LEARNING DAILY

 

Philippians 4: 4, Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say, rejoice.

 

Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote these words.  A Roman prison at this time did not have the comforts we see in our present-day prison system.  The introduction to this letter states Paul was “writing a thank you note to the believers of Philippi for their help in his hour of need”.  It goes on to say, “you can enjoy a oneness of purpose, attitude, goal, and labor – a truth which Paul illustrates from his own life, and one the Philippians desperately need to hear”.  The people of Philippi were quarreling and at odds with those within their church and that was causing problems with proclaiming the gospel of Christ.  Pau’s letter was an exhortation to the church to “rejoice in the Lord always”.  Continue reading and you will see he tells them “to be anxious for nothing, pray about everything making requests known and to be thankful when you do.” 

 

Is this not what the Christian church needs to be doing today?  Should we not have unity in the body of Christ?  When we lived in Iowa, we attended an organization known as the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International.  The founder of this fellowship was a man of Armenian descent, Demos Shakarian.  His philosophy was that Christians should be the happiest people on earth.  Yet, I wonder if that is true today!  We should be living Paul’s words by being anxious for nothing knowing that the Lord is near. 

 

The cure for worry and anxiety is to pray.  The notes in the LSSB tell us that through prayer we renew our trust in God’s faithfulness as we give to Him the things we are anxious about.  There are all sorts of difficulties around us.  Worry about these things can be very troubling.  We gain strength when we rejoice in Him and stand on His promises to us in His Word. 

 

When we pray, the peace of God comes to guard our hearts and minds.  That peace is important for each us.  We can come to believe that God has all things in His control.  Knowing that can help us through the darkest of times, when things seem to be crumbling around us.  It is our hope and the reason to remain strong in the face of all the adversity we are seeing.  It is the realization that the Lord Jesus Christ is always near and that His love will be active in our lives for good.  Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving keeps us under the peace of God which guards our hearts.

 

With what see happening in the world today, rejoice in the knowledge that God is still on His throne, still in control of all things.  Do you see God at work in the world today?  We should and we should rejoice that He could come at any time to take His Church to Himself.  Be alert.  Be watchful. Be working and ready every day for that trumpet to sound.   

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.