Do everything without complaining or arguing. Philippians 2:14 (Life Application Study Bible)
Jesus Tells us: you have been on a long, difficult journey. Sometimes your energy seems to be almost used up. You’ve found it hard just to keep going, but you have not let go of My hand. And I am really proud of you for that. But there is one thing I want you to wok on. You’re complaining. You can talk with Me about anything, you can even complain. I understand you better than anyone, so I am the perfect One to vent to. Telling Me your stresses and your problems, helps you get a grip on your thoughts. It also helps you see things from My point of view. But complaining to others is completely different. It can lead to the sins of gossip, anger and self-pity.
Jesus concludes: When you need to grouch and grumble, come to Me. Let’s talk it out. Spill out all the bad stuff, so I can fill your mind with My thoughts, and you heart with My song.
Philippians 2:14; Jeremiah 31:25; Philippians; 2:15
Footnotes Philippians 2:14-16: Our lives should be characterized by moral purity, patience, and peacefulness, so that we will shine “like stars” in a dark and depraved world. A transformed life effectively demonstrates the power of God’s word. Are you shining brightly, or are you clouded by complaining and arguing? Don’t let dissensions snuff out your light. Shine out for God until Jesus returns and bathes the world in his radiant glory.
Passage Jeremiah 31:25: I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.
Footnotes Jeremiah 31: Here, God is saying that for the weary he will provide all that they need and for the faint he will replenish their strength.
Passage Philippians 2:15: So that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.
Footnotes Philippians 2:14-16: Why are complaining and arguing so harmful? Of all that people know about a church, is that its members frequently argue, complain, and gossip, they get a false impression of Christ and the Gospel. Belief in Christ should unite those who trust him. If people in your church often complain and argue, they lack the unifying power of Jesus Christ. Stop arguing with other Christians and complaining about people and conditions within the church, instead, patiently work on your issues and let the world see Christ.
Jesus Tells us is from the Jesus Calling 365 Devotions for kids.
THE WORLD…we see history
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT
CIRCA 272-337
Figure 1A statue of Constantine that was built in the place where he was declared Augustus. In Rome’s Greek speaking provinces, “Augustus” was translated as Venerable, this title continued to be used in the Byzantine Empire until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, although they gradually lost their imperial exclusivity.
The rise of Christianity would not have been possible without the dedicated actions of several who came after Christ. Without the narratives of the Gospel writers Mark, Matthew, Luke and John (and others not included in the canonical New Testament); without the feverish evangelization of Saint Paul; without the devotion and example of the martyred first pope, Saint Peter, without each of these, Christianity faced a more difficult road; without any of them, it might have faced an impossible one. Now, it can be said that their work on Christ’s behalf was inevitable, for the inspiration of his divinity was simply too powerful not to prevail over men. And it could be said that Constantine, too, the first Roman emperor to convert Christianity, was humbled by the example of Jesus and embraced the religion for saintly reasons. On paper, he was not a model Christian. He was as ruthless as any who had preceded him on the throne; he was a fierce fighter, prevailing in a series of civil wars that had rent the empire, and at one point he had his wife and son executed for reasons unknown.
The WORD…we see Jesus, His Story!
From this vantage point, it could be argued that Constantine accepted Christianity because he saw the writing on the wall and assumed that the new religion, which thrived in spite of vicious persecution, represented the future. Yet his role in paving the way for Christianity cannot be understated. One of his earliest rulings, the Edict of Milan, changed Christianity from an illicit faith into a legal one. He never did make Christ worship the official state religion of Rome, but with his church building programs and his own personal conversion, he all but did so. Once unshackled, there was no stopping the Church, which swept the empire and eventually, most of Europe. Constantine accomplished much else, as an example, he built the gleaming city Constantinople (today, Istanbul in Turkey), but he is best remembered as the man who allowed his empire to embrace Jesus Christ.
Source 100 People who changed the world. https://www.life.com/history/lifes-100-people-who-changed-the-world/