Life is exactly like a race. From the time you are born until the time you die you are running a race. The one goal in every race is to cross the finish line. No matter what else you do in a race it doesn’t matter how hard you run or how fast you run. If you don’t cross the finish line you won’t win. One sure-fire way to get joy and ultimately win in the life you are living is to set God-given goals and then to give your life every day to reaching those goals. A man by the name of Paul gives us the formula on how to do that. He gives us three simple steps that you can use at the beginning of every year, every month, every week, and every day to make that year, that month, that week, and that day the best year, best month, best week and best day of your life.
Philippi was an ancient city in Northern Greece that, in its day, was a bustling metropolitan city with a strong industrial base and a great economy. Paul visited there around 50 A.D. and founded the first church in Europe there. In the book of Philippians in the New Testament, Paul is writing to this church from prison ten years later. If Paul had a favorite church, this might have been it. And as we study this letter to the church at Philippi, you will find out why. This church was overflowing with joy, and there is a lot we can learn about to live our lives joyfully as we read Paul’s words to the Philippians. In this series, we are going to take a closer look at Paul’s words of encouragement to this church, and in doing so, I believe we will be encouraged as well to find joy, capture joy, and spread joy as we follow Christ.
