DRAWING NEAR
February 1
Joy and Godliness
"I rejoice and share my joy with you" (Phil. 2:17).
True joy is directly related to godly living.
Philippians is often called the epistle of joy--and rightly so
because the believer's joy is its major theme. Paul loved the
Philippian Christians and they loved Him. When they learned that he
had been imprisoned for preaching the gospel, they were deeply
concerned.
Paul wrote to alleviate their fears and encourage their joy. Of his
own circumstances he said, "Even if I am being poured out as a drink
offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and
share my joy with you all. And you too, I urge you, rejoice in the
same way and share your joy with me" (Phil. 2:17-18).
Often a Jewish animal sacrifice was accompanied by a libation or
drink offering (e.g., Num. 15:1-10). The animal was the greater
sacrifice; the libation the lesser. Drawing from that picture, Paul
placed greater significance on the faith and spiritual well-being of
his readers than on his own life. To suffer for Christ's sake brought
him joy, and he wanted the Philippians to understand that perspective
and rejoice with him.
He also wanted them to understand that joy doesn't operate in a
vacuum. It's directly related to godly living. Christ is its source;
obedience is its sustenance. We see that in David's cry of
repentance: "Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation" (Ps. 51:12).
Paul knew the joy of the Lord because he trusted Christ and obeyed
His will.
The scarcity of joy and godliness in the world today makes it
imperative that Christians manifest those characteristics. As we do,
others will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven
(Matt. 5:16).
This month we will highlight various aspects of joy and godliness
from Philippians 1:1-11 and Colossians 1:9-12. I pray you will be
eager to learn from God's Word, and willingly obey what you learn,
for therein is "joy inexpressible and full of glory" (1 Pet. 1:8).
Suggestions for Prayer:
Ask the Holy Spirit to use our daily studies to strengthen your joy
and increase your godliness. Seek to emulate Paul's attitude of
preferring others to yourself--a key element in joyful living.
For Further Study:
Read the book of Philippians, noting each reference to joy.
What brought joy to Paul? On what or whom do you rely for joy?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Numbers 15:1-10 (NKJV)
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you have
come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you,
3 'and you make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or
a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or in your
appointed feasts, to make a sweet aroma to the LORD, from the herd or
the flock,
4 'then he who presents his offering to the LORD shall bring a grain
offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth
of a HIN of oil;
5 'and one-fourth of a HIN of wine as a drink offering you shall
prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb.
6 'Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of
an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a HIN of oil;
7 'and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a HIN of
wine as a sweet aroma to the LORD.
8 'And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a
sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a peace offering to the LORD,
9 'then shall be offered with the young bull a grain offering of
three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a HIN of oil;
10 'and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as
an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.'"
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your
generous Spirit.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven.
Philippians 1:1-11
1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints
in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with
joy,
5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good
work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I
have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the
defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me
of grace.
8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the
affection of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in
knowledge and all discernment,
10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may
be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,
11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus
Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Colossians 1:9-12
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease
to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for
all patience and longsuffering with joy;
12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
1 Peter 1:8
whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet
believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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