What’s on your mind at the moment? What things are intruding on and filling your mind? What ‘conversation’ are you having with yourself? Take a moment to reflect on this and why.
Repetition of the right things is a ‘safeguard ‘ for us. Paul writes,
‘Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.’ (Philippians 3:1).
Paul urges them to ‘rejoice in the Lord’. He says that he is repeating this because it is a ‘safeguard’ for them. God wants us to understand that we are constantly vulnerable to moving away from Jesus. Now, we may still say Jesus’ name a lot in our worship and preaching, however, we can move away from God’s love and salvation by grace and move into a works mentality - earning our salvation or relying on our own discipline or answers that do not rest on the work of the Spirit.
Jesus, like Paul, gives us a similar safeguard when He said,
“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6)
If you’ve ever found yourself evaluating God’s love, His ability, His promises, His presence, your salvation, His ability to change you… by how you feel, then you need to apply the ‘safeguard’ by repeating and rejoicing in the Lord and His grace.
RESPONSE
Repetition is a safeguard; let’s make it a habit to keep repeating the gospel to ourselves each day - it’s a safeguard to repeat these things. J. I. Packer wrote,
“We never move on from the gospel; we move on in the gospel.”
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