Word of God Online
Philippians 2 From The Living Bible
From Paul and Timothy, slave that Jesus Christ
To: the ministers and deacons in all of the Christians in the city of
Philippi May God bless you all. Yes, I pray that God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give each of you is
full is blessing, and his will peace in your hearts and your lives. All my prayers for you are full of praise to God!
When I pray for you, my heart is full of joy, because of all your wonderful help in making known the good news about
Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
And I ensure that God began the good work within you will keep
right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ
returns How natural it is that I should feel as I do about you, for you have a very special place in my heart.
We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and
telling others about Christ. Only God knows how deep is my love and longing for you, with the tenderness of Jesus
Christ.
My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on
growing in spiritual knowledge and insight. For I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and
wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns. May you always be
doing those good, tying things which show that you are a child of God, but this will bring much praise and glory to the
Lord.
And I want you to know this, dear brothers: everything that has happened to me here has been a great boost in
spreading the good news concerning Christ. For everyone around here, including all the soldiers over at the barracks,
knows that I am in change simply because I am a Christian. And because of my imprisonment many of the Christians here
seem to have lost their fear chains!
Somehow my patience has encourage them and they have become more and more bold and telling others about Christ.
Some, of course, are preaching the good news because they are jealous of the way God
has used me. They want reputations as fearless creatures!
But others have purer motives, preaching because they love me, but they know that the Lord has brought
me here to use me to defend the truth. In some preach to make me jealous thinking that their success will add to my sorrows here in jail.
But whatever their motives for doing it, the fact remains that the good news about Christ is being preached and I am glad.
I am going to keep on being glad, for I know that as you pray for me, and as the Holy Spirit helps me, this is going to turn out for my good.
I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that will cause me to be ashamed of myself; but then I will always
be ready to speak out boldly for Christ while I’m going through all these trials here, just as I have in the past; and
that I will always be an honor to Christ, whether I live or whether I must die. For to me, living means opportunities
for Christ, and dying well, that’s even better! But if living will give me more opportunities to win people to
Christ, and I really don’t know which is better, to live or die. Sometimes I want to live and at other times I don’t,
for I long to go and be with Christ.
How much happier for me than being here! But the fact is that I can be of more
help to you by staying. Yes I am still needed down here and so I feel certain I will be staying on earth a little
longer, to help you grow and become happy in your faith. My staying will make you glad and give you reason to glorify
Christ Jesus for keeping me safe, when I returned to visit you again. But whatever happens to me, remember always to
live as Christians should, so that, whether I ever see you again or not, I will keep on hearing the reports that you
are standing side by side with one strong purpose, to tell the good news fearlessly, no matter what your enemies they
do. They will see this as a sign of their downfall, but for you it will be a clear sign from God that he is with you,
and that he is giving you eternal life with him. For to you has been given the privilege not only of trusting him but
also in suffering for him. We are in this fight together. You have seen me suffer for him in the past; and I’m still
in the midst of a great and terrible struggle now, as you know so well.
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Sam’s Response
In Scripture is acts 4:12 it says there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
His name is Jesus.
In the above Scripture calls talking about the fact that he’s here to do the work for Christ. Even though he also states that he
knows to die is greater than the to live, because he’s going to go see Jesus but he also knows that he’s called to encourage others
even when he was in jail here we see him that he is in prison and he is still preaching the good news.
All goes on to say, but living will give me more opportunities to win people to Christ and I don’t really know which is better to live or die.
It is very important that we Christians live the life that God has called us to and keep our motives pure and clean towards others.
Last night I was on the site www.fulfilledprophecy.com and I read a story about a guy from Oakland, California a man of God,
that was outside protesting the local abortion clinic and he created a sign that basically said Jesus loves you and Jesus loves you baby.
The people from the clinic, were called escorts, and were wearing orange vest. They came outside and held up a blank sign and held it up in front of his
sign. There is a video online about this and it is very apparent that the man was not harming anybody. He was just out there with his sign.
The man was arrested for supposedly harassing people coming into the clinic to perform and have an abortion and because of his protesting,
this arrest brought him before the courts. He was found guilty.
It has come to my attention that this man will now be sentenced today February 19 and if the courts have their way this man will go to jail
for two years.
Jesus was even persecuted obviously but he committed no crime. He came to bring the good news and to train the disciples and train them to take his
message out to the world. We know the result of that, he was tried and convicted and sentenced to death on a cross.
By reading and knowing the Scriptures we can see that this is going to occur more and more as we move closer to the end times. Days are going to become
difficult for us Christians as we face what is sure to be a very large persecution against God and against evangelicals. Evangelicals are looked at
today as people with a radical faith that are very much in comparison with terrorist groups that are coming under the name of Mohammed.
It is very important, that moving forward in 2009, that we walk in love. If you are a believer you know the end result of what is going to
happen here on earth. Christ is going to return, but he also stated that in the final times people would fall away from God and there would
be a great persecution against his people. It is stories like this that make new really wonder how close we are
to the day of the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. With the economic downturn ever experiencing right now and the removal
of godly man from leadership positions in our country, events to unfold that been told in the Bible appear to be here and that we are very
close to a time where great difficulties and trials is going to come against our nation because of our falling away from and removal of God from our society.
Many of us are going to experience what Paul experienced and we will wonder if it would be better to die or live. In the name of Jesus and his great power.
It says in the Bible that all of us will bow before Jesus and give an account for a lives. Be careful in his final days do not be deceived and guided
away from Christ. Because we all have a calling during this time to help and lead others to Christ and most of all walk in the name of the power of Jesus and
walk in love.
It also says in the Bible that love never fails. If things deteriorate, and us Christians are still here when the final events that are unfold as it says in the Bible, then
things are going to occur. Terrible things. It will be very important for us to walk in love and also much more difficult to walk this path.
So don’t let your hearts get soured by what is happening.
Press deeper to the word of God.
Father, in the name of Jesus we come boldly before you and ask you to guide us, lead, and help us to walk in your love as we face difficult days ahead.
Father, we pray for strength and rest that can only be found in YOU. There is no greater name in the name of Jesus, let us speak the name of Christ.
Show us and teach us Lord what you have for us and help us to keep our eyes open and also aware of the prize that awaits us. For this world, is not our home,
our home is in heaven with you are, and quite frankly I can’t wait for that day. But until that day arrives Lord I asked that anyone who’s reading this
listening to this, that you give them strength as well. Given the courage and the ability to walk in love.
In Jesus name we pray, amen!
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