Philippians 3 But one thing I do

Philippians 3:13-14

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."


One important thing we should do. Forget our past, our possessions, our status and our shortcomings we should strain forward toward our goal to serve the Lord today so that we can be with him tomorrow and forever!


Paul begins this letter with joy and continues to talk about through out it. Joy is one of the things that helps us forget what is behind and helps us to focus on what lies ahead! 
So today choose to take up Joy and strive towards the goal for which God has called you! Your purpose is  to bring honor and glory to the Lord through a life of joy- having been saved by grace through which you will inherit the kingdom God!

Philippians 2 Imitating Christ's Humility

Philippians 2

Imitating Christ’s Humility

 "¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 ⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself 
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!"

A recurring theme found throughout the books we are studying is humility!   
I strive to have the same mindset of Christ: "he made himself nothing, taking on the nature of servant he humbled himself by becoming obedient. "


Through his humility we were saved by grace! 

Can you imagine if he hadn't... 

although he prayed at the last moment if there could be another way to redeem us he humbled himself and said, "not my will but thine" and became obedient to death on a cross!  Thank you Lord! Help us to have your mindset to be humble and serve others as you did!


Check out my older post on Humility.

Quote

“Nothing is, everything is becoming.”

-Heraclitus of Ephesus (Greek philosopher 540-480BC)

Philippians 1 conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel

Philippians 1
^"27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ..."


In this chapter Paul begins his letter in a very joyful and grateful manner. He is thanking the church for their contribution to his ministry and goes on to give an account of what is happening at the time. 


He speaks as if circumstances don't shake him before he stands on the Solid Rock that is Jesus. He goes on to state that all things work out for good to those who are in Christ. He describes how because he is incarcerated the Gospel is being preached even more! He is excited about that and because he has been conducting himself in a manner worthy of the Gospel those around him-in jail have come to know the Lord!


This is what he is telling the Church and I believe me today: No matter what situation you find yourself in, even if it is not pleasing at the moment conduct yourself in a manner worthy of Gospel of Christ. When you do this your will see God at work. In order to do this he realizes that you must be strengthened by the Lord so he prays this prayer:


^{Philippians 1:9-11
"9} And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."


I pray today Lord that your Love will abound more in me! I want to know you more! I want to discern what is best and be pure and blameless for the day of Christs! Fill me Lord with your righteousness- so that no matter what happens I will stand firm conducting myself in a manner worthy of Your Gospel!

Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6: 1-4

 ¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³ “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”^[a]

 ⁴ Fathers,^[b] do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

I remember memorizing these verses at a young age. They resonated in my mind and heart when I would upset my parents. I wanted to follow this commandment perfectly but not succeeding always because I am not perfect. As I grew older I realized it was not just doing what my parents asked but honoring them completely. To me this meant honoring their efforts to raise me in the Lord's way, honoring their hard work so that I would not go hungry, it meant serving them in whichever area I could-like helping with cooking dinner etc. It meant not talking back, it meant listening when I did not want to, it meant sharing with them my future plans even when I was away in college. 

I believe that the Lord honored that and will show me and guide me now that I am a parent so that our little guy will understand what this verse means for himself.

I was at the store I believe the day we were reading this chapter and heard a little boy asking his mother for a toy. What I heard coming out of that Mother's mouth broke my heart. She began cussing at him and telling him to stop asking her for stuff and to put his arm in the cart before she broke it.

I thanked the Lord for my parents and their desire to instruct me in God's way trying not to exasperate us or provoke us to anger.

Parenting now a days seems very different than when I was little. When I found out I was pregnant I prayed for the Lord to show us through his word how to raise our child. I confessed to the Lord that I was fearful in this world where children no longer honor their parents and parents no longer rear their children according to his commandments. He gave me peace and he told me like he did Elijah there are more that still want to raise their children according to the word of God.

We found these resources and we are excited about parenting! 

http://www.parentingbythebook.com/

http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/

I'm Back!

I am behind on blogging for my Bible study but I am not behind on my Bile study!- I love that!

I have missed blogging... but we were having the most beautiful Indian Summer so Sam and I spent quite a bit of time outside! We went hiking and took long leisurely walks... it was divine! 

Ephesians 5 Love like Christ Loves extravagantly

Wow this chapter is so rich! I almost just want to copy the whole chapter and let that be the whole post! I don't even know where to start! So, I will start where God started with Love!

Love now a days has so many meanings. We love everything, people think that feeling desire is love, or just thinking that you have feelings for someone is love. (what does having feelings for someone mean anyway?)

But the way God has portrayed Love in the scripture leads us to understand it as a choice that must be made everyday!

Ephesians 5 (The Message)

 "^1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

 ^3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect."

To some people Love is one sided-"if you give me what I want or need then you love me and I can love you too"

But that is not how God Loves!! " He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us!" Wow wow wow! I want to love like that. I want to love no matter what! I want to pour out my heart for others because of Love. Hear the cry of my heart Lord! 

Paul knew that tying together this principle of loving like Christ does to marriage was essential. Marriage requires this type of love. I praise God for my husband because he is so wonderful to me. I see Christ's love in him and it pours out through him unto me!  He embodies the principle of loving me as Christ loves the Church! This in turn helps me to accept and love his authority and guidance-I respect who he is through Christ. The respect that I give him helps him renew his love for me daily. God has blessed us truly to love and be loved is wonderful! 
God knew this and wants us to experience it through Him first and also through our spouses. The beauty of experiencing this love through Christ is that we can love others the same way even if it is not in a marriage. To love the way Christ love knows no boundaries!

John 3:16 (The Message)

 ^16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.