Grumbling or Gratitude
In Philippians 2:14, we're encouraged to “do everything without grumbling or arguing,” which can feel nearly impossible sometimes. Think about dealing with a demanding boss or being a sleep-deprived parent overwhelmed with messy diapers and endless laundry. It's natural to vent our frustrations, but complaining rarely makes anyone feel better. This attitude can lead to arguments and strain our relationships. Instead, by avoiding grumbling and arguing, we can remain "blameless and pure" as children of God.
So, what can we do instead of grumbling and arguing? It starts with cultivating an attitude of gratitude. This means recognizing the good things we have and seeing God as the source of our blessings. Paul challenges us in Colossians 2:6-7 to be overflowing with thankfulness: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” The more we see through the lens of grace, the more thankful we become.
Here are some easy ways to cultivate an attitude of gratitude:
Keep a gratitude journal: Reflect on God's blessings and write down a couple of things you're grateful for each day.
Share your appreciation: Let others know you appreciate them and what they’ve done.
Serve others: Focusing on helping others can make you feel more thankful.
Meditate on Scripture: Read Bible verses that emphasize gratitude and think about them regularly.
By making these simple practices part of your daily routine, you can develop a more grateful heart that aligns with what the Bible teaches.
-Karina
Be the Settler You Were Meant to Be
Philippians 2:12-18
Having grown up as a Protestant in a Catholic country, I have seen this passage misused in discussions about salvation by grace versus works, but it makes more sense when we remember it is a continuation of Paul's thought from verse 1:27 about what it means to live in the way worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
One way to summarize Philippians 2:12-18 would be to say, living in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus takes work (grace is opposed to earning, not effort), happens in community, stands out in the world, and the side effects might include suffering or even sacrifice . . . but it's God himself empowering you, transforming you, and the world around you, and it will all be worth it in the end!
A Colony of Heaven in a Dissatisfied World, our series title, is a helpful metaphor for understanding the passage. A colony is generally a place where a group of people come to settle which is under the control of their home country. We are like a colony in this world. We live under a different authority (Kingdom of God), empowered by a different power (King Jesus) to model a different type of community (church) and showcase our different way of life (the way of Jesus) to those around us.
The Message version paraphrases it so well:
Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.
Paul is quick to remind us that being different comes with suffering and even sacrifice (true of any settlers in any colony), but it will not be in vain in the end. And you will be in good company! Your King has suffered for you first, Paul and countless others have suffered to make sure you can be a part of this colony too. So if you are facing hardships, welcome to the club . . . or rather the colony!
Now, go be the settler you were meant to be and do something today that makes people pause and wonder about the great Kingdom you represent.
Something that reflects the unlimited power of the King who empowers you.
Something worthy of your King’s sacrifice.
Something so different that even your jaded fellow Californians will take notice! 😊
Luke B.
Shining Stars
The imagery of shining like stars in the sky is powerful. If you’ve ever gone camping or into an area where there isn’t much city light it is amazing to experience the brightness of the stars at night. This is what we as Christians are called to be light. Such a stark contrast to the world around us that leaves people in awe and wanting more. What does this look like in our daily walk with Christ? How are we embodying the light of God in our work, our relationships and our environment? It takes effort to work out our salvation into all these areas. It takes discipline, spending time with God, seeking accountability in trusting relationships. IT is something we put on each day, just like how stars come out each day. We don’t get to decide when we are working on our salvation or honoring God but it is something we must embody. That is how we change and how we become new.
In our daily lives, let us strive to embody these principles. When faced with difficulties, choose gratitude over grumbling. When tempted to argue, seek peace and understanding. Remember that God is at work within us, enabling us to live out His purposes. By doing so, we will indeed shine like stars, reflecting the light of Christ to those around us.
May we find strength and joy in this calling, knowing that our efforts in faith are never in vain but contribute to God's eternal kingdom. Rejoice in the journey, for God is with us, working through us for His glory.
“What we rejoice in is whatever is our central sweetness
and comfort in life. To rejoice in something is to treasure it, to access
its value to you, to reflect on its beauty and importance until your
heart rests in it and tastes the sweetness of it.” - Tim Keller
Lillian Arjona
Following Jesus in Community
In verse 12 of Philippians 2, Paul tells the church to ‘work out their salvation.’ I thought about those giant red letters when I read this passage, and how we tend to simplify and maybe even devalue concepts like salvation and what that has to do with following Jesus. Jesus does save our souls for eternity so what is Paul talking about? Since much of this letter is focused on unity, I wonder if salvation here is less about our individual eternal destiny and more about what it looks like to follow Jesus in a community of believers.
Paul urges the church to continue to obey. Salvation in our modern interpretation usually just means belief. But here it suggests a little more, an act of obedience. The early church would absolutely agree that ‘Jesus Saves’ but I think the giant letters they would rally around would spell out ‘Jesus is Lord.’ Lordship insists on obedience. It requires a whole-life change and it implies as a community, we must act together in a way that identifies us as followers of Jesus. The Message translation of this passage is helpful:
“What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God.”
Responsive obedience. This moves us from passive Christianity that offers ‘come and see’ to a community faithfully responding to ‘come and follow.’ When we as a community practice responsive obedience to the commands of Jesus, our neighbors see something different. They see radical generosity, extravagant hospitality, and sacrificial love.This is salvation worked out in such a way as to shine like the stars in the sky.
In light of a communal call to responsive obedience, what is love asking of you this week?
Anna Nielsen
Life on Mission Director
To the Glory of God
Since being on the Worship Team here at Emmanuel Faith, we’ve talked a lot as a group about the different postures of worship. There is no right or wrong way to present yourself physically to the Lord. Some people feel more comfortable raising their hands. Others falling on their knees. Some people like to worship alone, and others experience the Holy Spirit moving when engaged in worship as a community.
What matters is your heart. As Psalty the Singing Songbook put it, “You can sing until you’re blue in the face. But if it doesn’t come from your heart, then it’s not praise!”
What Philippians 2:10-11 explains is that “in the name of Jesus every knee should bow…every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” But the part of this scripture that stands out to me is the last sentence,
“...to the glory of God the Father.”
Just putting your hands up during a song set at the start of a church service doesn’t make it praise. Alone it doesn't bring glory to God our Father. Our hearts need to be in a place of surrender, reverence, and exaltation.
So although we SHOULD bow and we SHOULD confess as it states in this passage, the act of doing those things means nothing if it isn’t done with the right heart, to the glory of God the Father.
Kim Freels
Digital Media Specialist
Call Him “Name Above All Names”
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,” (Philippians 2:8-9, ESV)
As I reflected on this passage for writing today’s Daily Fill devotional, the lines of a particular hymn kept popping into my head. Remember this one?
Jesus, name above all names
Beautiful Savior, Glorious Lord
Emmanuel, God is with us
Blessed redeemer, living Word.
“Jesus, Name Above All Names” also just happens to be the name of that song. And how true it is! Jesus, who is God became human, but still retained the attributes of his “God-ness,” and then freely gave himself up to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. The story does not end there as we know because God raised him again to new life, meaning an eternity-filled promise of life ever after for all of us with him in heaven.
Read verse 8 again. I don’t know about you, but recalling all he went through that Good Friday, I just want to scream and shout aloud, “Yes!!! Well done, Lord! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you!”
After completing his work here on earth in triumph, there was only one response God the Father could reply with. He “crowned him,” so to speak, as worthy and lifted him up as we read in verse 9: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.”
There is no other name under heaven that is so highly honored and exalted as the name of Jesus. Acts 4:12 also reminds us: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
On this 4th of July, our American Independence Day and all that means to us, let’s also remember to rejoice once again in Jesus, our Messiah, and his work of redemptive freedom gained for us on the cross. Jesus, Name Above All Names, thank you!
John Roberts
Communications Specialist
A Half-Truth
As a high school student, being raised in the church and trying to make my faith my own, I had a moment of desperation one night. The idea that I will NEVER be like Jesus and I will always fail, fell over me like a wet blanket. And I thought, “What a crock. This whole Christian thing sets you up to be a failure.” I was crying because I was devastated about this “truth” that just hit me.
I landed on a half-truth; I WILL never be like Jesus. But I came to realize something as I continued going to church and learning more about WHO Jesus was. We, as Christians, are meant to follow the example of Jesus. As a high school student, the example I thought I needed to follow was how Jesus had never sinned. He was perfect. Infallible.
So of course, I should be too, right? That’s a lot to put on a young girl.
Philippians 2:5-7 shows us that Jesus, although in the form of God, did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped. But emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Yes, we are to follow Jesus’ example. Not that of a sinless life, but a life that leads with the heart of a servant. Although this is not always an easy task, it is the piece of truth I missed as a teenager.
How are you leading with a servant’s heart? Ask the Lord to reveal who He wants you to serve today.
Kim Freels
Digital Media Specialist
Loving More Significantly
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4, ESV)
Several years ago, the verses noted above were one set of many we studied and memorized together as part of an EFCC Men’s Ministries mentoring program I was involved with. In looking at them again for writing this devotional, I am struck with a couple of questions: “Do I struggle a lot with being humble toward others? What do I do with my interests as compared with putting the interests of others first?”
And the answer I came up with is — it depends. It depends on people, situations, circumstances, and even my relationship with them. It's harder for me to be humble toward and love the people God puts in my life I consider difficult or hard to love well. Can you relate?
It’s not as hard to be humble and treat others as more important than ourselves when we like them, look up to them, or enjoy being with them. It just comes more naturally. But what happens when they even get on our nerves, or we disagree with each other? God places different kinds of people into our lives to teach us some of the greatest and most important life lessons. These lessons provide opportunities for us to learn to love to a greater degree and serve others better.
In some way, if I don’t love everyone well I’m allowing myself to be conceited, lazy, and prideful. If I’m not careful, I may begin to see myself as better than them. But we don’t get a choice about “who” we want to love or serve or treat better. Everyone is created in the image of God and deserves to be treated significantly and with great respect by us. Everyone. And yet, we can only do so by and through his grace and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Please pray with me: Oh Lord, with the guidance of your Spirit, help me, help all of us, be better at loving today. Guide us to be more humble toward those around us in our lives. Lead us to care more deeply for others and their interests. Lead us to treat others how we want to be treated, with respect and great significance within the bounds of your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In closing, for further study, consider looking up the following companion reference verses to Philippians 2:3-4: Romans 12:10 (NIV); 1 Corinthians 10:24; Galatians 5:14; Ephesians 4:1-2.
John Roberts
Communications Specialist
A Heart Inventory
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV)
In chapter 1 of Philippians, Paul told the church in Philippi they are going through the same struggle of suffering and being persecuted. This sets the context for the “therefore” at the beginning of chapter 2. Paul appealed to the church in Philippi, on behalf of their sameness. Sameness in spiritual struggles, but also sameness in spiritual rewards--the rewards of encouragement, comfort, common sharing, tenderness, and compassion. He knew exactly what they were going through--the good, the bad, and the ugly of following Jesus-- he had the authority to instruct them. The instruction he gave was for them to be like-minded. And, if they are one in spirit--one in the mission of Spirit-driven Christ-following--then they will result in one-minded like-mindedness.
As Paul later explains, we are to be united, to be like-minded, to bring glory to God through our witness. We are to be an example in our unity, so that people see something different about us, not a quirky goody-two-shoes difference, but a difference that shines like a star in the sky.
So what does Paul mean when he says to be like-minded? In this chapter, he says to adopt the same mindset as Jesus and do nothing out of selfish ambition. He says to not look to our interests but to the interests of others.
This is hard teaching. It asks us to evaluate our lives, decisions, and hearts, then ask ourselves, “Is there any belief? Any philosophy? Any cultural stance we insist on out of selfishness?” Are we gripping anything too tightly at the risk of our unity? If so, Paul calls us to, in humility, lay it down.
Could you take time today to do a personal inventory of your heart? Is there anything God is calling you to surrender, so as not to hinder the unity of the body of Christ? I pray we'll do the hard work of assessing our hearts and laying at the altar, every unnecessary thing we’re clinging to--everything we’re holding onto that causes division within the body of Christ. May we value others above ourselves, and lay those things down so we are like-minded, and shine like stars to bring glory to God.
Blessings,
Christian Winter
Seminarian Student
But to Also Suffer for Him
One of the biggest things I used to struggle with was why would God allow me to suffer so much. I was abused and neglected which I always felt was unfair. As I got older, I struggled with why God would allow me to suffer when I was doing all these amazing things for him.
Maybe you’ve felt like that before. You read your bible, serve, and are active in the church, and you still experience suffering. One of the most unique things about the apostle Paul is that he saw suffering for Christ as a privilege. Paul states in Philippians 1:29, “ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,”.
Most of us would not naturally consider suffering to be a privilege. Yet when we suffer, if we faithfully represent Christ, our message and example affect us and others for good. The greatest benefit I experience when suffering for Christ is finding my hope in Christ instead of the world and strengthening my faith. When we suffer for our faith, it doesn’t mean we have done something wrong.
The opposite is often true—it may be verifying that we have been faithful. Trust God and believe he has a purpose in it. Paul and his fellow apostles considered it an honor to be identified with Christ in suffering (Acts 5:41). Use suffering to build your character and draw you close to your Savior. Don’t resent it or let it tear you down. Instead, allow yourself to grow because of it.
JT Martinez
High School Pastor
