WATCHWORD:
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! Acts 16:22-26
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:3-8, 20-21
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Romans 1:16-17
Meditation:
In Christ Alone
The Apostle Paul wrote to his friends, the Christians in Philippi, from his Roman house arrest as he waited for his court appearance before Caesar. It had been ten years since Paul and Silas had founded the church in Philippi, during his second missionary journey. This was the first church established on the continent of Europe, and it is obvious from this letter that as he considers this congregation, it brings him joy.
One might say that when Paul prayed for the Philippians, he became happy. It is remarkable to see that Paul’s first reference to his own feelings or frame of mind in this letter is that of joy – though he wrote from as a prisoner facing possible execution. This is Paul’s great singing letter. It was at Philippi that he had sung in prison at midnight, in the company of Silas (See Acts 16).
Martin Luther, at the time of the Reformation, joined with theologians Calvin (France), Knox (Scotland) and others who drew heavily upon Paul’s letter to the Romans. In the first chapter of that letter, Paul sets the stage for the strong declaration of “faith alone”. This statement angered Pope Leo and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church to the point where they issued a reward for his death!
We see the determination in Paul that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. Which raises a question about me and you; when confronted with a choice, do we choose to follow God’s will? Oswald Chambers says that before we follow God’s will, there must be a crisis in our lives. I’m not sure what he means by that, except that God nudges to follow His will are gentle, often subtle, and sometimes we are not very responsive to them. To quote Chambers, God asks us for our utmost for His highest. Which may cause us to stutter, to hesitate, to debate, and, maybe, just maybe, we eventually follow.
So, what does that mean? We have just come through a very difficult year, with its share of crises, where we had to decide. Have we learned that in the face of a crisis our best and most blessed response is to surrender our will to Jesus, absolutely and without qualifications. How we have handled those crises in the past, is past. What pray is that in the coming day, weeks, months of this new year, when the nudges from God come our way, we will, indeed, respond with our utmost commitment to our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Prayer reminder – Throughout this past year we have held many in prayers for physical, emotional, relational matters. Many of these loved ones are still in need of our thoughts and prayers. Continue to be a prayer warrior for them. Prayers bless both that person and yourself. Yes?
Closing Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank You that You make all things new. Thank You for all that You’ve allowed into our lives this past year, the good along with the hard things, which have reminded us how much we need You and rely on Your presence filling us every single day. We pray for Your Spirit to lead us each step of this New Year. We ask that You will guide our decisions and turn our hearts to deeply desire You above all else. We ask that You will open doors needing to be opened and close the ones needing to be shut tight. We ask that You would help us release our grip on the things to which You’ve said “no”, “not yet”, or “wait.” We ask for help to pursue You first, above every dream and desire You’ve put within our hearts.
We ask for Your wisdom, for Your strength and power to be constantly present within us. We pray You would make us strong and courageous for the road ahead. Give us ability beyond what we feel able, let Your gifts flow freely through us, so that You would be honored by our lives, and others would be drawn to You.
We pray for Your protection over our families and friends. We ask for Your hand to cover us and keep us distanced from the evil intent of the enemy; that You would be a barrier to surround us, that we’d be safe in Your hands. We pray that You would give us discernment and insight beyond our years, to understand Your will, hear Your voice, and know Your ways.
We confess our need for You…fresh…new…again. We ask that You make all things new, in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives, for this coming year. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
