Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Reflection:

Paul’s final exhortations provide us with practical help in living out this encouragement to not grumble nor argue. As children of God, we are to Rejoice! Be full of joy! Celebrate God all day, every day! Why? Because we know that the Lord is near, He lives among us. This is what changes everything. This is what transforms our anxiety to peace in our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. No longer do we need to fret or worry about life, but rather we can present our requests to God by way of prayer and with thanksgiving. And now we are free to fix our thoughts on things that are excellent and praiseworthy, true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious, and lovely.

Responding to the Transmission:

Let’s put these things into practice and weave them into the fabric of our lives - the way we think, the way we feel, the way we pray, the very essence of who we are as children of God. With overflowing thankfulness, let’s rejoice for we know that the Lord is near, and that the God of peace will be with us!

Philippians 2:12-16a (NIV)

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life.

Reflection:

What’s the “therefore” there for? Paul has just taught that the basic reality of salvation is our personal union with Christ. And that to be in Christ is to be saved. It is because of Christ that we can now work hard to show the results of our salvation - obeying God with deep reverence and fear. And this obedience keeps us on the path of following God to shine like starts in this warped and crooked generation. What an awesome calling, what an amazing privilege, what a life worth living! We cannot do this on our own, and by His design He has planned and purposed so much more as He pours out His Spirit on us together as His people. God is already at work in us, giving us desire and power to live this out.

Responding to the Transmission:

As children of God, let us continue to imitate Christ’s humility and hold firmly to the word of life. Let’s thank God for the work that He has already begun in us, and let’s ask for a single-minded heart that will live to please Him. May our churches, may our campuses, may our missional groups, may all of God’s people be blameless and pure as we shine like stars in the sky.

Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV)

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death —
even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Reflection:

What a mighty deliverance God has done for us! Jesus, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Maker of everything, came among us and lived as a servant. He humbled himself, died, and rose again - this is the Gospel message, this is our reality. Wow, this is something that we could not have ever imagined and certainly not been able to do ourselves. God has done it for us! And God will exalt Him to the highest place, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And we are united with Christ, having the same attitude of Christ. Not a knock off, but the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. It is with this like-mindedness that we live as God’s people, humbling ourselves and thinking of others.

Responding to the Transmission:

We are united with Christ, so let us be united with Christ in our hearts, our minds, our actions, our deeds. He is among us His church, and we can continue to experience the encouragement from being united with Christ. May Jesus’ name be lifted up, and may we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Let’s pray this, live this, and go out in love - that the glory of God the Father would be known to this generation.

Exodus 15:22-17:7 (NIV) (please read 15:22-17:7; portions listed below)

22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

Exodus 16
1The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

Exodus 17
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Reflection:

When we look at the Israelites’ journey of walking with God, we can see many parts of our life story in their story. During their journey, they experienced real thirst and real hunger, but what did they do? Instead of choosing to trust, pray and ask God for water and food, in their frustration, they lashed out against Moses. They accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to kill them. They even said it was better to have stayed slaves in Egypt. Their root complaint was “Is the Lord among us or not?” God let them know that their grumbling was not against Moses but really against Him.

Responding to the Transmission:

Every day we too have a choice. We have a choice to acknowledge and trust that God is God, and go to Him in prayer for all of our needs. Or, we could choose to grumble and lash out, ultimately against God. But God responded to the Israelites with gracious provision even in the discipline He brought to them. God’s resounding answer to us is “Yes!” He is with us. The One who began the work in us is with us and at work in us. God is faithful and good. He is our Father. He will take care of us.

Exodus 15 (NIV) (please read the entire Chapter 15; portions listed below)

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.

2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
shattered the enemy.

7 “In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.

11 Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

12 “You stretch out your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
13 In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;

18 “The Lord reigns
for ever and ever.”

19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

Reflection:

In the Bible, there are so many instances where the Red Sea salvation experience of the Israelites is remembered and recounted over and over again. Have you ever wondered why? When we read those parts, we could respond with, “I know this story already,” and move on quickly. But let’s take a moment to wonder why God would remind us over and over again. Perhaps it is because it is vital for us to remember that how God has saved us was something we could not have even thought of let alone put into effect on our own. Correctly recounting the salvation of God softens our hearts and resets them back to that place of being humble and grateful before Him.

Responding to the Transmission:

Let’s remember how God has saved us - not just the first time when He brought us from death to life to become His son or daughter, but also the many times since then where God has demonstrated that He will continue to deliver and care for us. The Israelites faced many real threats of capture and death. We too, at times, face real threats, real diseases and real pain. But God intervenes with His salvation and grace, and He will complete what He has begun. Let’s remember and worship Him with thanksgiving.