Advance The
Gospel
And this is my
prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of
insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and
blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that
comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Now I
want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has
actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear
throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for
Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become
confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without
fear.
It is true that some
preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter
do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that
they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter?
The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true,
Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Philippians
1:9-18
Our words may express
our hopes for others for the year ahead, but they can’t bring about good
fortune. The important issue is what does God want to see in us in the coming
year?
In his letter to the
Philippians, Paul expressed his desire and prayer that their love abound more
and more in knowledge. Paul received a tower of support from the church. Paul
urged them to continue to grow to love others.
Love for others
starts with a close relationship with Him. With a fuller knowledge of God, we
can then discern between right and wrong.
Giving our best
wishes to others for the coming year is fine. But our heartfelt prayer should
be that we abound in love.
People
with a heart for God have a heart for people.
Our Daily Bread –