Philippians 2

Apologies for the delay, but you can download the PDF file for Philippians 2 here.

Ambassadors for Christ

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

- 2 Corinthians 5:20

This was the incident I mentioned on Sunday regarding the Romanian diplomat.

ROMANIAN envoy Silviu Ionescu's claim that the embassy car was stolen has been soundly debunked by police investigations, which show he had indeed been driving the car that was involved in the hit-and-run accidents on Dec 15.

Taking the stand on Wednesday, the investigating officer, Station Inspector Raimi Yusof, said in his report that the car had not been stolen outside the Romanian embassy.

'Police investigations have also revealed that Dr Silviu Ionescu is criminally concerned in the death of the deceased, Mr Tong Kok Wai, and the serious injuries caused to the other two pedestrians Bong Hwee Haw and Muhammad Haris Abu Talib,' he said.

Consider the role of an ambassador or diplomat, who is appointed to represent his nation in a foreign land. This was the charge of bringing disrepute to God's name that the Apostle Paul leveled against the Jews.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

- Romans 2: 17-24

Let us ever be so careful lest our conduct be an excuse for others to speak badly of God, whom we represent as His ambassadors while on this Earth.

Best vs Good

so that you may be able to discern what is best...

- Philippians 1:10 (NIV)

The greatest enemy of "best" is not "bad", but "good". It is a much simpler matter in deciding between doing good and evil, but the test of one's Christian maturity is often found in being able to choose to do what is best as compared to what is simply good. In everything that has been given to us, whether it be time, allowance, spiritual gifts, etc..., let us not just use them in a merely good and acceptable way, but rather use them to the best that we can.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

- Ephesians 5:16-18 (NIV)

Philippians 1

To all B2S1ers,

We'll be beginning a short study of the book of Philippians starting from this coming Sunday. We'll be starting in Philippians chapter 1 so begin reading it and come prepared this Sunday for some discussion.

I've uploaded a pdf NIV version of it here that you can download and print out. This will help you if you want to write notes or underline stuff that your bible normally won't be able to fit.

A small suggestion. You might want to read the texts in more than one bible version. The versions I usually use are English Standard Version, New International Version and New King James Version. This will help you see the nuances in the various translations.