Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Finally, brethren (Paul’s third and final closing), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on (ponder) these things. If we did, it would eliminate many of the bad things that people do and say. Instead of “sitting in the darkness“, we need to “light a candle” of the things he just mentioned. It is much easier to let our minds dwell on the bad things that are in the world, or the bad things that have happened to us. Evil thoughts begat more evil thoughts. They then begin to fill our words; and finally turn into actions. We then share all of these things with other people, and they “justify“ our dwelling on them. Father help us to keep our minds dwelling on all of the good things that are in You, and not on the bad things that are in the world.

  Good morning. So what happens when we’re not anxious and pray with thanksgiving to God? And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Jesus, just hours away from the cross, said “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.“ That is why you see some people in the midst of the storm not running around frantically – they have the peace of God that everything will work out the way He wants it to. That is why you can say it surpasses all comprehension. It doesn’t make sense. In fact, we think there’s something wrong with that person. And that peace will guard your hearts and your minds. When we concentrate on the problems and not on God, our solution, it greatly affects our hearts and our minds with the stress. My Bible says that the word “guard” is a military concept depicting a sentry standing guard. In the midst of the storm, we are confiden...

  Good morning. An admonition we all need at times: be anxious for nothing. But you don’t know my circumstances… It doesn’t matter, if we are standing firm in the Lord. When we are anxious, we’re taking all the responsibility for solving the problem upon ourselves. We think that the solution is up to us. OK smarty-pants, what should we do? In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Seriously, and that’s it? Notice that it says “with thanksgiving“. We are thanking God for the solution, even when we are in the midst of the dilemma. By the way, the Greek word for thanksgiving here is the one from which the word Eucharist is derived. Sadly our normal procedure is: we try to solve the problem in our own ability, and then scream “help!” to God when everything messes up. In the Old Testament, King Asa became severely diseased in his feet. “Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.“ It’s not that we should ...

  Good morning. And because of all that Paul just said: therefore in this way stand firm (like he talked about in the book of Ephesians) in the Lord, my beloved. If we believe all that Paul talked about the last few verses, we should fear nothing and no one. Nothing should shake us. And now the verse that was made into a song decades ago: “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice...” We get it Paul – rejoice! We rejoice, not because everything is going the way we want it to, but in the fact that no matter what happens, God is in charge. Let your gentle spirit (King James, moderation) be known to all men (sometimes it’s hard to be gentle when we are mistreated harshly). The Lord is near. Even though Paul said that 2000 years ago, the time is nearer than it was even yesterday. We should live every day as if Jesus could reappear any instant. Father help us to stand firm no matter what happens; to rejoice whether things are good or bad; letting our gentle spirit be known to ...

  Good morning. Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who will transform the body of our humble estate into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. There is our guarantee that this is not the end of everything. When our body dies, that is not the end. It ain’t over till it’s over. The body that we have now is subject to all types of frailties; but the one that we will receive when He returns will be eternal like His. How can He do that? We say that we believe that He has the power to subject all things to Himself. If so, would it not be a trivial matter for Him to change our decayed body into one like His glorious one? Father thank You that we have a hope that will one day be fulfilled - our bodies will be just like Jesus’!

Good morning. For many walk, of whom I often told you, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. Paul says that these people are enemies of the cross of Christ. They don’t want the cross because it shows exactly who they are. They want to proclaim a different standard for getting into the kingdom of God than believing on Jesus’ redemption of us by the Cross. The Cross says that they cannot behave any old way that they want. They were striving to live their lives on the earth to fulfill their desires. They were so earthly minded that they were no heavenly good. We, however, should live our lives as follows: our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are citizens of heaven, not the earth; so we should live our lives as such. Speaking of heaven, notice that it says “from which” we wait. This reminds ...

  Good morning, and merry Christmas! We are going to digress and look at the first Christmas. This was something that had been foretold centuries before; and yet people still did not understand what was going to happen. They were thinking that the Messiah was going to come as an adult and was going to re-establish the nation of Israel above all other nations. They were not expecting Him to come as a baby, supposedly born to a carpenter and placed in a manger. Many things had to happen at precisely the right time. You had to have the right person to be His mother and the right person to be His supposed father. You had to have a reason for them to be in Bethlehem on the night He was born – the census. It had to be when shepherds would be in the field near Bethlehem watching their flocks. And just at the right time – an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, “do ...

  Good morning. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect (Paul just said he was not perfect; so I assume he was being facetious towards those who were believing that they were perfect), have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. If we continually keep ourselves open to God, He will let us know when we have the wrong attitude. In the meantime – let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. God has a very high standard. If we strive to live by that standard, we will become exactly the kind of person He wants us to be. How do we know how to behave? Join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. We follow the examples of the leaders in the church (as long as they walk according to the Word of God - that’s why we need to know what the Word says). Father help us to have the right attitude and to live by the standard which You have taught us in Your Word.

  Good morning. Speaking of resurrection from the dead: not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. If one has become perfect, that one does not need to do anything else to improve himself or herself. The Christian life is one of continuously improving oneself - becoming more like Jesus. It’s like taking the limit as X approaches infinity. You never get there, but you get closer and closer forever. I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet (still approaching infinity, but not having reached it); but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Everyone needs a goal in life, and this is the one for the Christian. Father thank You that when we become Christians, we do not behave like we have arrived. We continue every day to become ...

  Good morning. And why does Paul count all things as loss? That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Paul is not saying that he wants to know about Jesus; rather he wants to know Him personally. We can read in the Bible and in books written about Him, but that does not mean that we know Jesus personally. The power of Jesus’ resurrection did not affect just Him; it also affects every believer. His resurrection brings power into our lives to live the Christian life. It also gives us the hope (hope is not just wishful thinking; it is confident assurance) of joining Him in our own resurrection one day. The part that we don’t want to participate in – the fellowship of His sufferings. And why does Paul want all of this? In order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul does not mean that he is trying to earn the right to be resurrected from the dead. As the next verse indicates - it’s just t...

  Good morning. Paul then says that he himself might have confidence even in the flesh - he then proceeds to expound upon his “religious” heritage. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. If we do things in our own abilities, they are worthless to God. I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. Paul was on top of the world and a zealot for Judaism. Who knows where he would have wound up had he not gotten knocked off his donkey? And  may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. Paul was trying to obtain righteousness through his persecution of the church, until he was on the road to Damascus. As the song says, “I couldn’t earn it, ...

  Good morning. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Paul, I’m glad you finally got around to saying what you meant – rejoice 😊 . To write the same things again (for the umpteenth time) is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. That is a true statement. I know that students need to hear the same things more than once for them to sink in. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; but we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Calling people dogs is pretty harsh; but it does give a true picture of certain people. Dogs were not as highly regarded as today. You get the picture of a pack of dogs yelping at you and nipping at your heels. That was what Paul faced from some people. The “false” circumcision was forced upon Gentiles converts to try to get them to conform to Judaism. They wanted them to worship according to the laws of Moses. The true circ...

  Good morning. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. Look how many times the words joy or rejoice are used in these two verses. A drink offering was one of the types of sacrifices to the Lord. In the book of Numbers, it was an offering of a strong drink that was poured out. However, once when he was being pursued by King Saul, David was thirsty for the water from the well in Bethlehem (where he was born and raised). One of his men risked his life to go get some for David. David was very touched by that effort; however, he felt that he could not drink it, but rather poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord. He “sacrificed“ something he greatly desired. Even in the midst of his struggles for the Philippians, Paul still rejoiced. Paul says that he sent Epaphroditus to them. Paul tells them to receive him i...

  Good morning.. Do all things without grumbling or disputing. Ouch! Mind your own business Paul. And why should we – so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. When we are working for His good pleasure, we should not be complaining about what we do. We should not be doing things that bring reproach upon the name of God. You may think that it is not fair, but it is true nonetheless - people judge us harshly when we name the name of Jesus. We are “the lights of the world“ when we hold up the word of God like the torch on the Statue of Liberty. Paul did not want all of his hard work among the Philippians to be in vain. He wanted them to be shining examples of what it means to be Christians. Father help u...

  Good morning. So then (in this case, it is like therefore - since Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross), my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Now it does not say work “for” (that is, to obtain) your salvation. When you get saved, you’re not supposed to just sit back and do nothing. We are to do what God wants in order to bring about His Kingdom on the earth. For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure. It is not you who does the work – it is God. That is why we cannot brag. We didn’t work to get our salvation, and we don’t work to keep it. He does it all. He even gives us the will to do it. Father help us to work out our salvation, bringing about Your kingdom on earth.

  Good morning. Because Jesus was obedient to the point of death on the cross: God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It is the Name above all other names. In the Bible, names meant something, and Jesus’ name (Jehovah saves) meant everything. That was His reward for being obedient to death on the cross. None of us would have been willing or able to go through everything that Jesus went through, even if we knew that this would be our reward. Sadly, billions of people will one day regret that they never accepted Jesus as Lord. Father thank You that every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and You will be glorified.

  Good morning. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. One of the theological errors about Jesus is that He was not man. This says that He was. It was no good, if He were just God. Of course, God could live a sinless life like Jesus did - but a man...? He had to be more than a man; otherwise, the sacrifice would not be sufficient to pay for “our” sins. In the garden, Jesus was conflicted. The human part of Him did not want to die on the cross. It was not only going to be horribly painful physically, but also His Father was going to turn His back on Jesus. He asked that the cup might be removed from Him, but since there was no other way, He obeyed His Father. Father thank You that Jesus was obedient to the point of death on the cross. Help us to emulate His behavior in our lives. Help us to keep that prominently in our minds during this special season of the year.

  Good morning. Where do we always find our best example (in this case of looking out for the interests of others)? Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Remember from John: Jesus, the Word, was in the beginning with God, and was God. The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because “You being a man, make Yourself out to be God”, since He called God His Father. Because He was looking out for our interests, He gave up all of that and came to earth as a man to die on the cross for our sins. Remember the song: “I owed a debt I could not pay; He paid a debt He did not owe“. Father thank You that Jesus did not look out merely for His own interests, but also for ours.

  Good morning. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Paul, mind your own business! (My Bible comments that this is the only way to maintain that unity that Paul just talked about.) If we are “others” centered instead of self-centered, we will be looking out for the best interest of the church, and ultimately of ourselves. A little clarity Paul: do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. That’s better. He doesn’t mean that we do not look out for ourselves at all – but that that is not the primary goal in order to maintain unity in the church. It is also the only way to maintain unity in the family. If we put ourselves first, instead of the others in the family, we will eventually have a divided family. Father help us to not just look out for ourselves, but also for the others in the church and in our family.

  Good morning. Therefore (why it is there … It has been granted not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake) if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion (which there is in the Holy Spirit), make my joy (again) complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Despite all of this suffering and conflict against the church, we should still be one; in fact that is how we will be victorious. In some countries, the church is stronger because of all of the hate and destruction that the people of the world inflict upon it. In the United States, many times the church folds like a lawn-chair when opposition comes against it. Father help the church in every location in the world to remain united in You. Continue to bless the reader and his/her family.

  Good morning. Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ ... in no way alarmed by your opponents (remember that Paul and Silas were thrown into prison when they first came to Philippi) which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God (He did come through for them). We should not change our “proper“ behavior simply because people of the world object to it, sometimes even violently. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (wow, thanks), experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. It’s like Tevyev says in Fiddler on the Roof, “I know we are Your chosen people; but once in a while, couldn’t You choose someone else?” Father thank You that no matter what opposition we encounter from people of the world, we can still behave in a manner that will glorify You.

  Good morning. Convinced of this (to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake), I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy (that word again) in the faith (and yet it does not sound like Paul is upset because he’s not going on to be with the Lord), so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. (because of this) Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent (your conduct should not matter whether I come or not - you shouldn’t behave properly simply because I might come and catch you doing something wrong), I will hear of you that you are standing firm (we just read in Ephesians about standing firm) in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Notice the “oneness“ at the end of this verse. It is through this unity and the love of God that the church will conquer. Father help us to behave p...

  Good morning. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. It makes it seem like Paul had a choice of whether to live or to die. Would any one of us choose to die? They probably would if things were going horribly wrong in their lives, but not if things were going along fine. But it wasn’t because he was in prison, that Paul was considering which to choose. He had been there before and had been beaten many times. Of course in the natural, one would get to the point where he or she could not keep on keeping on. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ (he said something similar in second Corinthians chapter 5), for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. We would say, “who cares?; I am out for what’s best for me”. Father while we are in the flesh, help us to live our lives so that others may come to know You. Continue t...

  Good morning. Paul repeats his statement: yes, and I will rejoice (a very common word in Philippians), for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers (that puts the onus on us 😊 to pray for those in desperation) and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (we have nothing without the Spirit), according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. Can we say that? And now another one of those oft repeated verses: for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. People say that all the time, but do they really mean it? We are all so caught up in the things of this world that others do not see Christ in us; and if we’re honest, we do not see dying as gain. Paul will explain next time what he meant by this statement. Father help us to live our lives so that others see Christ in us and not ourselves.

  Good morning. Continuing with the thought that the brethren had courage to speak the word of God without fear because of Paul’s imprisonment: some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will. That’s hard to believe, that anyone would be preaching Christ from envy and strife. We have, though, seen in other of Paul’s letters that “preachers” were envious of Paul. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. It’s hard to think of someone preaching the gospel out of selfish ambition, but remember in previous letters there were those who were trying to make financial gain out of preaching the gospel. Paul’s response: what then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Father continue to meet all of the read...

  Good morning. We are to be sincere and blameless, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. We don’t think of righteousness as being a fruit. Most of us, if we were in prison, would be moaning and groaning about our situation. What Paul says: my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well-known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment (if Paul can trust God in his situation, then we can trust Him in ours), have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. We never look at our circumstances that way. We only look at how they affect us, not as how God could use them to bring glory to His Name. Father help us to trust You in every situation, that it may bring glory to Your Name.

  Good morning. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. There is knowledge, and then there is “real“ knowledge. The world is big on knowledge. They feel like the more you know, the better you are. As Paul says elsewhere, “ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth“. People who have studied long and hard about “ religion ”, think that we are ignorant and don’t know the truth. And why are we to grow in real knowledge and all discernment? So that we can approve the things that are excellent. You cannot know which things are excellent and which are not without real knowledge and discernment. The end result of all of this is so that we can be sincere and blameless. It’s not so that we can be puffed up with all of our knowledge. And this is not just for a short time but – until the day of Chris...

  Good morning. Today we begin the book of Philippians. One thing that is different about the beginning of the book of Philippians: in most of his other letters, Paul begins by noting that he is an apostle called by Christ. He does not do that here; but he does say that it is from him and Timothy. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy (a very common theme in the book of Philippians) in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Salvation isn’t just a one time thing; it is also an ongoing process our entire lives. It won’t be “perfect“ until the day Jesus returns. Father thank You that You are continuing Your work in us until Jesus returns. Help us to allow You to continue changing us into His likeness

  Good morning. What do we do when we take up the sword of the Spirit? With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Once we are “worded up“, we can pray in the Spirit. Just like Jesus did, Paul tells us to be alert. Sometimes we can pray once, and we’re done. But there are many times that we have to persevere – that the breakthrough does not happen immediately. Paul also asked them to pray for him, but not that he become rich, rather that he may be bold to speak the gospel wherever he goes. We, like Paul, are ambassadors for Christ - though not in chains, like he was. We finally come to the end of Ephesians. Father help us to pray at...

  Good morning. The final piece of armor: and take the helmet of salvation. We have to protect the head because that is where the battle is in your Christian life. The devil uses deception, tricking us into thinking that things are different from reality. We have to be convinced of our salvation and what that means. Too many Christians do not know who they are and what their destiny is in Christ. The final thing that Paul talks about is not just defensive, but also offensive  - the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. You don’t have to wonder or debate about what the sword of the Spirit is - Paul tells you that it is the word of God. The Spirit has to have something to work with. He uses the word of God to defend the Christian and to attack the enemy. Even if you had your Bible with you 24/7, it would take time to look up the appropriate scripture. You have to “hide His word in your heart“. Now that we are all armored up, what do we do? We will see that next time. Fa...

  Good morning. Since we have done everything – stand firm therefore, (The following is why you can stand firm) having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I am sure that you have heard or read many good explanations of these pieces of armor; so I am not going to try to add to them. A couple of things should be obvious to us all: You must have every piece on your body or the enemy will find a way to attack you, and you cannot ever take them off. There are two more defensive pieces which sadly many Christians do take off frequently. The first: in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Depending on the time in history, the body armor was made of thick leather, not metal. If struck with an arrow, it might prevent the arrow from penetrating to the body, but if it were on fire, it coul...