Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus - my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need; for he has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honor such people, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me.
DEVOTION
Today I want to encourage all of us to take a moment to thank God for our Christian friends! A Christian friend is a person who knows and loves the Lord and is willing to be a friend in good times and bad.
When you have a friend, sent by the Lord, you have a friend indeed! This person will not abandon you when times get tough. They aren't afraid of you when you are not at your best and they know how to get a prayer through when you really need it!
A Christian friend will encourage you along the way, speak truth to you when you need it most, rebuke you when necessary, and love you at all times.
I have a couple of friends like this and I am so grateful for them every day! More than that, I strive to be a friend like this to others.
Honestly, we all do our best to love our friends well...But, let us never forget that it is JESUS who is a friend who will stick closer than any brother. It is JESUS who loves us so much that he lived, died, and lives again in order to make atonement for our sin and gift us with eternal life. And it is JESUS who even now intercedes for us at the right hand of God.
If you're looking for a best friend forever, may I recommend Jesus? He will never let you down!
Let's pray: Dear God, thank you for Jesus who is my best friend. Please teach me to be a friend by following His example. I love you and I want others to love you too. Please help me to share our friendship with others. In Jesus Name, Amen.
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy's worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.
DEVOTION
Today I am reminded of the important ministry of bringing good cheer to those in need of it.
People always tell me that I am ridiculously joyful and that my smile is contagious! I am honored that this is so because I feel like I have a spiritual obligation to bring Jesus' joy to everyone I meet!
As Christians, we've got a really big reason to smile. His name is JESUS!
Unlike people who do not have a relationship with Him and thus pursue only their own interests, we pursue the interests of our brother, savior, and Lord in all things.
It is Jesus' interest to see the whole world filled up with love, joy, peace and goodwill. When these interests are permanently established throughout the earth, God will have ushered in the Reign of God!
In the meantime, we experience these gifts of Spirit for moments of time and in changing places. Each time we feel the joy of the Holy Spirit, we are given the opportunity to share it with another!
Jesus lived, died, and then rose again to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life. Now, that's a reason to smile! :-)
Won't you pray with me?
Holy God, thank you for being my reason to smile! Please forgive me for all of those days that I have failed to share your joy with others. Please fill me up with the Holy Spirit so that I will bare your love, joy, and peace everywhere that I go! In Jesus' Name, Amen.
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaL
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you - and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.
DEVOTION
Today’s GOOD NEWS continues the theme that as Christians, we are called to “hold fast to the word of life.” What is this word of life; it is the GOSPEL (also known as the GOOD NEWS).
The GOOD NEWS message is simple, “God loves, God gave, God saves.” God loves the world. God gave The Son (Jesus) to die on the cross for our sins. God saves us when we put all of our faith and hope of salvation in Jesus.
Paul says we should, “shine like stars in the world.”
I want to be a star for Jesus! I want the light of Jesus Christ to shine through my life and my actions bringing light and love wherever it is needed.
Yesterday we said, “they will know we are Christians by our love.” As we experience the love of God revealed through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we share that love with others. We don’t love people because we have to; we love people because we want to!
Paul said, “Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent children of God…” Come on! Let’s tell on ourselves…Don’t we sometimes murmur and complain in our churches? Don’t we sometimes fuss and fight? Don’t we sometimes fall out and break fellowship? Of course we do, for we are human and besought with the sin-sickness that afflicts all of humanity.
But, there ought to be something different about how Christians handle conflict. We ought to be able to disagree, without being disagreeable. We ought to be able to honor each other’s right to have an opinion that differs from our own. We ought to be able to deliberate about complex issues and still love one another when we are done!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again--The world is watching us!
Our Non-Christian friends want to see if we are any different than they are. They want to see if our lives are richer, fuller, more joyful, or more complete. They want to know if they are missing anything; or if we are just offering more of the same—simply packaged differently.
Let us shine like stars in the darkness! Let us hold fast to the Word of Life. Let us share the GOOD NEWS boldly and courageously knowing that our labors will not be in vain!
I love Mahalia Jackson’s song, “If I Can Help Somebody.” The words are,
If I can help somebody as I travel along, if I can help somebody in a word or song, if I can help somebody from doing wrong, Lord, my living shall not be in vain.
No! My living shall not be in vain! No, my living shall not be in vain! If I can help somebody
while I'm singing this song, you know, my living shall not be in vain.
Who can you help today?
My Lord God, how I want to help somebody! Thank you for your love and for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. I want to shine like a star in the dark, sharing Your love, joy, and peace with everyone I meet. I know that nothing that I do in Your Name, will ever be in vain! I also remember that, “Only what I do for Christ, will last!” Thank you for allowing me to be Your partner in the work of loving the whole world to Christ! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus" found at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html
We are celebrating with the 8 people who have recently put all their hope in Jesus! Happy Re-birthday!
You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda
Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews
You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.
EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right! Thanks for reading and please come again.
Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.
From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/
Philippians 2:1-11 (NRSV) Paul's plea for Christ-like humility
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
DEVOTION
Come on Somebody! Can Paul get an, “Amen,” or what? Today’s scripture will certainly preach!
I love the gentle advice that Paul gives about how we are to interact with each other in this world. He says in essence, that we are to live humble lives caring first and foremost for the needs of others.
Now, I know that advice is totally counter-cultural. After all, we’re taught to look out for Number 1, finders keepers, lose their sweepers, and don’t worry about stepping on the little guy on the way to the top--a real leader has no friends anyway!
YUCK! Who wants to live in that kind of society? Look at what we have reaped from the seeds of greed, selfishness, and pettiness. When we care only about ourselves, we create a climate where everyone else feels that they have to do the same. We say things like, “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness…I’m nobody’s punk!” Doesn’t this sound just horrible? What terrible bad news!
But, here in Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi we are given GOOD NEWS. Paul says, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.”
What humility! If anyone had a right to brag, it was Jesus. If anyone had a right to demand special attention, it was Jesus. If anyone had a right to ask people to serve him night and day, it was Jesus!
Yet, JESUS did none of that. Instead, he humbled himself to the cross where he died to take away the sin of the whole world. What Amazing and Extravagant Love!
Jesus’ actions teach us that love is always humble. When we become Christians, we are invited to take on the mind and heart of Christ. God is love; therefore our actions must be loving. We must submit our natural inclination to greed and selfishness and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, enabling and equipping us to supernaturally sow the seeds of love, humility, and service.
How else will we win the world for Christ? Non-Christians are looking to experience the heart of GOD in our words and in our deeds. Please know that our non-Christians friends are taking note of how we treat them--and how we treat each other--within the Body of Christ. I have heard it said that the actions of a Christian are The Bible that many Non-Christians may never read.
What are your non-Christian friends reading in your life? If you’re not sure, it’s time to “turn a page!” As you pray for divine revelation, Spirit will point out those relationships where you can do more to share the love of Jesus with others!
Finally, let me close with a very exciting promise found in Scripture. Today’s GOOD NEWS says that there will come a day when, “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord!”
Now, ain’ta that GOOD NEWS?!
What areas of your life could use a healthy dose of humility today?
Loving God, thank you for the humility that you displayed when you chose to willingly die for me. I know that you did not do anything to deserve such terrible treatment. Help me to live out my gratitude to you in humble service to those whom you love. I want to be like Jesus and I want to share your love. Please help me to be faithful. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus" found at http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html
We are celebrating with all of the people who have recently put all their hope in Jesus! Happy Re-birthday!
You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda
Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews
You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.
EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right! Thanks for reading and please come again.
Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.
From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/
