Philippians

Of all the books in the Bible, I've probably read Philippians the most. For that reason, I keep coming back to a couple of the same passages every time. Namely, "Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves" (2:3) and "Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise" (4:8). I figure that if people could actually accomplish what is stated in these two sentences, the world would be a better place.

And reading it again this morning was no different. Except I see a couple of other themes. More than once, Paul tells the Philippian church that they have seen his example, and they should just follow it. That's a lot of confidence, and he also shared that with the Corinthian church.

All of Paul's thoughts and instruction centers around Christ. He talks about his own life journey and lessons from it, as well as cautioning against those who are bragging and misrepresenting Christ. Paul says that we should brag about one thing and one thing only - Christ himself and what he has done for and in us.

But back to the two sentences that I generally perseverate on --- I rarely live up to their standards. But I noticed another sentence that I had not noticed before - "God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him" (2:13). That's good to know. He's given me the standard, and he's given me a means. Himself.