Renée here. I’ll post things here almost exactly as it appears in my journal – for me that usual means some preamble with God where I give over some things that are on my mind before I read Scripture. You’ll also notice it means I tend to record things in bullet points (unless I’m writing out a prayer) and I address God directly (You, Lord, God etc.). It’s my intimate conversations with Him. Here goes...
Tues. Jan. 10/12
· That situation still on my mind from yesterday (Basically a situation where I felt bad I left a couple people out and didn’t respond how I should have.) – cover it in Your grace.
· Pray for the Hope Mission and Transformers starting up again today
Phil. 1:1-11
· v 3 to 5 –I’m so thankful for the partners I have in the Gospel –those who led me to Christ, disciple me, partner with me now.
· v 6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”
o this verse gives me such hope You’re still working in me and not going to stop
o I know You began a good work in me, You saved me, You won’t give up on me
o I’m thankful this process is dependent on You. YOU carry it to completion. I know I have responsibility here, but it’s freeing to know You’re in charge of it.
o Lord, in some ways right now I feel stalled in maturing closer to You and being more like You. I’m not sure why this is. Show me the next step towards taking it to completion. Show me where I’m still immature.
§ I notice my nerves still get me in some situations –How’s that connected to this? What’s that about? Is my confidence really in You? Continue Your work in me.
o This verse also gives me confidence You will continue Your work in the seeds I’ve seen planted – particularly in the youth and in adults taking steps towards baptism. Pray for ________...complete Your work in them.
o The work at Main Street and Saint John belongs to You Lord, take it to completion
o Phrase to remember “God will complete it.”
· v 9 “love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight”
o This is not just sentimental love, but love with muscle on it
o give this kind of love, in my relationship with You
What conversations with God or others did these verses stir in you?
What stood out to you in Philippians 1:1-11?
Is this blog encouraging your own time with God?
4 comments:
Hello Renee. Getting to post a comment was tricky for me. I tried each day..(think I was even short with Rob..sorry Rob!) and it just disappeared. I had to keep at it "until the completion of the task". I almost gave up...but then I thought of the very scripture on which I was meditating...and here I am...successful! All glory to God!
I was late getting out today so admittedly just chose one sentence which turned out to be: "I do not claim that I have already succeed or that I have become perfect". A good reminder!
Thanks friends!
There is so much great stuff in these verses, and I think Renee's reminder that God is the one who is going to finish it is a huge encouragement & relief to those of us who are control freaks. I think if we can get this, we might be more content on the journey!
Rob
I may have jumped ahead but here are some of my questions/comments/random thoughts (I started to write "thinking out loud", then decided it wasn't out loud so I wrote "thinking on paper" then realized it's also not on paper):
In v 29 I struggle (understatement) to be excited to "suffer for His sake". I wonder if it would be easier to be excited if we knew what it was accomplishing or if we knew that specific moment of suffering was "for His sake". Or, do you think all suffering is "for His sake"? I got thinking that how we respond to the suffering could affect whether it is for His sake.
In verse 7 he talks about his feelings/thoughts toward people being affected by the fact they share in God's grace. I need to work on seeing people through that lense.
In verse 21-26 I found it interesting that he was torn between living and dying in verse 23 and then is convinced in verse 25. It's as if he is working through the thought process as he's writing the letter.
Great points Mark. I think all these things point to the realness of the letter - Paul's working these things through as he's writing. Kind of nice to know - we can do the same thing.
As for the suffering part - a hear ya! That is a struggle. I think it helps to remember the context of persecution the Christians were in, in the time this letter was written. In a sense, if you were choosing to be a Jesus-follower in that day, you were choosing a difficult life, even a life a suffering. And how we handle suffering can be quite the witness to our faith, that our confidence, contentment etc... come from God.
You raise a good question, is all suffering "for His sake". I'm curious what others think. My initial reaction is no, it's not. Some suffering is just from living in a fallen world & some is from our own bad choices. It is good to know, even when we are facing suffering (no matter the reason), God is with us and for us. We can glorify him (shine for him) even in a season of suffering. I really like your thought that how we respond to suffering is a part of the equation.
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