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The Providence
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Prayer
by
Edmund DeSoto
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COLLECTION OF ANOINTED TEACHINGS |
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GUEST BOOK |
PRIVACY POLICY
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CHAPTER 1 |
CHAPTER 2 |
CHAPTER 3 |
CHAPTER 4 |
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KING JAMES VERSION |
NEW LIVING TRANSLATION |
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Introduction
To Philippians
THE WORDs
gladness, happiness, cheerfulness bring to mind and suggest visions of
strolling hand in hand with the one you love, or being surprised on your
birthday. Perhaps they bring to mind responding with unrestrained laughter
to a comedian, or vacationing in an out of the ordinary surroundings.
Maybe the words
gladness, happiness or cheerfulness can bring to mind thoughts of unwrapping
gifts on Christmas morning or remembering a pleasant incident as a small
child.
Everyone wants
to be happy; we make chasing this mysterious ideal a lifelong hunt: some
go around spending money, ohers collecting things, and yet others searching
for new experiences.
But if gladness,
happiness, cheerfulness depends on our circumstances;
What
happens when these toys begin to rust?
What happens
when our loved ones die?
What happens
when health deteriorates?
What happens
when the money is stolen?
What happens
when the party’s over?
I tell you what
happens. All too often happiness flees and despair sets in. Oh! But I have
awesome Good News for you. In contrast to happiness, joy stands in.
Running deeper
and stronger, joy is the calm, quiet, peaceful, silent, confident assurance
of God’s love and work in our life. It is the assurance that He will be
there no matter what! The Lord Hmself said to us. "I will never leave
you nor forsake you!"
Romans
13:5 KJV
Happiness depends
on accomplishments and happenings, but joy depends on our Messiah Yeshua.
Philippians
Is Paul’s Joy Letter
The church
in that Macedonian city had been a great encouragement to Paul just like
the churches I minister in around the country are of great joy to me.
The Philippian
believers had enjoyed a very special relationship with Paul, so he wrote
them a personal expression of his love and affection. They had brought
him great joy.
"Therefore,
my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand
fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved."
Philippians
4:1 KJV
Philippians is
also a joyful book because it emphasizes the real joy of the Christian
life. The concept of rejoicing or joy appears sixteen times in four chapters,
and the pages radiate this positive message, culminating in the exhortation
to
“Rejoice
in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”
Philippians
4:4 KJV
In a life dedicated
to serving Christ, Paul had faced excruciating poverty, abundant wealth,
and everything in between. He even wrote this joyful letter from prison.
Whatever the
circumstances, Paul had learned to be content finding real joy as he focused
all of his attention and energy on knowing Christ and obeying him.
[Pls read
4:11-12], [
3:8],
[
3:12-13]
Paul’s desire
to know Christ above all else is wonderfully expressed in the following
words:
“Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
Philippians
3:8-10 KJV
It is my most
sincere prayer that we may share Paul's aspiration and seek to know Jesus
Christ more and more. Rejoice with Paul in Philippians, and rededicate
yourself to finding joy in Christ.
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