“⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” – Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

In the verse above, I see that which I should focus on as opposed to what is seen and pushed. It is that which is of God where I should be giving my attention.

Too often in the world today, we are brought the sensational as opposed to the just. We are exposed to the grand as opposed to the pure. There is a celebration of the material and the honorable is overlooked. I see this every day in my view of the outside world and in the world I work. It seems as those that make the most noise are those that are looked upon with favor and those that sit and do the work are those that are ignored.

There is peace in the those above encouraging words of Paul to the Philippians. He reminds me that I have a duty to God and only to God and I should be looking for those things are bring glory to Him in all that I do. I have to look for and celebrate those things that are worthy of praise in the eyes of God and not those that man tends to celebrate.

“⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:9 (ESV)

It is up to me to find those things that are praise worthy, practice them, and, as noted in verse 9 above, rest in the peace God has for me. It is/will not be easy. I have the world against me and I have nothing but the sensational, the grand, and the material being thrust at me each day. It is difficult to find a place of space where I can find the peace of God to rest in each day.

But here it is, as I sit this morning and study the Word of God, I have that space. I have that peace as I look only into His face as presented to me through His word. I look and see the just, the pure, and the honorable and know that there is hope and when I lean into and practice those things, I will find the peace of God.

What things are you being exposed to that are not of God? Are you being led by the sensational, the grand, and the material? What if you were to focus instead on the just, the pure, and the honorable and that which is praise worthy?

Have you heard the saying, “Real integrity is what you do when no one is watching”? Well I know that I have.

“²⁷Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.” – Philippians 1:27-28 (ESV)

Well there it is in Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. He was challenging “them to be servants” and “to be unified” (Introduction to Philippians in my ESV Bible). In these verses, Paul was explaining to them that even when he was not around to observe their actions, they were still responsible to do that which would be pleasing to God and bringing glory to Him.

The thing is that the truth will always be revealed whether I want it to be or not. I may not have someone explicitly watching my actions, but I am be seen in all that I do. It is easy to keep my actions in check when all eyes are on me. I have a stake in what is seen as others will certainly call me out for my actions in the public eye. It is those actions that I perform when I believe to be in private that are the tell tale signs of true integrity.

I have to be conscious of all of my actions at all times to be sure that I am acting in a way that is worthy, just in case I am seen by others, let alone that God is always watching me and knows all about my actions as well as my thoughts and feelings. I have to act worthy for the glory of God and so that I do not accidentally cause another to stumble in their walk with Him.

What actions are you taking/doing out of the public eye that are different than those for all to see? Are you allowing yourself the opportunity to be less than worthy in “private”? What if you held to the idea of “true integrity is what you do when no one is watching” and acted worthy regardless of what the environment or who may/may not be watching?

“¹I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” – Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV)

I read this morning and the verses may be a bit confusing in that we are not worthy. I tried to clear things up in the title of my thoughts here, but I also feel compelled to expand a bit more.

I am not worthy, however I should live to be worthy. In the second half of verse one above, Paul writes, “walk in a manner worthy”. He is not saying to be worthy, but more striving and showing others that you are working to be worthy. We can never do enough to earn grace and salvation, works do not do it. No matter what I do, I will never meet the standard or the example demonstrated by Jesus. But, that should not discourage me from continuing to do the work. I am to bring glory to God in all that I do and that is what I am asked for. I am asked by God to be worthy, only to bring glory to Him by bringing Him to the world.

I am to follow the approach outlined in verses two and three above in my work to be worthy. I am to be humble, gentle, patient, loving, and working for peace in the name of God. I am to strive to be worthy. I am to allow others to see me as working to be worthy. I am to be steadfast in my work for God so much that I am looked at as an example of His love and approach.

I have often heard and believe in the phrase, “fake it till you make it”. I also believe that in the course of faking it for others to feel the genuineness in my actions I become genuine in my actions. It is the genuineness that I have to remember in my striving to be worthy. I again say that I am not and will not every be worthy, but I should be acting in a way that others can see my genuine approach to being worthy each and every day.

What approach are you taking in your life? Do you believe that you have arrived and somehow are worthy of praise and adoration? What if you were to simply work to be worthy through your genuine actions to be humble, gentle, patient, loving, and working for peace in the name of God?

“³I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” – Psalm 18:3 (ESV)

I am continually reminded of God’s glory. I am in study of the word “worthy” and was brought to verses that are identical in two books of the His word, above and in 2 Samuel. And the focus of my study is not the same although similar. This morning I am brought to the above passage and what I see is the deliverance from my enemies at the hand of God. And in 2 Samuel I was focused on His fulfilling my needs.

God is my ultimate protector. When I am in trouble with those around me in persecution, He is there to stave them off for my good. God wraps His arms of protection around me and fends off the evil that surrounds me. He will fight the battles for me and win as I find comfort in His word and His glory. I rely on Him.

“¹I love you, O LORD, my strength. ²The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” – Psalm 18:1-2 (ESV)

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress…my salvation, my stronghold”. Recently my family traveled to Key West and visited Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park where we were able to tour the Fort and see feel the protection provided by the walls there. As I think back to that feeling, I am overwhelmed knowing that God provides the same protection for me from my enemies. I can feel safe in that He is watching the horizon for trouble and is there to not only warn me of the dangers coming, but erects the walls of protection to provide the safety I need. Only He can and will provide that protection and will guide me through those times.

What are you out there fighting on your own? Are you looking for some protection and for someone o fight for you? What if you leaned on God as your “rock” and “fortress” and “salvation” and “stronghold” and let Him save you?

Who is it that we go to for help? I know that I will go to those that I know, my family, friends, close acquaintances, and the like. I go to them because I know that they are there and will work to provide the assistance.

“⁴I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” – 2 Samuel 22:4 (ESV)

Why is it that I miss the one that will help the most, God. I know that He is there to provide for my needs and will protect me from the evil one. He only wants the best for me and the best from me. As I have accepted Him as my savior, He has accepted me as His son and has treasures stored for me in heaven. I know that God will be there for me and all I need is to call on Him.

So why don’t I? I guess it is because He is not the on physically in front of me. I don’t go to Him as I am not able to “see” Him. I don’t go to Him as His answer to my prayer may not be in line with what I “want”. He is there always to provide for my needs and I presume I am not interested in just having those needs met, I want more and more and greater and I guess that I feel as though going to those around my physically will get me more in the way of a worldly view.

I have to remember and look at the two verses that come before the one above to be reminded of the great and wonderful provision of God.

“²He said, ‘The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, ³my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.’” – 2 Samuel 22:2-3 (ESV)

When I am in need of help, I have to remember to reach out to the one that is always there, the LORD. I know of His greatness, love, care, compassion, and protection and the steadfastness of them. I must lean on Him for those and find comfort in the resolution to my ills that He will provide in His time and not my own for He is worthy.

Who are you looking to for assistance and help when needed? Are you looking for someone to save you here in this world? What if you were to lean on the LORD for guidance, greatness, love, care, compassion, and protection and we know He is worthy?

I continue to watch the goings on in society and see the horrifying actions of those promoting a cause. What I mean by horrifying is the move to loud obnoxious speech. Moves to violence. The defamation of those that do not simply agree. I find those actions appalling in that we are to be civilized as humans and yet we tend to act like savages in the attempt to get our way.

“¹⁶These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.” – Jude 1:16 (ESV)

Here Jude is referring to those that are out for their own selfish gain and in doing so, they are outside the will of God. I want to be clear in that there is certainly more to the book of Jude beyond just this one verse. I am simply focusing on this verse as an example of God’s Word and His references to those that are outside of His will.

As I look into society, I see these “loud-mouthed boasters” as they work to “gain advantage” from the rest of society. They are interested in “their own” thoughts and not the thoughts of others. They are out there working to get their own agenda through without thought to how that might impact others. They are simply looking out from themselves and not taking the approach of doing the work of God.

I will admit that it does feel as though as a Christian, I, and the rest of us, are not given a fair shake in society as we are more reserved and conservative in our approach. But I also see that as following the will and character of God. We are to work to get things done by civility and acceptance. We are not to take the hard line aggressive approach with others. We are to be bringing the glory to God and the glory of God to the people. We are not out here to bring our agenda, but His and His alone.

I have to remember the following from Jude in all that I do and the actions I take.

“¹⁷But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ ¹⁹It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” – Jude 1:17-21 (ESV)

I am here to do the will of God and not the will of man. When I keep my focus there, I have God on my side and know that I will gain “the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ”. My civility and love for all is where I gain the advantage, not in the condemnation of others. I am not here to judge others, I am here simply to bring the Lord to everyone and allow Him to do His work through the Holy Spirit in the lives of all who hear.

What advantage have you tried to gain by being bigger and louder than everyone else? Are you out there working for your agenda and not necessarily the will of God? What if you were to utilize civility and simply work to bring the gospel to all and allow that to be your advantage to gain “the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ”?

“¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” – Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)

This morning I was reminded, by way of the above passage, that the leaders I should be submitting to are those that do the work through joy. There is nothing for me to gain with those “leaders” that do the job out of obligation or while continuing to complain.

I have been in many organizations over the years and those that have been of the most benefit to me have been where those leading are doing so with a joyous heart. They are happy to be there and do the work and strive to do so to the betterment of others and not necessarily for any advantage for themselves. I am speaking of in the secular world as well as in the church. I have learned most from those that were interested in teaching and growing me as opposed to placing themselves in some position to be noticed or where they will get something from the work they are doing.

“⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” – Hebrews 13:7 (ESV)

Here is where we should be leaning for help. We should be looking to the content of the character of those that we follow. We should look to imitate them and their faith. We should look to grow from their tutelage. We should look to be like them and follow the path they have set for us. This is where our advantage comes.

I wrote recently that there is no advantage in man’s law and the same goes for working with those that are out for themselves and are not joyous in their work. I have to remember to look out for the character of those I look up to and be sure to imitate the faith and the character of those that are God fearing and live to glorify Him. That is where my advantage is found.

Who are you looking up to? Are you looking to gain from those that have gained for themselves? What if you instead focused on the character and faith of those who lead and gained your advantage from them?

I can’t tell you how many time have I followed man’s law only to find myself behind others that do not. It seems as though just getting by is worth more than following of man’s law. And as I have studied and written in the past, that is true even in following God.

“²Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. ³I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” – Galatians 5:2-3 (ESV)

Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia and is making it clear that the way to Christ is through faith in Him and not through the following of the law, specifically the law of circumcision here. I can see in the above verses that once I have caved to the law of man I am obligated to fully obey the law of man and become a slave to those laws throughout life.

Now I want to be clear, following Christ does not give me the freedom to ignore the law of man and I am still accountable to the consequences of breaking those laws. But what I am saying is that I am to keep my faith in God and allow Him to guide me in all that I do. If that guidance places upon me to take a position contrary to man’s law, then I should take the position God has for me and accept the consequences from man. I follow God and not man. I am not a slave to man and only accept the authority of man as provisioned by God.

The following of man’s law gives me no advantage in life. I gain nothing from it other than avoiding the punishment of man for not following the law of man. That punishment is temporary and is something that can and will be endured with the comfort and protection provided by God as a condition of my faith in Him. Take Paul for instance. He is writing to the churches in Galatia about keeping the faith and not following explicitly the law of man as he sits in prison for not following the law of man. He is content with his position as he knows that this punishment is only temporary and will fade as and when he goes to be with Jesus in heaven. He is not caving to the law of man to gain some advantage in this life as there is none to be had.

When you look out at what it is you are following, what reasons are you following them? Are you looking out to be sure and avoid the consequences that come for going against the law of man, or are you looking to simply follow through faith the law of God? What if you simply followed God and accepted that there is no advantage for following exclusively the law of man?

Jesus returned to the Father and left us so that we may have an advantage in our growth.

“⁷Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” – John 16:7 (ESV)

Here Jesus outlines the advantage that will be gained by His returning to the Father and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us all.

Too often we find ourselves dependent on the “leader” to get things done so that we have the ability to just do our work without interruption. The “leaders” are placed in the position of doing everything and therefor the growth of those below is not realized as there is no need as there is always someone there to do the work so that others can be dependents.

I happen to believe that growth comes most when the “leaders” are not there to do everything. As an example, there was a week that I was asked to serve as the point of contact for my boss as he was out on vacation. With him out I was standing in for him in meetings and other areas. There were several instances when decisions needed to be made that he would normally make and be involved in. I took the opportunity to make those decisions and move forward with work for the team and everything worked out well as though he were there all along. When he returned, he commented to me that I had done such a good job of stepping up that I “made him look bad”. Now that was not my intent, but you can see that when he stepped out of the way and allowed others to do the work they were able to step up and do the work.

Jesus stepped out of the limelight and gave way to the Holy Spirit to “help” and allowed His disciples to do the work going forward. They would no longer be dependent on Jesus to do the work and they would now be called on to step up their work and take the “lead” in all things to advance the gospel. Yes, the Holy Spirit would be there to guide and comfort, but the leading and doing was now left up to the disciples.

It is to our advantage to not me dependent on the “leaders” to get things done. We should be working to grow our skills and take the lead in all things. We should call on the “leaders” for help when something is out of our control or authority, but until that comes, we should be doing the work.

What work have you been putting off on your leader? Are you allowing others to do the work that you are certainly capable of doing yourself? What if you were to take advantage of the growth opportunities and do work for yourself and ask for help only when you “need” it?

I know, I am a higher thinker and therefore have been placed in a higher more important seat in the structure of the world.

“²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ²⁸And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” – Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV)

Or have I?

“¹⁹For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.” – Ecclesiastes 3:19 (ESV)

The first passage tells that God created me in His own image to rule over the other animals in the world. Then when I read the second passage, it seems as though I am in no better position that those animals. They and I are the same in that we come from the same place and will return to the same place upon our exit from this world.

When I look at the passages and only the passages, it brings confusion and seems to be contrary to each other. I am ruler over the animals, but am no different than those same animals. Deciphering the text is where I am different.

I was chosen and created by God for a purpose, as were the other animals of this world. Everything created by God was purposeful and for that I have to be grateful and understanding. But I also have to remember that like the animals and other things created by God, so was I and therefor I am a creation of His and hold the same status to Him in that regard. They came from the earth and will return to the earth. They will serve their purpose and then return. I came from the earth and will return to the earth. I will serve my purpose and then return.

I am no different from the animals and beasts in that I have a purpose to fulfill and then when that has been completed I will return to God. I hold no advantage over the other animals or beasts in that regard and must remember that as I move forward in this world.

What is your view of your station here in this world? Are you holding to the idea that you are better than those around you? What if we went through life knowing that we have a purpose and once that purpose is completed we will return to the earth and to God who created us?