Rejoice

Philippians 4:1-9

This letter written by Paul could have been addressed to the members of Central United Methodist Church, Shelby, NC as easily as it was to the church at Philippi.  We are all proud to be members of such a praying, caring and community oriented church.   However, at times our church struggles with discord among the members.  Squabbles and differences of opinions often escalate into a division among us.  We as followers of Christ’s teaching should realize that we can still live in harmony without seeing eye to eye and we should never allow differences within the church to destroy it.

Imagine for a minute what Central would be like if we followed the words of Paul and turned all of our troubles, anxieties and problems to the Lord and truly let Him take care of them.  What a joyous church we would have!   We would show love when it would be easier to hate, compromise rather than having things our way and always have a positive attitude. The power of positive thinking is a way of filling ourselves with God’s love, therefore allowing God’s love to flow through us to the rest of the world.  People would want to join Central just to find out what we had that other churches didn't have. How can we help but be full of happiness and joy when God is the center of our lives.

Many people believe that Christians are suppose to be dour and serious but we know that there is nothing more joyous than being a member of God’s community.  As Paul wrote:  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, please give me the perfect peace that only comes when I turn everything in my life over to your care.  Help me be that shining light to let others know that You are at the center of my life. Amen.

Written by Janet Edwards