Courage for Life for Men - Flipbook - Page 15
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pared with the infinite value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have
discarded everything else, counting it all
as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
9
and become one with him. I no longer
count on my own righteousness through
obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.* For God’s
way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10I want to know Christ
and experience the mighty power that
raised him from the dead. I want to suffer
with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that
one way or another I will experience the
resurrection from the dead!
Pressing toward the Goal
12
I don’t mean to say that I have already
achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on
to possess that perfection for which
Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13No, dear
brothers and sisters, I have not achieved
it,* but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to
what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the
end of the race and receive the heavenly
prize for which God, through Christ Jesus,
is calling us.
15
Let all who are spiritually mature
agree on these things. If you disagree on
some point, I believe God will make it
plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the
progress we have already made.
17
Dear brothers and sisters, pattern
your lives after mine, and learn from
those who follow our example. 18For 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. 19 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. 20But we are citizens of
heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21He 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.
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.
PhiliPPians 4
listen to the Word
4
Listen to Philippians 3, and
reject the worldly lie that you
can’t be a Christian unless you
are good enough. Replace it
with the truth that your background and past actions do
not define you. God welcomes
you just as you are (see also
Isa 43:18-19; Acts 3:19-21;
2 Cor 5:17).
Words of Encouragement
Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche.
Please, because you belong to the Lord,
settle your disagreement. 3 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.
4
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it
again—rejoice! 5Let everyone see that you
are considerate in all you do. Remember,
the Lord is coming soon.*
6
Don’t worry about anything; instead,
pray about everything. Tell God what you
need, and thank him for all he has done.
7
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.
8
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. 9Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from
me—everything you heard from me and
2
3:9 Or through the faithfulness of Christ. 3:13 Some manuscripts read not yet achieved it. 4:1 Greek brothers; also in 4:8.
4:3 Or loyal Syzygus. 4:5 Greek the Lord is near.
true joy is found in Jesus
4:4-9
P R A Y • Father, thank you for the true joy I can find only in my relationship with you. Help me to
experience your love, joy, and peace today.
O B S E R V E • Paul encouraged the Philippians to always be full of joy, to be considerate, and
not to worry. Just as Paul wanted the Philippians to be filled with joy, Jesus expected the same
for his disciples (John 15:11; 16:24). Jesus promises that we will have abundant joy as we learn to
trust and depend fully on him. This is the same “joy” the wise men felt when they saw the star of
Bethlehem as they traveled in search of the promised King (Matt 2:10).
I N T E R P R E T • Joy is a response to Jesus and isn’t determined by our circumstances. True joy
cannot be faked. Christians can have joy in both good and bad times because we know Jesus and
experience his presence. When we find joy in our relationship with Christ, we experience his
inexplicable peace in all situations.
A P P LY • Grasp God’s love for
you: God loves you and cares
about your needs (Phil 4:6). Take
time right now to tell him what
you need and to thank him for all
he has done. • Embrace a life
of grace: As you pray, journal
your experience of God’s peace,
which exceeds anything we can
understand (4:7).
In response to God’s love, joy,
and peace, what other COURAGE
steps are you encouraged to take?
