Episodes

  • September 15th - Philippians 4:2–3

    September 15th - Philippians 4:2–3
    Sep 15 2024
    Philippians 4:2–3 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 account of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). The question is: what do we do when it happens? Here, Paul 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. It must have been fairly serious for Paul to go to the trouble of referring to it in his letter. He reminded the women that they belonged to the Lord. Belonging to the same family doesn’t mean 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’s guidance. Normally, in my experience, if there is a willingness to find a way through a disagreement, it can be found. Sometimes, however, the best that can be done is to agree to disagree. We agree to respect one another even though our views are so different and affirm our love and commitment to one another as family members. Sometimes no amount of conversation between the people who disagree resolves the situation. Paul clearly sensed that Euodia and Syntyche need some help and asked his “true partner” to offer assistance. This isn’t an easy role, but it is a vital one and it is important that every church can identify people who can act as peacemakers. This is a tough task and requires much love, grace and wisdom. There are times when even the most able peacemaker cannot resolve a situation and there needs to be an agreement to part company. This was Paul’s own experience when, after a difference of view with Barnabas, they decided to go off in different directions (Acts 15:36–41). At all costs what is vital is that disagreements are addressed and not allowed to rumble on for years, causing pain and yet further division. Question What have you found to be the best way of resolving disagreements? Prayer Lord God, help me to be a peacemaker today.
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    3 mins
  • September 14th - Philippians 3:17–18

    September 14th - Philippians 3:17–18
    Sep 14 2024
    Philippians 3:17–18 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! Declaring that some people were enemies of Christ seems very harsh, but he knew that it was essential for the Philippian Christians to know the difference between those who were true followers of Christ and those who were fighting against him. Paul said 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 in Philippi, 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 prison so he invited them to pattern their lives on those who had followed his example. This all begs the question of where Paul got his example from and in 1 Corinthians 11:1 he explains that his life was based on following Christ. My Christian life has been massively affected by the example that has been set for me by Christians that I have known. I was given the example of carefulness from Peter, gentleness from Frank, graciousness from Victor, faithfulness from David, cheerfulness from Fred, courage from Tim and so on. I wonder who has inspired you? I encourage you to keep actively remembering and thanking God for their example. But this works in the other direction as well. People are looking at you and me, whether we like it or not. We are also setting an example of what it means to follow Jesus and we need to make sure that it’s a good one. Question Whose Christian example has been particularly important to you? Prayer Thank you, Lord, for the people who have shown me what it means to follow you. Help me to set a good example for others. Amen
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    3 mins
  • September 13th - Philippians 3:12

    September 13th - Philippians 3:12
    Sep 13 2024
    Philippians 3:12 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 of 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. 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 acknowledged that he had 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 accepts us just the way we are, but he loves us so much that he doesn’t want us to stay as we are. He longs that we should change and take steps forward towards perfection. “Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time,” commented Voltaire, the French philosopher. I find that a helpful observation, but he missed out the vital factor of Christian faith. By ourselves we will never make much progress. But when we commit ourselves to Christ we discover that, as Paul says, the very reason that he took hold of our lives was to make us perfect. And that’s the reason why Paul was so determined to put all his energies into making progress. Like a runner who is always checking their times to ensure that they are making good progress, so too Paul was focusing on becoming everything that Christ wanted him to be. That’s our challenge today. We aren’t perfect but we must strive each day, in the strength that God gives us, to become more fully the people Christ want us to be. Question What progress are you making towards perfection? Prayer Lord God, thank you that you lovingly accept me just the way I am, but that you love me so much that you want me to change each day. Amen
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    3 mins
  • September 12th - Philippians 3:8–9

    September 12th - Philippians 3:8–9
    Sep 12 2024
    Philippians 3:8–9 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 today. 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 was running through this exercise for himself. His detractors said that what mattered most was obeying the Jewish law and his answer was 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 himself, “a real Hebrew if ever there was one” (v5)! He was also trained as a Pharisee and was so committed to his Jewish faith that he was happy to persecute the Church. But all of that was, for him, just a pile of garbage alongside the blessing of knowing Jesus. What matters most to you? Is it your family, nationality, education, house, car, job, financial security – or is it Jesus? The point is not that our family, education and possessions are insignificant or unimportant. They are all part of God’s gift to us so we should treasure them and continually thank God for them. However, when put alongside the blessing of knowing Jesus all those other things are temporary and relatively unimportant. There’s nothing more vital than to sort out the priorities in our lives because all our decisions will flow from that. The way we use our time, money and talents will all be determined by that fundamental decision. Paul would say to us today that we can never make a better decision than to give Jesus that pre-eminent place in our lives. Question What matters most to you? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for the incredible blessing of knowing you. Forgive me for those times when I have allowed other things to get in the way. Amen
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    3 mins
  • September 11th - Philippians 3:1–2

    September 11th - Philippians 3:1–2
    Sep 11 2024
    Philippians 3:1–2 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 comes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and that circumcision was definitely not necessary, let alone essential. Paul’s joyfulness was so irrepressible that he was keen to encourage everyone else to be joyful as well! In the next chapter he commands: “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Paul clearly wasn’t saying that everything is always going to go well. Indeed, Jesus frequently pointed out how tough it would be for those who decided to follow him (see, for example, John 16:33). But, through it all, it is miraculously possible to be joyful because the joy comes from our relationship with the Lord and not from our circumstances which, if they were the focus, would often and rightly make us downright miserable. Joy is one of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit, which develops in us gradually and unself-consciously as we get closer to God. Question What would it look like if you were always joyful? Prayer Loving God, thank you for the gift of joy, which you put in the hearts of everyone who loves you. Amen
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    3 mins
  • September 10th - Philippians 2:22–23

    September 10th - Philippians 2:22–23
    Sep 10 2024
    Philippians 2:22–23 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 at Lystra in Galatia (now part of Turkey) Timothy 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 whom he referred to as his dear son. In Philippians, Paul stated that he had no one else like him. Everyone else looked after their own interests, but not Timothy. He 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 support. Paul’s future was entirely uncertain and his many references to death suggest that he wasn’t at all confident that he would get out alive. Paul had to rely on those who would continue his missionary work and in Timothy he had someone who had proved himself, and who would to take the work forward. Our lives are very different from Paul’s, but we also need we can completely rely on. Thank God for the blessing of good friends who share our convictions and our burdens, and who are willing to walk with us whatever happens. There is a wonderful verse in Proverbs that says that “a real friend sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). What a gift! Questions Who are you able to rely upon and how do you look after your relationship with them? Who relies on you? Prayer Lord God, thank you for the gift of friends. Help me never to take them for granted but always to be loyal in my love and support for them. Amen
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    3 mins
  • September 9th - Philippians 2:14–15

    September 9th - Philippians 2:14–15
    Sep 9 2024
    Philippians 2:14–15 Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticise you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. We probably all complain from time to time, 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 was 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. Paul challenged his readers to live in such a way that they couldn’t be criticised, because that could only damage their Christian witness. He had no illusions about how hard this would be. His description of the world being full of crooked and perverse people was clearly based on his own personal experiences. He knew how tough life in the world was, and he could see that if the Philippian Christians lived out their faith in the way that he had described they would stand out from the people around them. No doubt they were often tempted to withdraw from the world, but Paul insisted that their calling was to be in it. If you have been to Christian conferences or holidays you may well have had the feeling, as I have often had, that it would be wonderful to have stayed there enjoying the worship and fellowship. It can be very hard to get back into normal life after those precious times. But the fact is, God has not called us to cut ourselves off from the world. He uses such special times to build us up so that we can live our lives in the midst of people who think and act very differently from us. Tough as it may be, we need to play a full part in the life of our communities praying that, miraculously, we might be able to shine the light of Christ in our dark world. Question In what way are you able to shine for Christ in your daily life? Prayer Lord, forgive me for those times when I am prone to complain and argue. Fill me with your Spirit today so that I will be able to shine for you however tough life might be. Amen
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    3 mins
  • September 8th - Philippians 2:12–13

    September 8th - Philippians 2:12–13
    Sep 8 2024
    Philippians 2:12–13 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. Getting married is just the start of the journey. 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 tempting to speak of the Christian life in the same way. But it would be a lie. I have not the slightest doubt that living for Christ is the most wonderful and fulfilling life that exists here on earth. But nowhere does Paul ever suggest that following Christ requires no effort, pain or hard work. I fully recognise that hard work doesn’t sound very attractive, but we should never fear it. Jesus once invited his followers to take on his yoke, explaining “my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:30). A yoke is simply a wooden beam normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs. Jesus didn’t deny that his followers would have burdens to bear, but he made the incredible promise that as they took his yoke they would “find rest” for their souls (Matthew 11:29). I know exactly what Jesus means. Over the years I have seen many people working incredibly hard for God in this country and around the world and it has been beautiful to see their peace and contentment because they have done their work yoked to Jesus. Question What is the hard work that God is calling you to do? Prayer Thank you, Lord Jesus, that as we accept your yoke we find perfect rest. Amen
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    3 mins