“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”  Philippians 3:20-21

Now I know why God gave me this today.  We can all look forward to a day when we won’t need prayer requests anymore. 

 We will be with Him!

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up strife.”  Proverbs 15:1

It is so easy to respond in anger.  I do it all to often.  Someone will say something to me, perhaps with a little attitude, perhaps not, and I will give them attitude right back.  It might be face-to-face.  It might be through email.  I text a lot, and it is easy to text with attitude too.  However, God clearly says here that a soft answer is what is needed.  When I talk to someone in even a hint of anger, I am only going to stir up more strife and anger.  God has called me to self-control.

“A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, nor will he go to the wise.”  Proverbs 15:12

Man, I do not want to be a scoffer.  There are many versees throughout scripture that list adjectives to describe a scoffer.  This one stood out to me because many people do not like being corrected.  I do not like being corrected.  I like to be correct.  So, when I get mad at someone who points out something that is not Christ-like, I am behaving like a scoffer.  If I seek counsel from someone who is not wise, I am behaving like a scoffer.  Ouch.

“All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,  But the LORD weighs the motives.”  Provers 16:2

Of course everything that I do is right to me.  I already said earlier that I want to be correct.  While it might seem right to me, God judges why I am doing it.  That gives me something to ponder.  God looks at my motivation.  Am I motivated by me?  By my selfishness?  Or am I motivated by true, Christ-like love?  If I get upset when something doesn’t go my way, then I am motivated by selfishness.  Grrr…the Bible really is a two-edged sword.  I needed to meditate on this for days.

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.”      Philippians 3:1

It says, rejoice in the Lord.  It does not say rejoice in the Lord when I feel like it; rejoice in the Lord when I get my way; or rejoice in the Lord when I am happy.  Paul says rejoice in the Lord.  Period.  If my joy is related to my human life than I will be let down.  I fail.  People fail me.  There will be bad days.  However, putting my joy in Him means that my joy is related to an unchanging sovereign God, who I have a personal relationship with.  Wow!  That is so much better!

Rejoice.

Rejoice in Him.

Rejoice always.  1 Thessalonians 5:16

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.”         Philippians 2:14-16

This is the culmination of following the example of Christ being a servant, not complaining or arguing.  I can be so selfish!  It is very easy to get frustrated when things don’t go my way, because (of course) my way is the best way!!  (I am totally being facetious.)  But our human minds and emotions let Satan whisper that thought in our ears.  “Do ALL things without grumbling or disputing.”  No matter what He is asking me to do, I need to do it without grumbling.

Complaining and arguing can be very divisive, and I have personally seen and experienced the results of someone complaining about something.  It is not pleasant.  And, unfortunately, the unsaved world sees those same results.  Verses 15-16 goes on to explain that the reason we are not to complain is that the world is watching.  We are His light to them, and if we are letting selfishness divide us, why would they want to join?  Why would they want what we have?  Christians can be very mean to each other, expecting the other to “take it in love.”

I am challenged to be more aware of every response that I have.  It is not about me.  It is all about Him.

Lord, I want to be Your light to the world.  Use me in whatever way You desire.  Put situations in my life that challenge me to be more like You, and to respond like You would.

Empty.

That is such a loaded word, yet it is used often.  I have heard people say that they feel “empty” inside when they have been hurt by another.  Others say they are “empty” when they have given and given and given and are merely running on fumes.  Still others use the same word to describe how they feel when they have used people and taken advantage of even more, and they finally realize that all they have done has left them with nothing. 

Empty.

I like the NASB translation of these verses, when it describes Christ’s servant example: “but emptied Himself.”  Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines empty as “to make empty, to remove the contents of.”  So, Christ removed the contents of Himself to come to earth as a human to die for us, for me.  He willingly laid aside many of His privileges: no heavely glory, lived with the confines and weaknesses of the human body, and even felt the wrath of His own Father.  Now, we are to follow His example. 

We are to empty the contents of ourselves.  But are we to remain empty?  No.  We are to be:

• filled with the fruits of righteousness (Philippians 1:11)
• filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
• filled with the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19)
• filled with all knowledge (Romans 15:14)

When we empty out ourselves, God will fill us with Him.

Are you willing to run on empty?

I meditated on this thought all day yesterday.  Wow.  I didn’t realize how often I act selfishly until I thought about “do nothing from selfishness.”  How often do we get mad when something doesn’t go our way?  How often do we let our husbands know when they make a decision that we aren’t happy with?  What would change if we meditated on this thought every day?

Being humble doesn’t mean thinking I am stupid.  It means having a true perspective about myself, and that being that I would be nothing without God.  I have nothing without Him.  And He gave everything for me.  If I am looking out only for me then I am not being like Christ (see Philippians 2:5-8).  It is a powerful example for us to follow, but God doesn’t suggest it, He commands it.  His goal is to make us more like Him, and that means not being selfish.  Ever.  The next phrase finishes that thought even more: “regard one another as more important than yourselves.”  You are more important than me.  I need to step back and put your needs first.

I asked earlier what would happen if we meditated on this every day?  Well, if all Christians (“little Christ”) meditated and lived out this idea everyday maybe we would reach more people.  Maybe God would use us to impact more lives.

“Do nothing from selfishness.”

Hmmm…

Yesterday started out great.  Then, right in the middle, it took a major spiral down.  And, it was all my fault.  As I was frustrated about screwing up yet again, God brought the verse that stood out to me from that morning’s devotions to mind.

“Being confident of tis very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”  Philippians 1:6

What a reassuring thought!  In the midst of my tears, I realized that God was not taken by surprise at my failure.  He knows I am incomplete.  He started making a good work in me at salvation, but it isn’t complete until I am face to face with my Savior.  But, He is faithful, and He will complete it!  While I am on this earth, mistakes will happen.  Often, not even intentionally, but they will happen.  How wonderful it is to be able to look forward to a day when I will be complete, and worshipping my God at His throne.

Amazing.

Awesome.

Even though these books are fiction, they had an impact on me of a good non-fiction book.  They made me think.  They made me ponder my responses, my prayer life, my worship.  They have made me think about what I can do.  I would love to get more involved at a local shelter, find ways to help my community, and maybe even a jail ministry!  The ideas are endless, but not feasible possibilities at this time.  My kiddos are still at home with me, and there is no way, with Josh’s schedule what it is, that I could do anymore outside the house than I am right now.  In the past, this would have left me frustrated.  However, as I started asking God what I could do, he responded “Pray.”  As much as these various ministries need help, they need prayer even more.

Hopefully, one day, God will allow me to help even more.  But for now my job is to pray – and to pray more fervently than I ever have before.

“Are you hyper?”

I said “What?”  He asked again, “Are you hyper?”  I said “No, I am just an energetic person.”  I then thought to myself, wow, do I really come across as hyper?  I didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary.  I wasn’t bouncing up and down in my seat, and I didn’t think that my “Ok” sounded overly chipper.  I haven’t heard that in a while.  After he is explaining to me what else really needs to be serviced, he looks at me and says

“Wow, you are really energetic.  It’s only 10:00 in the morning.”  I reply, “Yes, I am.”  He goes on to do his work, then comments that I am now being quiet.  Hmmm…I think to myself – I am just thinking.  To this point, I have only talked when answering his questions, so I haven’t been obsessively blabbing or anything.  He knows I’m married, because I mentioned having to let my husband know about all he mentioned.  Is my head nodding up and down in agreement overly energetic?  Do I answer to quickly?  Is it my fast-talking?  Hmmm…

He really was a nice service man.  He said when we come back to get the other stuff done to ask for him and he would give us a discount.  I pull away wondering, do I simply reek of energy, or hyperism?

Ok, now on another completely side note, I just saw this line in a puritan prayer and really liked it.

“Fill me with an over-flowing ocean of compassion, the reign of love my motive, the law of love my rule.”