June 5, 2024

Philippians 4:1 (NKJV)
1Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Stand fast, stand firm. There may not be peace on the outside of the follower of Christ. There may be all kinds of chaos all around. But we are to stand fast and firm in the Lord.
Followers of Christ are no longer citizens of this world. We are citizens of Heaven. We are pilgrims walking through a world of spiritual darkness. Our destination is Heaven. What is the Christian to do in the journey to Heaven? The focus of each follower of Christ is Christ. We are to do the things we have learned from God’s Word. Paul writes in Philippians 4:9 “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Christianity is not a passive belief. We are to be doing the will and purpose of God. When Jesus was found by his earthly parents he said to them, “Luke 2:49 “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Christians must follow the example of Jesus and be about our Father’s business.
The person who wants the “peace of God” must be about the work of God. When Jesus was found in the Temple, those seeking Him were in a frenzy. Jesus calmly asked them, “Why do you seek me…” There was peace with Jesus doing His Father’s will.
We as Christian’s must stand fast in doing the will of God. No matter what is happening in the world around us we are to stand firm in the Word of God. We will face trials and temptations to give up, to quit and go back to the worldly way. How do we continue? We are to “stand fast in the Lord.”
Christianity is not a lone ranger life. Believers in Jesus are surrounded by fellow believers in Christ who are on the same journey we are. We need the fellowship and support of other Christians. Hebrews 10:23–25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”