regardless of the outcome of the circumstances.

If we are going to truly become people of joy, we must learn to rejoice in the Lord, not simply in the positive outcomes of our daily life experiences. We need to learn to be thankful that we are in an unbreakable relationship with Jesus, even when relationships with people are being broken. We can be thankful that we have every need supplied by our God who deeply cares for us, even when it appears that the world is taking everything from us. We can be thankful that nothing can separate us from God’s love, even when the world alienates us because of our love for God. We can be thankful that our hope has been firmly planted in the promises of God that cannot fail, even though the earthly promises of people do fail.

So, when you pray, be thankful. When you tell God your needs, be thankful for His love that expresses itself in the meeting of those needs. When you complain to God about things that are wrong, be thankful for His justice that makes all things right. When you ask Him to fix a problem, be thankful that He has the power to accomplish all things according to His purpose. When you are so distraught that you don’t know what to ask for, be thankful that the Holy Spirit knows your heart and intercedes on your behalf to the Father.

And when you pray about anything, be thankful that through Jesus Christ we are the children of God with unconditional access to the throne of grace.

Pastor John

Philippians 4:4 – 7 ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Philippians 1: 2   Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our next stop on the journey to joy that we started yesterday is in Philippians 1:2, where we discover the incredible truth that God accepts us.

Do you remember, as I do, the pressure we felt as young children and teenagers to fit in? Maybe you still feel it. There is a huge longing in our souls to be accepted. As a child we need constant affirmation and attention from our parents. We cry for the security of a hug. As we grow we seek the approval of others by imitating their behavior. We quickly succumb to the lie that acceptance is earned.

As we grow, we begin performing up to what we perceive are other people’s expectations of us, simply to earn their approval. We begin speaking and acting like those we believe to be popular, so that we can potentially earn some of that approval for ourselves. We end up choosing our careers and our friends based on a single criteria – acceptance. Then we wonder why we are so unfulfilled and have no joy.

There is an answer to this dilemma of performance-based joylessness. It is stated in Philippians 1:2. We will experience the fullness of joy when we are at complete rest in the grace and peace of God. God’s grace is the basis for His acceptance, and it alone satisfies the longing of our soul.

Joy is the product of grace. In fact, the words “grace” and “joy” come from the same root word in the Greek language. What a wonderful truth – the grace of God that saves us is the essence of the joy we experience once we are saved.

Consider this – through Jesus Christ we have been chosen by God according to His divine purpose so that our lives might bring praise and honor to Him. Even though we were outsiders because of our sin, we have been included in Christ because we heard and accepted the truth of the Gospel. Our acceptance into God’s eternal family is so complete that we have been sealed by God with the Holy Spirit, declaring us to be His possession forever.  O the joy that abounds in the heart of the person who understands this level of acceptance. (See Ephesians 1:11-14 at the end of this devotional)

But we must also understand that our acceptance is not self-imposed, self-acquired, or self-deserved. We have done nothing to earn the acceptance of God, but He has done it all for us. My favorite verse of acceptance is found in Colossians 1, where Paul writes, ^“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (emphasis mine).

Isn’t that incredible? God has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in His kingdom! I’m accepted! WOW! AMEN! Praise the Lord!

Your journey to joy will not be complete until you come to a full comprehension of this truth. No longer will you have to imitate people to be accepted by people. Now you will be an imitator of Christ because He has already accepted you. (Romans 15:7) No more pressure to perform, because we are at peace in the grace of God. Spend a moment reflecting on that marvelous grace as you read the words to this great song:

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You

(CCLI #545997)

Be filled with joy and rejoice – you’re accepted by the grace of God!

Pastor John

Ephesians 1:11 – 14 (NIV) ¹¹In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹²in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Romans 15:7 (NIV) ⁷Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Today we begin our verse-by-verse study of the book of Philippians, as we journey toward a life of true joy. Let’s read the first six verses.

Philippians 1:1-6 ¹  Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: ²  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³  I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴  always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ⁵  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

As Paul introduces his letter to the church at Philippi he mentions seven things that I think are foundational to the experience of joy. Here they are:

1. Be a servant – vs. 1
2. Know you’re a saint – vs. 1
3. Know you’re accepted – vs. 2
4. Be thankful – vs. 3
5. Spend time in prayer – vs. 4
6. Be partners with others in the cause of Christ – vs. 5
7. Be confident of God’s work in your life – vs. 6

I like to take joyrides. Not the type of joyride that produces momentary thrill and excitement because of a temporary freedom from the rules, but the type of joyride that produces lasting satisfaction with life. I like to go to places of beauty and historical significance, and I am especially drawn to places that have an emotional connection to my childhood. Each of these destinations touches a different part of my heart and gives me a deepened sense of significance and worth.

That’s the way it should be in our relationship to God. Let’s consider that we are on a joyride, with the specific purpose of stopping at each of the seven scenic sights listed above. At each stop, we will take in the joy God intended, thus deepening our understanding of our significance and worth to God. So, let’s get in the car and head out on our adventure.

Our first stop is Servant City. Paul begins his letter by calling himself and Timothy servants of Jesus Christ. Paul certainly had the right to call himself an apostle – he had done it before when writing to churches with issues that needed to be addressed with authority. But even in those situations, he spoke in a gracious way, as a servant of Jesus Christ.

(For further study see 2 Corinthians 10:1-18 and 2 Corinthians 13:1-10)

Paul makes it clear in these passages that the authority he invoked to correct error and sin in the church was done to build the church and honor God, and he did it as a servant of Jesus Christ. There is, in Paul’s life, a consistent humility that seeks the glory of God and not personal advancement. Humility is the cornerstone of building a life of joy.

But don’t let a wrong understanding of humility cause you to live beneath your privilege in Christ. The servant Paul addresses the people in Philippi as saints. It is only in a balanced understanding of a servant’s heart and a saint’s position that we can experience true joy.

If one or the other of those positions is over-emphasized, there will be problems. If humility is the primary focus, it becomes a false humility that forces external behaviors of pride. When such a person wants to feel humble they debase themselves in some way, believing that others will recognize the sacrifice and self-destructive behavior as humility. But the fact that they seek the recognition of others is really pride.

Or, if being a saint is the primary focus, then a superiority complex quickly develops as the “saint” begins to believe that their behaviors and choices make them more spiritual than others. Both these positions are dangerous.

True humility is only experienced through an understanding of our position as saints in Jesus Christ. When we truly understand the incredible grace of God that made it possible for us to be transformed from a sinner to a saint, and when we totally accept the reality that we were totally undeserving of such a miraculous transformation, then and only then can we be truly humble.

We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ of all things for all eternity, and not one of us deserves it based on our own merits or accomplishments. But in Christ we are called saints, and because it is totally His doing and not ours, we honor Him by serving Him. We are servant saints, and we are living beneath our privilege if we don’t live in the fullness of both.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

We are currently preparing to look at the subject of Joy in the book of Philippians by reviewing the founding of the church in Philippi in the sixteenth chapter of the book of Acts. Our understanding of joy will take on its fullness when we study it in light of the suffering that was experienced by Paul and the Philippian people. True joy is not the product of positive circumstances in our life, but rather it is the gift of God as a result of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and our trust in His unfailing love.

The example set by Paul and Silas had an obvious and lasting effect on the people of Philippi. Read about it in Acts 16:35-40.

³⁵  But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶  And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” ³⁷  But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” ³⁸  The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. ³⁹  So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰  So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Paul and Silas had humbly withstood false accusations, an underserved beating, and unjustified imprisonment, during which they sang praises to God while in chains. When it finally came time for them to be released, Paul mentioned to the newly saved jailer that he and Silas were Roman citizens. The Philippian Christians got to see God’s justice delivered in God’s time, and their new faith was strengthened. They had seen a living example of a person who trusts God for the final outcome even though the present circumstances are painful.

I am reminded of the words of David in Psalm 35 –

²⁶May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. ²⁷May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.” ²⁸My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.

If I had to guess, I would choose to believe that when Paul and Silas arrived at Lydia’s house after their release from prison, there was a time of shouting for joy because God had vindicated them. Paul was able to teach the Philippian Christians, by experience, that they could trust God for the strength to endure suffering and remain joyful until the day God’s justice is displayed. We know that the Christians in Philippi learned this lesson because of what we read about them in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church.

¹And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches (Philippi being one of them). ²Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. ³For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. ⁵And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.

The church at Philippi is a great example to us of joy and faith in the midst of severe trials. They not only endured the trouble, but also served the Lord in the midst of it. It was their overflowing joy that turned extreme poverty into rich generosity. The joy of knowing Jesus and being in the hand of God overcomes any trial we experience in this life, because the love of God is permanent and the trials are only temporary.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, REJOICE! 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, February 26, 2018

The historical record of the founding of the church in Philippi is found in Acts 16. We will soon begin our study of Paul’s letter to this church and discover the principles of joy the Holy Spirit has for us, but there are some important foundational truths to discover in studying the beginning days of this church.

Acts 16:29-34  ²⁹  And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰  Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹  And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³²  And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³  And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴  Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Paul and Silas get arrested by the Roman magistrates. The two men who had been using the demon-possessed slave girl for personal profit are very angry that she no longer has the ability to produce income for them. Paul had delivered her, as we read yesterday. They bring Paul and Silas before the Roman magistrates for justice.

It is heartbreaking to think that people can become so self-centered in their pursuit of wealth and fame that they refuse to consider the oppression of others. Why weren’t these men rejoicing?  A young woman has just been given the chance to experience life to its fullest as it was intended to be lived, and these men could only see the detrimental effect the deliverance was having on their status quo.

When the magistrates heard that these Jews were causing an uproar in their city, they had a choice – take action according to Roman law or take action that would please the people. They chose to please the people, and had Paul and Silas beaten with rods. These civil leaders showed a severe lack of leadership when they caved in to the demands of an outraged group of people who were threatened by the message of Jesus Christ. They responded in much the same way as the Roman magistrate named Pilate did when the angry mob asked for Jesus to be crucified. It seems not much has changed today in society’s response to Christ.

I am convinced in my heart that Paul saw the connection between what was happening to him and what had happened to his Savior. I am also convinced that he considered it a privilege to enter into that suffering knowing that in the end God would accomplish a glorious purpose.

After the beating, Paul and Silas are thrown in prison and the jailer is commanded to watch them carefully. They are placed in maximum security and bound in chains behind locked doors. But their joy in the Lord is not affected by their circumstances, and they begin singing and praising God in the middle of the night. As a result, God brings an earthquake that shakes the foundations of the prison and opens the locked doors. In addition, all the chains that were keeping the prisoners in place were unshackled. In the darkness of the night, the guard can only see that the doors are open and he assumes that the prisoners have escaped. He knows that he will be punished by death under Roman law and draws his sword to commit suicide. Paul shouts that they are all still there, and the jailer asks the most important question any of us could ever ask – “What must I do to be saved?”

There are two points we need to understand today from this story:

1. Circumstances don’t determine freedom. Paul was free while in chains: the jailer was in chains while free. Don’t let the events and status of your life dictate your happiness. The joy of knowing Jesus overcomes any human suffering. Do you see what the jailer did after he got saved? He put himself at risk to care of Paul and Silas. The fear of death that would have been imposed upon him for allowing the prisoners to escape was no longer a fear. The grace of God so captured his heart and overwhelmed him with joy that he escorted the prisoners out of the jail. The belief in God that results in salvation is more satisfying than any possible suffering from earthly circumstances.
2. Circumstances don’t dictate decisions. When the prison doors opened and the chains fell off, Paul and Silas could have walked out to freedom, but they didn’t. Most of us would jump at every opportunity to escape physical and emotional pain, but Paul was being guided by a more fulfilling principle than personal safety and security. He surrendered his personal goals to those of God, and waited for God to accomplish His purpose.

When we get into our study of Philippians we will discover how important this last point is. If the jailer had not seen the willingness of Christ’s disciples to suffer for the sake of the Gospel, then the church at Philippi would have never grown to be commended for their joy in serving others while in the midst of severe trials.

Maybe the reason Christians around us today don’t endure suffering for the cause of Christ is because they have not seen in us a good role model. Maybe today we need to start praying correctly. Rather than asking God to deliver us, we need to simply praise Him and stay in the circumstance until God’s work is done.

Pastor John