Rejoice in the Lord, always

 Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!

S- Final Exhortations4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.   9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

O -  Paul’s word to the Phillipians came from a place of wisdom and revelation.     In comparison to Solomon Paul may not had been as wise, but because of his revelation of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven,  he was strong in revelation.    Solomon got wisdom early and lived a great and abundant life but in the end was melancholy and depressed.  Paul was just the opposite, he  struggled in his early years, and even when Christ stopped Him on the road to Damascus,  his life changed, but he struggled still for many years as he boldly preached the Gospel and was persecuted for it.   But toward the end,  while in prison,  he wrote to the church’s he planted to rejoice in the Lord,  let it be all joy, be gentle to all.    He said we can do that because the Lord is near (revelation).   We are not to worry , but rather we are to pray, because god will give us peace and understanding.      We should spend our time not focusing on the negative circumstances that surround us,  but rather on what is good, excellent and true.

A-  The application for me is recognize how blessed I am to have both the wisdom of Solomon and revelation of Paul at my fingertips at all times.   Even more so the revelation of Jesus Christ and the good news of the Gospel,  and now I have the Holy Spirit in me to guide me.   With all this I can and should rejoice in the Lord always!   I need not be anxious about anything, but just look around me at all that God is doing and has done.

P -  Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for today’s lesson, may it be sealed to my heart.