The Daily Dose

What really matters?

For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.  Philippians 1:10 & 11

This is such a crucial question to ask yourself daily.  What really matters?  What is really important today?  What is my purpose for living this day?  The apostle Paul encouraged the church at Philippi to understand what really matters. He spells it out for them by saying that he prays for their love to overflow more and more and they will keep growing in knowledge and understanding. Then he goes on to say that they would live pure and blameless lives and be filled with the fruit of their salvation which is the righteous character produced in life by Christ Jesus.  The ultimate result will be that they would bring much glory and praise to God.

So, what does that even look like in today’s world?  First of all, recognize that it isn’t common or popular.  It really wasn’t back in Paul’s day either.  Living life with love for others that overflows more and more and living pure and blameless lives sounds like a really hard thing to do for most of the world.  Keep in mind this doesn’t mean you have to be perfect.  It just means that you live honestly and when you mess up, you own it, repent and get back up again.  It is when we justify or cover things up that we are not living in the pureness of God’s love. 

Next, he said always be filled with the fruit of your salvation. He goes on to qualify that the fruit of your salvation is a righteous character that is produced by Jesus, not by you.  When you live each day clean before the Lord, the fruit of God’s Spirit will show up.  It is a result that is guaranteed by Jesus.  Living clean/pure is simply coming clean before the LORD in and with all things.  Keep everything you do and everything you say submitted to Him and that will produce the righteous character and a good reputation in your life.

Lastly, he says living pure and being filled with the fruit of salvation brings much glory and praise to your Heavenly Father.  This is what really matters.  Shinning the light on Him and His love and goodness are what is really important and the purpose for living each day.

Today I want to encourage you to discover what really matters.  It’s the same for everyone.  It is having overflowing love for others increasing in you life and continue to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s love. Then shining the light with a pure and blameless life so that those around you can see your righteous character that is produced in your salvation in Christ Jesus.  After that, all will glorify God and know the love and goodness He has planned for all those who trust in Him.

Today’s scripture reading: Philippians 1:8-11

Make requests

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Philippians 1:3

Let’s start doing this.  Every time you think of someone you know or every time someone comes to your mind, thank God for them.  Especially if you have ever had the opportunity to encourage or minister to their lives in some way.  Paul did this and in fact, the next verse says he did it with joy and he prayed for them the way they were praying.  He made requests for them.  He would take their requests and petitions before God in prayer, every time he thought of them.

I wonder how different life would be if every time someone came to mind, we would rejoice and thank God for them.  Instead of the first thoughts being concern, worry or even disapproval?  Think first of how to pray for them in a way that will help them to get through the things they are going through.  Thanking God for their friendship and for the connection with others instead of thinking what needs to be fixed. 

Then after you thank God for them, send them a message of encouragement.  Things like “you’re doing great!”  “God’s got this!” Or even, “Keep up your confidence in the one who has begun a good work in you to complete it until Jesus comes back!”  That’s pretty encouraging.  I know Paul didn’t send these letters every time he thought of them, but he didn’t have the technology that we have today.  Now more than ever, we need to be encouraging and cheering each other on.  Make a phone call, send a text message or write and encouraging email.  It could make all the difference in how someone’s day is going.

Today I want to encourage you to be thankful when you think of others, no matter who comes to your mind.  Whether it is a friend, family member or even someone who seems to always be in need, thank God for them.  Then lift up their request with joy in knowing that God will complete the work He started in them and He will never give it up until Jesus comes!

Today’s scripture reading: Philippians 1:3-7

 Committed

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:  Philippians 1:1

Are you committed?  Are you committed to your Heavenly Father?  Are you committed to His purpose and cause?  How do you know?  How do any of us know?  If we look at the life of the apostle Paul, we see what true commitment looks like.  Here in the first verse of Philippians, it says that Paul was a bondservant.  I used to think this word meant prisoner, because Paul started other letters with the idea that he was in prison because of his message of the good news.  Actually, this word “bondservant” means a slave or servant without wages.  Paul had committed to living his life to serve in the ministry of the gospel regardless of how he would make ends meet.  Of course, God always took care of him, but to Paul, the most important thing was to get the message out and to complete his assignment.

That’s what true commitment looks like.  I want to say, thankfully, our missions do not look like Paul’s did.  In fact, Paul was called into this ministry at a time when the message was brand new and it required the intensity level that Paul was prepared and born for.  However, we do have a calling, assignment, mission or whatever you want to name it.  God has a purpose for you to complete while you are here in this world.  We are given an allotted amount of time to accomplish the reason we were born, and it is up to us to discover what that reason is and then follow the plan God designed to complete it.  How’s that working out for you?  It’s a good question for sure and one that all of us need to ask ourselves, pretty much daily.  It is so easy to get distracted with the things of living day to day, that if we don’t intentionally put that purpose and plan before our eyes continually, it can get easily drop to the bottom of the priority list.

So, the question remaining is “How do I identify if I am committed?”  It’s actually pretty easy to determine this by asking the next question: “Where does God show up in my day?  What space of time have I given to Him to purposefully grow closer to what is in His heart for me?”  This is your starting point.  Get alone with your Heavenly Father each day and grow in your relationship with Him.  Put away any excuses why you may not have time to do this and put it into the place of something that is less important that you can probably eliminate completely from your life.  Make God the priority in your world and your world will begin to make sense like it never has before.

Today I want to encourage you to consider the purpose and plan God has for your life.  Ask yourself today these three questions:  Am I walking/living in the plan that God has for me?  Is my life making a difference and impacting the lives of others in some way?  Do I wake up each morning with my mission in mind?  These questions are important to consider and if you answer no to any of them, ask the LORD today how to get back on tract with the mission He has assigned to your life.  Then open the book and get the plan.  Determine to complete, down to the last detail, the things God has for you to do in this world.  Then, when your days are over, (and there is no doubt that they will end one day) you will face your Heavenly Father with the confidence of hearing Him say “Well done!”

Today’s scripture reading: Philippians 1:1-5

Connections

Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.  Ephesians 6:21

Connections!  It’s what life is all about. Whether it is your relationship with your family members or friends, even neighbors and co-workers, God is all about people. He desires people to connect with Him and with each other.  It is so important to Him that He set up His entire “Kingdom of Heaven here on earth” system based on His body of believers being connected with each other to complete His mission.

The apostle Paul knew something about being connected with others.  Not only did he spend a lot of time teaching about connecting, it is evident in his ministry team too.  Here at the end his letter to the church at Ephesus, he introduces his friend and brother in the Lord, Tychicus.  Tychicus was the one who would deliver the letter to the church.  He was also to tell all the believers there how and what Paul has been doing.  He was Paul’s ambassador to Ephesus.  Throughout Paul’s life we hear of His partnerships with Barnabas and also with Silas. However, these two were not the only people on his ministry team. As you read his new testament letters, he mentions many other believers who not only were part of his team, they were extensions of God’s purpose all working to accomplish one goal . . . getting the message through.

We have the same commission today.  We are to connect with others to teach, learn and encourage one another to accomplish the mission God has for today.  We are not on individual missions, we are on one purpose. . . God’s purpose.  His plan is for each one of us to represent heaven in our everyday life.  I recently heard a testimony of someone who works in the secular world, but his boss had questions about God that he was able to answer.  He said he felt like he was representing heaven as he spoke and surprised himself how much he knew about it all.  Of course, the Holy Spirit was with him, but he yielded to Him non-the-less.

Today I want to encourage you to evaluate your connections, friendships and relationships.  How is your ministry team doing?  Whether you lead or not is not the focus.  Instead, being the voice of heaven in today’s world is what’s important.  Take a next step today into becoming more in tune with the message God is giving for this time.  Then spend time connecting with other believers by teaching, learning and encouraging them.  Let’s accomplish all that is in God’s heart for us to get done in these last days!

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 6:21-24

Keep Standing

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, keep standing. Ephesians 6:13

What do you do after you have done all you know to do?  After you have stood your ground in faith believing that God will show up.  After you have prayed, believed and confessed the promises God gave you and still nothing seems to have changed in the natural world.  Well, according to today’s verse, you pick up and put on the whole armor of God.  Then you keep standing and don’t give up because in that armor you are strong in the LORD and His power belongs to you.  It’s not your strength and it’s not your power, it’s His!  He has given you His strength and His power in His armor.

Now, don’t be moved by the outward circumstances, because our fight isn’t against any thing you can see.  This will help you stand.  If you can see it, it isn’t what you are fighting against.  Your fight is in the unseen world, your battle is with spiritual hosts of wickedness.  This is really awesome to realize.  When you look at the things going on around you and you are not happy with what you see, you can immediately begin your battle in the unseen realm.  You don’t have to fight with people to try to get them to do something you want, and you don’t have to manipulate the circumstances in order to get things to go your way.  All you have to do is get into His armor and go to battle.  If it doesn’t look like anything is happening in the natural world, just keep standing in faith with His shield held high and begin to speak that sword of the spirit out with confidence.  Swing His Word sword like you know how to handle it.  The pressure of God’s Words in the unseen world will break through and finally God’s promise will be completed and fulfilled because you didn’t give up and you didn’t give in.  You are strong in the Lord . . . that’s a promise and you have His power available to you to fight and defeat your enemy in the unseen realm. Believe it and walk in it!

Today I want to encourage you to stand against the wiles/tricks of the devil by putting on the whole armor of God.  Then after you have done all you know to do, after you have stood and did combat in the spirit world, keep standing and stand some more.  Your break through will come and it is probably closer than you think.  Don’t let this natural world and the physical evidence sway your faith in His Word and in His promise to you.  Apply the unseen pressure of God’s Word to all your visible circumstances and the kingdom of darkness will crumble under it every time.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

God’s Armor 2

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”  Ephesians 6:18

Yesterday we talked about the armor of God and how to put it on, but we didn’t cover the last 2 pieces of armor mentioned in verse 18, praying in the spirit and watching out for your brothers and sisters in the LORD.  These last two are not included with the “put on” pieces of armor because they are different.  They are relational as opposed to the other pieces that are personal.  Praying and watching out for others is all about our relationships with God and others.

Praying in the (Holy) Spirit is so important, because sometimes we don’t even know how to pray for a situation or what the right outcome should be to glorify God.  Sometimes when I pray for something so long I feel like I am praying the same words repeatedly just because I don’t know how else I should pray about the situation. Praying in the Spirit is praying from our heart not our mind.  You can pray what is in your heart and the spirit transfers that to God.  Romans 8:26  says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”  When we don’t know what to pray or we may be too overwhelmed to pray, the Spirit helps when we are weak and makes intercession for us.  Glory to God!

Then watching out for our spiritual family by praying for them and encouraging them is the last part of the armor.  It is never good to be alone.  When you get away from your Christian friends and family, you are opening yourself up to be vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks.  That’s why this is included as part of God’s protection.  He counts on us to look out for each other and take care of one another.

Today I want to encourage you to use these last two pieces of armor by praying for others who need your support and encouragement.  If you can’t think of anyone who needs it right now, ask God to put someone on your heart that may be struggling even though you don’t know about it yet.  Then pray for them in the Spirit and let the Holy Spirit intercede for you.  He knows the best way.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 6:18-20

   God’s Armor

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”   Ephesians 6:11

How would you like to get the devil to run far away from you?  According to this verse it isn’t hard, you just “put on” God’s armor!  Imagine if you had God’s armor on and started swinging your sword of the Spirit at the devil.  What do you think he would see?  He sees God’s armor coming at him.  He doesn’t know who is wearing it.  It could be God Himself coming at him.  I guarantee you he’ll get away from you as fast as he can.

So how do you “put on” God’s armor?  Well, first of all, let’s talk about the pieces of the armor, truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God.  In the natural world these things don’t come automatically, that is why this verse says you must “put them on”.  Just like you “put on” your clothes on purpose every day, you must put the armor of God on intentionally.  It will not happen by itself. 

So let’s examine the pieces of the armor and how we can intentionally “put them on” each day.  First there is truth, God’s Word is truth. (John 17:17)  “Put on” truth by knowing it more than anything else so that when pressure comes, it’s the first thing that comes out of your mouth.  Practice this by speaking it over every situation and circumstance in your life.  Next, our righteousness is Jesus’ righteousness.  He became sin so we could have His righteousness. (2 Cor. 5:21) Righteousness is not a feeling, it is something you have because Jesus gave it to you.  Wear it!  Then, always walk in peace. (Isaiah 26:3) If you are determined to walk in peace, whenever evil tries to come your way it will quickly scatter because of your peaceful words and solutions.  Over everything else put on faith, let it surround you like a shield. (Psalms 5:12) Walk out your days in an aura of faith.  Even though it cannot be seen in the physical world it is seen in the spiritual world and puts a shield around you that cannot be penetrated.  Be assured of your salvation. (1 John 5:13) Don’t ever question your salvation.  Once you have made Jesus your Lord, ask Him to lead you to a verse to cling to for assurance.  Lastly, wield your sword of the Word of God continually! (Eph.6:17). Hide God’s Word in your heart like a sword in a sheath and pull it out many times throughout your day.  Even if things are going well, practice using your sword by speaking God’s Word in good times and bad.

Today I want to encourage you to “put on” God’s armor every day and keep Satan and his hosts on the run!  The truth is that each piece of the armor is a blind spot to him, and he cannot even see you coming his way when you are wearing it.  Don’t pass up God’s offer to “put on” and wear His very own armor or protection!  God’s enemy doesn’t stand a chance against it.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 6:10-17

Your Job Description

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:32

As Christians on our spiritual journey, we are always evaluating what areas in our life can be improved on?  Certainly, we all can step into a higher level of understanding and execution of our “job description”.  What am I talking about when I say “job description”?  Each one of us carries a title, a name that someone else sees us as.  Maybe it’s mother or father?  It could be husband or wife.  It can even be boss or employee.  Every position you are currently holding have instructions in the scriptures of how to be the most successful in that role.  In today’s scripture, there is an extensive list of position and the direction for success in each of them.  The first one is the wife:

So let’s take a look at some of these “job descriptions” and see how we measure up.  You will probably be in more than one of these categories to some degree, so this is a good place to start when evaluating where improvements can be made in your everyday life.

Wives  –  submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.  Ephesians 5:22, 24

Husbands  –  love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.  Ephesians 5:25-26, 28

Children  –  obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”  Ephesians 6:1-3

Parents  –  do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture/training and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

Bondservants (employee) – be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; Ephesians 6:5

Masters (employer)- give your bondservants (employees) what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”   Ephesians 6:9

Child of God  (holy and beloved) – speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Ephesians 5:19-21

Notice each one of these descriptions does not come “with the exception of” or “You only need to be this way with those who are deserving or have earned it.”  Our job is to follow these instructions as closely as possible regardless of how we are treated.  It seems the description depends on who we are as a person and not who the person is getting the treatment.  The scripture is our manual for living, and following the directions in it opens the door for the LORD to work in your life. 

Today, I want to encourage you to identify where you could be “missing” it in your relationship with others.  Whether it’s your spouse, parents, children, or boss, decide today that you are going to be the best you can be by following these requirements, regardless of how others are acting.  Make the choice today to become the godly person you were designed by your Creator to be.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 5:22 – Ephesians 6:9

Know God’s will

“Therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  Ephesians 5:17

Faith starts where the will of God is known.  I wrote previously how God spoke to my heart and said His “will” for me was a plan not a puzzle.  He has a plan and He wants me to know what it is.  This statement really helps me when I found myself in situations that I don’t know the right choice to make or the next step to take.  Many times, I have gotten ahead of God’s plan or even stepped away from it because I wasn’t waiting for the next part of the plan.  In waiting, I felt pressure to do anything to make something happen.  In today’s scripture, the apostle Paul says not to be unwise by not knowing and understanding what God’s will is.  This is reinforcement that God wants us to know and has made available His will to us, but how can we know? 

The number one way to know God’s will is in His Word.  God’s Word is the first place to start learning what His will is.  In today’s scripture reading Ephesians 5, there is a long list of things that are God’s will for us to do in our daily walk.  We know this is God’s will because it is plainly written out for us.  Such things as:

•               Walk as children of light

•               Have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness

•               Walk circumspectly (discreetly), not foolishly

•               Don’t be drunk with wine

•               Talk to others in psalms and hymns, making melody in your heart to the Lord

•               Giving thanks always for all things to God

•               Submitting to one another in the fear and love of God

This is just a short list of things that God has already given us in His Word as His will.  There are even more that are listed earlier in this chapter and throughout the entire Bible.  When you start by doing the things you already know are God’s will, then God sees your willingness, obedience, and desire to know more of His specific, step by step plan for your life.

Secondly, doing good each day for others leads you closer to God’s specific plan for you.  1 Peter 2:15 says, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance (and confusion) of foolish men”.  Doing good things for others is always God’s will.  He wants us to share the things we have as well as the love of God with those around us.  When you don’t know the next steps to take in God’s plan, show the love of God to those around you.

Finally, after doing the things God has already said in His Word, set a quiet time aside to seek and listen for God’s specific next steps for all the things you are going through today. In times when I’m not sure what to do, I start by thanking God that He makes His path plain and clear to me.   I know He’s not trying to hide it from me, so I ask Him to open my heart, eyes, and ears so that I can clearly see what the next step to take is and then thank Him for it because I know it is going to be good!

Today I want to encourage you to start or continue walking out God’s perfect plan for your life by starting in His Word first, doing good to others, and setting a quiet time aside to hear God’s spirit on the inside of you, leading you step by step on the perfect path of freedom!

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 5:15-21

Be Filled Up

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation (waste); but be filled with the Spirit,”  Ephesians 5:18

This passage is an admonition for these latter days for all of God’s people.  It talks about being alert in your walk of life and recognizing the traps of the enemy, to not fall into them.  It speaks of being wise and not foolish with our time because we live in evil days.  It goes on to say we should understand what the will of the LORD is for our lives.  Lastly this scripture talks about being filled up with the Spirit of God and not with the distracting pleasures of the world.

It is appropriate to reason then that being filled with the Sprit is the way to stay close to God, also the way to accomplish this list.  Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder how to be filled with His Spirit.  The passage clearly lists the things we can do to fill our lives and hearts up with the Spirit of God. 

Number one is to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  Instead of speaking the things we see in the natural world, start talking to others about heavenly things.  This will make it evident that your mind is set on the things above and not the things in the earth. (Colossians 3:2).

The second thing is to sing and make melody in your heart to the LORD.  This is all about encouraging yourself when you are alone and have time to let your imagination run away with you.  Instead direct your thoughts to sing, praise and worship the LORD. 

Thirdly, always be thankful.  It’s no secret that we live in a day of the entitled mentality, but the fact is that we are to be thankful in everything because without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).  Cultivate a thankful heart by spending a few minutes each day thanking God for all His wonderful works and love! 

Lastly, walk in humility by submitting to one another in the fear of God.  Probably the most difficult thing to do in this list is to submit to others.  Our culture is one that constantly desires to be “right” and that everyone around should know it.  However, submitting to one another is the best way to show the love of God to others.  It speaks loudly that those around you are more important than your pride of being “right.”

Today I encourage you to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God!  Speak out in spiritual songs of praise, make melody in your heart, be thankful and submit to each other.  In doing these things you will be outwardly exhibiting the fruit that comes by walking in the Spirit not the flesh.  Those around you will recognize the Spirit of God in you and these acts will speak volumes to those you encounter each day.  The greatest ways to be an effective witness for God is by displaying His fruit.

Today’s scripture reading:  Ephesians 5:15-21