BIAY - Joy and Peace
Philippians 1-4, Proverbs 29:15-27
Welcome to the Bible in a Year for 2025. Intro to this series and resource links available here, plus here’s how I’m approaching this year.
Scriptures for Today:
Reflection:
Philippians is Paul’s letter of joy. The word (and it’s word family) show up many times throughout. This is remarkable considering Philippians is one of the letters Paul wrote from prison. At the same time, we’ve met some of the Philippian church in Acts 16, so we can imagine Lydia, the Philippian jailor, their families, and others listening in their house church as this letter is read at their gathering. Reading this letter, Paul seems unsure whether he will survive this imprisonment or not. So, one way to connect with this letter is to consider what you would write in Paul’s shoes when you don’t know if it might be your last communication to them.
God’s work in you (1:3-6) - Paul’s gratitude for the Philippians is grounded in the faith and conviction they share about their relationship with Jesus. What’s more, Paul identifies something important about the life of faith—it is ultimately God’s work! Yes, we participate by engaging our minds, hearts, hands, and feet in knowing and following Jesus. But we don’t do all of this ourselves—when we give our lives to Jesus, God begins a “good work” in us and He “will carry it on to completion.” That’s an important promise to rest in.
Have the mindset of Christ (2:5-11) - Paul wants the Philippian church community to be humble and selfless so that their relationships with one another might be rich and full of grace. He looks no further than the example of Christ, who humbled Himself for our sake—giving Himself away for us. The proverb says to humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up. Jesus does it! This works when we all grow in humility and learn to live out a mutual selflessness. What a vision for Christian community!
Relationship versus resume (3:4-14) - Paul wonderfully contrasts the value of his “resume of righteousness” with the righteousness that comes as a gift through a relationship with Jesus. There’s no comparison. Paul had a stellar resume, but it was worthless in terms of crediting him for salvation. A relationship with Jesus through faith in His grace was available to Paul and to anyone, resume or not.
Peace of God (4:4-9) - There is much worth memorizing in Philippians and this may be at the top of the list. Simply put, God’s peace is available to us when we entrust all our cares and concerns to Him and when we set our minds on Him. Remember that this is someone writing from prison after many dangers and sufferings—he knows what he’s talking about and his counsel is trustworthy for you and me.
Questions:
What are you holding onto that you need to entrust to Him in prayer?
Are you doing all the work in your walk with the Lord—or are you doing your part, trusting Him to work in you as well?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, turn my mind upon your goodness and grace and help me release my every prayer and petition to you. Grant me your deep peace. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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