“Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly…”

— Philippians 3:19 kjv

Paul talks about enemies of Christianity “whose god is their belly.” As commentators would agree, I think here he is referring not merely to food. Though many of them no doubt are gluttons, this would be a metaphor for an inordinate love of all earthly, worldly and material things.

Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Thus, it is fine to ask God to meet our material needs. But the person whose god is his belly loves the material things of this earth beyond normal appetites.

In his first epistle, Peter refers to such people and rebukes those who would abuse the Gospel as a means for filthy gain: “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, take care of them, not by constraint, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly” (1 Peter 5:2).

And so Peter is warning us of the same thing that Paul is warning us of—we are not to minister for money’s sake, and we need always to be watchful for those who wear the clerical garb and yet do it for money’s sake. I am always concerned when I see would-be ministers that are too concerned about the things of this world.

Paul tells us that the workman is worthy of his hire. But people should not go into the ministry for money’s sake. The Gospel is good news. It is not for sale. The only price paid for the Gospel is the price of the blood of Jesus.

Lord, give us the strength to seek You and not to seek after pleasures. We thank You for what You give us. Help us to be ever mindful to seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness…

BY HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN
SEEK GOD’S KINGDOM FIRST.

“For many are walking in such a way that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. I have told you of them often and tell you again, even weeping.”

— Philippians 3:18

I remember my old pastor telling me one time when he visited me at seminary, “James, remember that the enemies of Christ will always attack the Cross, the blood of Christ and this will be the object of their attack and their ridicule,” and I have found that to be so.

Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 1:22: “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” And so it is; there are those who seek miracles and unless they can find the miracle they can’t seem to believe. The Greeks sought after wisdom and philosophy, like the humanists of our time.

Paul adds, “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks” (verse 23). Then He notes that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of the world.

Meanwhile, it is the blood of the Savior that is most despised and hated by an ungodly and unregenerate world. But as Paul says in Philippians 3:18 of the enemies of the cross, their end is destruction. That is one thing you need to remember about all of the wise men of this world—all of those who in their utter sophistication attack Christianity and Christians and the Bible and Christ and His cross—their end is destruction. What lies before them is naught but Hell. They are going away into everlasting perdition and pain.

I don’t hate the cross; I am eternally grateful for it. I trust you are too.

Lord, give me strength to always glory in the cross, as the attacks on You, Your Gospel, Your name, and Your cross continue to increase. Give us the strength to gladly bear reproach and shame for Your name’s sake…

BY HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN
LIFT HIGH THE CROSS.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

— Matthew 28:19

We are called to something altogether different than the things of this world. We are called to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We are called to be those who never lose sight of the fact that we have been made for eternity and that human beings are either saved or lost. They are on their way to eternal paradise or eternal perdition and it is up to us to bring to them that message.

I think of a lay minister of our church who had a clear focus in his mind of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and was more continually faithful to that calling than perhaps anyone I have ever known. Before he died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, he was going out three times a week on Evangelism Explosion, even though someone had to carry him up the stairs in order to go into a home.

He was a man who went to the prisons five or six times a week, spent hours there sharing the Gospel. Because of his deteriorating health, the prison officials would no longer let this lay minister in without help for fear he might get hurt. So he always found a volunteer to accompany him. One day, co-author Jerry Newcombe was that volunteer and thus had his first experience visiting a prison.

This lay minister never lost sight of his heavenly calling. We each have a heavenly calling in Jesus. If you struggle to know your calling, ask the Lord for wisdom and seek out godly counsel for direction.

Lord, give me strength for today to find my calling and to fulfill it with joy. Please use me in Your vineyard…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
BE FAITHFUL TO THE END.

“Who of you by worrying can add one cubit to his height?”

— Luke 12:25

The French word for “wooden shoe” is sabot. From this word comes “sabotage,” and it seemed that Dutchmen had a way of sabotaging French plants by casting their wooden shoes into the machinery. Worry is sabotage to our lives. Worry is a great destroyer of the body as well as the mind.

Worry is also harmful to the spiritual life. Jesus said that the cares of this world choke out the good seed and keep it from being fruitful. Cares of this world cause some people never to enter the kingdom of God. I remember talking one time to a person that I dearly loved, talking to him about the kingdom of God and about the salvation which Christ offered. And I remember how he cut me off short by telling me that he had so many problems and so many cares and so many worries in the world that he did not have time to think about that.

Many people think about worry as a weakness. The Bible tells us that it is a wickedness; that it is because of unbelief. Because, you see, where worry starts, faith ends. You cannot have faith and worry about the same thing at the same time. As water in a glass replaces the air, so worry replaces faith. Worry is practical atheism. But we should cast our cares on the Lord and trust Him. Over and over we see He helps, and most of our worries never materialize.

Dear Lord, forgive us for our unbelief. Forgive us for taking on ourselves burdens, which overwhelm us, instead of turning those problems over to You. Thank You that You are more than capable to handle all these problems…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR PROBLEMS ARE
HANDED OVER TO THE GREAT PROBLEM-SOLVER.

“After several days, when Felix arrived…he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ…Felix was afraid and answered, ‘For now, leave! When time permits, I will send for you.’”

— Acts 24:24-25

How true it is that has been said, “Of all the sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been.” We all know that the road to hell is lined with good intentions. But why? Because of procrastination. Procrastination is what keeps good intentions from materializing into good works.

If procrastination is harmful in the spiritual exercises of this life, it is most deadly and fatal when it comes to our eternal salvation. We see a spiritual procrastinator in the example of Felix, a Roman leader.

Now Felix was a despicable character, far lower than the average Roman governor. He was indeed, the Roman historian Tacitus tells us, “a man of lust and cruelty;” who “exercised the office of a king with the spirit of a slave.”

In Acts 24, this man, who did not hesitate to get involved in the most immoral kinds of activities, was now listening to Paul preach. As he talked about these things, Felix began to tremble. Because his sins were crying out against him and his conscience was calling for relief, he should have repented, but he was a procrastinator. So he said, “For now, leave! When time permits, I will send for you” (Acts 24:25). He would take care of it mañana. To our knowledge he never did. How tragic. He provides a great example of what not to do.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for our spiritual procrastination. Give us strength for today to share the Gospel with those You have put in our path. Help us to not be like Felix or anyone else who would postpone such important news…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE WILL
HEED HIS VOICE TODAY.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

— Proverbs 27:1

Though we usually joke about it, psychologists tell us that procrastination can be a very harmful addiction with disastrous consequences. Many people addicted to procrastinating just can’t seem to stop, no matter what.

During the American Revolution, General Washington had conceived his bold plan to cross the Delaware in the midst of winter and to surprise the Hessian army at Trenton on Christmas night 1776, but a British sympathizer saw what he was doing and sent a messenger across the river with a note to Colonel Rahl, the Hessian commander. When the courier arrived at the camp, he found the Colonel in his tent playing cards with his officers. He gave him the letter, and Rahl, without opening it, put it in his pocket, and said, “Later, but first, let’s finish the game.”

He finished the game just in time to stand up, surprised at the American attack. It cost Rahl his honor, his command, and his life—all because of procrastination. It can, indeed, have disastrous consequences.

In the business realm, procrastination can have disastrous consequences. Many a person, who, though he is outstandingly talented, educated, and equipped, does not progress nearly as well as some of lesser abilities and talents simply because he procrastinates and the others don’t.

When it comes to the spiritual world, procrastination is eternally disastrous. Many important things are left undone because of procrastination. Most vital of all is to not postpone accepting Christ. Let us live today for Christ. Tomorrow may never come.

Lord, give me strength for today to do that which I should do today. Forgive me for so often putting off today’s task until “tomorrow,” which often never comes. Help me to truly live for You today…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
LIVE FOR HIM TODAY.

“The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’”

— Numbers 20:12

Moses did not get to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, yet his whole life’s work was moving in that direction.

Some will say, “Well, it is because Moses smote the rock.” We see in Exodus 17:6 that God said to him, “you shall strike the rock, and there water shall come out of it,” and he did. But later on, in Numbers 20, there is another smiting of another rock, and that time God told him to go and speak to the rock, and the water would come forth. Instead, on that occasion, Moses struck the rock and angered God, who then punished him by not letting Him go to the Promised Land.

Sometimes we have to obey without fully understanding, but we know we can trust God because He has proven Himself fully trustworthy. Jesus is the Rock of Ages, but Moses had no way of knowing that God was in a sense demonstrating Christ’s role and work. Jesus was struck once on the cross, and living water flowed forth. After that, we only need to speak to Jesus Christ, and He gives us the living water. Obedience in small things matters. May we always drink of this water that becomes for us a spring of eternal life.

Moses lived by the law and was judged by the law. Thank God for His mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. Remember, G-R-A-C-E means “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.”

God, thank You for Your grace poured out in Jesus Christ. Help us to show our love for You by striving to obey You in all things. Thank You, Jesus, for being struck on Your own body, taking on Yourself the penalty of our wrong-doings…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE EXPERIENCE
HIS UNMERITED FAVOR IN CHRIST.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

— Proverbs 4:23

There is a large corporation whose motto is “Think.” Well we all think all of the time. God is more specific. In Philippians 8, after giving a list of good and wholesome things, He says think on these things. Don’t just think. Hitler was a man who thought, as was Stalin and Mao and Nero and Judas, but the important thing is not merely to think, but what we are to think about.

Paul says in Philippians 4:9, if we control these thoughts, if we bring every thought into obedience to Christ, then the God of peace will be with us. So the peace of God within us, the God of peace around us, and that is the kind of life that everyone of us certainly would covet. I would urge you to look at the two verses—verse 6 (don’t worry, instead pray) and verse 8 (think on these positive things)—which precede these two promises of the peace of God and endeavor to put them into application in your own life. God’s peace will be your reward.

God’s Word truly gets to the heart of the matter—out of which there proceed the issues of life. We pray we should learn to bring every thought into subjection to Christ and obedience to Him. We should pray the Lord would create new channels where positive, loving, pure, honest thoughts may run, which will result in God’s peace filling our hearts and lives and surrounding us in our homes and wherever we go.

Dear Lord, in our age of incredible moral pollution, help us to keep our lives pure. Lord, I ask that You would guard my heart and give me strength for today to feed my soul with good things, while keeping away from that which is harmful…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE BRING EVERY THOUGHT
INTO SUBJECTION TO CHRIST AND OBEDIENCE TO HIM.

“Do those things which you have both learned and received, and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you”

— Philippians 4:9

Many people say in effect, “Do as I say, not as I do.” But Paul says in effect, “Do what I do, as well as what I say.” Paul tells the Philippian Christians to put into practice that which they saw him do: “Do those things which you have both learned and received, and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you” (4:9).

He says something similar to the Corinthian Christians: “Follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Paul is not giving merely theoretical advice, he is saying follow me. Now that is a bold statement. How many of us could say that to others?

“What I want you to do, new convert, is watch me closely and do what I do in my life.” That’s how we ought to live. This is a tremendous statement from Paul. They had learned from him in his oral instruction when he had preached to them and taught them when he was at Philippi. They had received this epistle from his hands which they had read. They had heard from others of how he was enduring the punishment in the Roman imprisonment, and they had seen with their own eyes how he had acted while he was in Philippi when he had been persecuted and imprisoned and beaten in stocks while he was among them. Follow me, be emulators of me, as I emulate Christ. And he adds, “the God of peace will be with you.”

Lord, give me strength for today to so live my life that if others were to imitate me, that would be a good thing. Help me to be a good example that I would want people to follow me as I follow You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE GOOD
EXAMPLES FOR OTHERS TO FOLLOW.

“Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think on these things.”

— Philippians 4:8

We can make a sincere effort to try to counter our thoughts and to bring them into subjection to Christ and obedience to Him, and we will discover that they will affect the life that we lead. I would urge you to look these over from day to day (what Paul lists here) and ask yourself are these the things that you are thinking about?

Now ordinarily we don’t stop and consciously ask ourselves what thoughts are going through our minds, but I think that we need to do that more often. We need to be as it were a supervisor of our own thoughts—a bishop, which is an overseer, of the thoughts of our minds to see what kind of thoughts we are dwelling on.

When we see that we are beginning to go down one of those well-worn channels again, that we say, “Stop, you are not going down that channel anymore.” We want to replace the ungodly thoughts with godly ones.

Unholy thoughts lead to unholy living. Holy thoughts do lead to holy living. Some people have said that a person is what he thinks about all day. That may not be totally true, but the old saying is true: garbage in, garbage out. Be the bishop of your thoughts.

Father, give us strength for today to control what we think about. Forgive us for allowing our minds to dwell on evil things. Lord, renew our mind and so renew our lives…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE TAKE EVERY
THOUGHT CAPTIVE FOR CHRIST.