Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 4:21-23.

 

“²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.  The brethren who are with me greet you.

 

²² All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

                                

²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  Philippians 4:21-23.

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Today’s Scripture contains the exhortation to greet.  It also provides an example of a greeting which contains grace:  “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  Verse 23.

Too often, we do not sufficiently appreciate our duty to greet and do not consider the best content of our greeting.  As a side note, we also do not sufficiently appreciate the benediction in a worship service either.  Unfortunately, too often, both the greeting and the benediction seem to us like unimportant bookends of a worship service. 

But, there is hope!

We can consider the best place to greet.  In order to do our best to greet “every saint in Christ Jesus”, it seems as if it would be best to get to church early and greet other members and persons in attendance.  But, whether we greet before or after the worship service, or both times, we are likely to greet the most saints at church.

But, too often, we scramble to get to church, and we feel successful if we just get there before the organ prelude.  If we do greet saints before the worship service, then we would also more likely personally feel less rushed and less stressed.  We would be in a more peaceful state of mind, better for worship.

Our greetings before the worship service could also help establish harmony between the saints as our contribution to a better and more appropriate setting for the worship service.  Consider how our Lord receives such harmony and how He rewards it! 

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing— life forever.”  Psalm Chapter 133.

What then should we say in greeting?  Let us avoid the platitudes which do nothing but seem trite at best and insincere at worst.  Rather, let us encourage each other in truth:  “… each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.”  Romans 1:12.  Think of what you specifically admire about the faith and the service of the other saint and tell them.

We can also greet with a reference or a quote of encouraging Scripture.  I think of an elderly man at my gym who does this so well.  Although he appears to be way beyond 80 and very feeble and shaky, he always comes up to me with a reference to Scripture.  Yesterday, the first words out of his mouth as he approached me were “Isaiah 41:10”.  What a great greeting!

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”  Ephesians 4:29

“Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”  Colossians 4:6

“So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”  Romans 14:19

“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 4:15-20.

                                    

^“You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone;  for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.  Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.  But I have received everything in full and have an abundance;  I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.  And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.”  Philippians 4:15-20.

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“For the LORD God is a sun and shield;  The LORD gives grace and glory;  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  Psalm 84:11

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:32

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;”  2 Corinthians 9:8

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink;  nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?   Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?  And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  And why are you worried about clothing?  Observe how the lilies of the field grow;  they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?  You of little faith!  Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’  For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things;  for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  Matthew 6:25-33.

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:11

This is not just a faith in a prosperity gospel.  This is a faith in a Faithful Father.

Question 26.  What believest thou when thou sayest, “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth”?

Answer.  That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them;  who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father;  on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body: and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn out to my advantage;  for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father.  Question and Answer 26 of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 4:11-12.

 

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity;  in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”  Philippians 4:11-12.

 

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Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 4:10-14.

 

^“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me;  indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity;  in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.”  Philippians 4:10-14.

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Contentment has the benefit of removing anxiety and obtaining peace. 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7.

Contentment also has the benefit of being the condition out of which the power of Christ better operates and manifests.  

“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake;  for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

The well-known verse in today’s Scripture (“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.) should not only be used in isolation to get us pumped-up to do anything.  The context of today’s verses should remind us also of the role of that verse to make us realize that Christ can use us in whatever circumstances that we are:  humble or abundant.  It is often in a humble circumstance that the power of Christ better operates and manifests.  

Contentment also has the benefit of keeping us protected from the love of money and wandering away from the faith. 

“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.  But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”  1 Timothy 6:7-11.

Contentment also has the benefit of drawing us to dependence on God and faith in Him.   

“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have;  for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say,                                                            “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?”  Hebrews 13:5-6.

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 4:8-9.

 

“⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

 

⁹ The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”  Philippians 4:8-9.

 

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“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:1-3.

 

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  2 Peter 1:2-4.

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  …”  Ephesians 1:3-4.

 

“Dwell” is defined in part as “to keep the attention directed” and “to live as a resident”.  Click here: Dwell – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary  How appropriate is the use of this verb to describe how our attention should be fixed on these things!  We think of these things so much that, in a sense, we dwell on these things as if we live as a resident in this heavenly Promised Land!

 

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:  That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.”  Psalm 27:4

 

“How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You To dwell in Your courts.  We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.”  Psalm 65:4

 

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”  Psalm 91:1

 

“Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;  The upright will dwell in Your presence.”  Psalm 140:13

 

 

 

“How lovely are Your dwelling places,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3 The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You.  Selah.
5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob!  Selah.
9 Behold our shield, O God,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”  Psalm Chapter 84.

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 4:6-7.

 

“⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7.

 

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We can be anxious with a lot or a little possessions.  We can be anxious with a lot or a little of good works to our credit.  We can be anxious with a lot or a little of anything else.  So, today’s Scripture focuses on the bad feeling (anxiety) and its good cure (peace).  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Verses 6 and 7.

 

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.”  Isaiah 26:3.   

 

“Trust in the Lord forever,

 For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”  Isaiah 26:4. 

                                        

 

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 4:1-5.

 

“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

                                

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 3:17-21. 

 

“Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.  For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

 

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”  Philippians 3:17-21. 

 

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“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:2-4. 

 

We follow Abraham’s example of faith, looking forward to heaven.  “By faith he (Abraham) lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;  for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”  Hebrews 11:9-10.  Others too, follow in faith, looking forward to heaven.  “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God;  for He has prepared a city for them.”  Hebrews 11:16.

 

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

 

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!  But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 

 

Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation;  just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”  2 Peter 3:11-16.

                                     

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 3:12-16.

 

“¹² Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

 

¹³ Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;  but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

 

¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

¹⁵ Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude;   and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;

 

¹⁶ however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”  Philippians 3:12-16.

 

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“I press on” is mentioned twice in today’s Scripture.  Verse 12 and 14.  And, although Paul recognizes God’s sovereignty “for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus”, he is intent to “press on”. 

 

We remember the last chapter.  “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:12-13.   

 

Yes, there is election.  But, God wants us to work.  He gives us the will to work;  He works within us;  He even created the good works that we are to do;  but, he wants us to work and “press on”.

 

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win.  Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.  They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim;  I box in such a way, as not beating the air;  but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”  1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

 

God wants us to be diligent and practice good moral qualities.  “Now for this very reason (God’s promises and provisions) also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.  Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you;  for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;  for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”  2 Peter 1:5-11.

 

And so, we “press on”, and run the race, but we are careful to fix our eyes on Jesus as we run the race.  “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:1-2.

 

There is also this hope:  “and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you”.  Verse 15.

 

Finally, let us make progress.  Through God’s grace, we achieve standards.  Let us not just relax, stay put, and just go through the motions.  Rather, let us use those standards as “stepping stones” to “press on” and make progress.  “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;  but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Verses 12 through 14.

Today’s devotion comes from Philippians 3:8-11.

 

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;  in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  Philippians 3:8-11. 

 

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The surpassing value of knowing Christ is like a treasure hidden in the field or a pearl of great value.  In comparison, everything else is “rubbish”.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again;  and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  Matthew 13:44-46.