While in Italy, I have been reading through the book of Philippians. Shortly before leaving the states, i purchased a new Bible, largely b.c i had covered the old one with all sorts of notes in the margins, half of which i dont agree with anymore and all of which i was sick of reading. This is the first time I’ve read one of Paul’s letters in quite a while without my own notes distracting me and keeping me from seeing things in a new light. It’s been fun, and, as always, extremely pertinent and applicable to where I am right now. I’ll probably post several times about it, instead of one long novel-length post. And im not going to go in-depth with the whole thing, just post random thoughts that struck me as i read. Maybe i’ll go chapter by chapter? Sure, lets do that.
Chapter One
Vs. 3 — i like how he talks about “making his prayer”, as though a prayer is something to be carefully constructed, like a poem or a work of art.
Vs. 9 — i really love the cause and effect in this verse: “that your love may about more and more with knowledge and all discernment”. In other words, his prayer for them is that with increased knowledge and discernment comes increased love, not increased self-righteousness or increased pride or increased judgment. If you think about it, this is a bit backwards from the general trend. I love it…this has become a prayer of mine for the church as a whole, as well as for myself and my own life.
vs. 15-18 — here paul talks about how various people preach the gospel out of different motivations: some from sincere desire for the glory of God, others out of envy or rivalry or pride. This made me think about how so many people preach the gospel not just for different reasons, but in different ways as well. I spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the different ways the gospel is preached in our world. (when i say different ways, i dont mean different messages, but just different methods). I live in terror of the negative effects that various ways of sharing the gospel can have on the lost. I need to learn to let go of this fear, to acknowledge that my way is definitely not the only good way, or even the best. I need to trust the Lord, to admit that He can use all different methods to get his point across, and that if someone’s methodology is hurting His message, well, then He will be sure to defend His truth in His timing and in His way.
