Grace To You, and Peace

For our next devotional study I have chosen the book of Philippians. The pages of the book are well-worn in my Bible because I have read and studied it many times. The book is personal and practical and dwells on the theme of living the Christian life. Once when I read through it I found sixty-eight statements about attitudes. The most often mentioned is “joy” or “rejoice”. I also found twenty-eight specific commands or exhortations.

Paul begins most of the books he wrote by identifying himself as an apostle. He identifies himself as a “bond-servant” in Philippians and that statement sets the tone of the book. Let’s plunge into this grand epistle and see what we can learn.

Joe

“Grace to you, and peace”
Philippians 1:2

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The order of words in this verse is very significant because without God’s grace there can be no real peace. We first really recognize God’s grace when we trust His Son, the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior. As His children it is through His grace that we are kept and strengthened; that we increase in faith, knowledge, and affection. Because of His grace we, as Christians, can realize real peace in our lives.

Peace is an attitude. I like to think of it as the confident assurance that God is in control. Others may be able to influence other factors of our lives, but we have total control of our attitudes. The closer we are to Christ, the more we experience the genuine peace that He gives.

Man constantly seeks peace, but on his own he can never achieve it. It must come from “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. As you study human history you will see that man has constantly been engaged in war in an attempt to achieve peace. This world will never know true peace until Jesus Christ returns in the millennium. During that period of time Satan will be shackled (Rev. 20:2) and the world will experience real peace.

Even the Christian struggles with peace because of the presence of the sin nature in our being. Paul talks about this struggle most explicitly in Romans 7:15-17 “For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.” That battle will only be over for us when the Lord returns and calls us to Himself (I Thes. 4:1-17).

We can be thankful that God the Father has given us His Holy Spirit to help us overcome Satan’s attempts to rule our lives and that He has promised to forgive our sin if we will only confess it (I John 1:9). Christians need to appropriate that verse in their lives every time Satan tempts us.

I pray that you will live your life in a manner that allows you to continually experience God’s grace and His peace.

Growing Through Disagreement

Acts 15:36-41

This passage reveals two mature Christians in sharp disagreement. I think it also shows another way that God works through us to accomplish His will. We know that Paul and Barnabas were close friends. Barnabas came to Paul’s aid during his experience as a new Christian and they had ministered together for some time.

I believe one reason they worked so well together is that their personalities were completely different. Paul was a high-energy, aggressive, assertive individual probably with a pretty quick temper. Barnabas, on the other hand, was a quiet, calm, reserved man with much patience. Paul would act very quickly while Barnabas would carefully think through an issue before taking action. Most likely Paul was a talker and Barnabas a listener. In summary, I think Paul had a very sanguine personality and Barnabas was much more a phlegmatic.

As the two of them discussed a trip returning to visit the churches they had established Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them. For some reason he had left them earlier and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Paul felt that Mark had deserted them and must have felt that he would be a liability on the trip rather than an asset. Barnabas, however, saw potential in Mark and wanted to continue to disciple him. Because of that disagreement the men separated and Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus and Paul and Silas went to Syria and Cilicia. By splitting up they were able to accomplish twice as much. I believe it must have been God’s will that they separate.

We don’t hear anything more of Barnabas or Mark in the book of Acts but we know from other Scripture that the disagreement didn’t permanently impair the relationship with Paul. In I Corinthians 9:6 and Colossians 4:10 Paul speaks favorably of both of them.

There are a couple of insights we can gain from this passage. We are not all alike and God may well put us together with someone of the opposite personality because we complement each other and are better for that. Often you will see that in the mate God chooses for you. Secondly, we are going to have disagreements with those we love and that is not necessarily bad. We must be careful not to let those agreements impair our relationship, realizing that God can use them to accomplish His will in both of your lives.

The Joy Of Encouragement

Acts 15:31-32

“And when they had read it (the letter v. 23-29) they rejoiced because of its encouragement. And Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message.”

At the Jerusalem council the apostles and elders discussed the issue that had come up among the Galatian Christians. Basically, it involved how they should react to some of the Old Testament laws. James seemed to sum up his and the council’s judgment in v. 20 “we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles…” The council agreed to send a letter of encouragement to them. Our verses today indicate that the letter did cause the Galatians to rejoice and be encouraged.

We all need to have encouragers in our lives and we should be encouragers. How are you encouraging others? One way to do that is through a letter or a note. I still have notes I received from our children years ago. I also have letters I received from an uncle who encouraged me as a young college student. I have a file of notes I’ve kept from those I’ve counseled with. Today we can purchase various kinds of cards, but I think a personal note is much more effective.

We can also encourage through telephone calls. It is always encouraging to hear the voice of someone we love or a good friend. Although physically separated by miles, I still am encouraged by talking to friends I made as a child and young adult. When our children or grandchildren call we are encouraged.

We can also encourage others by being helpful. We all have skills we can use to benefit others. It could be as simple as cleaning up your room, washing the dishes or mowing the grass. I have had the satisfaction of helping others with financial problems.

Finally, if someone has encouraged you tell them so. Let them know you appreciate their ministry in your life. Often that will make their day.
I pray that you will be an encourager.

Don’t Place Yokes On Others

Acts 15:10

“Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”

As Paul and Barnabas were ministering in Galatia a debate arose among the Christians there. A group there was obviously still thinking legalistically and contended that “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved (v. 1).” The church in Galatia decided to send Paul and Barnabas back to Jerusalem to sort out the issue.

It is interesting that the two men never lost sight of their primary message. We see (v. 3) as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they encouraged the Christians there by “describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and were bringing great joy to all the brethren.” It would have been easy for the two of them to have discussed the problem they were sent to resolve, but they didn’t.

Once they arrived at Jerusalem and described the situation, some of the Pharisees quickly took the role of naysayer and argued the point of the necessity of circumcision. Peter comes back on the scene and reminds them of his interaction with Cornelius ten years earlier. Notice Peter’s statement in v. 9 “He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.” Then he asks the question why the Pharisees were testing God by trying to add the work of circumcision to salvation.

I think we often put others to the test of being like we are as a condition of salvation. I also believe that we are probably going to be surprised at the population of heaven. This passage reminds us that the only way to a relationship with God is by grace through faith. Nothing else is required. We shouldn’t have a list we expect people to obey and must be careful how we influence others so that we don’t place unnecessary spiritual yokes on them. No one has to jump through a lot of hoops to attain salvation. We must simply realize we are sinners and place our trust in Jesus as our Savior.