Philippians

I read Philippians this morning. It is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it talks about wanting to know Jesus more than anything else. It also talks about humility, gentleness (both things I am not good at) along with contentment and peace. Here are a few of the things that stood out to me.

1:6 - God always completes what He sets out to do His love is not stopped because of our circumstances. If God begins a good work in your marriage He will bring it to completion. If He sets out to do something great through you for ministry or parenting or in your career, God will bring it to completion. I think what happens is we give up to soon. We don't get how God works and since it takes longer than we think or takes a different path than we expect we give up on God and we walk away from something He was still doing. Don;t ever give up on your marriage, your calling, your kids or your faith. Just because you don't see God moving doesn't mean He isn't. He has made a promise and God always keeps His promises.

1:20 - I am a firm believer that you get what you expect and long for. I don't mean in some karma kind of way. I just think that if you long for healing you are motivated to work and sacrifice for it. If you long for financial security you live wiser. So, here Paul says he eagerly expects and hopes for Jesus. I bet if I eagerly expected and hoped for Jesus I would see Him more.....because I would be looking. The God of the Bible longs to reveal Himself to us, but so many of us aren't looking and then we wonder if He is really there.

2:14-16 - Grumblers and complainers DO NOT shine. You can't be the light of the world and complain or grumble. Complaining and grumbling are clouds that block the full effect of the sun and the Son.

3:1 -Paul says that rejoicing is a safeguard for your heart. When you rejoice you protect your heart against decay and despair. Surely there is something in your life to celebrate - your wife, your kids, your friend, a God who loves you even when you would rather not think about Him.

3:13 - To move forward in Christ you have to forget what is in your past and use that energy to strive towards Christ. How many of our marriages are suffering because the energy we should be using to love each other is instead being wasted mulling over hurts from the past? How far forward could you get today with God if you left the past and used that mental and emotional energy to seek Him. God longs for us to find Him, but so many of us are drained from remembering the hurts and failures of the past. Let Go! God has already.

3:16 - CHRISTIANS - "Only let us live up to what we have already attained." Let's live the life that Christ called us to and live up to who we are supposed to be and many who are outside of Christ would begin to believe. We so often live down to what is happening around us and it isn't right. The friends that you have that do not know Jesus need you to live up to the life you are called to so they can begin to see what it looks like.

4:10-13 - The secret to contentment according to the Bible is to trust God for everything you need. We are discontent because we don't believe God will or has given us enough. If we would find satisfaction in what we already had been given we would have a lot more time and energy to love those who are hurting, lost and in need of grace.

Just a few of the many thoughts that popped up this morning. Hope they bless someone.

Michael