Category: Philippians

“Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 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. 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. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 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.”

What are the patterns in your life? Would you say you are headed for destruction? Sadly I have known many people who claim to be Christians but live by their own rules. They fill every craving, focus on getting ahead, and go through one relationship after another. The more you feed your flesh the more your spirit will be destroyed. That gets you farther and farther away from Jesus.

What does it mean for you to be a citizen of heaven? What are the laws there? Sometimes people think of God as just an eternal being with a bunch of strict rules. We know from what Paul said already about circumcision that rules are absolutely not the point. God’s design for you is something far greater than this world can offer you. He’s preparing a place for you and has a brand new, glorious body ready to go.

You belong. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you gain citizenship in an eternal kingdom. You have a home. You have a body. You are part of something bigger than just you. If you can grasp onto this sense of belonging in God’s kingdom, you will live differently. Not because God demands a bunch of rule following, but because you know what freedom is. Supernatural belonging gives you a reason not to try to belong in this world. Where are you looking to belong?

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work. Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.”

Growing up in church whenever the word “therefore” was used in the Bible, my Sunday school teachers would say that we always ask, “What’s it there for?” That word reminds us to go back to where we left off so we know what Paul means. In this case, “therefore” means, “because we find our belonging and citizenship in heaven…” we stay true to the Lord. We hang on to the mission because we know there is something bigger. There is something more.

Paul next appeals to two women who have had a dispute. I don’t know about you but I sure wouldn’t want to be called out in the Bible for holding a grudge. Notice the way Paul reminds these women and the congregation who they are. He recalls their work to help spread the news of Jesus. He reminds them that they are saved and in the spectrum of eternity an earthly dispute is small enough to settle. He calls them (and us) to a higher level of freedom, joy, and hope.

Paul describes the freedom the Christian life offers, both for eternity and for right now. We are waiting for Jesus to return and we have hope that he will not abandon us. The world will not decay forever. The kingdom of God will restore all that is broken. It is because of this future hope that we can rejoice. It is a deliberate choice to look past our surroundings and our circumstances and cling to what will be. In the midst of that, we don’t just sit around and wait. We work to make the world better. Settle a dispute, bring peace, share the good news of Jesus, be a bringer of the kingdom of heaven. Not a bad to-do list, really. (P.S. – It’s the way to freedom.)

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

These verses can be used to either strengthen our faith or tear it apart. I’ve seen it happen both ways. On the surface, these verses portray a supernatural freedom in which God is directly involved in your life and taking care of you. “Don’t worry about it, I got it!” Imagine someone serving you or helping you with a task. Think of a friendship you’ve had in which your friend helped you and made you feel a little lighter. That’s a beautiful picture of these verses and a description of peace.

The other way of reading (or misusing) these verses is to direct them at someone else who is anxious. “The Bible says don’t worry — that’s a command!” I wish it were not the case, but well-meaning Christians have hurt people by using these verses to swat away hard emotions and make everything all better. This concept is called spiritual bypass, and we do it when we use Scripture to bypass or skip over what’s going on for us inside. “God loves you and wants to take care of you” is really different than “stop being anxious because God told you not to.” Which one seems more helpful to you?

God really cares. Genuinely. He is ready and able to help you. He is a bringer of peace. Not in the sense that he wants to shame you for worrying. In fact, you might just be anxious or worried sometimes. Some people have clinical levels of anxiety, and if that’s you then peace may be more like a place you can go inside of God than a feeling you can arrive at in yourself. The message here is clear — the weight of the world is not on your shoulders. When you pray, you have someone who is listening. He’s guarding you so that you can experience the freedom of his kingdom. We can cling to that truth whether we feel it or not.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Mindfulness is all about awareness of the present moment and awareness of God. When Paul says, “Fix your thoughts,” I immediately think of the practice of mindfulness. There is a lot of competition for our thoughts, with to-do lists and worries and stressors swirling. The reality is my brain will be overloaded. What can I do to seek God and help myself in those moments? Fix my thoughts. Focus.

What should we focus on? Things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. I imagine a guided imagery or relaxation exercise in which I try to picture what those words look like. I could imagine the meaning of the words themselves, in a picture or a color. Or I could think of an example of each. Take a moment now to slow down, pause your reading, and fix your thoughts.

Do you know what is the most true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable? God himself. God is love. He embodies goodness. He is full of grace. When we need to re-focus and fix our thoughts, we can center on him. We can return to a mindful awareness of his presence. Paul says we have to put this into practice to find the peace of God. It won’t happen instantly and it won’t work if you only do it once. Daily. Perhaps hourly. Fix your thoughts. Allow God to sweep the cobwebs of your mind and return you once again to freedom.

“How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.”

Philippians 4:13 is among the most quoted Bible verses, emblazoned on hats and mugs and key chains and Bible covers. Ripped out of its context, it’s a feel-good pick-me-up that makes us feel hopeful. Looking more closely at Paul’s writing throughout this letter, however, this cheery verse is actually all about suffering.

Paul has been through it all. He has legitimately suffered. His friends were concerned for his well-being. He has gone without food and been stripped of earthly possessions, and he has had times of plenty. He is able to suffer because he has found the secret: the supernatural power of Jesus Christ. He is currently in prison, letting his friends know that they shouldn’t worry too much about him because his strength to persevere comes from God.

It’s not a popular message, and it doesn’t sell well on coffee mugs. But there is freedom in suffering. Paul had found a supernatural secret because of his suffering. He had learned how to find strength from someone bigger than himself because he needed that strength to survive. If he had been comfortable and not gone through hardship, it’s possible he would never have learned how to rely on God. Suffering connects us to our desperation. That’s when we are free to rely solely on the supernatural power and strength of God.