Category Archives: Philippians

²⁰ For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. ²¹ For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. ²² But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. ²³ I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. ²⁴ But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

Philippians 1:20-24

Dear God, this would be a tough read at a funeral, but perhaps it should be read more. Perhaps, while I would hope it would encourage everyone to wait for natural death and not do anything proactively to bring death, it would be better to plant seeds at funerals in our minds that we shouldn’t be so afraid of death. That we don’t need to do everything we can to live.

When I used to fly a lot 25 years ago for a job I had, I would get a little nervous at takeoff. I would look around at the people as I boarded the plane and think, “These might be the people I die with.” Then, as we would barrel down the runway, I would think, “If this is it, am I ready?” It was weird stuff to be thinking–I think. I don’t know. Maybe others have similar thoughts. But I just imagined closing my eyes for the last time. It was scary.

In my current job, I process a lot of donations that are made in memory of others. I am made aware of multiple people every week who die. It occurred to me several years ago that it really does happen to all of us. None of us get out of this particular life alive. Yes, we might be with you in eternity, but my earthly body’s functions will stop at some point. The whole system will give out, and I’ll be done. I can accept that. If I were to feel a sudden seizing in my heart right now and everything went black, as I died, I think my last thoughts would be of my wife and her care and provision. I think things are set where she will be okay materially. But as far as personal regrets, other than some broken relationships that have yet to mend, I don’t have anything I wish I’d done. No unaccomplished bucket list.

Father, I have a job to do today. I’m going to go to work early to do it. Lots of moving parts. But I don’t wnt to be distracted from living for you. I don’t want to be distracted from being your servant and loving others how you would have me love them. I will give you myself today as best as I can. Use it for your kingdom.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? ² Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-11

Dear God, unity, unity, unity. It shows up over and over again. From Jesus. Here from Paul. We find it so hard to stay united because it’s so much easier in the moment to be torn apart from each other. In the moment, it’s so much easier to just walk away and avoid the conflict which only makes the conflict stronger. I suppose it’s one of the ways we end up on the wide path instead of the narrow one. The narrow one includes conflict resolution and working out our faith with fear and trembling. The narrow path requires that we make some specific efforts.

This goes for marriages. Families. Churches. Workplaces. Communities. States. Nations. The World. Everywhere humans are involved. And yet Paul admonishes us to be one through you. One through Jesus. One through the Holy Spirit. Veses 3 and 4 are important here: ³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. I heard someone say once that the church is at its worst when it is looking out for its own rights and its at its best when its looking out for the rights of others. That goes for individuals too. If I’m looking out for my own rights then I’ll probably be looking for them at the expense of someone else. But what rights to I have, really? In this world, I am your servant. I gave up those rights when I chose the narrow path.

Father, help me to find that narrow path today. Just because I found it yesterday doesn’t mean I know where it is today. I learned yesterday about a suicide over the weekend of someone I knew. I pray for those who are mourning. I pray for their comfort. I pray that you would help this tremendous pain to count. Draw those who loved her closer to yourself. Don’t let this terrible pain be wasted. For my friends at work. They all have specific needs. Guide and help them. For my friends in general. My wife and I were talking yesterday about how many things there are to pray for. Please meet the needs I neglect in my prayers. And just really quick. I learned about a pregnancy yesterday. I think there have been problematic pregnancies in the past. Whatever the case may be, walk with this woman and her husband. Protect her body. Protect their baby. Holy Spirit, move powerfully in her and through her.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

³ Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. ⁴ Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, ⁵ for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. ⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:3-6

Dear God, I wish I was better about praying for others. I think about other people all of the time. Can we count that as praying for them? Probably not. I was thinking about this young man I’m mentoring yesterday. I need to write him a letter today. I know he’s been at camp this week. I also know his mother was arrested for at least the fourth time in less than a year recently. His poor (figuratively and literally) grandmother is trying to raise him and his sister. Such instability. He needs you more than he needs me, but I am one of the instruments you’ve put in his life. I should pray for him more. Maybe I should do more materially as well.

I’m having lunch with a man today who is either currently going through a divorce or is recently divorced. I’ll learn more in a few hours. But I haven’t prayed for him like I should. I guess this is a recurring theme for me. I just don’t do intercessory prayer as a priority. My wife is great at it. She will pray for others all of the time. Is this a spiritual gift I don’t have or an imperative that I am lacking?

Father, you know the people who are in my mind this morning. Of course, my wife and children and their significant others (and their children). All of the students and teachers in Christian Men’s Life Skills. My coworkers and volunteers. My siblings and their significant others and their children. My close male friends and their families. My parents. Then there are the political leaders in my community, the state, the country, and the world. There is your church and the Christians in the world who are suffering. The suffering of those at home. Perhaps the reason I’m not better at this is that once I start on this path of praying for others, the path is endless. The road is narrow and hard, but it brings life. Help me to walk this road more narrowly and better.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

¹⁷ Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. ¹⁸ For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. ²¹ He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

Philippians 3:17-21

Dear God, it’s scary how much we can deceive ourselves. I look at this passage, and I see Paul referring to his own frustration with people refusing to love you and follow the teachings of Jesus. He is so passionate about it that he has tears in his eyes. I think I’m more numb to it than that. I don’t get tears in my eyes when I think about the people who frustrate me because they have made themselves your enemy. Whose god is their appetite. Who brag about shameful things. Who think only about this life here on earth. I’m angry about them–especially when they are in leadership or claim to be your followers. But I’m not driven to tears over them.

But there are some people I really care about. I really care about the men in the Christian Men’s Life Skills class I’m helping teach. They are seeking. Some of them are closer to you than others. I care about the people I work with who are good people but who aren’t quite ready to turn their hearts and lives over to you. They are lost in the fog of their lives. So I do care. But I’m not nearly at Paul’s level, and it feels like I really should be. But, at the same time, maybe you’ve just put different calls on our lives. Maybe my life is supposed to knock over a domino in the life of one man in the group who becomes a Paul-type person. Or maybe you’ve given me one word for one man who will then use that new information or thought to be the father he needs to be for the next Paul-type person. My point is, maybe I’m being a little hard on myself. Maybe I should just do my best to listen to you today and love others in my path as well as I can, representing you and calling them to you.

Father, I have a busy 40 or so hours ahead of me. Help me to do it well. Help me to accomplish what you need me to accomplish. Help me to worship you how you’ve called me to worship you. to quote the casting crowns song, “I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody all about somebody who saved my soul.” And to quote the Brandon Heath song, “Give me your eyes for just one second. Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing. Give me your love for humanity. Give me your arms for the brokenhearted. The ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me your love for the ones forgotten. Give me your eyes so I can see.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? ² Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Dear God, I was watching a video this morning on sibling rivalries in music. It included The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, The Bee Gees, Donnie & Marie, Janet and Michael Jackson, etc. Relationships were complicated. Being the youngest of three, I can see where I’ve spent my life with my siblings fighting for a little respect. Even though the three of us are past middle age, I’ll always be the youngest.

I’m talking about this because of this first paragraph. It’s just talking about people getting along. And the more people you get together the more than can be a challenge. I have a fairly large group of people I work with now, and there are all kinds of opportunities for rivalries, frustrations, hurt feelings, and bitterness. And some of the anger and frustration is legitimate. I’m not saying it’s not. There’s a place for anger. But is it being productive or destructive?

Verses five through eight above are using Jesus as an example, but it’s verses 1-4 that Paul uses to admonish the Philippians and encourage them to be what they need to be for God and for each other:

2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? ² Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

Father, I’ve said this before, but when I find myself being unforgiving or bitter, one of the best things I can do is remind myself just how much I’ve been forgiven of. How much you’ve had to forgive from me. As we have a staff meeting this morning, I pray for your Holy Spirit to be among us, teach us mercy, help us to see each other beyond the veneer of work, and join our hearts together in helping our patients. In our hearts, Lord, be glorified. And I pray for family relationships as well. Help us, Father, to be one. Starting with my marriage, moving to our children and their significant others, and then to the rest of our siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, etc. Help us to be whole, and bring healing to individuals and us as a whole.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

¹² And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. ¹³ For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

¹⁵ It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. ¹⁶ They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. ¹⁷ Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. ¹⁸ But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. ¹⁹ For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

²⁰ For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. ²¹ For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. ²² But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. ²³ I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. ²⁴ But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

²⁵ Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. ²⁶ And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

Philippians 1:12-26

Dear God, this passage makes me think about what impresses me most about Paul and I would love to be able to emulate, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet. At least verbally, he is able to say that his personal circumstances are irrelevant as long as whatever is happening to him is furthering your gospel. He’s in prison, but people are inspired and growing closer to you and sharing your gospel? Fine. He’s been beaten but people see how to live in service to you? Fine. He’d just as soon die and be with you in the new earth, but as long as you have a job for him to do he’ll do it.

I truly question how much I’d be willing to suffer for you. There is a book called Everything Sad is Untrue, and it is about an Iranian woman of Christian faith and her family. A good portion of the book is her life being in danger while she is in Iran simply because of her faith. As much as I love you, am I really willing to say (and mean it) that I am ready to sacrifice everything up to and including my life? I think it’s the physical pain and torture that would scare me the most. Firing squad where I die quickly? Okay. But flogging and torture? I hope not.

Not that following you hasn’t cost me nothing. My life has followed some of the patters of yesterday’s gospel reading on being separated from others due to faith in you. I’ve lost some relationships and I know that at least part of the charge against me is how seriously I try to live out my faith. I’ve wept over it. I’ve felt sorry for myself over it (which reveals to me how selfish I can really be). But you have also formed me through it. You’ve made me more loving towards those from whom I’m divided as well as other sojourners who are going through the same pain.

Father, if I can still be of use to you in this earth then use me. Use me however you will. Start with my wife. Bless her through me. Help me to know how to love my adult children, relatives, and friends. Help me to know how to serve them and serve my community. Help me to know how to share you with others. Help me to see into their hearts and what they need. Make my life a prayer to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen