By Audrey Bauman

Philppians 2: 12 - 18  NLT

Shine Brightly for Christ

12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. 17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. 18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.

Yesterday's verses really hit home to me, and I hope they did to you as well. "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." But now, Paul says, "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear." Oh no! "Work hard."

When I think of the perfection of Jesus and how impossible it is for me to be even a little like Jesus, how can I "work hard to show the results of 'my' salvation"? That is impossible.

Wait a minute!!!  "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." (v. 13)

We can't thank God enough for his presence in our lives. He is working in me - in you. He is giving you the "desire" to live with him. He is giving you the "power to do what pleases him". Read that verse over and over again. He is working in you!

I can't resist going to Romans 8, one of my favourite chapters in the Bible. Verses there also give us the assurance that God is working in our lives. 

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.  (v. 1 - 2) 

"And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you."  (v. 10 - 11)

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God." (v. 14)

"So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children." (v. 15 - 16)

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (v. 26 - 28)

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (v. 38 - 39)

God saved you through the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. He is working in you to help you become more like his son. When we get the instructions in verses 14 to 16 ( Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life.) and even the instructions in verses 3 and 4   (Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.) We can know that God's Spirit is working in us to help us be that kind of person.

Something happened during the years of COVID, that seems to have made people more willing to argue about things, stand up for their opinions. Perhaps that helps us to be more open about our faith in God. But I like these words - "shine like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people". Somehow, shining like a bright light doesn't seem to describe an argumentative or domineering person. When we really soak in how much God loves us and was willing to sacrifice for us, living for him is a must. He has given us his Holy Spirit to help us every moment, every day.

So today I pray - God loves me and is with me this second, this minute, today ... in what ways can I be a bright light to whoever I meet and in whatever I do?

Our song for today is Until the Whole World Hears by Casting Crowns.