Please read Philippians 2.
Meditate on verse 3.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind
regard one another as more
important than yourselves.
Paul lived
in a world ruled by Rome. The Roman empire was characterized by wealth, luxury,
and lack of virtue and decency. Paul described the generation he lived in as
“crooked and perverse” (Philippians 2:15).
You live in
a world that could be described the same way: crooked, perverse, lacking virtue
and decency, a world where attaining luxury and wealth is the goal of many.
Paul’s exhortation to the Christians at Philippi is God’s exhortation to you:
“Hold fast the Word of Life” (Philippians 2:16).
Hold fast to
God’s Word. Filter everything you read and hear through the Truth, the Bible.
Even seemingly good ideas are not necessarily God’s ideas. For example, for
decades people have been concerned about their self-esteem. Everyone should
have a good self-esteem, right?
Interestingly,
there is only one place in the Bible where self and esteem are used in the same
verse, Philippians 2:3. The King James translation says it this way, “Let each
esteem others better than themselves.” Immediately following that command,
Jesus Christ is given as the example of how He esteemed you better than Himself
and died for you.
Do you
esteem yourself or do you esteem others? Caring about the needs of others will
fix “self-esteem” issues you may have.
Know God’s
Word and do not be taken captive by the wisdom of the world.
Pray
Philippians 2:13-16 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a
faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).
“God, you
are at work in ___________ and me,
both to
will and to work for Your good pleasure.
Help us
to do all things without grumbling and disputing,
so we
will prove ourselves to be blameless and innocent.
May we be
Your children who are above reproach
in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
Let us
appear as lights in the world, holding fast the Word of Life,
so that in Your day, Christ, we will have
reason to glory
because we did not run or toil in vain.
For the
sake of Your name, Jesus~”
The WATCHMAN
on the WALL ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell
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