Be Still And Know

Philippians 4.11-13 NLT 'I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.' Advertising is a major influence in the modern world. Its deliberate intention is to stir up discontent. We are continually urged to buy newer, trendier, brighter, faster and more efficient products. Being consistently pounded with these messages it can be difficult to live contentedly but that must surely be the most desirable life of all. To live with contentment is to live a life without strain and stress because things are fine the way they are and don’t need to change. Epicurus, the Greek philosopher, said, “He who doesn’t find a little enough, will find nothing enough.” There is wisdom in this quotation but Paul wouldn’t have agreed with it. His contentment didn’t flow from a p

Philippians 4.8 NLT 'And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.' Never in history have those words been more important than right now. When Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 no-one could have foreseen the way in which it would completely transform the way in which we access information. Our mobile phones are the gateway to a world of information and that has incalculable benefits. But the downside is undeniable. It has never been easier to view destructive and depraved information which is able to ruin lives. In such a situation we desperately need to hear Paul’s words. We need to become fixated on those things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Paul lived in the real world. He wasn’t inviting the Philippian Christians to hide away from their society. Being a prisoner Paul, of all people, knew about the dark sid

Philippians 4.6-7 NLT 'Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 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.' The most unhelpful thing you can say to a person who is worrying is, “Don’t worry”. I am sure it is often meant in a kindly way, but it actually increases the problems of the person who’s worrying. Not only have they got all their worries but now they need to feel guilty about it as well. Paul doesn’t fall into the trap of giving useless advice because he shows us the way out. He tells the Philippians that there is no need to worry because they can pray about everything. If you place your concerns in God’s hands then you can look to the future with confidence and thanksgiving. Jesus also recognised that worrying was a significant issue for his followers. He pointed out that it was a waste of time. He asked the quest

Philippians 4.2-3 NLT 'Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News.' There’s nothing new about people falling out with one another! It has been a feature of life from the very beginning as we learn from the story of Cain and Abel. The question is, “what do we do when it happens?” and Paul here offers some helpful advice. The first step is for those who disagree to seek to resolve their differences. We have no idea what the women disagreed about. Presumably it must have been fairly serious for Paul to go to the trouble of making mention of it in his letter. He reminds the women that they belonged to the Lord and that is a crucially important fact. Belonging to the same family doesn’t meant that disagreements won’t occur but it does mean that we are not alone in seeking to resolve the situation. We can pray together and seek God’

Philippians 3.17-18 NLT 'Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For 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.' Paul doesn’t pull his punches does he? He tells it like it is! He declares that some people are enemies of Christ. This is very harsh language but he knows that it is essential for the Philippian Christians to know the difference between those who were true followers of Christ and those who were fighting against Him. What they needed was a clear example of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus, and Paul says that he himself was the person they should be following. I don’t interpret this as arrogance but as a matter of necessity. The Christians, most of whom would have been very young in their faith, needed to have a clear example of what it meant to live for Christ in everyday life. As Paul wrote this, he was in pri

Philippians 3.12 NLT '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.' Perfection is a word that makes most of us shudder because we are so well aware that we fall very far short it. But the danger with that kind of response is that we give up even trying. We accept, reluctantly, that we are the people that we are, and everybody else has just got to get used to it. We come up with endless excuses to explain why we are the people we are today. I’ve heard people say that they have a bad temper because that’s exactly how their father used to be. Or they blame their impatience on their bad back. Paul fully acknowledges that he has got a long way to go on the road to perfection, but he was determined to travel further on that journey and not to excuse his shortcomings. Wonderfully God does accept us just the way we are, but he loves us so much that he is determined t

Philippians 3.8 – 9 NLT 'Yes, everything else is worthless when compared 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 and become one with him.' Oscar Wilde once defined a cynic as the person “who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”. His observation well describes our cynical society which is desperately interested in the price of things but can often overlook what is truly valuable. It often takes a serious illness or an accident for people to start looking hard at what is most valuable in life. Here the apostle Paul runs through this exercise for himself. His detractors said that what mattered most was obeying the Jewish law and his answer is that if they wanted to play that game then he was the runaway winner. He was circumcised on the eighth day of his life as every little Jewish boy should be. He came from the favoured tribe of Benjamin so he was, as he described himse

Philippians 3.1-2 NLT 'Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.' There is something incredibly impressive about people who are joyful when everything is going wrong. Paul’s list of problems was a long one. He had the indignity and discomfort of being in prison not knowing whether he would ever be let out. Many of his fellow workers had let him down and he was continually up against fierce opposition. The sharpness of the conflict is very clear in these words as he describes his opponents as dogs. Their insistence that male converts to Christianity should be circumcised was, for Paul, a denial of the message that he was proclaiming. He was convinced that salvation was by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and that circumcision was definitely not the way. Paul’s joyfulness is so irrepres

Philippians 2.22-23 NLT 'But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.' Timothy was clearly very important to Paul. Born in Lystra in Galatia (now part of Turkey) he had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. Paul met him on his second missionary journey and he was a regular companion from then onwards. The letter to the Philippians was one of six letters in which Timothy was named as the co-author with Paul, and the apostle also wrote two deeply personal and moving letters specifically to Timothy who he refers to as his dear son. Here in Philippians, Paul says that he has no one else like him. Everyone else looked after their own interests, but not Timothy, who could be relied upon as a man of faith and someone who genuinely cared. As Paul languished in prison it must have been wonderful for him to know that he had Timothy’s continual suppo

Philippians 2.14-15 NLT 'Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.' Complaining has always been a part of life. Sometimes we need to complain but as a way of life it can be very destructive. It has been wisely said that complaining doesn’t solve problems, it only attracts them. Complaints were clearly a feature of the church in Philippi and Paul is eager that they should stop. His comments remind us of the people of Israel during their 40 years in the wilderness. Even though they had observed God miraculously leading them out of slavery in Egypt it wasn’t long before the complaints began. Complaining and arguing are destructive in every way. Paul challenged his readers to live in such a way that they couldn’t be criticised, because that could only damage their Christian witness. Paul had no illusions about hard this would be. His description of th

Philippians 2.12-13 NLT 'Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.' If you have given your life to Christ, confessed your sins and received his forgiveness then you have the gift of salvation. This is the amazing Good News that Paul was so desperate to share. But he was equally concerned that his readers should understand that they now had work to do. The situation is much the same as in marriage. Having a wedding and receiving the gift of marriage is just the start of the journey. You now have work to do. Lots of it! Advertising always reveals a great deal about a society. These days we often hear products being promoted because they will offer us a quick and effortless route to making life easier, smoother, happier and more fulfilled. It’s very t

Philippians 2.5-7 NLT 'You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.' These amazing words form the beginning of what many people consider to be a First Century hymn. They beautifully express the fundamental truth that God’s desire is to turn our thinking upside down! Our natural inclination is to seek power, prestige and recognition but Jesus came to this earth and did precisely the opposite. And that, says Paul, is the attitude that the Philippians needed to have towards one another in the church. He wants to see them ditch all traces of arrogance and to consider others better than themselves. It’s all very challenging. The humility of Jesus is truly astonishing. He, above everyone else, was entitled to have power and influence and to enjoy a life of ease and comfort but he gladly accepted the opposite.

Philippians 2.1-2 NLT 'Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.' One of the biggest problems with unity is that it looks so easy. If you listen to a fine orchestra playing harmoniously or a watch Premier Football team playing with skill and precision, it all looks so very straightforward. Surely anyone could do it! But I then recall the hours that I spent in our school orchestra and those regular Saturday afternoons when I played football, and I can assure you that unity is the result of incredibly hard work. Paul was equally clear about this. He knew that the Philippian Christians had received the gift of unity in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. But they still needed to work incredibly hard to ensure that their lives reflected the unit

Philippians 1.29-30 NLT 'For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.' We don’t know the exact nature of the problems in the Philippian church. It had been planted in a hostile environment and was led by new Christians who were probably still trying to get their heads around Christian doctrine and practice. I often hear people say that it would be good if we could get back to being like the early church, but I’m not so sure. The early church may have had the blessing of newness and enthusiasm, but they battled with many critical problems that we would never have to face, and we have huge resources of Christian experience and literature to draw upon. Paul offered the Philippian church the huge encouragement that they were not alone. They were in this struggle together. Paul knew exactly what they were going through and

Philippians 1.27 NLT 'Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.' The residents of Philippi were very proud of their city which was a Roman Colony. They had been rewarded by the Emperor Octavian after his defeat of Antony and Cleopatra. The city was in Macedonia and is now part of northern Greece, but the Philippians enjoyed all the same privileges as if they were living in Italy. Citizenship was a big issue for them and they were delighted to enjoy the legal and tax advantages which came with their status. But Paul tells them that far more significant than this was the fact that they were citizens of heaven. Being a Philippian was a temporary arrangement unlike their eternal citizenship of heaven. Paul was not saying that it was unimportant that they were Roman citizens. He had much to say about the importance of Christians living as responsible members of their community. In his letter to the church in Rome, at the heart of

Philippians 1.21-24 NLT 'For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.' During the two years that I lived in India a number of people in our community died and I deeply appreciated the way in which their deaths were handled. Soon after the person passed away their body was prepared and laid out on a bed in the middle of the main room of the house. Visitors would then come and pay their respects, light candles around the body, and say prayers. This would continue until the body was taken in an open coffin to church for the funeral service. All so very different from the way in which our society handles death. When I returned to this country I deeply regretted the way in which we seems to be kept well away from death. In our verses today P

Philippians 1.15 and 18 NLT 'It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives... Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.' From time to time we probably all think how nice it would be to live in a dream world where everyone agreed with everyone else. We could then get on with living our Christian lives with the confidence that what other people said was a mirror image of our own thoughts. But now we must leave our dream world and enter the one in which we actually live! In our world people disagree on almost every subject and Christian faith attracts the complete spectrum of reactions. There are people who love every word we speak, and others who hate it with a passion. And, as Paul observed, people speak in a whole variety of ways. Some are loving and gracious, others are bitter and divisive. It’s all very confusing but Paul draws a str

Philippians 1.12-13 NLT 'And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.' My chief memory of prison visits is the keys and the slamming of doors and I am sure that would have been just the same in Paul’s day. The lack of liberty must be terrible, and we have every reason to think that Paul’s years of incarceration would have been a degrading experience. But Paul has no time for moaning! He reflects that his time in prison has actually enabled the Good News of Jesus to be spread. Even the palace guard recognised that he was in prison because of his faith in Christ. Paul’s various times in prison must have been desperately hard to bear, but he focuses on the fact that God has still been able to use him to spread the Good News. This reminds me of Joseph’s experience in the Old Testament. His brothers hated him so much that the

Philippians 1.9-11 NLT 'I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.' I’m sure that we are all members of lots of organisations. It may be the National Trust, a car breakdown service, a political party or a sports club. If I asked you whether your relationship with those organisations was growing you would probably think that was a very odd question. You would probably just think of yourself as being in or out – a member or not a member. The idea of having a developing relationship with the organisations wouldn’t seem relevant. The problem with the church is that many people look at it in exactly the same way. They are members of the church but would never think of it as a relationship that changed, or needed to change. Throughout Paul’s writing he sees his relationship with Christ as being something th

Philippians 1.6 NLT 'I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.' I love the confidence with which Paul writes about the future. When you hear most people talking about the future they are often hesitant and anxious. I’m sure, like me, you have often heard people saying, “Things just keep going from bad to worse,” or “What a terrible world to be brought up in.” Paul is so different. He looks at the Philippians’ future from God’s perspective and is sure that he won’t let them down. He will complete what he has begun. Isn’t it wonderful to know that our future is absolutely secure in God’s hands? But that knowledge shouldn’t cause us to become complacent. Paul certainly wasn’t! In chapter three of this letter he talks about straining forward like an athlete (chapter 3.13) so that he could get to know the Lord better. One of the most valuable ways of getting to know God better is through reading the Bible