The road to peace is paved with thanksgiving
At times, I’ll read a verse that I memorized when I was younger and ignore the context. It’s not that I’m trying to do that or that I’m unaware of contextual importance. “Context is king” has been beaten into my brain since I was a youth. I get that and embrace that truth. Yet, when I have an isolated verse memorized, I can easily default into focusing just on that verse and missing the surrounding context. This morning in my bible app, such a verse popped up. It’s a wonderful verse with a powerful truth in and of itself. Philippians 4:9, “ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. ” You don’t necessarily need much context to understand the truth of that verse. It’s a basic verse on discipleship. Paul challenged the believers in Philippi to put into practice the lessons he taught and the lessons he lived by example. We get that. But having recently read through Philippians, I was familiar with the co