Philippians 3:1-2

STP Devotional for the Week of 01/05/26

Protect Your Joy!

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. Philippians 3:1-2

Let’s recap what we’ve learned so far from Philippians. In Philippians 1, Paul was exhorting unity and striving for the gospel. In Philippians 2, Paul taught us how to avoid pride and disunity by looking to Christ’s humility and the servant leadership of Timothy and Epaphroditus. Philippians 3 is Paul’s portrait of the type of Christian that Paul himself wants to be.

How many of you have ever made a New Year’s resolution? If you are comfortable sharing, what resolution did you make? Why do we make them? Because there is something in our life we want to change. Something that we think will improve our situation.

The first thing Paul says in chapter 3 is “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” By this point, Paul has used the word “joy” four times and “rejoice” five times in the book of Philippians. We’ve learned that joy is a choice, not a feeling. According to the dictionary, it is an expression or public showing of delight. Can you show joy without being joyful?

What does the devil try to attack? Sometimes it’s physical but mostly he goes after your joy. That’s why Paul tells us to protect our joy. Protecting means guarding or defending. If we allow something to remove our joy, what happens? We can be sad at school or home, disappointed with situations, anxious about everything. In short, we have no hope. As our mental health declines due to living without joy, so does our physical health.

So, how do you guard something? At home, you could get a fierce dog or a fence. We put up barriers to keep the bad out and the good in. When it comes to joy, we need to protect our minds! The Bible has plenty of references about protecting our mind.

• Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

• Romans 8:6 “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

• Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

• Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Finally, how can we protect our joy? We can worship by the Spirit of God. Worshiping God is the highest priority on our list. It is the reason we were created.

Second, we need to glory in Jesus as our Savior and realize it is through Christ alone that we are saved. To add anything to His work on the cross is to deny that His grace is sufficient to save us.

Third, put no confidence in ourselves. Anything that makes us feel superior to others – talent, gifts, education – pulls us down into sin and failure. Christ alone is our security.

Finally, stay in God’s Word daily. It is the only way to know truth and the only thing with which to understand truth. We don’t need to add anything to the Word of God because it is perfect the way it is. To dilute the gospel is to lose hope and destroy joy. We need to choose joy and choose Jesus.

Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

AT HOME: Look up the following verses in your Bible: Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 4:12, 1 John 5:4 for more verses on guarding your mind.