JPL 0:06
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God. It’s Friday, the 22nd of May, but Sunday is coming! I’m Justin Paul Lawrence. Today’s reading is from Philippians 4:8-9. As we finish our journey through the Bible this year, we hope that you have seen the Big Picture of how God was and IS STILL at work for the good of his world.
JPL 0:31
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me— put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
JPL 1:09
The field of psychology is not very old. Freud and his work with psychoanalysis took place less than 150 years ago. In recent years there's been a move away from the initial work in psychology and its obsession with problems in people's lives. Issues with their mother and father, that sort of thing, towards a new branch called positive psychology. Turns out a lot more of our brain space is taken up with the possibilities of the future rather than the wounds of the past. Now those of you who know me might think that I would be naturally inclined to this because I present as a positive person, but inside I'm not really. I struggle to believe that things will work out as much as many others. Face it, we're all a little bit negative but positive psychology does bring us some really interesting insights. Much like wellness and caring for our bodies through exercise as opposed to finding out what's wrong and focusing on diseases. Focusing on the positive can have a really good effect on our brains and how God's made us. God made us for good after all, not just for the fixing of what's gone wrong. Now, I've always read Paul's exhortations at the end of Philippians as a moralistic exercise. Think about good things. Whatever is right. Whatever is pure, whatever is Noble. I was always feeling bad that I didn't think about those things, at least not enough. But Paul isn't writing to people who he's trying to shame. No, he's encouraging the Philippians from jail, no less. He's stuck in Rome under house arrest and yet he's still writing to the Philippians about all these positive things. Paul's writing is in the midst of difficulty in the midst of literally being in prison, and in the midst of that difficult circumstance he's reminding the Philippian Church, one of his most beloved churches who've been consistently generous and loving and caring with him about what their best work is as followers of Christ. He's not saying it's really hard to do these things. He's saying focus on these things. He’s calling it forth in them. Whatever is pure, whatever is right. Whatever is Noble. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy. Think about such things. What a gift to remind them of the best that they can possess in Christ’s power. Because it is because of the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that the Philippians and those in Elmhurst can be confident enough to focus on whatever is true, noble, right, excellent. Even when times seem dark. As we reach the end of our Walk through the Bible this year and the Daily Dose goes on hiatus for the summer, I want to encourage you to follow Paul’s wisdom in our passage today. There's a lot of problems in the world. There's a lot of difficulties. But this is nothing new for the Church of God. This is nothing new for Christians. This is nothing new for those who are hidden in Christ. Paul felt these things, our forefathers and foremothers in the faith faced these things. But the God of Peace will be with you and bless you now and throughout the summer before we start up together again in the fall. So this season, try to chose one of these “whatevers” - whether it is things admirable, noble, excellent or another - and choose to reflect on one of these virtues. Try to think about those things when faced with a difficult situation. Look for God's work in that. And the God of Peace will be with you.
JPL 4:14
Let's pray. Jesus, you are the victor over sin, death and the evil one. You have created us for good. You have created us for a purpose. May we set before us the loveliness of your creation and may we be constantly able to see the ways you are making things true, noble, excellent and lovely, even in the midst of the daily difficulties that face us. Fill us with the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
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