Now, Girls!
If you've been involved with church for any length of time, you've seen people disagree. Well, come on, people are involved with church! No different for the Philippians. Paul scolds two girls, Euodia and Syntyche, for some sort of disunity. Kind of interesting that their names mean sweet fragrance and easy to get along with! Whoops! These are good girls, it seems, hard workers for the cause of Christ. But somewhere along the line a disagreement occurred and the word got back to Paul. The remedy? Choose to agree in the Lord. The church was instructed to help them get there. We are responsible, as the Church, to help the cause of unity within the body of Christ. After all, it was Jesus who taught, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons (daughters) of God." (Matthew 5:9) This is about reminding our fellow workers of the big picture, the grand purpose, the most excellent way. Like Paul said, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things." (3:8) We can give up the right to be right more easily, when we realize that it's all about Jesus.

• If you've been in a disagreement in church, how was it resolved - or was it? What did you learn from it?

I love this next little section - verses 4-7. More joy, less worry. There's a verse here everyone should know: verse 6. Got trouble? Don't worry! Take it to God, and don't forget to say 'thank You'! (This is my very rough paraphrase.) The outcome? Verse 7 - Peace. Peace that transcends understanding. Peace that guards, not only your mind, but also your heart. I'll bet Euodia and Syntyche would have loved a dose of that!

Women are notorious worriers. It's true, you know it. The last thing we would think to do in the middle of a 'situation' is to offer a prayer of thanksgiving. So, it's interesting to me that it's included in the remedy. Pondering it a bit more, if we're tuned in to what we have to be thankful for, we've tuned out - or at least, pushed to the side - the thing we're worrying about. There's the opening for peace to come in. Look at how faithful God's been in the past. Look at the good possiblities that can come out of the 'situation.' Look at Who is in charge of outcomes. One of my most favorite things about God is His sovereignty - His control over everything. I love Him for that! Why should I worry?

• What are you worried about today? Try this remedy on your knees and let us know how it turns out.