Eye on the prize!

Paul writes in verse 20 through the end of the chapter some words that thrill me! My citizenship is in heaven! Hallelujah! I've always felt a little odd here - well, no wonder! I don't really belong here, I'm just on mission. And get this: I get a glorious body someday! Whoohoo! No more calories to count! No more pimples! A good hair day every day! Actually, we can only guess what this means - "glorious body". We do know that our bodies will be like Christ's body.

• How do you think you'll look/feel when you get yours?

Paul reminds the Philippians of his great love for them and his great joy in them and then encourages them to stand firm in the Lord. Here is where we can be grateful to be participants with others in following Christ. We help each other stand firm through intercessory prayer, study blogs (!), teachings on Sunday, women's gatherings (men's gatherings too) - all these 'church' activities help. How blessed we are to have this freedom in our country! What about those underground Christians in Muslim lands or communist China or wherever? More difficult there, I'd say. It is good for all of us to know that our Holy Spirit is there helping us stand firm. God holds us jealously, unwilling to let us fail. All He needs from us is that cry that says 'I feel weak here, I need You.' God is into the rescuing business. It occurs to me that we may be in greater 'danger' than those Christians in far away lands. It may be easier to slip when you stand on the gradual slope that our culture seems to offer. Our greatest danger may be that we don't know we're in danger. The safeguard is to go back to what God says, and choose to stand firm there.

• As you travel through the Scriptures, have you found a verse that has helped you 'stand firm?'

I'll share one of mine: Romans 12:1-2. In fact, I love all of chapter 12 of Romans - I think it describes an attitude toward God and each other that shows specifically how to live according to the pattern Christ has set down for us. Hope you get a chance to read it and be blessed, too.