Helping Others--Being Part of the Team

Philippians 2:25-27:

Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.

No one should think their gift and contribution in life is too small to be significant if they have given their best. Those who help and assist others are just as needed as are the ones who they help and assist. Paul was in great need of special help while he was in prison when he wrote this letter to the Philippian believers. They sent Epaphroditus to Paul, and Paul said he was “a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier.” Any of us believers today would do well if someone could say the same about us that you and I are  true brothers, sisters, co-workers and fellow soldiers for Christ” in the last days before Jesus returns.

Eve

Since the beginning of time, women were created to help. Somehow, this role has been turned in our thoughts to a degrading status that must be shaken off our backs. The position of “help-meet” has been made to seem like something we must overcome in order to reach our full potential. How unfortunate is this thinking! While some of us have talents and opportunities that make us leaders, all of us can be a help to others.

Jesus has taught us that it is an honor to serve. In service, we are following His example (like when He washed the feet of the disciples and told them to do this type of service). Being a blessing brings blessings. When we use our opportunities, means and talents in service to others, our lives are fulfilled and blessed. Even doing the most menial service tasks that others need has been honored by the King and Creator of all by His own example!

Mary

When Mary believed what God told her and accepted the role as the mother of Jesus, she elevated motherhood as God intended it should be elevated. However, motherhood is a nurturing and serving role. Giving and caring needs our hands as well as our hearts. God has placed in the hearts of women a special gift for such nurturing.

Helping is a wonderful thing! The world does not go around without it! In the natural world, plants and animals work together for survival. In the human world, we each must help each other in order to survive together alive. Equality is not as important as the willingness to be a team player and do our part as it comes to us. Meanwhile, doing our part to help “the team” puts us on an equal playing field with every other human no matter what we do or what our part may be.

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father:

Thank you for showing us by this story of Paul and Epaphroditus that each of us is significant when we give our best to serve You through our service to others. Please help me today to do my part whatever it is with my heart. Help me to look to you and Your love so that I can be like You, like Jesus when He served as a human in this world and gave us His example to follow. Because of Jesus giving everything for us we can pray. Amen!

Philippians 2:8-11 - Jesus Gets His Due, Love Wins

Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

I love the first 11 verses of Philippians 2, and I love the end of the story as expressed in verses 9-11. Still, it is hard for me to put into words the grandeur and the amazing thrill of that day when everyone will bow before Jesus and confess that He is Lord over all. The words that Paul has penned speak for themselves. When I am present on that day, I know the moment will be all about Him. We will all see that Jesus is Lord and His Love is the truest and the most faithful. . I look forward to that day when everything will be crystal clear in everyone’s minds.

However, I want to believe in Him and worship Him before I am compelled. I want to be counted as one of His followers beforehand so that I am standing as one of His children who love Him. While sin is rampant in our world, while my life is far from perfect, I want to stand for Jesus.

I may lose my reputation, but often it could easily be my own fault either through mistakes I make or poor communication on my part. I may not be understood. My love may be rejected, but Jesus has had to suffer so much more on such a larger scale and never because He deserved it. He was willing to take the journey even when He knew what it would be like way before He took it, all because of love.

We do not fully understand. Through years of eternity we will study and learn more and still more about God and His love. Still, I am glad there is a point where we understand enough so that everyone will bow and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.

 He gives His following, believing children everything. We do not lack. He strengthens us to stand. He protects us when we call out to Him. Even if we must suffer in this world and be in it, He is there every step of the way. He has already won and only a short lifetime on this planet is still necessary to show just how Satan’s plan of government works out to its end. In the end, Jesus will stand tall and all will see that His plan of life and love are best, that Love truly wins every time.

Eve

She had the promise of God that one day, the evil one will be conquered completely. Sin will have an end. This hope must have made her glad in her life.  She wanted her own boy to be the promised savior of the world, but she knew that Jesus would come somewhere down the line of her descendants.

Mary

She thought for a very long time as did most of the Jews that the Messiah would come and set up His kingdom on Earth in His lifetime in our world. She thought He was born to be crowned King, but He was crowned with thorns and killed in the most degrading and cruel manner.  When Jesus rose from the dead, her understanding of the scriptures broadened to see God’s true plan of salvation. She looked forward because she knew the day was coming when every knee will bow. All those who never understood Him would understand.

My prayer

Dear Father in Heaven –

Thank You for Jesus and the hope that You give. One day we will all bow before Jesus. He deserves all our adoration now, however. I pray that You will help my heart to reach out to You in true worship now, before that final day. Please help me by Your grace to walk with You, believe in You and draw others to You during my life in this world. Thank You that all this is possible because of Jesus! Amen.

I Can because of Jesus! Philippians 2:3, 4

Philippians 2:3, 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.

This advice from Paul sounds so simple and basic, yet we can so easily find ourselves actually being selfish and thinking of ourselves as better than someone else. We can try to impress because we think we must, and we can keep very busy with our own interests and so easily miss others’ interest. We cannot keep this advice on our own.

We must actually combine these thoughts from verses 3 and 4 with verses 1 and 2 because it is that closeness with Jesus and His Spirit that brings about a change in our hearts. We are not selfish when we choose His presence, and He works His miracle of love in our hearts so that we can be in unity with others instead of being selfish.

Eve

Just as Eve was enticed in the garden with the flattery of Satan through the serpent, I am easily swayed by flattering suggestions when I do not keep choosing to stay close to Jesus. She lost her focus on God and Adam and focused on what she wanted. What day is it that we are not similarly tempted? God help us! He does, and that is our hope.

Mary

I do not know what Mary’s personality was, but her actions give a clue. She seemed the ultimate mother that was always looking out for the interest of her Child. I always picture her as being the perfect image of humble unselfish giving because of her willingness to fit in to the roll of mother to Jesus. Still, she was human. She was not perfect any more than any other woman. She had to pray for God’s help to be the best mother she could be and to overcome her personal faults.

My Prayer

Dear Lord Who is in control,

Please help me. Please help me give in to Your Spirit working in my heart and mind to keep my focus on You and what You want for me every day. This involves surrendering and letting You control me instead of the Devil and my selfishness. Help me to be caring and concerned for those around me and their daily experiences and interests. Thank You that there is hope for me. I can become like Jesus, and it is because of His wonderful work and life that I can pray! Amen!

Philippians 1:20-24 Living and Dying in Christ

Philippians 1:20-24  

        

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.  For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.  I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.  But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

Paul really knew what life as a Christian  meant as well as the death of a Christian. God is love, and those who are His children and follow Him have His love in their hearts because of the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. The entire point to living is to be the best blessing and gift to others that is possible, to use what God has given to tell others what God has done and live so that others will be attracted to Him.

Then as Paul says, dying is a gift from God to be desired. The next thing that the dying Christian knows when falling to sleep in death is waking up and being with God, Jesus and all the inhabitants of that better place where no pain or sadness touches them. They live together forever as one happy, loving family building one pleasant and heart-warming memory upon another and praising God all the while.

Eve

God had made His promises to Adam and Eve that One would come to conquer death and restore the garden to humans once again. Eve could have been happy to live each day of her life drawing the hearts of her children and grandchildren to God and the hope of His promises. We do not know how she lived her life other than giving birth to many children in hopes of the promised Son.

We do not know if she could look to death as a gift and a better state than life in the fallen world. She may have wished to die and not see any more of the suffering her children suffered because of her sin and their own choices. Still, she could have held to the hope of God’s promises in the face of death. Then, the prospect of dying would not be something to dread.

Mary

Certainly after Jesus rose from the dead, Mary was full of hope and enjoyed thinking over His life and the prophecies in the scriptures concerning Him. She may have been much help in John’s household, working with that family and spreading the Good News and the story of Jesus. She must have had so many wonderful stories to share about her experiences as Jesus’ mother.

Death may have been a welcomed sweetness to her at the end of her life. She would look forward to being with Jesus and the heavenly family. While she was not a perfect person, she will always be remembered and honoured for living faithfully for Jesus as she did. She will probably go through the ages to come telling her experiences and enjoying being in the presence of King Jesus.

My Prayer

Dear heavenly Father,

I take heart from these words of Paul, and I see what my only purpose as a Christian living my life day to day is. Living means sharing what You mean to me and what You have done for me. Please forgive me for not sharing You more freely and daily.

Yes, I have such hope of being with Jesus forever after I die. I look forward to falling asleep in death and having my next experience to be in Your presence forever! While I must live life to share You, I do long for that time when I will forever be with my Lord in that better place. This perspective of life and death is so blessed. Thank You so much for giving me something so wonderful to live and to die for because of Jesus! 

Amen.

A Further Personal Note

The issues of living for Christ and dying in Christ have been significant in my own life. I gave my life to Jesus as a very young child, but I often shrank from the more negative realities of living life in our world and facing struggles since I have had health challenges from babyhood.

When I was a teen, living life in pain and with frequent illness as I saw I must was discouraging. I saw that any other difficulty in life was made even more challenging because of my physical pain and sickness. When I thought about these matters, I wished I would die young.

Death still looks awfully good sometimes, although I am not suicidal. I have much pain and sickness, but my suffering is usually not serious enough for other people besides my doctor to recognize. I must struggle through the pain to work every day and earn my way in this world as others do. Acceptance of the pain has been a miracle of healing in my heart and mind that God gives and I must daily choose. I am asking God to help me not to complain because He gives me so much.

Meanwhile through the years, I have seen that living life with Jesus always has its daily rewards. Life is sweet and I choose life with Jesus! He constantly suffers much more than I can imagine as He feels every pain and stress of this world and the people He has created because of His great love. Yet, He looks to the final result and the happy times ahead when no one will ever be in pain again. I love to share each day with Him and understand just a little of what His pain must be like as He labors to attract people to His great heart of love and His wonderful plan for their lives.

“Can a mother forget her nursing child?    Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?But even if that were possible,    I would not forget you!See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15&16 New Living Translation – NLT).

“There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.  But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.  Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Hebrews 7:23-25 New Living Translation – NLT).

On the other side of things, my aunt has just lost her battle with cancer. She had felt almost all along that she would outlive this bout with the disease, and it would go into remission just like it had about 15 years ago. She felt that God wanted her to live to take care of her husband, my uncle. He is older than she is.


As time went on, she had chances to consider Paul’s words to the Philippians regarding living and dying in Christ. Her body did not respond to any treatment. She took heart in the promise that to be “absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord.” She died knowing the next thing she knew she would see Jesus. Those of us who love her are sad to miss her now, but we are also glad that she is not suffering and that we will see her again. 


We do no know the why to many things in life. Still, we can take heart because God is still in charge and He is Love. He will make everything right in the end.

“’Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,
all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.
⁴ I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you’” (Isaiah 46:3 & 4 NLT) .