Thursday, July 25, 2013

Drama can rob your joy...

The Book of JOY is a letter written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison awaiting trial for preaching the gospel.  One possible outcome of this trial could be his being sentenced to death.  He opens the letter with loving words about the church at Philippi and how he is thankful for them every single time he thinks of them.

Philippians 1     ***The Single Mind*** or ***Circumstances Rob Joy***

Philippians 1:9-11 "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."

Judgment = discernment.  Discernment is the ability to see things for what they are. Do you remember the old saying "She can't see the forest for the trees"?  Some people can only see the drama around them.  Others can see through the drama and realize what the real issues are. Discernment is the opposite of drama!  Discernment is a mark of maturity; drama is a mark of childishness.  A child can be mislead much more easily than an adult simply because of maturity.

Paul wanted the Philippians to be able to discern the things that are excellent.  He wanted them, and us, to be able to tell the difference between the important things and the distractions.  He didn't want them to get sidetracked with things that really didn't matter.  It was more important to him WHY he was in prison than the fact THAT he was in  prison.  Instead of focusing on the horrible situation he was in, he wanted to redirect their attention to spreading the gospel of Christ.

Verses 10 and 11 also talk about being sincere and without offense and having the fruits of righteousness.  When you think of a drama queen exaggerating and being the victim and straining to outdo everyone around her . . . or him . . . you do not think of words like pure or blameless.  I certainly do not think of the word righteousness.  Being a drama queen is about being selfish and focused on how YOUR situation impacts YOU.  Being a drama queen is about steering everyone's attention back around to you.  Being pure and blameless and righteous is about keeping the focus on the most important Person.

If we can keep our mind singly on the gospel of Christ, even the worst of circumstances will not be able to rob our joy!

Song:  Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

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