Category Archives: Excellence

Bible, Eternity, Excellence, Important, Scripture, Worldly

THE THINGS THAT MATTER

ROMANS 2:18

“and know His will and distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law,”

We chase after so many things in our lives that really don’t matter a hill of beans. We emphasize stuff that won’t last. We spend money and time on hobbies or sports that are fleeting. The only things that really matter are family and God. When will we learn that? I confess I have done that way too much, but as I get older, the things of this world have less and less attraction.

As Paul continues his comments towards the Jews, he uses a word in today’s verse that drew my attention. Ta diapheró is translated as “the things that matter.” Literally, the Greek reads “the things being superior.” Diapheró comes from dia (through) and phérō (carry). HELPS Word studies says diapheró means, “(‘distinguishing what differs’) underlines the key difference in meaning involved, i.e. separating (distinguishing from) the one element in a comparison (its value) from another.” Let’s look at some other verses where this word is used to get a clearer picture.

APPLICATION

Jesus uses this word in Matthew 6:26. “‘Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?’” The phrase “more important” is diapheró. Jesus knows what is important, what is superior. It’s you. After all, He gave His life to redeem you back to the Father.

Paul writes in Philippians 1:10 and uses the word again. “so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;” Here it is translated as excellent. We need to be able to distinguish between not only what is good and bad but also between what is good and what is excellent in the Lord’s eyes. He expects us to do what is excellent. Why would we do anything less for Him?

Stop spending so much time doing things that are mundane and average. Strive to do the things that matter most to God. Give up some tv time and dive into the Word. I am so guilty of that during this time of the year when college football is on. But I do want to please my Father in heaven and focus on the eternal and not the temporal. Will you join me?

Father, forgive me of wasting my time on the average things of life and not the excellent things in Your eyes. 

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Bible, Commendabler, Excellence, Honorablre, Lovely, Pure, Right, Scripture, True

LAUNDRY LIST

PHILIPPIANS 4:8

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Have you ever heard the term “laundry list”? According to the Meriam-Webster dictionary, this term used to actually refer to a list of items taken to the laundry. I have filled those lists out before when I was traveling overseas. In the hotels there would be a form to complete, listing all your shirts, pants, socks, etc. that you wanted laundered. Now that term usually just means a long list of things.

Take for instance, Paul has listed a “laundry list” of things that we should think about. Take a look at that list. Those are thought worthy items, aren’t they? True, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy! The actual Greek word for “think about” is logizomai which, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is “Middle voice from logos to take an inventory, i.e. Estimate (literally or figuratively) — conclude, (ac-)count (of), + despise, esteem, impute, lay, number, reason, reckon, suppose, think (on).” I love that – to take an inventory.

APPLICATION

Before I ask you what you are taking into inventory, let’s look at what the Lord does not. In Romans 4:8, the same word is used by Paul as he quotes Psalm 32:2. “‘BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.’” The Lord does not keep a laundry list of our sins. Boy, aren’t you glad? I sure am. He would need a long, long scroll to record all of mine. Once we are washed by the blood of the Lamb, all those sins are covered. There is no more guilt. The list is shredded, burned and disappears. Hallelujah!

Now, back to your good laundry list. MacLaren calls these things listed by Paul “that company of fair guests that you may welcome into the hospitalities of your heart and mind.” Unfortunately, the world doesn’t offer too much of these. In fact, the world offers just the opposite – false, dishonorable, wrong, impure, ugly, detestable, poor quality, shameful things. We cannot depend on the world to direct our thoughts and hearts.

The only place you are going to find the things that are described by Paul is in His Word. Only God’s Word will keep my minds and hearts directed in the right way. Only God’s Word will keep you true and pure and honorable. Stop relying on your own intellect or wisdom. Let the Word show you the right laundry list for your soul.

O Lord, I don’t want to be hanging out the wrong laundry list today. Give me these things for my soul.

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Bible, Excellence, Jesus, Scripture, Superior, Value

SURPASSING VALUE

PHILIPPIANS 3:8

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ,”

I remember my dad telling me two things to never skimp on – tools and shoes. I know, that sounds kind of weird. Dad believed if you bought a mediocre tool, it wouldn’t be long until you had to buy it again. But if you spent the extra money to get a good one, it would last you a lifetime. Same with shoes. My dad had an extra wide shoe and couldn’t just walk in and buy a pair in most places. So, he spent the extra money to order his from a shoe company (this was in the days long before Amazon). He knew those shoes would last.

Paul isn’t talking about tools or shoes in today’s verse, but he is talking about something worth so much more. He is talking about “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus.” The Greek word for “surpassing value” is huperechó. We only see this word used five times in the New Testament, three of those in Philippians. The word comes from hyper (beyond, above) and exo (have). It has the idea of excellence or superiority.

APPLICATION

Back in Philippians 2:3, Paul uses this word to tell us to consider one another as more important than ourselves. The phrase “as more important” is huperechó. That’s hard for us to do. We never want to put someone above us, do we? But if there is one thing I have learned through my years is to be humble costs you nothing. Haughtiness, however, can cost you everything.

And in one of my favorite verses (Philippians 4:7), Paul tells us the peace of God surpasses all understanding. There we see huperechó again. Of course, this peace comes in the midst of trying circumstances. He tells us not to be anxious. His peace is superior to our anxiety. His peace far outweighs any trouble we are facing.

What do you value today? Knowing Christ is priceless. Knowing Christ is superior. Knowing Christ is above all. That’s what we should all value. His worth will never fade. The cost of not knowing Him is far too high. And as is true about most things, we don’t value what cost us nothing. Knowing Christ will cost you everything – your whole life. But the payoff is literally out of this world.

I cannot begin to explain how much knowing You means to me, O Lord. Knowing You know me blows me away.

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