JULY 12

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES:

NAMES FOR JESUS IN THE BIBLE:

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ALTOGETHER LOVELY—Song of Solomon 5:16

“ONE LIKE THE SON OF GOD” IN THE FURNACE WITH THE 3 MEN–Daniel 3:25

STOPPED THE MOUTHS OF THE LIONS –Daniel 6:27

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This month we will read the book, “Whatever Happens – How to Stand Firm in Your Faith When the World is Falling Apart.”  By a contemporary author of many best-selling Christian books, Robert J. Morgan.  He took care of his wife when she had MS, until she went home to her Savior.  “He knows of which he speaks.”  I pray that this book blesses you.

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Philippians 1:12-18

“ But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,  so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;  and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains;  but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.  What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.”

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Last year during a speaking engagement in Tupedo, Mississippi, I checked out of my hotel and started my truck.  It roared like a motorcycle with no muffler.   During the night somebody had cut off and stolen my catalytic converter.  This caused no end of problems.  I had to leave my truck behind, rent a car, deal with insurance, and send somebody back to fetch my truck.  After all that, the vehicle still wasn’t working right, so I left it at the dealership while on another trip.

When I returned, I used a ride-sharing app to take me to the dealership for my truck.  As I sat in the back seat, I noticed a Bible in the seat pocket.  I asked the young man about it.  He said it had belonged to his dear, departed aunt, and he liked to keep it close to remind him of her.  I told him he should read it.  I shared some verses I’d read that morning in my own Bible.

He listened with unusual interest, so I explained from Scripture, how to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  By the time we got to the dealership, he wanted to pray, asking God for salvation – which he did.

That’s when I understood why the Lord had allowed  someone to steal my catalytic converter – it had set off a chain reaction that led to the young man’s salvation.,

Bad things happen all the time, but what if you know that every gloomy thing would lead to glorious results under the guiding providence of God?  That’s what Paul next told the Philippians.  They were distressed at all that had happened to him – the loss of his fourth missionary journey, his imprisonment in Caesarea, his shipwreck on Malta, and his looming trial in Rome. But Paul wasn’t gloomy in the least.  Here’ what he told them: (re-read the verse at the top)

This is the Philippian version of Romans 8:28, the verse that says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love god, to those who are the called according to HIS purpose.”

I wrote a book devoted to that subject entitled “God works All Things Together for Your Good.”  In the prologue I said:

“Problems can last a long time, but they can’t last forever.  Promises can, and God’s promises do….We live in a world of catastrophes and calamities, and none of us knows what will happen next.  Without God’s oversight, our futures are like scraps of paper scattering in the wind.  But under His oversight, they’re like pages of hope indelibly written by grace.  The scriptures teach we have a God who turns problems inside out – all our perils and perplexities …In Christ, we have an ironclad, unfailing, all-encompassing, God-given guarantee that every single circumstance in life will sooner or later turn out well for those committed to Him!”

Paul had written Romans 8:28 three or four years before his imprisonment, but now he demonstrated it in his own circumstances.  I want to base my outline on verse 12, where Paul wrote:

 “What has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.”

“WHAT HAS HAPPENED….”

Years ago, there was a television series called “The West Wing” and in one dramatic episode, an assassin fired at President Bartlet.  He and several of his staff were wounded.  The episode closed with Bartlet looking through the windows of the hospital intensive care unit.  Still stunned, he said simply, “Look what happened.” It was such a simple sentence, but it expressed the shock we feel when unexpected things take place.

None of us know what’s going to happen between now and this time tomorrow.  An unexpected phone call in the middle of the night could change our lives.  A destructive weapon could be unleashed somewhere in the world.  We don’t know what’s going to happen to us personally, and we don’t know what’s going to happen to us globally.  The word, “happen” implies the unpredictability of life.

Paul used this word three times in chapter 1.  In verse 12, he said, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,  that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.”  In verse 19 he declared that “what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.”  And in verse 27, he told the Philippians, “whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”  But what had happened to Paul?  As I described in the first chapter of this book, all his plans had fallen apart and he was facing trial in Rome before emperor Nero.

What has happened to you?  Paul isn’t the only person whose plans have fallen apart.  He’s not the only person who has faced hardship.  We all have.  Perhaps something has happened to you that has taken the wind out of your sales, the bounce out of your step, the twinkle out of your eye, and the joy out of your heart.

Well, that brings us to our next phrase, “What has happened to me has actually served….”  (that’s for tomorrow)

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