Do not underestimate the power of fruit. Do not underestimate the power of joy. Do not underestimate the power of humble lives lived in bold, hopeful obedience. So, seek the fruit. It’s pleasing to God. It’s how we conquer the world.

For all things needed of me, I have strength in the one strengthening me.

We have weapons with which to fight worry and anxiety. But as with anything, we have to learn how to use them. We have to engage the disciplines of dealing with anxiety. Especially in the days when things are more normal, and the pressure is not so great. Habits of prayer. Habits of rejoicing, thanking, and trusting that God is near. Resolutely offering all our worries to the heavenly Father who loves us so.

There’s a resiliency work in progress in Christ’s church. The mission of the church around the world depends on how we move towards resolution in every conflict. How we stretch our minds to embrace enemies and to embrace the worldwide communion of believers. We hold in our hearts and minds our eternal solidarity with every soul in Christ in all times and all places. 

We draw upon the new life Christ has created in us. For Jesus who grabbed hold of us has given us his Holy Spirit inside us. We yield ourselves to his will and we ask him to give us the strength and power we need. It’s the daily bread of life in Christ. We draw from the Spirit like letting an empty bucket down into a spring of fresh water. Come, Holy Spirit, fill me, cleanse me, satisfy me, change me and send me. 

Compared to Jesus, even the God-given good things in our lives are as rubbish. Thankfully, God does not usually ask us to literally put our treasures in the rubbish pile. Instead, he asks us to surrender them to Christ our Lord and let Jesus dictate how we are to use them for his glory. 

The positive command to rejoice in the Lord includes the negative command to cease exalting in human standards. Stop taking so seriously your resume or your portfolio or lack of one. Without Christ, these are nothing but false paths to an illusive dream of a good life. Trash that story as your primary life narrative. Jump into your participation in the big Story of Jesus. That’s a way to joy. And to find how all those skills and all that training really fits into a life lived for the glory of God.

Real Christianity is the farthest thing from the world’s monotonous grind. The creativity in the relationships of Paul, Epaphroditus and Timothy makes us fully alive with the adventure of living for Christ. Do you have your 3? Are you living out your 3 for others?

Christians are called out of the world as children of God. But we do not lose our solidarity with all the world. We know the evil in our hearts. We know the love God had for the world that hated him. We know our light shines brightest when we turn the other cheek, when we wash feet, when we lay down our lives for another. When we recognize the humanity, both the need and the hope, in even our worst enemies.

You can talk about spirituality all day long in any place, and the worst response you will get is boredom. You can talk about a Higher Power and create little offense. You can even talk about following the teachings of the “J” man, and as long as you keep him on the level of any other great ethical teacher, no one minds. Speak of the man Jesus as the Son of God who is the measure of truth and the only way to forgiveness of sins, and sparks fly. The “J” word assaults the sovereignty of myself as center.