ideal

I'm very sorry that my reply is a bit late. I do think that rejoicing in the Lord is an action. Our feelings is based on our situations; if things are going good, then we are happy; if things are going not so well then we feel sad or discourage. But when we rejoice, it doesn't matter what the situation is. We can be sad, but we are still rejoicing in our heart. Our attitude determines whether we are rejoicing or whether we are just feeling a certain way. That was the reason why Paul had to tell the Philippian church to 'Rejoice in the Lord Always'; even when things were not going their way. So even when things are not going our way, we ought to always have that possitive Christlike attitude. The only thing that can help us to keep this command of rejoicing always is to stay in God's word. Stay in communication with God through his word and prayer. Satan uses our circumstances to determine our feeling, but if we continue to remind ourselves of God's promises we will find it very easy to keep this command. The effect of rejoicing is a positive mind and a spirit of contentment.

I hadn't responded to the last question in my first response; how is the good the enemy of the best in our lives; but when i went back and look at it, it was as if a light bulb came on in my head . The good is the enemy of the best, because as long as we only aim for 'good' we will never reach our 'best'. Good is easy, its comfortable. Best on the other hand, takes a little more effort, a little more time and many of us aren't prepared to invest what it takes to reach our best. Good is the enemy because it encourages us to settle for mediocrity, which is not what God intended for his children.

I think Paul asked God to give the Philippian Christians discernment so that they will clearly be able to identify the Spirit of God working in their lives. Just as the Phillipian Christians, with the Spirit of discernment in our lives, we will not be easily swayed by false teachers or teachings, because we will have that Spirit to teach us how to identify the difference. Selfishness is not of God. Selfishness clouds discernment by causing us to focus only on ourselves. A discerning Spirit gives helps us to see others.