11 September 2008

Philippians 4:1-4
1 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.

2 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!

I wonder how many times I have seen where Christian’s have lost their witness because they have a disagreement with someone. The irony is they have a disagreement with someone who is a Christian just like them. The witness that they might have had has been destroyed. As I read today’s scripture I am convicted to watch my tongue and my attitude. Sometimes I find it is so easy to not like what I am doing. Instead it would be easier to focus on the negative things and allow those things to steal my joy. Verse 4 just sums it all up. I must be joyful. I don’t think that this joy is something that is supposed to be fake. We are to have joy in the Lord always. You see when you are a believer you will have joy. Jesus brings that joy. Although Satan would want us to be down trodden and sad, Christ brings a joy that is more far reaching. We must remember that we are just passing through on this journey. Soon, we will be in the presence of our Lord. That is something to be joyful about.

Just remember that the world wants to make us lose focus. They want us to get caught up in everything that is happening around us and to forget that we are foreigners here. Someday soon we will be going Home and what a day of rejoicing that will be. Rejoice! I Say Again, Rejoice!