Discernment Driven by Love

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ  (Philippians 1:10 NKJV)

In order for us to have a discernment that allows us to choose between better and best, one that helps us make choices that keep us pure and blameless for Jesus, we need to have the love Paul described in the previous verse that is informed by knowledge and insight.  Paul is telling the Philippians that a love that continues to grow in its ability to embrace the truth is a necessary ingredient in our ability to discern in a way that has eternal value.

Discernment alone will have no value whatsoever if it is not driven by love.  Discernment without love, in fact, becomes quite critical.  By dictionary definition to discern is the ability to make out, pick out, detect, recognize, notice, observe, see, spot; identify, determine, and distinguish.  Nothing in that definition has anything to do with the wisdom necessary to do the right thing with what we discern.  That’s why Paul connects the need for an informed love to drive the engine of discernment. 

Jesus was the perfect picture of discernment driven by love.  No matter who approached Him, He knew exactly what was behind the questions asked, regardless of what they presented to Him on the surface.  His discernment detected the insincerity of the Pharisees and so He refused to play into their narrow-minded plans to entrap Him.  On the surface it may have seemed callous; but underlying the discernment was a love informed by the knowledge that if they were to ever stand a chance of escaping the snare of the enemy, He would have to patiently endure their questions without become entangled in their web.  Perhaps that’s why Paul wrote to young Timothy:

²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ²⁵ in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, ²⁶ and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26 NKJV).

Jesus was always giving every person who approached a chance and opportunity to come to God, regardless of what their presenting motivation may have been.  In order to do this, it was necessary that His discernment be drenched in love, even if that looked hard or difficult at times on the outside.

While Christ’s discernment defied the Pharisees, it also embraced the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, and the woman who washed His feet with her tears – all to the horror of the on-looking and self-righteous people who did not possess a love that knew these women’s deepest hurts and divine longings.

Discernment driven by an informed love is the key to making decisions that keep us pure and blameless as we await Christ’s return.  In light of this truth, I realize that my lack is not in the area of discernment, but rather love. 

Today I will begin a routine of asking God every day to grant me an informed love that drives my discernment so that when I choose what to do with what I discern, it will produce a decision that keeps me blameless and pure.

Love Informed By Truth

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (Philippians 1:9 NKJV).

It is quite revealing that Paul did not stop the above sentence after the words “more and more.” He didn’t say that he was praying simply for our love to increase, but rather that it would increase in knowledge and deep insight.  He added this qualifying statement because it is important.  Love without knowledge and insight can be extremely dangerous – on both the part of the lover and the loved.  It is where the idea comes from that love is blind.  And blindness in anything causes us to stumble and even fall at times.

Scripture describes Biblical love perfectly in 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV).

That’s a tall order.  When a spouse is abusing their partner, do we persevere?  When a parent grabs an infant out of the crib and shakes the baby until it is brain damaged or dead, do we be patient and kind?  When a son or daughter goes off the deep end and is drinking to excess and neglecting his or her family, do we trust and hope that things will get better?

Can you begin to see how devastating love without knowledge and insight can become?  While love perseveres, it also protects.  While love is patient, the Scripture that tells us we are to confront sin also informs it to not sit idly by.  While love is kind, it also takes into consideration the path of righteousness we are told to walk and does not compromise.  While love trusts and hopes, it also prays and helps, not leaving a situation to its own demise.

There are quite a few people who believe that because God is love, He would never allow anyone to go to Hell.  Their love is uneducated, ignorant, and certainly does not abound in knowledge.  God sends no one to hell, but He will not violate our human right to choose sin over Him and it is in that choice that every man and woman determines his or her own destiny.  If we choose not to accept the atonement for sin found in Christ alone, then we die in our sin and sin cannot enter Heaven.  That does not make God unloving, it makes Him just and fair.  His love provided a way of escape, but if we do not understand the Apostle Paul’s call for our love to be informed by knowledge and insight, then we can easily stumble in the dark over this truth.

Today, I will spend time in the presence of Wisdom Himself, Jesus, and seek to have my love increased in the knowledge and insight of God’s truth.

The Affection of Christ

For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:8 NKJV).

Since the word “affection” jumped off the page at me, I decided to look it up in Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary.  The definition was quite revealing:

1. The state of being affected;

2. Passion;

3. A bent of mind towards a particular object, holding a middle place between disposition, which is natural, and passion, which is excited by the presence of its exciting object. Affection is a permanent bent of the mind, formed by the presence of an object, or by some act of another person, and existing without the presence of its object.

4. In a more particular sense, a settle good will, love or zealous attachment;

5. Desire; inclination; propensity;

6. An attribute, quality or property, which is inseparable from its object.

The distilled results of these definitions give us the following understanding of what Paul is saying – He has a heart that is excited and zealous for the Philippian believers and that is inseparable from who they are.  What is even more amazing is to think that Paul compares how he feels about these believers to how the Lord feels about us. 

The “affection of Jesus Christ” towards us is a bent of mind that is permanent, exists whether we are together or apart, and is excited by our very presence.  Now, that is not at all how most of us would think Jesus would feel towards us.  Even on a good day, we often consider him a bit aloof – loving and approving, but somewhat distant.  We can often let the holiness of God and the all too, ever present, reality of our sinfulness keep our relationship with God in a sterile place that has nothing to do with feelings and affection.  We can view His love as generic and central to who He is, rather than in this way of personal and up close affection and connected to who we are.  And we certainly don’t think of His feelings towards us as being zealous, passionate, and influenced by us. 

As uncomfortable as this term “affection of Jesus Christ” might make us on the one hand, there is a very real humbling of the heart that takes place when the truth of this principle actually permeates our minds and informs our souls.   Christ is our fiancé whose heart, like any other human fiancé’s heart, jumps when He sees His bride.  How awkward and awesome; how uncomfortable and comforting, how sobering and exciting.  How weird that one little term out of an entire book can breathe fresh life into our understanding of the relationship we are so privileged to enjoy with God.

I will spend today contemplating the fact that God is excited about me, passionate, zealous, and permanently affected by just being in my presence.  I knew that was true for me about Him, but never even considered that was true for Him about me.

The Power of Grace

just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace (Philippians 1:7 NKJV).

God’s grace is not affected by our outward circumstances.  Quite the contrary, it is God’s grace that affects our outward circumstances.  Paul is in prison, bound in chains, facing a possible death sentence, but he remains full of hope and joy as he pens his epistle to the Philippian believers.  Since grace plays such a vital part in the role of our salvation and destiny, it would be good for us to look a little more closely at what this grace is – not just as we think we understand it, but as God actually describes it.

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-12).

Many people use grace interchangeably with mercy.  When they are confronted by their sin, they often offer the explanation of “Well, thank God I’m under grace and not the law.”  This sentiment is prevalent, but it is also erroneous.  Paul explains to young Titus in the verse above that God’s grace does not cover our sin but actually empowers us to say no to sin.  So, if they were truly “under grace,” they would be walking in righteousness, not unrighteousness.  It is God’s mercy that provides the forgiveness for sin.  It is His grace that helps us say no to sin in the first place.

Having made this distinction, it is also interesting to note the following verse:

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV).

As the writer of Hebrews instructs us on what to do when we face temptation, he tells us to come boldly to God’s throne room.  And what exactly do we find in that throne room?  Just two things – mercy and grace.  Because those are the only two things that God has given us to deal with sin.  We need grace to say no to sin and mercy when we fail to access the grace in the first place.

With this backdrop, it now makes perfect sense why the Apostle Paul would bring the subject of grace up to the Philippians as he is getting ready to set out the rest of his message.  Throughout this tiny epistle, Paul challenges not just the Philippian believers in the first century, but every believer in every century forward with his example and explanation of how to find joy in the midst of the most horrendous conditions.  We escape the chains of our outward circumstances by accessing grace – it has always been God’s saving force – whether it is saving us from eternal damnation or just the prison of our own mind:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV).

Today I will partake of God’s grace to live in the freedom that allows me to find joy in any and every circumstance.  I will not allow my outward situation to determine my inward condition of heart.

Confident Surrender

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:6 NKJV)

Noah Webster 1828 dictionary defines confident as: “Having full belief; trusting; relying; fully assured; positive; trusting; without suspicion; bold; having an excess of assurance.”

When we combine that definition with the above verse, and the thing in which we are to have that kind of confidence, the power of Paul’s statement becomes staggering.  We are to have full trust, without any hint of suspicion that it is not true, in an excess of assurance that what God started in us at the moment we first believed, He will complete – that is bring to fullness – until we see Jesus face to face.  That means that every single day we spend on this earth after the fact – after giving our whole heart to Christ – is one in which we are being molded, shaped, tried, tested, and redesigned into the plan God has for us that was in place before the foundation of the world. 

This truth ought to bring comfort and peace to our hearts as we walk through difficult times and internal battles.  Paul is assuring us that regardless of how much it feels like we are losing the battle, the reality is; we are simply in a war that has already been won.  And with every skirmish, every struggle, every disappointment and perceived failure, we are gaining ground.  We are coming to the realization that in our own strength, we will always lose, but in the strength of God, we are more than conquerors.  And one day, we step back and realize that the true battle was not against the devil, evil, or any outside person.  The real victory was gaining the knowledge given to us in this very verse – that it is Christ who will make us fit for the Kingdom, not any good thing we might think we have to offer Him of ourselves.  That through Christ I can do all things but apart from Him I have nothing to offer.  The quicker we get to that point, the faster we can throw up the white flag of surrender and become real warriors in the Lord’s army.  We become true seasoned saints who understand the power we embrace when we let go of our need to control our world and “do” great things for God.  Instead, we allow Him to use us in whatever way He finds profitable, even if it means serving Him in the most mundane and ordinary ways. 

Today, I will choose to submit my will to Christ in all things so that He will receive the glory for whatever happens to me today – whether I perceive that I have won or lost – because it is the obedience He looks for – not the outcome of the battle.  That reality brings a whole new meaning to the verse, “For me to live is Christ; to die is gain.”  Whether I walk forward in the life of Christ or die to self today, it is all for His sake and purpose.

Success Even in Failure

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:6 NKJV)

Noah Webster 1828 dictionary defines confident as: “Having full belief; trusting; relying; fully assured; positive; trusting; without suspicion; bold; having an excess of assurance.”

When we combine that definition with the above verse, and the thing in which we are to have that kind of confidence, the power of Paul’s statement becomes staggering.  We are to have full trust, without any hint of suspicion that it is not true, in an excess of assurance that what God started in us at the moment we first believed, He will complete – that is bring to fullness – until we see Jesus face to face.  That means that every single day we spend on this earth after the fact – after giving our whole heart to Christ – is one in which we are being molded, shaped, tried, tested, and redesigned into the plan God has for us that was in place before the foundation of the world. 

This truth ought to bring comfort and peace to our hearts as we walk through difficult times and internal battles.  Paul is assuring us that regardless of how much it feels like we are losing the battle, the reality is, we are simply in a war that has already been won.  And with every skirmish, every struggle, every disappointment and perceived failure, we are gaining ground.  We are coming to the realization that in our own strength, we will always lose, but in the strength of God, we are more than conquerors.  And one day, we step back and realize that the true battle was not against the devil, evil, or any outside person.  The real victory was gaining the knowledge given to us in this very verse – that it is Christ who will make us fit for the Kingdom, not any good thing we might think we have to offer Him of ourselves.  That through Christ I can do all things but apart from Him I have nothing to offer.  The quicker we get to that point, the faster we can throw up the white flag of surrender and become real warriors in the Lord’s army.  We become true seasoned saints who understand the power we embrace when we let go of our need to control our world and “do” great things for God.  Instead, we allow Him to use us in whatever way He finds profitable, even if it means serving Him in the most mundane and ordinary ways. 

Today, I will choose to submit my will to Christ in all things so that He will receive the glory for whatever happens to me today – whether I perceive that I have won or lost – because it is the obedience He looks for – not the outcome of the battle.  That reality brings a whole new meaning to the verse, “For me to live is Christ; to die is gain.”  Whether I walk forward in the life of Christ or die to self today, it is all for His sake and purpose.

The Impact of Prayer

always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy (Philippians 1:4 NKJV).

Paul was a man of great faith; a man of courage; a man of conviction; a man who accomplished more for God than probably all of the believers put together in his generation.  Yet, above all else, Paul was a man of prayer, which was the foundation for all the rest.  The works he started in his own physical ability to go into an area and preach the Gospel, were always watered fervently in the spiritual realm with prayer.  Paul knew that this was the necessary combination to accomplish the work of God’s Kingdom and that it was really not in his own abilities that he would see fruit from what he did.  That’s why he penned to the Corinthian believers:

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor (1 Corinthians 3:7-8 NKJV).

Paul knew that any work he put his hand to do on behalf of Christ would require diligent, faithful, relentless prayer and he was committed to do just that, which is why he could always make requests on behalf of the Philippians with the joy of knowing that God would bring the increase.

Prayer is the essential in the life of the man or woman who offers their lives in full time service to God that often gets overlooked in the midst of the crazy pace of ministry life.  Yet, when you stop to think it through, it becomes extremely obvious that without the prayers of faith in the above equation, all we really do is a lot of busy work for God.  It is only when we water it with the power of prayer that we invoke God’s hand to give the increase.

Today, I will spend a time in prayer, making requests for the people that I know need the miraculous hand of God’s increase in their lives.

How Are You Remembered?

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you (Philippians 1:3 NKJV)

This is the earmark of a healthy relationship.  Every time the Apostle Paul thinks back on the Philippian believers, he thanks God for them.  Can I say that about my relationships?  When I think about people with whom I have had relationships, is thanksgiving what comes to mind?  Even more disturbing is the question, “When people think of me, are they thankful for the time they spent with me?” 

In the mix of every human transaction there will be good times as well as bad.  So why do some relationships bring fond and thankful memories when others bring anything but a heart of gratitude and actually muster up feelings of good riddance?  The answer to this question is found in the scriptural principle of sowing and reaping. Consider each relationship as a bank account into which we make deposits of love, understanding, consistent acts of giving, and liberal amounts of trust, and from which we also make withdrawals of hate, misunderstanding, selfish acts of taking, and on-going disloyalty. You cannot harvest goodness and thanksgiving out of an account into which you have only sown wickedness and discord.  When we live selfishly with others, we continue to make withdrawals from the account to the point that we fall into that category of a “good riddance” when they remember us.  Yet, if we spend our lives investing sacrificially into others, thinking of their needs and their interests, encouraging and building up, we will fill the account with goodness, trust, and love to the point of overflowing.  Then when they think of us, the thankfulness of Paul’s sentiments regarding the Philippians will be what floods their hearts and minds.

I cannot choose for others how they treat me, but I can certainly choose to pour myself out sacrificially for others so that when they remember me it will be with thoughts of gratitude.  Today I will look for ways in which I can serve and be a blessing to those who God has put in my life.

The Order of God

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:2 NKJV).

If God is one thing, it is that He is intentional.  He does not do anything by happenchance.  That’s why the order of how He states things is extremely critical and brings much clarity to what He is saying.  In His Word, God mentions many times the dynamic duo of grace and peace, and there is a reason that grace always comes before peace when He does.  The reality that God is expressing is that you can never find true peace until you have experienced grace because the peace our soul longs for stems from the loss of it in the Garden of Eden. 

When Adam and Eve took that first step away from the grace of God towards their own destination – when they sinned – they lost the connection that existed between them and God.  And since God is peace, they lost their peace.  From that moment forward, man would strive to regain what had been lost through many different ways – moral goodness, meditation, mantras, and a multitude of other means in which to reach up to the God of the Universe to find the inner peace in which our heart was designed to live.  Yet, there would never be “real” peace until Christ could course correct the Fall of mankind.  When you understand this backdrop, Christ’s words make perfect sense:

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27 NKJV).

Only when we have experienced the grace of God through which we are saved from the sin of self-dependence can we truly know the peace that Paul describes to the Philippians later on in this same book:

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 NKJV).

It is not just the order of grace and peace, however, that strikes us in this verse.  It is also the order of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Although the God-Head is co-equal in their importance, there is an order in their performance.  God the Father is the One from whom we became disconnected, Jesus is the One Who rectified the problem, and the Holy Spirit is the One Who keeps the connection solid and firm.

Today, I will ask God for the measure of grace I need to keep my heart and mind firmly planted in Christ’s finished work of reconnecting me.  I will ask the Holy Spirit to guide my every word, thought, and action to make sure that my connection is at full volume so that I can walk in the peace that does not allow my heart to be come troubled or afraid.