Start Your Year, Start Your Day



January 14, 2010
Philippians 2:14-18

 

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.

Philippians 2:14-18 (NLT)



It's hard to argue against the fact that we live in a "crooked and depraved" generation. It's a me-first, I-want-it-yesterday, don't-get-in-my-way, and I-deserve-this kind of culture. 

So how do we as God-followers stand out? How do we show the power that God's Word has to change lives? Paul tells us in verse 14 that it is by not complaining and arguing. Hello, Paul? Are you sure about that? Aren't there bigger, more important things that should be addressed here?

Follow Paul's line of thought here. "Complaining" means expressing dissatisfaction or finding fault with people or things. Grumbling, growling, and whining fall into this category. "Arguing" means presenting our reasons for or against a thing or debating a matter. Don't those two words sum up our culture at large? In general, aren't people dissatisfied with what they have or don't have, with the service they received or didn't receive, with who is or is not attentive to them? Grumbling, growling, and whining apply to more than the children of our day. We argue our point, what seems "reasonable" to us, with family, friends, acquaintances, even strangers, to get what is "rightfully" ours.

So how does the God-follower shine in this darkness of self-centered living? How do we stand out? By not acting like our culture acts. By NOT complaining and arguing. When we live this way it is NOT NORMAL. That's when God's light shines. That's when people question what makes us different. That's when people see JOY.

Living this way is not intuitive to the human nature. How do we "do everything without complaining and arguing?" We shine like stars when we delve into God's Word--studying His rules for living and learning to get our strength for daily life from Him. We cannot expect to turn over a new leaf and suddenly quit complaining and arguing. We must change the way that we think (Romans 12:2). We must train our minds to think like Christ thinks. 

In verse 16, Paul states that when the Philippian Christians live like this (not complaining and arguing) it makes him feel like his labor for God in teaching and training has been worth it. Wow. He even goes on to state that he is very willing to give up his life as a sacrifice (the drink offering was a DAILY sacrifice in the Old Testament) for the believers' sake. Paul was invested in seeing Christians live a life that stood out from the culture. Paul gained joy from watching the Philippian Christians grow in their faith and in their understanding of the kind of lifestyle that brings attention to God.
 

A Thankful Thought


Even though I always wake up long before dawn, I'm especially grateful for daylight, the sunrise, and the morning skies. There's just something about the break of day that screams, "Here's another chance--a brand new chance--to live for me today and to make known my name among the earth!" Psalm 19:1 tells us, "The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship." I simply cannot look at the sky without thinking of my Creator... how He artistically and with such imagination forms every sunrise... then my thoughts always go to His creative abilities among His people, so it's the perfect segway to begin thanking Him and praying for those I know.

A NewSpring Staff Member


Your Comments

1

Anya | January 14, 2010 at 08.14 am

This is just perfect! I sat down this morning and opened my email before going to work and saw the Newspring Newsletter in my inbox.  I had forgot about the Philipians blog, and thought it was a perfect time to check it out.  And the first line I see… “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”  I sometimes work in a very negative environment and it is hard to stick to this.  However, today I am thankful.  Thankful that I have a great job that provides many things for my husband and I.  Thankful that I have people who love me, and I am thankful that I have an amazing church that reminds me that God is always there!  Thank you Newspring!!

2

veronica brubaker | January 14, 2010 at 10.45 am

Do everything without complaining or arguing is all that I’ve been doing this week. This verse will make me think what God is saying to me.It will be hard until I make changes in my life, but I will have God by my side. I am going to read this everyday before going to work or home. Thank you.

3

Kathy | January 14, 2010 at 09.09 pm

I just stumbles on this “Start your year, Start your day”—thank you! Some days it is difficult for me to get my quiet time in. Since I spend so much time on the computer with school, this is a perfect addition to my quiet time or on those days when I find myself (unfortunately) getting up late, it is a great start! This is one of my favorite passages and came at a perfect time—a perfect reminder!


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