On Friday, May 18, 2018, Dr. Sam Barfell, Superintendent, offered an encouraging devotional to the staff of Southside Christian School. If you would like to read my summary of Dr. Barfell’s message on experiencing joy even and especially in the midst of suffering, “Philippians: A Study of Joy — IN SUFFERING,” please read on. . . .
“Philippians: A Study of Joy — IN SUFFERING”
By Dr. Sam Barfell, Superintendent
Southside Christian School
All-Employee Devotions
Friday, May 18, 2018
Summary of and Editorializing by Dr. Bob Stouffer, Upper School Principal (All errors are mine alone.)
Last night’s Athletic Association was a classy event. Congratulations to Athletic Director Mike Johnson and his team!
More good news today: Denny and Alicia Vauters have accepted the position of the Advancement Director! They have two houses to sell in Indiana. They need to find a home in Greenville. And they are relocating in July. Please pray for the Vauters. We’re excited about this good fit between Denny and our school. He has great skill and capacity for this position.
Let’s look at Philippians 1:27-30 once again.
27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it. (New Living Translation)
We are citizens of heaven.
As we are citizens of heaven, it will be true that there will be those who oppose the Gospel. We must not be intimidated by those enemies.
A “privilege” of suffering for Christ?! Paul was still in the midst of struggle.
We, too, are fighting for the faith. We are advancing the Gospel. And we will suffer together. It’s a privilege, Paul said. Do we have that perspective? I cannot identify with this suffering. We don’t suffer for the faith in America. Belittlement against Christians is not suffering. We’re all in the same boat. Isn’t it hard to identify with suffering for our faith?
Jesus said, in Matthew 10, that we would be hated because of Him. We would have to take up our crosses. He promised persecution to His disciples.
We get bogged-down in the normal trials of life. In the normal trials and suffering or our lives, I pray that I would have joy. Do I want to pray for experiencing suffering? That’s a hard prayer!
This morning, Jen and I came upon the appropriate place of our devotional time from Proverbs 15:15 —
“All the days of the needy are hard, but a happy heart has a continual feast.” (CEV)
Joy is a fruit of the spirit.
Jesus bled, suffocated, and died on the cross. And He defied death!
He endured, so we could be His children. We should leap for joy! We are blessed by little things. We should feast on joy. Jesus has made our lives so good.
drbobinc 