Glad to be poured out

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Philippians 2:14-17

Our culture hates the thought of being walked over or treated as a doormat. In fact it's more acceptable to be complaining and disputing than it is to be seen as blameless and harmless. Paul doesn't seem to mind though. He'd rather know that he hasn't put all that effort into holding fast to the Word of Life, to then see those he discipled blend into the crowd just as crooked as everyone else. He was glad to be poured out if it meant others were standing strong in their faith!

God's working in you for His good pleasure

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12,13 NKJV

The key to applying this passage is knowing who is doing what. Thankfully it's God's job to work His will in us and our job to put our faith and trust in Him. I work out my salvation each day simply by spending time with Him and building my faith and trust in Him. John 6:27 says not to labour for food which perishes but to labour for that which endures to everlasting life and is given by Jesus. When asked what work we should do, He said to "believe in Him".

I guess believing/trusting is called working out our salvation because it doesn't come naturally to us, and therefore requires effort, not because we are earning something. That's probably why we shy away from using the word work when talking about salvation. We know it's God's grace that has saved us, not anything we do/could ever do ourselves.

Stepping up and stepping out, not stepping back

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV

I've been thinking about what it means here to have the 'mind of Christ' or more specifically to 'humble ourselves'. Strong's concordance defines the use of 'humble' here as Jesus 'stooping to the condition of a servant'. We know from how He lived that 'making Himself of no reputation' didn't mean Jesus gave up or neglected what He could serve others with. Humbling oneself appears more about stepping up and stepping out with what we have to serve others rather than stepping back.

Be of good cheer!

But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” Acts 23:11 NKJV

So, Paul was actually under arrest at this time, and God's saying to him "Be of good cheer"! I don't think God is a sadist; He just has inside information. He knew how satisfied Paul would be in testifying about Him! I'm feeling a little shaky today, knowing that my youngest daughter could potentially have serious health issues. But I know there will be something to testify about through this journey as well!