May 19 – Philippians 4:20-23
“To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
“Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”
As you read the closing of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we such the intimacy of his love for this church as well as get a peek at some more details of Paul’s life.
Paul is in prison in Rome and all glory for all things goes to God. No matter the circumstance he faced or the position he was placed in, Paul begins and ends every portion of his life giving glory to God.
When I was young, my bedroom was adjacent to the bathroom. Every morning, Dad was up long before the rest of us and I was awakened at ungodly hours as he spoke with God in the shower. But, every morning the words I heard him speak were giving glory to God for the new day. No matter what he had to face that day or had dealt with the day before, Dad began his day with words of praise to the God who would walk with him throughout the rest of the day.
There were mornings I wasn’t probably quite as holy as I should have been about his conversations with God, but that memory is filled with more thankfulness than bitterness at my loss of sleep. (Hey, some mornings it was 4:30 am!!!!)
Those saints that belong to Caesar’s household were probably guards around Paul that had come to know Christ through his imprisonment. Imagine how transformative that was for them. Here was a man who had been imprisoned for his faith, ready to face whatever might come before him, but he lived a life that changed the people surrounding him. That is a life we should all strive to live.
Paul opened the letter to the Philippians offering grace and peace and closes it the same way. In all things, Christ is pre-eminent. His grace in us will be all that we will ever need.
“To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
“Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”
As you read the closing of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we such the intimacy of his love for this church as well as get a peek at some more details of Paul’s life.
Paul is in prison in Rome and all glory for all things goes to God. No matter the circumstance he faced or the position he was placed in, Paul begins and ends every portion of his life giving glory to God.
When I was young, my bedroom was adjacent to the bathroom. Every morning, Dad was up long before the rest of us and I was awakened at ungodly hours as he spoke with God in the shower. But, every morning the words I heard him speak were giving glory to God for the new day. No matter what he had to face that day or had dealt with the day before, Dad began his day with words of praise to the God who would walk with him throughout the rest of the day.
There were mornings I wasn’t probably quite as holy as I should have been about his conversations with God, but that memory is filled with more thankfulness than bitterness at my loss of sleep. (Hey, some mornings it was 4:30 am!!!!)
Those saints that belong to Caesar’s household were probably guards around Paul that had come to know Christ through his imprisonment. Imagine how transformative that was for them. Here was a man who had been imprisoned for his faith, ready to face whatever might come before him, but he lived a life that changed the people surrounding him. That is a life we should all strive to live.
Paul opened the letter to the Philippians offering grace and peace and closes it the same way. In all things, Christ is pre-eminent. His grace in us will be all that we will ever need.
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