April 24 2026

Friday April 24

Practical Applications for Us Today

Philippians 1:19-21

“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Today we are going to conclude our thoughts on these verses in Philippians 1:19–21, and we want to talk about some practical applications that we can take from these verses.

Number one: Keep your focus on Christ and not on people. Just like in the previous verses, people will disappoint us. Some may serve with wrong motives, but our focus must remain on Christ being magnified—not on what others are doing. We need to make sure that we keep our eyes on the Lord.

Secondly: We need to depend on prayer and the Holy Spirit—the prayers of others and the Spirit of Jesus Christ to strengthen us and help us. Paul knew that he needed both the prayers of believers and the supply of the Holy Spirit. We are no different. We cannot live the Christian life in our own strength. That is why I want to encourage you to read the Psalms daily. They remind you that the Lord is your rock. He is your salvation. He is your strength. He is your deliverer. He is everything. The Psalms daily remind us of that truth.

Number three: Make it your goal to never be ashamed of Christ. Paul said, “In nothing I shall be ashamed.” This reminds me of Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Ask yourself regularly: Am I living boldly for Christ, or am I shrinking back? Augustine said, “Preach the gospel. Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” And I can assure you it will be necessary to also use words!

Number four: Live so that Christ is magnified in your body. In other words, in your actions, your responses to trials, your life—does your life make Christ look great? This again reminds me of 2 Corinthians 4:7-10: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” And so, my friend, that is what we should be doing—living so that Christ is magnified in our bodies.

We should remember that we can fill in the blanks ourselves:

For me to live is ______, and to die is ______.

Some people say, “For me to live is money, and to die is to leave it all behind.”

Others say, “For me to live is fame, and to die is to be forgotten.”

Others say, “For me to live is power, and to die is to lose it all.”

My friend, we must echo the conviction of the Apostle Paul, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”.

If we are going to have joy in spite of our circumstances, and if we are going to share in the furtherance of the gospel, then we need to adopt Paul’s perspective on life and death:

To live is Christ—then every day has purpose.

To die is gain—then we do not have to fear the future.

The final thought for these verses on my heart today is this: Paul could rejoice in difficult circumstances and ignore the wrong motives of others because his life was anchored in one unshakable truth—Christ is everything. That is why we have titled chapter one “The Single Mind”—a focus that is always on Christ and the furtherance of the gospel. Yes, that Christ would be magnified in us.

That is my prayer for you today. And that is my prayer for me today.

God bless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!

P.S. I am having difficulties with posting the monthly Bible reading calendars on my website. Please email me for the month of May's calendar and indicate which plan you need. My email is: pastormike@pmiministries.org