Please read Philippians
1:3-11
A preacher of a North Dakota Church
amazes his parishioners by always finding something to show his thankfulness.
One cold December morning, the preacher is late in getting to worship because
of extreme snowdrifts. As he begins the service with prayer, the parishioners are
eager to see what the old preacher will come up with to be thankful for on that
dismal and frigid morning. "Gracious Lord," his prayer begins,
"we thank you that all days are not like today.”
Dear brother and sister in Christ, today we’ll look at Philippians. It is a short letter of 104 verses. It
is a cordial loving letter written by Paul to the church he founded. (See Acts
16:11-40 to learn about Paul and Philippi) In this letter, Paul expresses joy
and peace even as he is in chains. The words ‘joy’, ‘rejoice’, and ‘rejoicing’
are used many times in the 104 verses.
In one way Paul’s Joy will
appear odd to the worldly because he
is imprisoned. Paul has a lot complain (2 Corinthians 11: 23-28) but he does
not. Also, prisons of Paul’s time were not like present-day prisons. Yet he
writes this letter of Joy and Peace. Where does Paul find this joy? In the “affection
of Christ” (v.8). With Jesus in his heart and mind, Paul shows his affection
for the Philippians. How about you and I? How can we have joy, not just
temporary joy but boundless joy, despite our trials and tribulations? We can learn from Paul that wherever we find
ourselves, whatever the situation might be, there will be joy in our lives when
we have Jesus in our hearts.
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