Rejoice in the Lord

Philip. 4:4-5

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

• How is joy different from happiness?
• When are you happy?
• When are you joyful?
• How is rejoicing in the Lord seen or perceived?
• How do you know when you are rejoicing?
• How do others know when you are rejoicing?
• What does the nearness of the Lord contribute to your joy?

Harold's Musings:
Yet another area that I struggle with. I keep confusing joy with happiness. It is hard to be happy when the bumps of life knock you around. Depending on the day a little bump may be ignored or cause a major crash. Joy is eternal. Joy is knowing that Jesus is with me even when I hit a big bump. It seems to circle around to being fully aware of His presence and trusting that this bump is just a bump and someday there will be no bumps at all. Keep the eyes on the prize.

Righteousness dependent on faith

Philip. 3:8-11

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

• How does being in Christ relate to righteousness?
• In what ways do you seek a "righteousness of your own"?
• What does your personal checklist that confirms you are ok contain?
• Why is self-righteousness such a temptation and danger?
• Which would you prefer to have, a good-looking "I'm OK checklist" or to know Christ, His suffering, and death?
  

Harold's Musings:
I frequently talk about an "I'm OK checklist". I have found that many of us have an unseen list of the things we do and don't do that let us feel OK as a Christian. Perhaps it is "faithful" attendance. Perhaps it is "I don't drink, smoke, cuss, or run around on my spouse". Regardless of the contents and the goodness of the contents, the question is "Whose righteousness are you depending on?" I struggle with a righteousness that depends on faith. I don't have much control over that. A righteousness that is dependent on faith is not measurable. I cannot "know" that I'm OK. I have to believe that Christ will forgive my sins and make me righteous. That is harder for me than it should be.

The Fruit of Righteousness

Philip. 1:9-11

9 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.

• Why are you to be filled with the fruit of righteousness?
• Who does righteousness come through?
• Why does your daily life matter if righteousness is from/through Jesus?
• How does knowledge relate to love and righteousness?

Harold's Musings:
Love with knowledge and discernment. Now that is something we seldom see packed together. There are a lot of books on love but not so many on discernment. There is an intriguing formula here. Growing love, knowledge, and discernment is the first step of making excellent choices. Our choices determine if we are pure and blameless and filled with the fruit of righteousness. Ultimately God is glorified and praised. Jesus is involved all the way but we still have to make the choices each day. The intriguing part is that I have considered righteousness to be a fruit, not something that has fruit. I am curious. What do you consider the fruit of righteousness through Jesus to be?

Worry is Dangerous

Philip. 4:6-7

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• Why do you guard things? What do the things you guard have in
  common?
• What does anxiety do to your heart and mind?
• How does thanksgiving influence our worry-related prayers?
• Where in life do you turn to God?
• after your plans fall apart
• when all is lost
• when you can do no more on your own
• after you have given it your best shot and failed
• before the plans, during the worry, after the peace comes

Harold's Musings:
I can quote this passage, but I continually struggle to do it. Pride, American self-reliance, whatever the "reason", it is still a struggle. While I see the command in verse 6, the motivation for me is in verse 7. My worry puts my heart and mind at risk. I think about the previous post where worry is mentioned immediately before the devil roaming to find someone to devour. When worry is strong enough, I (perhaps you also) turn to something for comfort. Too often it is not God. The key to this seems to be pray about the little things all day long. Pray about things that I truly can take care of on my on. Let praying about the little worries build up a coating on my heart and mind, layer after layer after layer. Then when the big struggle hits... No worries, mate. :-)

Slave Like Christ

Philip. 2:5-11

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• What attitude does a bondservant/slave need to have? [v 7: Greek bondservant]
• To what degree did Jesus exhibit a bondservant/slave's attitude?
  
• Of what importance is the "name" that mentioned in v. 9-10?
  
• Who will confess the lordship of Jesus eventually?
  
• How do you feel knowing you are the bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ and that you wear his name?
• What attitude do you have?

Harold's Musings:
This is probably a familiar passage, but most often we seem to focus on having the same attitude that Christ had. I find it less common to hear us talk about the lordship of Christ in our lives. Here is a promise and a threat. EVERYONE will eventually bow and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. For some it will be too late. While we can be concerned for those people, I have to ask myself, "Am I any different?" Do I bow and confess Jesus as Lord throughout my day? How often do I attempt to overthrough Jesus as Lord in my day? Hmmmm. Wish I hadn't ask those questions.

Everyone will Confess

Philip. 2:9-11

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• What is so important about a name in this passage?
• In this passage, what actions are expected when Jesus name is stated?
• What does bowing down have to do with confessing?
• Who will confess Jesus as Lord eventually?
• How does the lordship of Jesus (not friendship nor brotherhood, but lordship) impact your daily walk?
• How much glory does God receive from those who see your life?
  

Harold's Musings:
Our democratic, self-centric culture makes it difficult for me to fully grasp the concept of lordship. If we do not like our leaders, we can attempt to vote them out without fear of reprisal. A lord is usually lord as long as they live. A lord is a master, a king, an absolute ruler, who is not to be questioned. A lord is given respect and honor. A lord is obeyed without question or hesitation. Boy, do I struggle to keep Jesus in my heart as LORD. Somedays it is not so hard, others... How about you?