Rejoice In The Lord Always

In the Letter to the Philippians, it’s quite evident that Paul rejoices and treasures his friendship with the Church of Philippians more than any other church. He takes pleasure in boasting that he had never taken help from any man or any other Church before and it was from the Philippians alone that he greed to accept a gift. In this letter we see that Paul rejoices in the Lord in any given situation.

Paul gives exhortations that are both specific and general in nature.
We see in verses 1 – 3 Paul gives specific exhortations to individuals there at Philippi while in verse 4, we find the first of several exhortations which are certainly needful for all Christians: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"

The word Joy is a keyword in this letter. If not the word ‘Joy’ he uses a derivation of it which appears more than 16 times in this letter.
Here are a few examples of Paul who found Joy “Always”
1. In his prayers - Ph 1:4
2. In the proclamation of the gospel under adverse circumstances - Ph 1:18
3. In the unity of the saints - Ph 2:2
4. In the prospect of being a martyr for Christ - Ph 2:17
5. In the love of the brethren - Ph 4:10

It is definitely true that Paul rejoices in everything that he does and always.
This joy is humanly impossible to achieve.
Here are a few examples of the temporary and fake joy which humans achieve:
Money
Wrong relationships
Pride when given authority
Drinks, Drugs
Material Acquisition, etc.

However, the never ending and abundant joy which Paul is experiencing and speaking about is ONLY found in the Lord.

Paul also very practically gives advice and tells us how to avoid hindrances to abiding joy.

For e.g.: Memories of past failures etc
1. Such often leaves people in a state of discouragement or depression
2. Paul, however, provides the solution in Ph 3:12-14
a. Realize your imperfection, yet press on to better things!
b. Forget your past failures, reach forward to future successes!

Conclusion:
‘Rejoice in the Lord Always’ doesn’t mean to ignore the bad realities and problems in life.
It means that in spite of the presence of such problems we still hold on to the Lord and not let these problems over shadow the joy which we have in our life.

PS: As I was writing this assignment I just though of this saying:
Don’t tell Ur Problems how big the problems are; Tell your problems how big Our God is!!

Saved By Grace

GRACE = God's Redemption At Christ's Expense St. Paul through his letter to Romans says that we all are thoroughly blest that we have Jesus Christ who died for us and wiped the slate of our lives totally clean. He also says that there is absolutely nothing that we can do by our own merit that can save us. It’s only through the grace of God that we are saved. We cannot earn our grace by our works and deeds. Works and deeds in turn should be an outflow of our lives. Lives which should be filled with gratitude and love for Christ. Romans 11:6 says, ‘but if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. Paul tries to tell us that Grace is given to the undeserving i.e. all of us since there is nothing that we can do to earn it. Paul here keeping the Jews in mind points out that that we tend to focus much more on our activities and works and in turn forget the main focus that is God. The law was given to the Jews at Mount Sinai, and showed them the way to live according to God's will. However, with it came the temptation to see the relationship God wants with us as a set of do's and don'ts. The law was a teacher, to show us God's holiness. The law was supposed to help us live holy lives so we could approach God. It was not to become a means to reach Him in our own strength. It is infact grace that sets us not only free but also gives us the power to overcome sin. Romans 6:14 ‘for sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace.’ It is just because of grace that we even have the hope of salvation. Paul in his letter to the Romans 3: 9 – 18, says that no one, absolutely no one is righteous in this world. Thus none of us by our achievements can boast that we have earned salvation taking an example of the Pharisees who by any means did keep the law more than us but yet Jesus rejected them. Romans 3:23-34 clearly states that all of us have fallen short of Gods glory and sinned. By what means then can our works save us. An excellent example from the Old Testament would be King David who totally messed up and broke the commandments; yet he was a man after God’s own heart having an amazing relationship with God. Paul clearly states that in the end the most important thing is what we “believe in our hearts” Romans 10:9, our interior conversion to Christ. If not by works then how should we live our lives. Only by Grace! We must acknowledge our complete and utter dependence on Grace. The Church affirms that no man can merit for himself the Grace of justification; between God and man there is an infinite inequality. Human acts of attempted obedience to any Law can only condemn us because we can never live up to God on our own terms, we always fall short. Grace alone can save. With grace should also come humility!! Romans 12:3 says, “For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.” Even as I write this assignment, the only thought and person which comes to my mind is Jesus. Romans 3:24 says, ‘being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: It’s only through the loving act of Jesus that we can approach our father. He who was perfect, sinless and the most humble gives grace to all of us who are sinful and boastful. Truly, we are saved By Grace