Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi …

— Philippians 1:1

Rejoicing is the theme of Paul’s epistle to the Philippians. It could be summed up in four words: I rejoice; you rejoice. This theme of rejoicing is like an underground stream that bubbles its way along and then, ever and anon, it breaks forth into the sunshine, sparkling with joy. It is a continual, reiterated refrain in this harmony of joy that Paul gives to us.

It is in the Lord Jesus that we can rejoice. We rejoice in Him … in His goodness … in His grace … in His mercy … in His long-suffering … in His faithfulness. We rejoice in what He has done for us upon the Cross and through the empty tomb.

It is precious to the Lord if we can rejoice when we are going through hard times. If we rejoice only when all is well, that is not such a great accomplishment. We should make thanks and praise a part of our daily life. Even now He is turning the bad things to our good. And He has promised that He will lead us forth to ultimate triumph and bring us forth into that gladsome city where tears shall be no more and singing shall be ever heard. Therefore we can rejoice in Christ Jesus!

Question to ponder:
We are to let the joy of God fill our heart—when is it easiest for you to be joyful?

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair …

— 2 Corinthians 4:8

I am sure you have heard the story about the minister who visited a parishioner who wasn’t doing well. The minister asked the man how he was doing, and the man replied, “Pretty well—under the circumstances.” And the pastor replied, “What are you doing under the circumstances?”

The Apostle Paul was an excellent example of a man who never seemed to be under the circumstances. Paul would have us to clearly under­stand that our rejoicing is not in our circumstances. Paul wrote his admonition to rejoice always from the depths of a Roman prison where he was a prisoner in chains. (We know that when the Roman eagle fixes its claws, it seldom lets go without drawing blood.) Paul had to say that it was quite uncertain as to “how it shall be with me.” He was facing a capital trial that could cost him his life. He was obliged to contemplate the fact that he might be offered up—that he might be poured out as a libation. Yet, in spite of the fact that all was uncertain, all was dark, and all was drear, out of the midst of this darkness there chimed the clear notes of his jubilation: “Rejoice in the Lord—always.”

Question to ponder:
How can we rise above the circumstances of our lives and learn to rejoice?

… Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

— Ephesians 5:19

Paul tells us, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). When one stops to think about it, that is exactly the opposite of the way we react. For example, if we were teaching a person the secret of success, we would say to them, “This is what you do first … secondly, you do this … thirdly you do thus, and so on…” Then success will come, and finally, you rejoice. However, Paul says first you rejoice.

The world says that seeing is believing; the Bible says that believing is seeing. So we begin by rejoicing. The reason we can rejoice is because we are rejoicing in the Lord. In Christ we already have success; in Christ we are already the possessors of all things and, therefore, we can and will rejoice. The Lord inhabits the praises of His people. He is near to those who praise Him. Praise and rejoicing is a safe place to dwell because our enemy, the devil, flees before sincere praise.

Question to ponder:
In what do you rejoice today?

… Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion …

— Hebrews 3:7-8

I have invited countless people to come to faith in Jesus Christ and to participate in the great wedding feast of the Lamb, and they have made light of it. I cannot imagine it, but some do just that.

I talked to a 95-year-old man and invited him to the feast. He said no; he didn’t want to be bored. I tried to deal with that in an intelligent manner, but I really, upon reflection, think that what I should have said is, “What would ever make you say a stupid thing like that? Here you are teetering on the very edge of the precipice of eternity, about to plunge into the lake of fire, where you won’t have time to be bored because you will be howling and gnashing your teeth forever—and you talk about being bored in heaven!” When we witness to people we want to make it sound good and appealing. Remember, we are only the messenger. We cannot scare anyone into heaven, only invite them.

Question to ponder:
How do you feel about people rejecting the Lord, when you try to witness?

… God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their sins against them, and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.

— 2 Corinthians 5:19

How are we reconciled with each other? By repentance and faith. By faith we rest in the atoning blood of Christ and claim that cleansing stream. We are made one with Him, being one with Christ and one with the Father, and then we can be one with one another.

There must be reconciliation from man to man, woman to woman, individual to individual. That is accomplished by repentance and confession. As you think about your relationship with God, are there things separating you from Him—things you have not repented of, things you have not turned from, things you have not confessed, things you have not claimed His forgiveness for? As you think about your brothers or sisters, are there those from whom you are estranged?

We have been reconciled to God by the death of Jesus. Therefore, we should be reconciled with others—especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Question to ponder:
Are there those whom you are holding grudges against? Are there those who have hurt you that you need to forgive or whom you have hurt and need to confess that sin to?

And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

— Matthew 22:39

Our society puts an inordinate amount of emphasis on self-image. Look out for #1 (that is, yourself), cry the pundits. How is a good self-image achieved and does it matter?

A self-image is very much like happiness. Someone once wrote about the “unhappy pursuit of happiness.” The unhappiest people are the ones who pursue happiness, because happiness is not something you can find by directly pursuing it. It is something which is a by-product of pursuing something else. It is something we discover when we are not really looking for it.

When we serve God and Christ and help other people, when we fulfill His commandments, when we see our lives being used to build up other people, to transform their lives and to bring in the Kingdom of God, we discover that God has already taken care of our desire for a good self image and we have a very adequate sense of who we are. A self-image is not some balloon inside of us that has to be pumped up; it is simply our reflection of who we are and what we are doing in this world. A right picture of God leads to a correct picture of self.

Question to ponder:
What is the relationship between Christ-confidence and self-confidence?

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you.

— Matthew 6:33

There are many people who begin life with a very poor self-image. They are helped along the way by others who criticize them, ignore them, make fun of them, pooh-pooh their ideas, and contribute to their general feeling that they really have nothing to offer, that they are not worthwhile, that nobody wants to hear what they have to say, and certainly that no one could care how they feel. Therefore, they withhold all of these things and the result is a breakdown in communication.

Do you help contribute to a poor self-image in your spouse or in those around you? Many men do so by continually putting their wives down, by being sarcastic and not interested in their ideas. They may find themselves increasingly living in a lonely world and losing out on a great deal. Do you treat your wife that way? There are women, of course, who do the same thing. They enjoy putting their husbands down. They try to lord it over them and belittle them.

I believe that if we seek God’s kingdom first and His righteousness, then all things shall be added to us. Included in that list is a healthy self-image. I am uncomfortable with an unhealthy emphasis on self-image. As we love God and our neighbor as ourselves, a healthy self-image tends to emerge, because we are made in His image.

Question to ponder:
Can you think of anything you can do to build up anyone around you?

For we have not followed cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

— 2 Peter 1:16

It is interesting that in the radical left wing of Protestantism, back about two hundred years ago, they were concocting in their ivory towers all kinds of theories about how the Bible was not the Word of God, how these were but mythological stories, inventions of creative minds, things that never happened in this world at all.

Interestingly, about the very same time, there was another science that was beginning; it was the science of archaeology. In fact, Napoleon contributed to it. When he went to invade Egypt, he took with him scientists who examined all the many wonderful finds in Egypt and gave great impetus to the new science of archaeology. Since then archaeologists have dug up hundreds of thousands of different finds confirming the Bible over and over again and totally demolishing the liberal radical documentary hypothesis of the Old Testament. Today no reputable Old Testament scholar would maintain the kind of things that were previously taught in many seminaries (including the seminary I attended), because it has been given the coup de grâce by archaeology.

Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist said, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.” Dr. Paul L. Maier, a noted scholar of ancient history, said, “There is no question but that archaeology is the Bible’s best friend.”

Question to ponder:
How does God defend His own Word?

Then I said, “Here am I. Send me.”

— Isaiah 6:8

In 1956, five American missionaries were killed in the jungles of Ecuador by fierce Indians. One of them was Jim Elliot, who famously said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

In his senior year at Wheaton College, Elliot wrote some words in his diary, which I recall reading and being awestruck that any college senior could write such words: “[God] makes ‘His ministers a flame of fire.’ Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.’ Satu­rate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul—short life? … ‘Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.'” Some seven years later, that fuel was consumed.

What is it that holds us back from total surrender or unconditional service? We are often afraid that God will ask us to do something too hard or too difficult.

I am sure Jim Elliot did not regret his decision. (Certainly his writings before his death would indicate as such.) Whatever God calls us to do, it will be an adventure, and He promises to go with us every step of the way.

Question to ponder:
Can I commit myself to God at a deeper level? Is there anything I am holding back from Him?

See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, and death and disaster. What I am commanding you today is to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments …

— Deuteronomy 30:15-16

God has set before us the “maker’s manual.” If you obey the commandments, you will do well. If you don’t, you will destroy yourself. The commandments are basically simple, but they are not easy. If we seek to live a godly life, we can only do this by His power and by His grace.

Human success or failure in this life is largely dependent upon the requisite yielding of ourselves in obedience to the commandments of God. It is not some great mystery. It is simply doing what God told us to do. Apparently, there are many people in this nation and the world who are mostly ignoring those commandments or outright disobeying them. That, of course, is to their own hurt and detriment.

We do not keep the law in order that we might be saved or be acceptable to God; but having been transformed by Christ, having been forgiven and redeemed by Jesus Christ, having been made new creatures by His grace and His mercy, we now desire to live by His Commandments and His law. God gives us a new heart, a heart that delights in our God and a heart that desires to live by His statutes.

Question to ponder:
We are told to keep God’s commandments in word, thought, and deed. Which one is hardest for you?