Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
Philippians 2:12-13
12 Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
12 Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Commentary:
2:12–13 The Philippians have obeyed (cf. Christ’s obedience, v. 8) in the past and should continue to do so as they work out their salvation with fear and trembling. They cannot be content with past glories but need to demonstrate their faith day by day as they nurture their relationship with God. But while God’s justice is a cause for sober living (“fear and trembling”), it is not as though Paul wants the Philippians to be anxious that they can never be good enough to merit God’s favor. Rather, it is God’s love and enabling grace that will see them through: it is God who works in you. They can rejoice in God’s empowering presence even as they work hard at living responsible Christian lives. While v. 12 may seem to suggest salvation by works, it is clear that Paul rejects any such teaching (cf. 3:2–11). In 2:12 Paul means “salvation” in terms of progressively coming to experience all of the aspects and blessings of salvation. The Philippians’ continued obedience is an inherent part of “working out” their salvation in this sense. But as v. 13 demonstrates, these works are the result of God’s work within his people. both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Even the desire (“to will”) to do what is good comes from God; but he also works in the believer to generate actual choices of the good, so that the desires result in actions.
Questions:
- A major reason we fail to take risks with God is that we are too worried about what other people think. This can be crippling to your faith and trust in God. Our culture is set up perfectly for this pitfall. Social media causes us to compare and measure our lives against everyone else's. We have to seem perfect and put forth the right image. How much time do you spend on social media? Do you ever find yourself wishing your life was as perfect as those in your feed?
- Somewhere along the way we've lost the fear of God. When a believer is preoccupied with pleasing their Heavenly Father, they won't be tempted to care what anyone else thinks. We should, like David dancing before the Lord, be willing to make absolute fools of ourselves for the sake of our Creator. Do you ever find yourself worried what others will think of you? Does this preoccupation ever hinder your desire to tell people about Jesus?
Pray:
- That you would look only to God for acceptance and validation.
- That you would learn to develop a fear of the Lord.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
6. Is the Bible God’s Word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s Word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
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