September 5, 2022

Philippians 2:1-11 (HCSB)
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. 3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Christ’s Humility and Exaltation 5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth — 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Tyler Ubelhor
Each day this week will have a devotion from different members of the Men’s Ministry Team. You already heard from one earlier in the year who is preparing to go out into the mission field with his family. Please continue to support and pray for Jalen and the Kramm family as they answer God’s calling and embark on a new journey in Lynch, KY.  In this part of Paul’s letter, he starts with four “if” statements, providing a “gut check” to the church. If the church is doing these four things, then they should also think, love, and feel the same way while focusing on one goal. This reminds me of the IF function in Microsoft Excel. One of the most popular commands, it allows you to make LOGICAL comparisons between a value and what you expect. There are only two outcomes – either true or false. When we are striving to achieve the four traits Paul mentions, we should be doing things for others out of humility and not for selfish reasons (a true IF function). In verse 3 Paul reminds us, do nothing out of rivalry or conceit (a false IF function)…be humble and help others. That could be as simple as calling someone to check on them on your drive home from work. Just letting someone know that you’re thinking about them or praying for them goes a long way. So, what does your IF function say? True or false?