DebLam3teach

For the promise of our needs to be met as written in Philippians 4:19, we are to be living a life of giving. When we give to others as an act of worship, we slip into the rhythm of giving and receiving. God's economy does not lack. He wants to give us abundance, but He can only do that when we've jump started the process: by giving generously without greed and selfish motives. There is no limit to God's promise to meet our needs, although He may meet them in a totally different way than we expect. God has met my financial needs abundantly. He has faithfully supplied my emotional and social needs through the years, too.

The Philippians' financial gifts were credited to their heavenly account, meaning that God took notice of their generous deeds as they accumulated into a harvest of righteousness in His Kingdom. In God's economy, what we do here on earth is tied to spiritual principles and realities. Our generosity opens the floodgates of heaven for temporal and spiritual blessings. God makes sure our needs are met on the earth because our focus is on His purposes and not just on our own carnal interests and desires. Even in the most adverse conditions, God will take care of us abundantly with His presence and provision.

The basis of Paul's contentment was his relationship with Christ. Christ filled him up, even when His circumstances were not comfortable. Contentment in Christ undermines SELFISH ambitions, but it fuels the desire to serve Christ wherever He places us to serve. Contentment in Christ equips us to victoriously adapt and succeed in whatever circumstance God places us in. Our service becomes acts of worship.

A prosperity doctrine can threaten Christian ministry several ways. First, with it we can equate God's favor with our wealth, which is a superficial viewpoint compared to our spiritual wealth in Christ. Second, Christian ministry can be very strenuous and difficult, and sometimes God calls us to reach out to people in desperate situations. That means we may need to minister in situations where there is lack, or danger, or intense persecution. If we believe that we should always be prosperous in an earthly sense, we will avoid such ministry opportunities. This can greatly hinder the advance of the Gospel. Third, maintaining a prosperity doctrine can cloak greediness and selfishness in our lives as we feel it is our right to abundance. Heart check time! According to this passage in Philippinas, JESUS IS ENOUGH in any situation that God has placed us-whether in abundance or lack. God promises to supply our needs through Christ according to Philippians 4:19.

Mind control is not something weird or mystical, but it is training your mind to think about something that is positive and worthwile instead of fearful or distasteful. Thinking about praiseworthy things allows us to be open to God's peace and provision. This has been very practical teaching for me this week, as I have been tempted to think about things in an unpure or fearful way. Especially about a loved one and a friend. Remembering God's provision for a loved one in the past has helped me to focus my thoughts on God's faithfulness to her in the present. Training my mind to think about a friendship in a Christlike way maintains a healthy relationship with my friend. That is why staying in God's Word is so critical for a Christian. We need to think on thoughts that are based on God's Word, not just positive thinking or pop culture. As our mind goes, so does our walk with God, so we need to put effort in thinking godly thoughts.

Making our requests known to God causes us to talk to God about the issues that concern us. We remember how He has met our needs in the past, and we rest in His faithfulness. Prayer becomes a time of communion and fellowship with Him. Prayer becomes more than giving our wish list before the Lord. It is sharing our burdens with Christ and being open to Him for counsel and wisdom. It's more of a sharing time with Him, as He gives us His peace in exchange for our anxieties and turmoil.

When we include thanksgiving in our prayers, our requests change from being fueled by our self-centeredness and unbelief. We have an attitude of thanksgiving as we dwell on God's faithfulness and love for us. We remember His abilities, His power, and His love for us. We expect Him to answer our prayers in His wisdom and sovereignty again as He has done for us in the past.

Rejoicing in the Lord is a deliberate action on my part to take joy in my relationship with Christ. It is an attitude of the mind to see things God's way and to open myself up to his work in my life. This rejoicing deepens my relationship with my Lord, and increases my love for others. Joy overflows.

Remembering that my first allegiance is to the Kingdom of God is vital to being Christ's disciple because it gives purpose to my life here. Otherwise, my goals would be to reach for everything this life has to offer that is self-gratifying. With Heaven as my focus, I am reminded to reach for spiritual things-the things God has called me for in Christ Jesus. Nothing in this life is permanent. A church, a marriage, a friendship, a government....all can change overnight, bringing conflict to my devotion to Christ. When that happens, I must follow my allegiance to Christ first, and re-prioritize everything else.

Paul is asking the Philippian church to imitate him as he imitates and follows Christ. That is one of the best ways for a human being to learn: imitating a mentor who is going in the diretion that you want to go. However, we become too self-conscious about our actions, thinking we don't "measure up" to be an example for someone else. That realization is precisely what we need to keep humble. We repent, ask forgiveness and move on to keep following Christ. Others then see how this call to follow Christ is not about just outward behavior, but an inner passion to know and please the Lord. That is what God wants. It is a practical day to day experience, lived out for others to see. People who imiitate me are my children, students and fellow believers. Even neighbors.

When I was twelve years old, I felt called by God to follow Him and to know Him in an intimate way. He became my Closest Friend. Throughout the years, I have strayed, but spending consistent time with Him and His Word has always brought me back to my close relationship with Him. Maintaining habits of devotions and church attendance help me when I tend to stray. Each time I return, He calls me to a more surrendered life. The more I surrender, the more I experience His love and pleaure.

My past regrets, failures, hurts and even successes can cause me to look backwards instead of forwards. My life then becomes a response to how I have been treated or how I have acted. Instead, I need to look forward to follow Christ with all my being, to follow His will for my life and to know Him more intimately. Focus on the spiritual and eternal.

Knowing Christ is an intimate relationship. It requires faith. However, we ourselves determine how close and intimate we are with Him. God will not force Himself upon us. The more we want Him, the more we are to seek Him. I have a long way to go! I want to feel His presence, but my flesh wants to avoid anything unpleasant. I admire Paul's desire to experience Christ's sufferings as well as His resurrection power. I hope some day I can follow Christ as devotedly as Paul did. The Holy Spirit is still working on me!

Righteousness obtained through faith is a gift received from God by faith; it is not based on our behaviour or obervance of the law. It is easy in the church to just concentrate on our behaviour instead of our heart condition before the Lord. Society views Christians as people who are against things, and who can't do certain things like drink and dance. Instead, they should see us loving, authentic people. Justification by faith is difficult to understand, because by nature we want to prove we are good. We want to show we are worthy. That we are nice people. That we have our act together, and that we can make things better by our own efforts. In reality, we need God's help and redemption to keep us from destroying ourselves.

Paul was adamant about his reliance on Christ's righteousness to be acceptable to God. With his Jewish heritage and rabbitical training, he could have easily relied on those things to give credibility to his walk with God. Instead, he chose to follow Christ and His redemption instead. The things in my religious background that could be an impediment to my faith is: coming to Christ at an early age; early opportunites to minister the Gospel; going to a Christian college; homeschooling for eleven years. None of those things make me more spiritual than any one else.