Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, what things are true, what things are dignified, what things are righteous, what things are pure, what things are lovely, what things are well spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.
Philippians 4:13 I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.
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Fellowship to help us know Christ and pursue Him
How great is God’s heart? How deep? How high are His thoughts? The God who sent us His only Begotten Son to die for us, this One who washed us with His blood and who gave us the life-giving Spirit to be our life, this awesome God has awesome plans for us.
By our receiving and enjoying His life, we become people who shine out God. Thus, our Christian life is full of hope and full of meaning. Rather than waiting to go to heaven someday, we are actively pursuing Christ with others, we are endeavoring to enjoy God at every turn, and God’s glory is gradually filling our life. This happens to the extent that others see something awesome; they see God living again through us.
We want to get soaked with the Triune God– soaked, meaning, saturated with Him. The joy of God fills us to the point that our smile causes people to turn to God. Our walk causes people to desire to walk with God. Our message of the love of God becomes a living message that touches people. We become ones who exude God. The apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ”. To be filled with Christ day by day and to walk in oneness with Him is to live Christ.
Doing things for ourselves, to gain the praises of men, by appending titles to our names, or by securing our name on a plaque on the wall, or even by performing to gain a great applause, these things do not actually glorify God. We might have said that we did them for the glory of God, but what was gained was praise for ourselves.
A characteristic of a life that lives out Christ is that it produces praise in people. This praise is not gained for the one that lives out Christ, but for God Himself. People see you, hear you and observe you, and what wells up in their being is, “Praise God!” and “Thank You God!” May such a living be our daily goal. What we need for this, is to go to the Lord, full of repentance, full of thanks, full of love toward Him, and full of a deep desire to be filled with Him.
This post was inspired by the verses in Philippians and by an excerpt from the book, “The Experience and Growth in Life”. We recommend to you the reading of that excerpt, linked here.
https://www.ministrysamples.org/excerpts/VIRTUE-AND-PRAISE.HTML