“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11 NASB1995)

This was Paul’s prayer for the church in Philippi. But this is my prayer for the biblical church throughout the world. For “the church” is the universal body of believers in Jesus Christ throughout the world. We just live in and meet in various locations. But the buildings called “church” are not the church, nor are these gatherings of people called “church” which are incorporated under (merged, joined, partnered with) the government. For the church is not a place we go to and then we leave. We who believe in Jesus are The Church.

So, for our love to abound in real knowledge and all discernment, what should that look like? Well, the word love (agápē) means “to prefer.” And from a Christian perspective it is centered in moral preference, and it has to do with what God prefers. And what God prefers is self-control and all that is righteous, holy, upright, godly, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to God’s commands. So this would be abounding in godliness, moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, and obedience to our Lord in all that we are and do.

And this is taught us in the Scriptures, and so we grow in this through the knowledge of the Scriptures, and via putting into practice what they teach us about holy living in obedience to our Lord. And then we grow in this as we put into practice spiritual discernment so that we make right choices, and so we do not get trapped in sin or wander from the truth of the gospel. And this involves us approving what is excellent in the eyes of the Lord and us rejecting all that is impure in the choices that we make each and every day.

And all of this is so that we may be “sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” And why is this critical? Because our salvation is progressive, and it will not be complete until our Lord returns for his faithful bride. And so we must continue in walks of obedience and in the putting of sin to death, by the Spirit. For those who walk in sin, and do not obey God in practice, they will not inherit eternal life.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:44; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 11:17-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 3:6,14-15; 1 Pet 1:5,9; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Muted Trumpet

Sung by Jennifer Love Moss
An Original Work / October 14, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Softly He speaks gently to us,
Giving us His messages, and
He waits patiently for us to
Respond to His words.
Will you listen to Him speaking?
Will you waken from your sleeping?
He is calling; hear Him whisper
His truth unto you.

Jesus speaks His words unto us,
So that He might live out through us,
Giving light to all who need Him,
So they can obey.
He gave His life to die for us,
So that from sin He would free us
To walk humbly in obedience
Unto Him each day.

Hear the trumpet clearly calling.
He died to keep us from falling.
Won’t you listen; heed His call to
Turn to Him today?
Hasten to Him calling to you.
Turn from sin and follow Jesus.
He loves you so much He gave you
Life eternally.

Approving the Things that are Excellent
An Original Work / March 26, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love