In the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Philippians, even while in prison, Paul tells believers to rejoice. We need to be content, whatever our situation is. If we have plenty or even if we don't have much, we can be generous. Rejoicing, contentment, and generosity, come from within, not our circumstances. In every circumstance, God is in control and no matter what happens around us, we need to remember that the Lord will take care of us. In Jesus, we find everything we need.
We are all called to be champions for Christ. Paul speaks the word of God and if someone does not agree with him about the scriptures, he says that God will show the person the truth. If we want to know the truth, we should ask God and He will reveal the truth to us. God gives direction to those committed to doing whatever God says. Once God shows us something, we need to obey and do anything that He says. God's word is to be our guide. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. The earth is not our mother, God is our Creator and one day we all will stand before Him. Those in Christ Jesus eagerly await His return. God will one day make His children more glorious than we have ever been. God is not against us, instead He is rich in mercy and He chose to save us.
Bible Text: Song of Songs 1-2 | Pastor: Pastor Jim Wood | Series: SAS Chapel: Song of Songs
God's word says that if we are His child, we are united with Christ. That should excite us! We should consider others better than ourselves. God is love and His love cannot be earned. Our attitudes should be the same as Christ Jesus. Jesus is God. God became a man so that He could die and save us. We are changed from the inside out. We need to find our identity in Christ.
There are a lot of people who find it difficult to love and be loved. Love is not about feeling. The only way anyone gets saved is if God opens our hearts. He takes away the heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. If the Apostle Paul had not been mistreated in Acts 16, the jailer would not have been saved. Is is believed that the church at Philippi, in part, begun by this jailer and his family. No one can escape God, we will either face Him as His dearly loved child or as His enemy.
Sex is beautiful and God's plan. Unfortunately, the world experiences painful consequences for not following God's plan. For those who follow Christ sex is part of God's plan for His creation. All of us have to learn to say no to our desires that are not in God's plan. Desire is natural and wholesome and God made us to have desires. However, God's word teaches us which desires are within His will and which desires are not. We are not to awaken love until the time is right. The abortion problem in America is due to the rampant sexual sin that is rampant in America. God is the one who created sex. He designed our bodies for each other in the context of marriage. We are not to stir up sexual desires in ourselves or others. God's plan is for His glory and our good.
All of the Bible should be read and understood. Our bodies are beautiful creations of God. We are not all alike but we are all amazing. Sexual desire and pleasure are part of God's plan. The physical union between a husband and wife is also a spiritual union. The context for sex is an inclusive union between one husband and one wife for life. Sex is designed by God to be an expression of love between a man and a woman who are married to each other. Whether or not God wants us to be married, God's plan is perfect for us. We need to be in God's will.
When we don't serve the God who is God, we are free to be our own authority, our own god. Once we know where we will spend forever, then we can know how to live now. Before we know Jesus we feel like we need the things of this world to feel successful. When we know Jesus we know we don't need anything else. We must seek first the Kingdom of God and everything we need we be given to us. God knows how to speak our language. God loves us!