Philippians 1 (Life invested in the Father's Glory)

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Our Lord desires us to know Him.

He is not just a remedy for sin but a Treasure; our Treasure.

A Treasure for which we live for. Through His Spirit we are enabled to live for the Fathers glory, just as our Lord did.

Being in a relationship with our Father becomes a source of joy in our lives.

A joy that is not dependant on circumstance. Not a sensation or thrill.

It is only in our Lord and through the Spirit that we can rejoice even in suffering.

Philippians 1

Paul starts this book in thanksgiving to the people in Phillipi who as his partners in the gospel had assisted him.

He continues to tell them of his love for them and that he continues to pray for them even though he is now in prison.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

As gospel carriers we learn that this journey we are on will have up and downs; even very tough times.

Paul teaches to us look beyond our circumstance but to lift our eyes and look upwards for our Father is at work.

He celebrates his imprisonment for Christ is known and has advanced the gospel, some have gained courage from Paul’s experience and are now confidently teaching and preaching. Others are jealous and preach out of strife and envy but Paul is not disturbed for the Lord is being proclaimed.

What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice because I know this will lead to my deliverance through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.
Living Is Christ
For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work

Note:

For a while we are going to re-journey through messages from years before. I recently started working again although part time . I also have moved and again and I am struggling to be consistent in blogging. So we will be rejourning (apologies)