{"id":26662,"date":"2023-06-09T22:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ephesians-6_10-24-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-05-23T12:15:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T19:15:56","slug":"philippians_1_1-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/philippians_1_1-11\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sign That You\u2019re Growing Spiritually"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philippians 1:1-11\u00a0 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Today\u2019s passage is Philippians 1:1-11.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today we begin the book of\u00a0Philippians, a letter Paul wrote to his church in Philippi while he was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the Gospel in approximately 61 AD.\u00a0 This book is packed with valuable lessons and verses worth memorizing.\u00a0 I look forward to studying it with you.\u00a0 Today’s passage is\u00a0Philippians\u00a01:1-11.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Philippians 1:1-2 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/em><\/p>\n

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On verses\u00a01-2: \u00a0Here Paul addresses all the believers at his church in Philippi as “saints” or “holy ones”. \u00a0 Contrary to popular belief, the word “saint” or “holy one” in the Bible is not a term reserved for especially good people. \u00a0As long as you have placed your faith in Jesus, in God’s eyes you are a “saint”, a “holy one”.\u00a0 That’s not because you are a good person in and of yourself, but because Jesus’ blood covers your sins and makes you holy and blameless in God\u2019s sight. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

So if you trusted Jesus as your Saviour, stop seeing yourself as “just a sinner”.\u00a0 Because of Jesus you are far more than that.\u00a0 You are a saint, a holy one, qualified to enter into God’s presence and to have an intimate relationship with God.\u00a0 Praise God for the incredible grace and mercy God has on ordinary people like us, that we can be called holy, children of God.<\/p>\n

Philippians\u00a01:3-5 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>I thank my God every time I remember you.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 3-5: \u00a0Paul is in prison and yet he begins his letter not with complaining, but with thanksgiving and joy, a theme that will run throughout this letter.\u00a0 While in prison his thoughts often turn toward his church in Philippi, his spiritual family.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this? \u00a0No matter what your situation, like Paul, choose an attitude of gratitude.\u00a0 Thanksgiving is not a feeling but a choice.\u00a0 In every situation, no matter how difficult, there are great blessings to thank God for.\u00a0 What can you thank God for today?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Philippians\u00a01:6 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 6: \u00a0If ever you are discouraged by the progress you are making, remember this: God is not finished with you yet!\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0All of us are a work in progress.\u00a0 Praise God that He who started a good work in you will be faithful to finish what He started.<\/p>\n

Philippians\u00a01:7-8 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-8: \u00a0Paul had a tremendous affection and love for his church in Philippi.\u00a0 He attributes that tremendous affection not just to his own love, but to Christ’s love in him for the church.\u00a0 What does that tell you about God? \u00a0God is not some passionless, emotionless force.\u00a0 God is full of passion and affection for us.\u00a0 He loves you.\u00a0 You are the object of God’s affection!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Philippians\u00a01:9-10 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-10: \u00a0In some ways you can tell the depth of a person’s relationship with God by the prayers they pray for others.\u00a0 In Paul’s case, Paul prays for his brothers and sisters in Philippi, that their love for God and for one another would grow (“abound”) in a particular way: “in knowledge and in depth of insight”.<\/p>\n

Why grow in knowledge and depth of insight?\u00a0 Here’s why:\u00a0only when you grow in knowledge and in depth of insight will you be able to discern what is the best (v10) and be pure and blameless, living a life that honours God in all the practical ways (v10).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

How do you know if you’re maturing as a Christian?\u00a0 You can tell by the decisions you make and by your character.\u00a0\u00a0If you\u2019re maturing as a Christian, over time you’ll find yourself making wiser decisions, loving people in more effective ways, and becoming more like Christ in your attitude and values.\u00a0 Mature love doesn’t just show up in the form of feelings, but in the form of wise, God-honouring, people-blessing decisions and Christ-like character.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are you having a tough time choosing from a number of options? \u00a0<\/strong>Just as Paul prayed for his church,\u00a0I pray the same for you, that your love for God and for others would grow in knowledge and in depth of insight, so that you would be able to make the best decisions and love people in the best way.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Philippians\u00a01:11\u00a0(NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 11: \u00a0What is the “fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ”?\u00a0 According to Isaiah 32:17,\u00a0the fruit (or effect) of righteousness is peace and confidence<\/strong>.\u00a0 When you receive Christ into your life and you draw near to Him, you experience peace and confidence.\u00a0 So when Paul prays that the people in his church would be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, in other words Paul is praying that they would be filled with peace and confidence because of their relationship with Jesus.\u00a0 I pray the same for you:\u00a0may you be filled with peace and confidence because of your relationship with Jesus Christ<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Holy Spirit, thank You that I am holy and blameless in Your sight because of Jesus.\u00a0 Thank You that I am a work in progress and the object of Your affections.\u00a0 Thank You for the peace and confidence I can know because I belong to You.\u00a0 Today may I grow in knowledge and depth of insight so that I can discern what is best in every situation and give You glory.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Philippians 1:1-11.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,
\n\u00a0
\nToday we begin the book of\u00a0Philippians, a letter Paul wrote to his church in Philippi while he was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the Gospel in approximately 61 AD.\u00a0 This book is packed with valuable lessons and verses worth memorizing.\u00a0 I look forward to studying it with you.\u00a0 Today’s passage is\u00a0Philippians\u00a01:1-11.\u00a0 Let’s go!
\n\u00a0
\nPhilippians 1:1-2 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
\n2\u00a0\u00a0Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-2: \u00a0Here Paul addresses all the believers at his church in Philippi as “saints” or “holy ones”. \u00a0 Contrary to popular belief, the word “saint” or “holy one” in the Bible is not a term reserved for especially good people. \u00a0As long as you have placed your faith in Jesus, in God’s eyes you are a “saint”, a “holy one”.\u00a0 That’s not because you are a good person in and of yourself, but because Jesus’ blood covers your sins and makes you holy and blameless in God\u2019s sight. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26662"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26665,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26662\/revisions\/26665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}