Scripture

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Observation
Christ is the Son of God. He is divine, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit.. Yet He did not cling to that position. Instead He let go and humbled Himself, becoming human.

In total obedience to God, He humbled Himself to the place of suffering, the cross.

Then God lifted Him up, raised Him from the grave and up to heaven, giving Him the name above all names so that every tongue will confess He is Lord and every knee bow to Him to the glory of God the Father.

Application
The way up is down!

With God our status or position is not to be held on to tightly.

Satan sought equality with God and failed.

Jesus let go of His equality with God and was lifted up.

Here is a mystery that is also a key to life in God’s kingdom. We win by losing, we gain by serving, we are at our highest when we are most humble.

Whatever source of pride we have we must let go of it and allow God to take it and redeem it.

My attitude must be like Christ, who set aside all heavenly thrones to become the servant of all, dying for our salvation, in order to be exalted above all creation.

Prayer
Father I see that I need to set aside all pride and selfish ambition. Help me to have the heart of a servant so that you will be glorified in me. Amen.

Scripture

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again- rejoice!

Observation
Paul exhorts the Philippians to stay true to the Lord. In particular, two women who have disagreed are to settle the matter.

Rejoice always, Paul tells us. We must nor be anxious about anything, but instead we should pray and trust the Lord.

We should fix our thoughts on what is right and honourable, lovely and admirable. And then we need to put into practice what we have learned.

Application
All the directions of our relationships need to be constantly worked on. Our relationship with God comes first and everything needs to be seen in that light. Prayer and faith lead to peace and joy.

By being consumed with negative things, our internal lives are damaged. We need to give our attention to what is good and honourable to allow our souls to be healed, and for godly values to flow out of our hearts.

If there are conflicts in our lives we need to reconcile them. It’s fine to disagree with others, but we must not allow that to break relationships, particularly with other christians.

When we put into practice the teachings of scripture we find that our lives are changed and we make a difference in the lives of everyone around us, including unbelievers.

Prayer
Thank you Lord for saving me and for the promise of peace in every situation as I submit myself to you. Please help me to lay everything at your feet in prayer. Amen.

Scripture

More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Observation
Paul was against those who put their trust in circumcision. This is a work of the flesh. Paul was the most Jewish of Jews, zealous in everything, but this did him no good.

Now he sees that everything is loss compared to knowing Christ. He just wants to know Christ and to share in the power of the resurrection.

He hasn’t yet reached this goal but he presses on. His goal is the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Application
Paul’s overarching aim is to know Christ more, but not in a fleshly, self-directed way. He longs for a deeper fellowship with Christ. All of his work and his suffering come from this desire to know Christ more.

I need to make that my aim also. There is no disappointment, no sense of failure, no conflict of interests when all we want is to know Him more.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, come and reveal yourself more fully to me. Help me to make Paul’s desire my own. Amen.

Let go

Don’t grasp

Clinging to your rights

And your “dignity”

Clawing for respect

In a world of scorn

Your King

Jesus

Emptied Himself

Humbly living a man

Beaten battered

Dying for you

He rose

Glorious

Living forever

Reigning with Father

Sharing life with all

True followers

Scripture

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

Observation
For Paul the choice between living and dying is equally weighted. To live means achieving more for Christ. To die means to be with Christ.

He encourages the Philippians to live their lives in a manner worthy of the gospel. They are to be united in mind and spirit, contending for the faith.

God has granted them the privilege of believing and also suffering for Christ.

Application
The high point of faith is to have the attitude of Paul that whether we are in this life or the next, Christ is all in all.

Too many christians can only see what is happening in this life and so become discouraged or confused when things don’t work out the way they expect.

For Paul this is all in God’s hands. He desires to be with Christ, but in the meantime he will do all he can to serve Christ.

It is this attitude of Christ at the centre of all we do that makes for a person of faith and maturity.

Prayer
Lord Jesus. It is so easy to take my eyes off you and become distracted by the world. Please help me to put you at the centre of all things. Amen.

Scripture

At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Observation

Paul says that we should have the same attitude as Christ Jesus. He was God but did not hold onto the rights of that status. Instead He became nothing, a servant in human form.

Because He was obedient, even to death on the cross, God exalted Him to the highest place so that every part of creation will honour Him as Lord.

Application

Jesus was the eternal pre-existing Son of God. He chose to put aside that place of glory to become like us and to die for the salvation of everyone who puts their trust in Him.

Paul tells us that we need to have that attitude of self-sacrificial service.

Humility is the path to honour. When we lower ourselves God is able to raise us up.

Human nature drives us to fight for our rights, stand on our pride and exalt ourselves.

God’s nature leads us to relinquish our rights and let God get the glory.

Prayer

Lord help me to step aside from my selfish nature to let you shine through me today. Amen.