Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
January 5, 2024
Philippians 2:1-11
1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the Spirit, any sympathy, 2 complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. 3 Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. 4 Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. 5 Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: 6 Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. 7 But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When he found himself in the form of a human, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, 10 so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Good Morning! Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.
We are born and raised as human beings and are taught what it takes to be successful based on those earthly constructs. These are well-founded ideas that have existed since Adam and Eve began. Common descriptors for success include wealth, status, power, prosperity, and authority. For some, these become the driving goals on their life journey.
Sadly, the need to reach the pinnacle of success outweighs everything else. Somewhere along the way, other ideas, like pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, and a complete disregard for anyone or anything that gets in your way, creep in.
Jesus, the son of God, came with all the lofty credentials to achieve success. Instead of walking around in the robes of the powerful, he humbled himself and wore the garments of the common people. He assumed a posture of humility as he worked to serve others.
He could have played his trump card, “Hey, I’m the Son of God,” and ascended into heaven when things got bad. He certainly had reason to condemn the world, but instead, he gave himself to experience a cruel, painful death so that we might all be saved.
May we bow and confess: Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Our response to Jesus’ earthly life is to walk like Jesus and work to serve all God’s children.
Gracious God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. You sent Jesus to teach us the way. Help us embrace the opportunities to serve You. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Give of yourself to help others.
On this twelfth day of Christmas, love one another! Pastor Liz
Comments