Thought for the Week - 20th December
Pastor Gareth WatkinsPhilippians 3:18-21
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly,
and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
In these verses, Paul describes two different sorts of people:
- Person A – have become enemies of the cross. Their end is in destruction, their glory is their shame and their mind is on earthly things, not the things of God.
- Person B – doesn’t belong to this world, this person’s citizenship is in heaven. They are waiting for the transformation of their body.
Christmas is a season which can see us dragged into person A, when we need to be focusing on being person B.
Person A is being deceived, is a deceiver, is angry, immoral and lacks consistency. As Christians, we are expected to be different. But be aware that Person A is not far away… person A can be dragging us with all its might into this other position that God doesn’t want us to be in!
Our hope is in eternity! We can be transformed! God wants us not to be enemies of the cross or people whose end is destruction, but people who are looking as citizens of another land.
Christ is able to subdue all the things that will put us in the place of Person A… the pressures, the stressors, the things of this world that would put us there. The things that will distract us this Christmas – the presents, the food, the good times – will be forgotten this time next year. But the blessings of God will remain… not only across the year, but will hopefully carry on until eternity!
Make sure you’re in a place where the blessings of God can be. To live life without God is to live life in vain. So don’t be dragged into moments where God is not there or where there aren’t good memories… because person A will call you, and will drag you.
God has given Christ, the saviour of all flesh. He can be over all the things that affect us in life. If we have any problem at all, He can change it around!
2016 is coming and there’s more coming and more for us to do! Set your heart on heavenly things not your belly this Christmas. Don’t be bound in the captive chains of Person A going into 2016.
End 2015 in a good way and start 2016 on a good note!
