A Daily To-Do List (Philippians 1:9-11)

Today’s scripture: Philippians 1:9-11

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians continues with some words of instruction, words that we, too, can take to heart. He calls his readers to love abundantly, learn continually, seek wisdom, choose the excellent things of God’s word, and live righteously.

My goodness. Quite a list, isn’t it? Makes me feel really inadequate.

Loving abundantly … This should be relatively “easy” for followers of Christ. After all, the second greatest commandment is that we’re to love others as ourselves.

Learning continually … I’ve written about this many, many times. We must study and meditate on God’s word. It’s the only way to gain knowledge.

Seeking wisdom … Obtaining God’s wisdom also comes from spending time in His word.

Choosing the excellent things … And what are the excellent things? We’ll delve more deeply into this idea when we get to the fourth chapter, but they’re those things that edify us and help us to be more like Christ.

Living righteously … In order to do this, we need to strive to live as Christ would. We need to follow God’s commandments, focusing on His will.

Paul’s not asking for much, is he? (You can’t hear my mild sarcasm …) The good news? We’re those works in progress we talked about yesterday. We need to ask for God’s help every day to become what He’s called us to be.

With His help, we can follow Paul’s instructions. And maybe one day, we’ll actually live them.