Sunday 7 Jul 2013

Sunday Reading: Philippians 2:12-13

Key Verse: Philippians 2:12
12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Devotion:
Have you ever asked someone to do something? Of course we have! The good part is when the people we ask actually do what we ask. And even better is when we ask them to do something and then leave them alone and they continue to do what we have asked even though we are no longer around… How I wish sometimes that that would be the case all the time – but then I would have to sort myself out because there are probably many things in my life that I have forgotten to do as well!

When we learn how to do things from others we try to continue doing what we have learned, especially if we do know that it is right and rewarding. When we do get it right then the people around us are happy that we have done what is right, especially if they are the ones who have taught us or have supported us in trying to get it right. God has tried to teach us righteousness from the beginning and He continues to support His ways so that we will know that His ways are righteous. When we do end up doing what He has asked of us we begin to realise that He is happy with what we do for Him. What we may not realise is that we are giving Him the glory because others see that we are obeying Him!

I can imagine how Paul must have felt knowing that the church people at Philippi were continuing to obey God’s commandments and to give God the glory by showing others that they were willing to obey God’s teaching. There is no greater way for us to give God the glory than to obey His Word from beginning to end. Yes it is going to be hard because it is much easier to give in to the temptations around us rather than stick with the righteous ways because they are often harder to keep.

There is no way that Jesus led an easy life. He had to work hard and had to face many difficult times whilst He walked amongst the Jews. He faced up to the Scribes and Pharisees rather than giving in to them like the rest of the Jews. He had to face up to their mocking and abuse as He gave us the truth instead of retelling the lies that they were giving out to the people. God is Just and we need to aim to be just as well. That will make our Lord much happier than sticking to man’s rules…

Points to Ponder:
Whose rules do you follow?

Are you following Christ’s example?