40 Days of GRACE - 30
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of GRACE
Day 30 | GRACE BE WITH YOUR SPIRIT
40 Days of GRACE
Day 30 | GRACE BE WITH YOUR SPIRIT
GRACE BE WITH YOUR SPIRIT
From Philippians 4
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 21-22 Give my greetings to each of God’s holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.
23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.”
How do you conclude your personal letters, cards, or emails to close friends and family?
Paul was ending his letter to his close friends and Christian family, to the church at Phillipi, here in chapter four. That church was a JOY to Paul, and you can see his joyful heart overflowing throughout the book.
As a side note, you remember that Paul was under arrest, awaiting trial in Rome for his unwillingness to abandon his faith in Christ Jesus. And so, making the most of every opportunity, he had a chance to share the gospel message of Jesus with his guards. Some of them, even Caesar’s inner circle of guards, converted to Christianity, and thus the greeting “And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.”
You might ask, HOW did that happen? How did Caesar’s “household” – his staff – become born-again Christians?
It was Paul’s unique position of being a Roman, thus in jail in Rome, that God used to position him to talk with Roman guards and household staff, which eventually led some of them to Christ. (How terrific is that?!)
Let me focus on joy for a minute. Are you FEELING any joy right now as you read (or listen to) this? If you’re not feeling much or maybe any JOY or PEACE right now, perhaps you should ponder today’s verses. They focus on grace, but once we’re under grace and full of grace, His Spirit can produce the nine FRUIT of the Spirit in us: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” That fruit of and by the Holy Spirit will make you, like Paul, joyful even amid dire circumstances.
Prayer: LORD, thank You for the fruit of the Spirit you offer me, all because of your GRACE. Amen.
From Philippians 4
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 21-22 Give my greetings to each of God’s holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.
23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.”
How do you conclude your personal letters, cards, or emails to close friends and family?
Paul was ending his letter to his close friends and Christian family, to the church at Phillipi, here in chapter four. That church was a JOY to Paul, and you can see his joyful heart overflowing throughout the book.
As a side note, you remember that Paul was under arrest, awaiting trial in Rome for his unwillingness to abandon his faith in Christ Jesus. And so, making the most of every opportunity, he had a chance to share the gospel message of Jesus with his guards. Some of them, even Caesar’s inner circle of guards, converted to Christianity, and thus the greeting “And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.”
You might ask, HOW did that happen? How did Caesar’s “household” – his staff – become born-again Christians?
It was Paul’s unique position of being a Roman, thus in jail in Rome, that God used to position him to talk with Roman guards and household staff, which eventually led some of them to Christ. (How terrific is that?!)
Let me focus on joy for a minute. Are you FEELING any joy right now as you read (or listen to) this? If you’re not feeling much or maybe any JOY or PEACE right now, perhaps you should ponder today’s verses. They focus on grace, but once we’re under grace and full of grace, His Spirit can produce the nine FRUIT of the Spirit in us: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” That fruit of and by the Holy Spirit will make you, like Paul, joyful even amid dire circumstances.
Prayer: LORD, thank You for the fruit of the Spirit you offer me, all because of your GRACE. Amen.
Posted in GRACE