I asked myself what is 'Therefore' referring to?
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21, NIV)

By being citizens of Heaven, Paul wants them to stand firm in the Lord.

I asked myself what 4 things does Paul let the Philippians know before telling them to stand firm in the Lord?
1. You whom I love
2. You whom I long for
3. You whom are my joy
4. You whom are my crown

INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself the significance of Paul's statement?
The apostle Paul is not just focusing on citizenship but also love and longing. Paul is in love and longing for the Philippians. I found that very significant because it was not a sexual or romantic kind of love or longing, but a family kind of love and longing for the Philippians. They have become his joy and crown to him.

For Paul to be able to describe them as his joy and crown, they must be acting as true citizens of heaven. His love and longing for them shows that love can be in different language and does not always have to be the sexual or romantic language. It is through love and longing for others that Paul wants them to take a stand.

IMPLICATIONS:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life?
As a believer in Christ, I should not back down to write to others that I love them and long for them. I should not fear people getting the wrong message. Sadly in society many times the whole concept of love is twisted.
 
“I love you” usually signifies that “person is interested in a person romantically”. That is not always the case. This passage also shed light on King David’s relationship with Jonathan. People who are for homosexuality love to use David and Jonathan's relationship to insinuate a sexual kind of love. That is so far from the truth!

Loving one another and longing for them is so biblical and does not have to be sexual or romantic. I also realize when love is verbalized between sexes, there should be clarity in how that love is being expressed so mixed signals are not sent.

It is Paul’s love and longing for the Philippians that prompts him to write a letter to them and exhort them to stand firm in the Lord as citizens of Heaven.

There are a lot of you I do not know really well personally but I share these devotionals with you because of Christ’s love for me and my love for each of you. I long for each of you to know Jesus Christ more and more and allow Him to get you through your  career, family, and life itself.  For me it started because of how Jesus Christ showed His love for me on the cross! Jesus used my mom to help me come to know Him! Most of all, it is amazing how the Lord Jesus now uses my wonderful wife Chandra to show me love in wonderful ways. Thank you Lord Jesus.

I have experienced the love of Christ through others in my life and it is that love that gives me a longing for others because Jesus loved me enough to place people in my life to make a difference after He paid the ultimate price for me on the cross, shedding His precious cleansing blood for my redemption. Thank you so much Jesus.

I want to show love and longing for others too. I long for each and every friend of mine on facebook and outside of facebook to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Personal Savior experiencing His abundant love, joy, and peace through His grace.

It is my love for Jesus, longing to love you all that I began the process of writing devotionals to express the love of Christ! That is one of the reasons that Pittsburgh Standard continues to exist.

In Christ, you too can be loved so much especially by the Lord and others he places in your life. I cannot count the countless hours the Lord used my mommy to counsel me, pray for me, and use God's Word to exhort, equip, enable, and empower me to do the Lord's will as I was growing up. The countless hours my mommy spent in my life have been precious. Now no matter what our family is going through, I see my wife's unconditional love and sacrifice from the day we married in 2010.

 As I reflect on more on love, it is amazing how many hours Kevin used to spend time with me praying with me and coming so far to just do a Bible study with me in the Gospel of Mark years ago. Through this experience, the Lord led me into ministry years ago for many years. The desire and passion to reach souls for Christ and influence souls from a Christocentric view has not died now years later. Also, Kevin's wife, Elizabeth made such an impact on me. They were the main reason I went into the ministry because what they did for me, I wanted to do for others.

I am amazed the amount of time that our former Pastor Hugo Cheng, and Edwin of Oakland International Fellowship have spent in my life mentoring me and showing love for me. Thank you Jesus! Our family has been longing in love to see Pastor Hugo and his family, so it was exciting for us to find out that he will be giving the sermon this coming Sunday for Oakland International Fellowship.

Now, atleast once a week, Pastor Josh spends time with me between 1 to 2 hrs to pray with me, counsel, etc. Love and longing to show the love of Christ is the main reason and the secondary reason is to see me mature in the Christian faith more and more growing in Christ and being drawn to Him more and more.

I ask you now dear friends, where do you S.T.A.N.D on love in your life?
Dear friends, love in any language reaches the heart and it goes on and on. It is exciting to know that we are capable of loving because God loved us first. I don’t know where you stand on love but I want you to know this passage gives us an example that there is nothing wrong writing to people that they are loved and longed for. As it is done in the right context without mixed signals, it can be powerful.

Also, a person’s love can change someone else. I have seen that happen. Because they are loved they want to make the other person happy and it serves as an external motivation to change their lifestyle. You can be that one that can help someone as you let them know they are loved by you and most of all loved by the Lord. It is others love that has changed me in different areas because that love was the love of Christ exhibited through them.

Love is really strong and can make people stand firm for their beliefs. Because of Paul’s love for Jesus Christ which flowed out of him to the people, he is able to stand firm in his belief in Jesus w/o renouncing Christ though he is shackled in chains. Paul knows he is loved by Jesus and is able to stand firm.

No matter what happens to the Philippians, Paul wants them to stand firm in the Lord Jesus Christ which is what we should do too. We can love others and long for them as we stand firm in Jesus Christ. Friend let your love be based on Christ loving you first. In this world of me, me, me, many times our love is based on what others have done for us and what we can get out of them, but thanks be to God as we reflect on what Jesus did for us on the cross of Calvary to redeem us, ransom us, rescue us, deliver us, and save us from the bondage of sin and death, we see that His love is unconditional with no strings attached. He loved us first not because we could give Him anything but because of who He is.

When we struggle to love others because they are not living up to our expectations, let us ask ourselves, are we living up to Christ's expectations in our lives?

Does He still love us inspite of not meeting Christ's expectations daily?

We know the answer is 'Yes' no matter who we are, where we are, and what we have done because it is His mercy and grace, He showers upon us. Not only that, He is setting an example of what true love lived out according to 1 Corinthians 13 looks like. Lord has used this devotional to convict me in different ways and examine what my own love for others is based upon. It cannot be based upon what they do for us, will do for us, etc but based upon 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 without any strings attached. For that to happen, we  need to rest in the arms of love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us and went through the pain of the cross to show agape love in action that we can be delivered. Thank you Jesus. Help us to love because you loved us first. Lord Jesus help me.

"When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. Even if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:6-8, TLB)

Now Jesus is alive for He came back to life on the Third Day. The world has celebrated Resurrection Sunday yesterday. To be able to love others the way Jesus wants us to love, we need to surrender all our pain, wounds, shortcomings, expectations to the Lord and be obedient to His Word.

What does it mean to you that Jesus is Alive?

How should that impact how you live your life?

We cannot go by feelings because feelings can deceive but always by faith knowing and doing what is right. Help us Lord Jesus! He will help us friend. Yes, He will.  It won't always be an easy path. There will be days if we are not careful, we will revert back to the old ways but thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ, He gives us a wonderful promise: 'Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh!'

Don't think lust of the flesh has to only do with romantic stuff but lust of the flesh can be anything the flesh lusts after that is not of the Lord. The flesh can lust after hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, rage, etc. But when we yield ourselves to the One who wants us to depend on Him and Him alone, we can be confident of the Holy Spirit working in our lives daily. Then, we can see the Fruit of the Spirit lived out in our lives producing 'Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness, and self-control'.

It is so awesome to know that the Word of God never says, we can produce all this on our own but says this can happen when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to produce these results. Help us Lord Jesus!

Friend, won't you take a stand for Christ in love by giving Him your heart?

You can do it right now! Now is the time of Salvation! There is no need to wait. You may not have all the answers. No one does but Christ will reveal all the answers to you in His timing and now offers Himself to you to give you a new beginning and hope! It is an everlasting hope as we bask in the resurrection of Christ.

For only Christ can save others through His pardon, purpose, power, and promises giving others peace.

May you know you are loved by the Lord Jesus Christ more than anyone else loves you! May you also come to stand on the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ knowing His love for you! Amen!

"Savior Teaches All New Deliverance! (S.T.A.N.D)/"Where do you S.T.A.N.D on love in your life?"

PRAYER:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for loving us first before we loved you. You love us and acted on our behalf. You long for us to come to you Lord as you have prepared the Way for us to come. Thank you for being our Truth and Life. Thank you that I am able to love Jesus because you loved me and poured out your love in my life in so many different ways. I want to thank you for all those that you put in our lives to show us love. Help us Oh Lord to reciprocate your love to those around us. Thank you Lord when we know we are loved, it gives unbelievable motivation to stand up in support of those who do love us. You love us more than anyone and can help us stand firm in you Lord Jesus as citizens of heaven without giving up. Thank you Jesus you have heard our prayers and you answer us. Come Lord Jesus and help us see the answer. Thank you that we can stand firm. Thank you so much Jesus for your deliverance in our lives.  In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)

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