February 26th
14Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Philippians 2:14-16 NKJV
Our goal as Christians is to become children of God in the midst of our crazy, depraved world. As his children, we are to shine as lights in the world and reflect God’s perfect love and righteousness to other people. There are so many things that can tarnish our reflection of God’s qualities and dim the light that is in us. All of them involve sin in one way or another.
Paul keys on complaining and disputing as two things we are to leave out of everything we do. One activity that will help us accomplish this is to focus on giving thanks to God in all situations. So often its easy to overlook the many blessings God has given us, because we’ve grown familiar with them and take them for granted. No matter how bad our physical circumstances may be, each of us has things we can be thankful for.
Paul mentioned a need for us to be anchored in God’s Word by “holding fast the word of life.” In this sin-crazed world, we can be blown all over the sea of life by every temptation that comes our way if we are not anchored to the truth of God’s Word. The Bible is filled with the truth about every issue of life. Having that truth in our thoughts will help prevent us from getting sunk by the enemy and his clever lies. The truth sets us free from any bondage the devil may have had us in (John 8:31-32). It frees us to live as the people God intended us to be – as children of God and his witnesses to others.
Questions for further thought:
Who demonstrated that it is possible to live without complaining and disputing?
How does God feel about complaining? (Numbers 11:1)
What practical activities will help us get anchored in the Word and build faith?
What things can serve as false anchors when we’re not anchored to the Word?
Prayer:
“Father God, Thank you for blessing me in so many ways. Thank you for giving me new life through Jesus. Thank you for redeeming me from destruction and for showing me the path to freedom. Thank you for adopting me as a son and giving me an inheritance with Jesus. Please help me to get anchored in your word everyday. Please help me build faith to stand on the promises in your word for me. I want my reflection of you to be untarnished in the world and an effective witness to others. Thank you, Father! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”