Staying Right Side up in an Upside Down World

14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God,
without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among
whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Verses 10-11 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It was said that the early disciples turned the world upside down. The truth is that they turned an upside down world right side up. How do we stay above the water? How do we keep from capsizing? Verse 15 says we are the sons of God…in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. All of us are trying to be right side up. It's a discouraging world to live in. Its efforts demand our constant attention especially in our society that sees itself as right. We know it's not right. That makes it hard to live in the midst of a society that says I'm ok. You're ok. Don't worry. But it is not ok. The happiness we see is not happiness. It is a lie.

The Philippians needed advice and so do we. It's hard to live life contrary to the world around us. But Verse 15 calls us the sons of God. Paul was not pointing fingers; he was simply describing the world without God. When there is no acknowledgment of God there is no choice. It becomes crooked and perverse. If someone is crooked we mean they cannot be trusted. Society is hard to trust, however we are encouraged to follow the advice coming from it. We cannot trust the many lies that come from such a society. It's hard to trust the school systems, the curriculum, the government….and on and on…Yet the world says it will be all right. Remember that a society without God is crooked and perverse.

When we see a yellow sign on the highway, we know it's a caution; not long afterwards we see the trouble. God has placed caution signs all around. We can see that we cannot trust. BUT IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS IS SOMEONE WE CAN TRUST, SOMETHING WE CAN TRUST: THE WORD OF GOD–OUR LORD. When deceived, trust is turned inside out. Truth is irrelevant and made up of delusions. People don't know who to trust anymore. Nothing is wrong. There are no limits, no restraints. It's crazy. There are How To books everywhere in a bookstore, one for any situation, good or bad. We need some books on how not to. We need to wake up to the down side of the world.

We are the children of God; just because the world is perverse, doesn't mean we have to be. We are the sons of God in the midst of it. This way of thinking hasn't happened in the last 10 or 20 years; it's been like this since the fall of Adam and will continue to the judgment. Sure, it's hard on us, but WE CAN do it. God is in you in the midst of it all. He keeps us right side up in this upside down world. He keeps us above the water. We don't have to capsize. It's good to know that if we begin to lean and feel like we'll go under that we can call on God. It is tough to stay up when everything is down. God will keep us afloat. Let your anchor be Jesus. Just because everything else is becoming unglued doesn't mean we have to. It's a blessing to be a Christian. Being so is not just a word; IT'S OUR IDENTITY. The Lord righted us; don't let the devil or others get to you. There is not trying to be a son of God. He saved us. WE ARE THE SONS OF GOD!

We have to keep our personal life defined and have a personal relationship with God. Paul told them to work out their own salvation. It is between you and God. I can't keep you afloat and you can't keep me. We have to pray daily, study daily, and work on it while we love him. When we are daily involved with God, he'll keep us above water. Verse 13 says it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure. We need to recognize the working of God in our lives. He is an active God. He doesn't turn his back when we call. This relationship with him is not one sided. When I draw nigh to him, he's already there. We work on our relationship but he does too. Before I can say I love you, God he says I love you, Bob. His arms are already stretched out to us when we raise ours to him. We find the power we need in that nail scarred hand. Keep trusting him and it is possible to stay upright.

Verse 14 do all things without murmurings and disputings. Go on and serve the Lord anyway. We complain about politics, the weather….just go on and serve the Lord. God didn't save us to put us in a dungeon. Get out in the midst of it, buckle down, and face it. It will be there until we die. If others want to live wrong, we don't have to. Verse 15 says we are lights in the world. The only hope this crooked and perverse nation has is you and me–we whose lives are right side up in an upside down world.. Let them see our love for the Lord. He may only be seen to them by us, by our light. We are living in the most fertile field there has even been. People are searching, and the only answer is what we have. Our difference is respected. When they need help, they come to us.

Yes. It's crooked and perverse. It's hard on us. Remember that God has righted our boat. Verse 16 tells us to hold the word tightly. It is the only help we have in this mess and for those caught up in it. When they reach out give them something. Hold it forth. Reach out to them. Give them the answer. That answer is the only thing that works, the only thing that will deliver our souls.

A fish will bite on the right kind of night crawler; they love it. It's been a long time since I went fishing–witnessing; my line may be dry rotted. With God no one has to be a sorry witness. They won't admit they are upside down, but we can reach out. The buzz word this day and time is change. There will be no change except downward. Our difference will make a difference for them.

This has reminded me of what I need to do. I'm tired of letting the world get me down. People just need someone to tell them, and when they listen they may turn up–right side up. Realize who made you right side up. We can be that way because God is in us in the midst of this crooked and perverse nation. The power of God makes it happen.. We can stay right side up in an upside down world.