“But our citizenship is in heaven, from where also we await for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…”
— Philippians 3:20

We should always remember that we hold a twin citizenship. We have our citizenship in our earthly country, but we also are citizens of a heavenly country, which is far better. Our citizenship is above, Paul tells us. And so we are to live out our citizenship, our conduct, in a way that is honoring and glorifying and adorning of the Gospel of Christ. It should be consistent with the Gospel of Christ.

Therefore, we should remember not to limit our conduct only to the kingdom of heaven of which we are a citizen, but also we are to exercise faithfully all of our responsibilities as citizens of this kingdom here on earth as well. And many Christians will limit themselves only to one and ignore the other, but Paul wants us to be consistent with the Gospel of grace. That is the way our conduct ought to be. We are called to honor and work for the country in which God has placed us, while at the same time help build His kingdom and invest in eternity.

If we are faithful to God’s first command—the cultural mandate given at the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:26) to serve as God’s vice-regents on earth, and if we are faithful in God’s last command to us—the Great Commission of Jesus to go and spread His Gospel then we will fulfill well our dual citizenship.

Lord of heaven and earth, give us strength for today to be worthy citizens of both. Help us to work for Your kingdom, as we live in this world. Help us not to be too comfortable and fond of this world which is temporary…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN FULFILL
BOTH THE CULTURAL AND GOSPEL MANDATES.

“…who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely upon his God…”
— Isaiah 50:10

Our life on this earth is a pilgrimage. It has a beginning and an end and it is going somewhere, and it is important where we end up. Life is not a meaningless circling about, a meandering here and there with no particular purpose.

God is sovereign and has revealed in His Word how we should live, so that we will not walk in darkness. Many people find life very complicated. This world is a labyrinth with innumerable tunnels leading in every kind of direction. We don’t know the future. We don’t know where this road will take us.

In one sense, we are forced to live eventually in the future, and yet it is unseen to us. And so the heart of man cries out for guidance, and this is what sends so many people to call psychics on the psychic hotline, or to go to an astrologer or to do all of the various foolish things that people will do indicating their felt need for some kind of guidance. God condemns this kind of divination.

He tells us to trust Him instead. Those who know their God have already experienced Him well in the past and the present. Therefore, we can trust Him with our future. The Bible is infinitely better than tarot guards, crystals, psychics, or any other false substitute to true divine wisdom.

Lord, my Shepherd and Guide, give me strength for today to follow after You and not after any false gods. Help me not to deceive myself by thinking I am following after You in utilizing avenues of guidance that You have clearly forbidden. Lead me by Your powerful hand…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE
LED HOME TO HEAVEN.

“He said, ‘O my Lord, send, I pray, by the hand of whomever else You will send.’”
— Exodus 4:13

Some people think they are too old to do something significant in life. But I think of a gentleman who really never did much of anything. He dropped out of school and went to work in a store where he worked for about six months and got fired. That was just a picture of what was to come. He got fired from one job after another. This pattern lasted  for decades.

Then one day he got a letter in the mail. It was a letter from Social Security, congratulating him for having reached the end of his working career and included a check. But he refused to quit working.

He was eventually able to buy a small beat-up old building that had been a restaurant and turned it into a decent looking place where he could sell food. What he really liked to do was to cook chicken. So he started selling chicken there, and the people liked it. He had a special recipe—a secret recipe. Finally, his business spread to franchises in other states around the country and around the world.

God blessed Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and he succeeded enormously. You’re never too old to make a contribution in life. Look at Moses, who may well have thought he was washed up at 40, tended sheep for 40 years, but was then called by God at age 80 to serve the Lord in mighty ways for the next 40 years.

Dear God, thank You that You care about us no matter how old we might be. Thank You that You can use us whatever age we may be. Help us to not sell ourselves short because of age or anything else…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH WE CAN SERVE HIM,
WHATEVER CONDITION WE’RE IN.

“…let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ…”
— Philippians 1:27

You and I are the clothes that the Gospel wears in this world. How well are we adorning the Gospel in our lives? We are the only Christ that many will see. Are we attracting people to the Savior or are we repelling them from Him? Paul makes it very clear that it is vital that we do the former and not the latter.

Here there is a shift in that first chapter of Philippians—from “I” to “you,” from personal testimony to spiritual exhortation. If you go back up the previous verses of the first chapter you will see that Paul has been giving for almost the entirety of this his own personal testimony. You see that he says, “but if I live,” “for me to live,” and “I shall not be ashamed,” and “I know this,” and “I am set for the defense of the Gospel.” He has been giving his own personal testimony. He knows that the Philippians needed to be encouraged by hearing what was happening with him and his resoluteness in the face of his suffering, his rejoicing in Christ even in prison, but they also needed to be exhorted unto godly living.

Since we may well be the only Bible many people ever “read,” it is sobering to consider that some of us may need revision. Someone once said, “Don’t be so worried about what other people think of you. Be concerned about what they think of Christ because of you.”

Lord, give me the strength to live such a righteous life that people will want to know You and walk with You. My Master and Lord, help me to live a life honoring You in all ways. Help me today to do something kind for someone who does not know You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE WILL
SHOW CHRIST TO OTHERS.

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”
— 2 Timothy 4:6

God only calls a small percentage of those who follow Christ to be martyrs for Him. Certainly, Paul was one of those.

Paul’s last epistle was 2 Timothy, and in the poignant 4th chapter he writes, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” He is ready to be offered, the sacrifice is ready to be poured out.

This is now his second imprisonment. He was released after the imprisonment during which he wrote Philippians, then he continued his missionary journeys, probably traveling all the way to Spain. But now he has returned, has once more been captured, taken prisoner and thrown into a dungeon, and this time there is to be no release in this world.

Paul is not afraid of death because Christ has conquered the grave. When he was drawn up out of that prison, led out of the city of Rome down the Appian Way, and the headsman’s ax flashed in the Roman sun, the Apostle Paul experienced immortality, and he received the crown of righteousness. We can indeed rejoice that in Christ death has lost its sting. Whether martyred or not, we should live for Christ in such a way that we, too, can look forward to receiving a crown of righteousness.

Lord, give me strength to make my life an offering to You. Help me to avoid carrying a burden You have not given me, but also help me be ready to follow You even unto death…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE
A LIVING SACRIFICE.

“…sons of God, without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world. Hold forth the word of life…”
— Philippians 2:15-16

Paul tells us that we should bear witness to the world, both by the lives we live and by the word which is the Gospel. This is a twofold duty and responsibility, which is laid upon every Christian, that we are to be witnesses to Him both by our lives and by our lips, that we are to shine and we are to hold forth the word of life.

And so, dear friend, I would ask you, are you doing that? Did you hold forth the word of life to anyone recently? We should ask God to place  opportunities in our path in which we might share the good news that has changed our lives. May God grant you the determination to say, “I will indeed determine to be a light in a dark world and hold forth the word of life to a dying world that they may hear the Gospel and be saved.”

Paul says, “…that I may rejoice on the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain” (Philippians 2:16). This is an amazing openness on the part of the apostle. He calls upon them to show a godly life and to hold forth the word of life that he may rejoice in the day of Christ. May God give us the grace that we be faithful followers of Christ, shining as lights and holding forth the word of life, bringing many to the knowledge of the Savior.

Jesus Christ, Light of the world, thank You for being my light and my salvation. May I hold out Your light today, both in my words and by holy living…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
BE LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD.

“These men are grumblers, complainers, who walk after their own lusts. Their mouths speak arrogant words, and they flatter others to gain profit.”
— Jude 16

All sin is ultimately against God, as David said, “Against You, You only, have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). But it is also true that we do sin against one another very often. Paul says we should “Do all things without murmuring and disputing” (Philippians 2:14). Yet how much of what goes on in many homes, even Christian homes, involves complaining, grumbling, murmuring, and arguments?

We should be serving God gladly, yielding ourselves to Him happily and cheerfully without murmuring and complaining against one another. How much of that is found in your home? How about the church? Take almost any kind of meeting that goes on in the church, how much of it is spent in murmuring, complaining, and faultfinding?

So we sin against men also in this same way. And whether our relationship to God or one another, we are to do all things without murmuring and  complaining. Why? “…That you may be blameless and harmless, sons of God, without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). So let us strive to be at peace with all men, as much as it depends on us.

Jehoveh-Shalom, You who are our peace, help us to live in peace without grumbling and fault-finding. Help us today to find the good in others and live in peace with all, as much as it is possible without compromising our core values…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
EXPERIENCE HIS PEACE.

“Do all things without murmuring and disputing…”
— Philippians 2:14

When Paul tells the Philippian Christians to do all things without murmuring, we should remember that just a moment before that he told them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Not work for your salvation—to work it out, for it is God who is working in our hearts.

How are we to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling? Well, he says that we are to do all things without murmuring and disputing. The word murmuring sounds like what it describes. The Scripture in a number of times tells us to avoid murmuring and grumbling.

In John 6:41, we read “The Jews then murmured about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’” You can almost hear the muttering, the grumbling, the low tones, the complaining, and the discontent of them. In verse 43, just two verses further, “Jesus therefore answered them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves.’”

In I Corinthians 10:10, Paul cautions, “Neither murmur, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed by the destroyer.” Twice in that same verse—“neither murmur, as some of those,”—those were the Israelites in the Old Testament wanderings, and they murmured against the Lord, and they were destroyed. They murmured against Moses as well, and they were destroyed. If you know the joy of Christ in your heart, it follows that you will avoid a complaining spirit.

Jesus, Bread of Life, thank You for feeding us and caring for us. Forgive us that we so often complain and murmur. Give us the strength to replace murmuring with thanksgiving…

IN GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE CAN AVOID GROUSING.

“Immediately fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. And the king saw the back of the hand that wrote.”
— Daniel 5:5

As noted before, one night, Belshazzar the king of Babylon held a great drunken feast. They brought out the golden vessels and silver goblets which his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had brought from the temple in Jerusalem before he destroyed it. And so Belshazzar called for the vessels and the goblets of the temple of Jerusalem so that his lords and princes, his women and wives and concubines might drink out of the golden goblets from the temple of Jerusalem. “Where is the God of Jerusalem—where is the God of the Jews?” they might have asked.

But then a detached gigantic hand appeared and wrote inscrutable words on the wall. What did they say? Only Daniel was capable of providing the correct interpretation. Belshazzar had been weighed according to God’s righteousness and was found wanting.

Therefore, his kingdom was to be broken apart and given to the Medes and the Persians. While Belshazzar had been drinking from the goblets of Jerusalem, the army of the Medes and Persians had diverted the River Euphrates which flowed from one corner to the other corner of the great city of Babylon and his soldiers had come under that dry river bed. They had thrown open the mighty gates of Babylon, and now the whole hosts of the armies of the Medes and Persians had filled the city. The proud, taunting king died that very night. Babylon the great came to a sudden and final end. It is not wise to taunt the living God.

Lord of the nations, You alone are holy and not to be mocked. We thank You that You do avenge and that Your justice will prevail. In Your mercy and patience, You postpone judgment, but help us to remember that it will come…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH AND IN HIS TIME,
NATIONS AND PEOPLE WILL BE JUDGED.

“Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand.”
— Daniel 5:1

Our text today speaks of Belshazzar the king, and the critics have fastened their talons on these words. For some time, they used to say, “Ah ha. Here again we find one of the many mistakes of the Bible.” They would claim there was no such king of Babylon as Belshazzar, and that furthermore the son of Nebuchadnezzar, which Daniel 5:2 says was Belshazzar, is conclusively proved by the monuments to be none other than Nabonidus, and that no Belshazzar is mentioned at all. They delighted to fixate on this passage.

And yet the spades of the archaeologists continued to dig, and need I tell you how the story came out? The Bible has been proven right again and again. Finally the spade of the archaeologist unturned the monuments that brought to our attention the fact that Nabonidus, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, had a son whose name was Belshazzar.

But someone might object that he was not the son, but rather grandson, of Nebuchadnezzar. But the Bible calls him son. Biblical Hebrew has no word for grandson or great grandson or great grandfather or grandfather, but simply refers to one as father, regardless of the number of generations that have  intervened. So once again the critics were proven wrong.

As Werner Keller, author of the book, The Bible As History, noted in the 1950s: “…as I thought of the skeptical criticism which from the eighteenth century onward would fain have demolished the Bible altogether, there kept hammering in my brain this one sentence: ‘The Bible is right after all.’”

God of truth, we thank You for the trustworthiness of Your Word. Thank You for sustaining me and feeding me Your living, holy, and eternal Word everyday…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH AND SUSTAINING POWER,
WE ARE UPHELD BY HIS WORD.