The Apostle Paul in Philippians, that epistle of joy, exhorts the congregation, the church there at Philippi, and by the Holy Spirit we're exhorted, rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let's start thinking about that exhortation in this way. The Christian life is a life devoted. The Christian life is a life devoted to seek, experience, and express joy. Paul also exhorts the church to persevere, to remain steadfast. And what's the secret of persevering in our lives when we are weary, when we are burned out, when we are struggling? What's the secret? The way to remain steadfast is to rejoice because it signifies a triumph. Christ has triumphed!

You are the church of Jesus Christ, but more what Paul is saying, you are the commonwealth of heaven, the colony of heaven here. That should frame who we are, our identity. It should frame our circumstances. It should frame how we live our lives. It becomes the very lens, the framework by which we live; by this sojourn, this pilgrimage on our way. We're born, we live, we die, yet we die in the Lord, absent from the body, present with him until that day when we are resurrected. In a new heavens, new earth, and we're no longer a colony, but part, part of that empire, a true imperial empire, a commonwealth, a true commonwealth. Can you imagine the riches of heaven?

"The power of that resurrection so transforms our suffering that we enter into a deeper fellowship, a deeper communion with Jesus Christ. that our suffering, framed in this way, understood in this way, by faith, received in this way, somehow, by the power of that resurrection, unites us to Jesus further. And we enter into a deeper communion with the living Christ, even through a season, even through the valley of the shadow of death, even through the time that life crammed with toilsome that through those seasons, through those trials, that adversity, that difficulty, there's something deeply at work in our union with Christ that drives us closer to Jesus, that we come to know Jesus in a deeper, more profound way."

The apostle Paul is hard pressed whether to remain in this life in order to minister to the Phippian church or to depart and be with Christ, considering the possibility of being executed as a christian. This kind of already/not yet tension not only characterizes all creation (Romans 8:18-23), but it also describes our personal lives as well, issuing in a wisdom in seeking God, in assuring us of eternal life in Christ, and in appreciating the gifts and relationships the Lord has given to us in this life.

Paul begins his letter to the church at Philippi by introducing themes and setting the tone, all centered on Christ.

The Lord nurtures our hope, often, in the most dreadful places to demonstrate his goodness, wisdom, and power.

The Lord's mandate is to comfort his people, "Comfort, O comfort my people"; his means of comfort are spoken words, "speak kindly (to the heart) of Jerusalem and say to her...."; and his message is one of forgiveness and grace, "and say to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is covered, and that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins ( a double portion of blessing in spite of her sins, cf. Isaiah 61:7)". Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, fulfills the mandate of comfort, speaks powerful words to our hearts, and atones for our sins, granting the double portion of a rich inheritance (Ephesians 1:18)!

Jesus's disciples having denied and betrayed him just three days earlier, now on the night of the resurrection, afraid, suspicious, sitting in darkness, did not believe the report that Jesus rose from the dead. That is when Jesus appeared to them, knowing where they were, seeking them out, no locked door barring him, showing them the nail holes in his hands; and instead of berating them, judging them, or punishing them, declared this reassuring salutation to them, "Peace to you". Consider the depth of his peace and his unconditional grace!

In Naomi's story we see how we can distort and misinterpret what the Lord is doing in our lives, but then finally see how the Lord works all things together for good by his grace in the most dire of circumstances.

As God's people we know the meaning of suffering, despair, and grief as the Lord uses our afflictions to deeply assure us, to deeply work within us, and to deeply unite us to Christ Jesus