To Live is Christ! To Die is Gain!

Hi again everyone, hope all of you had a great week. I am reading through Philippians for my devotions now. I read this a few days ago, and God brought me back there this morning. I was contemplating what to write about, and God brought me to a specific section of Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians 1:21-30

This is such an amazing passage, it is such a jewel. I read this passage on Wednesday, and this morning I was in a panic on what to write, I was not sure what would be best. I gave up thinking after a while and decided to read my devotions for today. As I was flipping through Philippians, I came to this passage and the first verse of the passage just jumped out at me. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Wow what a bold statement of faith. I immediately knew what I was going to share with you all today.

Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Philippi; this was a letter of joy. It is amazing to know that this letter of joy, Paul's letter of joy was written while Paul was in prison. When you understand the circumstances that Paul was faced with while writing this letter, you find yourself wondering how Paul could express such joy when faced with such a bleak situation. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." What does this mean how does it apply?

Paul understood what this meant and he reveals it to us. Verse two states: "If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me." To live is Christ; to go on living would mean fruitful labor for Paul. This meant that for Paul living meant developing eternal values, and to share the gospel of Christ to others. For Christ alone can only save them from their sin. How does this apply to us? As believers should it not be the same for us, should we not live for Christ. We should be focusing on the eternal, and on being God's hands and feet. We should be sharing the gospel with those around us. We should be showing them Christ through our lives.

To die is gain, what did this mean for Paul. For Paul death would have been much better than living. Why we ask? Because in death we are removed from all worldly troubles, and we see Christ face-to-face. What a glorious day that will be! Death is gain, no more pain, temptation, disappointment. Our death is a cause for celebration. This is why death is gain, not only for Paul but for every believer.

Paul's whole purpose in life was to speak out boldly for Christ and to become more like Him. If as believers we are not ready to die, are we ready to live? We must make certain of our eternal destiny; for when we do we will be free to serve. To fully serve, devoting our lives to what really matters; without fear of death. For to die is gain.

Matthew Henry in his commentary stated this:

"1. It is the undoubted character of every good Christian that to him to live is Christ. The glory of Christ ought to be the end of our life, the grace of Christ the principle of our life, and the word of Christ the rule of it. The Christian life is derived from Christ, and directed to him. He is the principle, rule, and end of it.

2. All those to whom to live is Christ to them to die will be gain: it is great gain, a present gain, everlasting gain. Death is a great loss to a carnal worldly man; for he loses all his comforts and all his hopes: but to a good Christian it is gain, for it is the end of all his weakness and misery and the perfection of his comforts and accomplishment of his hopes; it delivers him from all the evils of life, and brings him to the possession of the chief good. Or, To me to die is gain."`

Paul was torn he struggled with what to do. "Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." Paul wanted so much to leave this world, to be with our Lord. But yet he knew that he was needed. What a great view of humility, Paul lays aside his own desire, a desire that should be burning in the hearts of all believers. The desire to be with Jesus. He laid that aside, to remain in this world, to remain in all the worlds trouble's for the sake of others. That is a true showing of humility.

"Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me." What was Paul talking about? Paul knew in confidence that he was supposed to remain with the believers, to help them progress in faith. To help them know Christ more, and to experience a greater joy in Him.

Matthew Henry states:

"1. What a great confidence Paul had in the divine Providence, that it would order all for the best to him.

2. Whatsoever is best for the church, we may be sure God will do. If we know what is needful for building up the body of Christ, we may certainly know what will be; for he will take care of its interests, and do what is best, all things considered, in every condition it is in.

4. What promotes our faith and joy of faith is very much for our furtherance in the way to heaven. The more faith the more joy, and the more faith and joy the more we are furthered in our Christian course."

"Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you to only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." Paul is encouraging us as believers to stand firm, to be unified. It takes a courageous body of believers to resist fighting and struggling, and to all maintain the common purpose of serving Christ. As believers Paul is encouraging us to stand firm, and to stand unified, as one man contending for the faith of the gospel.

"without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved-and that by God. For is has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him." Paul considered it a privelege to suffer for Christ. We by nature do not consider suffering a privilege. Yet when we suffer, if we faithfully serve Christ, our message and example affects us and others for good (Acts 5:41). Suffering takes our eyes off of earthly comforts; it helps weed out superficial believers. It strengthens the faith of those who endure. It serves as an example to those who follow us. When we suffer in our faith it does not mean that we are doing something wrong. More often it verifies that we are being faithful. Suffering is a great means of building in us the character of Christ.

"since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear I still have." Paul is encouraging believers, as he throughout his life had suffered for the sake of Christ. We are in a conflict with all those who would discredit the saving message of Christ. All true believers are in this together. We should stand united against the enemy, fighting for a common cause. Paul is not encouraging us to seek suffering. But we should not forget those who suffer. We do not have to seek suffering; it will come our way at times. Just as the world was against Christ, so will those of the world be against us.

So in order to have the true attitude and virtue of Christ that Paul had. We must follow what Paul has shown us. We must live, seeking eternal values, and proclaiming the gospel of Christ. We must not fear death, for to us death should be gain. We should be united, striving forward together for a common purpose; for the spread of the gospel. We should encourage others to remain united as well. We need to understand that suffering in the name of Christ is a privilege, and that many before us have suffered as we do. And many to come will suffer as we have, and that we should help one another in our sufferings. We need to stand firm rooted in the gospel, fighting together against the enemy.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Until next time
God bless you all

The Mountain Path

Ok so there is this guy who I know. I met him in school this past year. He is a great guy, I love him so much as my brother in Christ. He has been so supportive of me in everything I do. He supports me in writing my blog. He also has a blog himself. His name is Joshua Winters, he is an amazing friend. His heart is so set on God, he really encourages me. I seriously recommend checking out his blog as well.

http://themountainpath.blogspot.com
That is the link to his blog.

Seriously check it out!

The Fathers Heart

As I was going through my devotions today, I felt God pulling me to really understand more about Him. I felt that God wanted me to more fully understand His own heart. I have been reading through Romans lately, but today I read from the Psalms. Psalm 139 showed me a great deal of the Fathers heart.

When reading this a definite theme comes across, this theme is that God knows us very well, and that His greatest gift is to allow us to know Him.

God knows us!

Psalm 139 1-4 (NIV):
"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my laying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord."

God knows each and everyone of us this well. Whether you are a believer or not, God knows you this well. God knows everything about us; He knows our deepest darkest secrets. In verse 13 it says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." If God knew us even when we were in our mothers womb what can shelter us from Him.

God longs for us to have a personal relationship with Him. Psalm 139 reveals to us God's heart. God is everywhere; verses 7-12 show that we cannot escape His presence. "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I glee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become darkness around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like day, for darkness is as light to you."

There is nowhere that we could possibly go to escape God. We often don't let people get to know us because we are afraid that they will discover something about us that they will not like. God already knows everything about us, and even though He knows our deepest darkest secrets; things that we fear others knowing. God still accepts us and loves us. He knows and loves us completely.

God is omnipresent; there is nowhere that we can go that will separate us from His love. He will never forsake those who know Him and love Him. Those who are believers this is good news to you; as believers we can never be far away from God's comforting presence and love.

From verse 13-16 of Psalm 139 we see God's hand in every single human beings existence. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in that secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

"God was personally involved in our existence. From the time we were conceived He knew our every action, our every day. God knows everything we will do in our lifetime; He knows everyday of our life. He knows everything about us because He created us. We are His children, He is our father.

God thinks about us so much, He thinks about every man, woman, and child more than we could ever hope to think of anything in one day. Verses 17-18 "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Where I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you." God is constantly thinking about each and every one of us we are never not on His mind.

So you might be thinking now how does any of this apply to what I stated before, about understanding God's heart. How does all of this help us to know who He is? Psalm 139 shows how much God loves us, how we cannot ever stray to far from His presence.

If God loves each one of us so much, what does that say about Him? God is a loving God, He thinks about us so much each day. He Himself even had His hand in our existence. He knit us together in our mother's wombs. How more personal can anything get than that? God wants us to know Him personally.

God's heart is geared towards us, He loves us unconditionally. He yearns to have a relationship; a personal relationship with every single one of us. God's heart breaks for those who do not know Him. This reveals so much about God's character to me. It shows how truly selfless God is. It reveals to us how much He loves us, how much He loves both the believer and the non-believer.

If God's heart is so set upon having a relationship should we not spend time getting to know more about Him? There is so much more to the character and heart of God than what this passage has revealed. I know that I need to get to know God more personally. This verse has challenged me to do so.

God's heart is not only that of great love; God's heart yearns for a relationship with us. This shows that God is relational; He wants us to love Him. He loves us like a father loves his child. This has revealed to me so much about the fathers heart,; but even in light of this there is so much more about God, and His heart that I yearn to learn.

I hope that though this post I have challenged you to get to know God on a more personal level. I also hope that I have been able to help you to understand a little bit more about the Father's heart. It is so important to understand how much He thinks of us. And how much he loves us.

Until Next Time
God bless you all