Jesus Humbled Himself

 ^„And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” Philippians 2:8.

This is one of the most unbelievable things about Jesus. He humbled himself before the Father. Wow! Being God himself He put on humility and did everything His Father wanted. What a great example for us his followers! Humility is so alien to the people of the world, especially to those in power. They cannot connect power with humility. They think you have to be strong, proud, self confident and step over other people heads in order to achieve something. Jesus achieved great things the other way round. By submitting to His Father! And Father exalted his name above any other name.

Mind of Christ

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5.

If we want to be like Christ we will have to adopt His way of thinking and the attitudes that He has. Reading the gospels, listening to Christ’s words and watching His actions will help us to see how He thinks and what attitudes He has. Then we can start imitating Him and eventually become like He is. Of course, we have to like that type of thinking and those kinds of attitudes that Christ had. If we don’t, there is very little chance that we ever become like Him.

Not Only Believe but Also to Suffer

“For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake…” Philippians 1:29. 

Believing is one aspect of us being followers of Christ. However, that is not the only one. It comes with extra benefits, obligations and also hardships. Suffering is one of the “unpleasant” parts. The world is bound by sin and it opposes the truth. When you as a follower of Christ start preaching the truth, some people will surely not like that. They will persecute you, at least verbally. We do know that Christians are persecuted for their faith around the world. Even, if you live in the worst you will experience something what the Bible calls suffering. It may not be as dramatic as our brothers experience in some Muslim countries, but it will still be challenging and cause suffering. Let’s consider it a privilege!

See also:

Bible verses about faith

Live is Christ and Die is Gain

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” Philippians 1:21.

Only a person with deep and unshakable faith can say that. We may affirm to the statement in our minds, but we have to be of strong faith to say that. Paul saw tremendous things that Christ did around him, in him and through him and therefore could say such a radical statement. He saw that his religious zeal prior to coming to Christ led to nowhere, except pain for others. He saw how sinful he was and his desire to be with Christ was natural. Jesus has to become more real than people around us in order for us to say that. But that is possible!

See also:

I can do all things through Christ

The same mindset as Jesus Christ

May Our Love Grow

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment” Philippians 1:9. 

Low is an alive thing. It may grow or it may decrease. You probably know that love can also die. We may kill it in others with our harsh and critical words. It does not happen suddenly, but over a prolonged period of time. Well, that is a negative aspect of what you can do with feelings. The positive aspect is that you can grow any positive feeling. Sow love in others and it will grow in your own life. 

See also:

Understanding Christ love