Colossians 2: 6-23

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

continue to follow Him... I think that is a bigger problem than we really like to talk about... we need to spend time alone with anyone we are in relationship with... just like a human relationship suffers if you never spend time talking alone.. so does our spiritual one... we don't spend enough time reading our bible... and that is generally how God speaks... so how is He speaking if we aren't giving Him opportuntity.. our behavior doesn't have to get worse for us to slip out of relationship... although eventually that will probably happen too... sometimes I think this happens more than we realize... we slip away from the closeness we once had... and start to lose our peace.. start to lose our joy... start to focus on circumstance rather than God...

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

charles stanley taught on this last week... before we are saved... our sinful nature is in control... but after salvation.. the spirit of God is living within us.. so we have power over sin... BUT we still have to choose to allow Christ to reign... and overcome the temptation to sin....

16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. 18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. 20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

many people in past times were literal slaves to someone else.. as we don't have that as a reality in our lives.. we don't really think about being slaves to anything... yet we are either slaves to Christ or to self/enemy.... we hold the spiritual powers of this world yet we are always thinking that we have no power at all... again pride goes before a fall... Lord let me never become prideful....

Colossians 2: 1-4

1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

in Christ lies all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge... how many people go to school for years and years and still have no useful knowledge in them... how many people can spout all sorts of useless knowledge but nothing that will change your life... all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hidden in Christ...

4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.

people are often deceived... there are times that we just hear what we want to hear rather than what lines up with the word of God... if it is against His words.. then it cannot be from Him.... it is hard to determine some days who's voice we hear... is it self? is it the enemy? is it God... well I heard a very wise woman tell me one time... the voice of the deceiver always builds up self... the voice of God always builds up someone else at a price to self... no matter what the well crafted words are... God is not a self promoter... He will always build up someone else and take the focus off of self...

Colossians 1:24-29

24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

I have to admit... I am NOT glad when I suffer in my body... not for Jesus or for anyone else.... he gives us a new way to look at it... but still... I am not the one to rejoice in suffering... I do realize we all suffer for the furthering of the kingdom... our particular struggles in life are the very thing that God will use to help someone else later on... and we go through it first to be help to someone else... (I still do not appreciate the suffering... that's just me...)

28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

I learn daily more and more that all that I can ever be is only through Christ working in me... daily changing me.. growing me.. helping me... I am completely dependent on Him and I am thankful for that...

Colossians 1: 15-23

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Christ is the visible image of God... sometimes to see a visible image would be so great... to be able to sit in a chair and talk with Jesus beside me.. to physically hear His responses... that would be so awesome!!
sometimes I have a hard time equating Him with the level of awesomeness as God.. yet I know that He is... they are one... they are the same...

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

hard to imagine myself as an enemy of God.. yet it is truth... separated by evil actions and thoughts... thank God He kept after me and allowed me to be reconciled to Him!!! I am so thankful to be in His presence... although I surely don't see myself as holy and blameless...

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

continue to stand.. on the hard days.. on the happy days.. all days... continue to stand in and for Christ...

yesterday as I went to the tag office, I was approached by a young woman and given a family tract which just had scripture in it speaking of the importance of family.. so I ask her what church she attends.. she tells me kingdom hall.. which is jehovah witnesses... I tell her I go to tabernacle on laney walker.. she said she has heard of the church.. so she floors me and asks me what do we believe as baptists.... now we all know that I KNOW my bible.. yet every thought flew out my head... I say we believe in the bible.. the 66 books.. the written word of God... if it is in there.. we believe it... then the spirit talks and tells me I can do better than that.. so I say we believe Jesus is the Son of God.. born and lived.. died on the cross.. rose again 3 days later and is in heaven until he comes back for us at the 2nd coming... she said ok.. what do you believe will happen on the earth after the second coming?...

now... after thinking about it... I am thinking she meant after the second coming.. during the tribulation what will happen... but at the time I was thinking about after the enemy is destroyed... I tell her that what happens after the second coming is interpreted different ways by different people... there are people who believe the new jeruselum is going to be on the earth... I don't know what is going to happen.. just that I am going to be with Jesus no matter what it is.... then they call my number.. and I walk to the counter... after I am done at the counter I go back to her.. I hug her and I tell her God bless you... and I say you are welcome at my church any time you want to come... and she is a little surprised I think and tells me thank you and she was glad to run into me...

I think afterwards of all I would have done differently but I am reminded that God's love will cover a multitude of wrong.. so I think that by showing her love in the end that I did okay...

the point of telling this is... do we really know.. I mean really know... how to respond to situations like that... others.. like the jehovah's witnesses are taught exactly what they would answer to questions and we are not... I think it is very important for us to consider what we would tell someone... it is possible that she is lost and I could have led her the right way if I had handled it right... at this point all I can think is that God will cover it and lead her to someone who can answer her more correctly than I did... but I know for me personally.. I am going to have to study some of these questions and study their beliefs to know how to answer someone in this situation in the future... it was presented to me to save her and I allowed her to continue to be lost by my lack of knowing how to answer... I don't want to leave anyone lost ever again...

Colossians 1:3-14

3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

it's amazing to me that I knew the good news of Christ all my life... but it took till now for me to allow it to change me..

7 You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. 8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.

I was listening to John MacArthur yesterday about my love walk... and he says that anytime we harbor angry or malicious feelings toward someone... this is not walking in love... I am thinking to myself... that is a little unrealistic.. to think that I will not be mad or ever want to smack the mess out of someone... at least I'm not doing it... he said... when Christ died on the cross... He covered the sin that person has done to us... the wrong way they treated us.. so who are we to imply that the blood of Christ is not enough for us to forgive someone... (BOW *$# SMACK *&% BIFF @#%)

9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

COMPLETE knowledge of his will and spiritual wisdom and understanding... how awesome would that be?? instead we get some understanding and wisdom and then allow so many things to sidetrack us and get in the way.... I really want to produce EVERY kind of good fruit... but somehow I will have to get past myself to do it...

11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

I really pray for the patience and endurance that I need to finish this race... I usually am filled with joy despite circumstance... and I am so thankful for that... I am so thankful that God sent His son to die to pay for our sins... really... what more could we ask for... yet somehow we do...

Philippians 4:10-20

10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

I feel that I can honestly say that in the past I was content in whatever situation i was in... I think I have a harder time with it now... I read a scripture yesterday where he asked God don't give me too much lest I get full of myself.. don't give me too little lest I become a thief... I think that is a good request to have for God.. that we be somewhere in the middle.. with enough struggle to know He is our provider and our protecter.. yet not so deep in struggle that we would rather live like we lived in the past...

15 As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. 16 Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. 17 I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.
18 At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

I have been in situations where I had to know that truly... God is my provider and He surely will provide all I need.. not all I want.. but all I need...

20 Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.

Philippians 4: 1-9

2 Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3 And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

these two women get their name in the bible... that by itself is an amazing and awe inspiring thing... and what is it for??? fighting... unchristlike conduct... come on now... they get some good mention.. saying they worked hard with paul... but the jist of it is to help them overcome this disagreement... how distressing would it be to look down from heaven and see that your name is in lights for not acting in a christlike manner...

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

always be full of joy.... you know... I am a pretty happy person in general... but some days... the fears and the wondering are too much... and then.... then you just have to sit back.. remember just how ugly things were in the past... and know.. that you can live through this too... whatever it might be... as long as God is for you... I think I used to say that God is all I need... and I meant it... but you know.. that is not all I want anymore... to just coast along... happy by myself.. with no stress and no cares... I want love... Jesus has given me love through children in the past... if that is what it is.. then bring it on... if it is love with a man.. then bring that one on too... whatever HIS will is... I'm waiting... some days I feel like I been through to much to ever go through anything at all again... then other days... I'm ready for whatever...

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

again... I know that God has brought me up out of hell.. and I know that He will do this again if need be... but I struggle with the resting and the peace... I am thankful that He will guard my heart... I have not been so good at guarding it....

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

there is the key.. fix our mind on what is right and pure and lovely and admirable and true and honorable... think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise...

funny... all our lives we learn to stop trusting.. stop belieiving the good... yet here is the bible.. telling us to believe the good despite the bad... that messes up our live experiences... that try to get us to see that everyone is not good... and so we start to dwell on the negatives and the fears... when we need to try to see good even when it's hard to see... and trust God to guard our heart and mind... so that we can live in peace...

Philippians 3: 12-21

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

how amazing that paul too didn't feel he was perfect.. he didn't think he had it all together... yet we are able to learn so much from his teaching... what should that say to each of us that are waiting to be perfect before we can serve...

forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead... just let go of all you have done... all you have been... we are NEW creatures in Christ... thank God for that...

15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.

agree to disagree sometimes... it doesn't change Christ from being the Messiah.. it doesn't change Him from being the Son of God... it doesn't change the fact that He died to save us...

17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

I can't imagine telling someone to pattern their life after mine... although I pray that if you look into my life you will find Jesus...
I remember bragging about sin... even though I didn't think that is what it was... I talked about how drunk I was... I didn't recognize other's feelings as being relevant... my heart was evil and full of pride and destruction... I praise God for the changes He has made in me... I am thankful that now I am under His control... even when my flesh is warring with me... I am still under the control of God... thank you Jesus...

Philippians 3: 1-11

1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

whatever happens... rejoice in the Lord.. sometimes that is a rough one... yet surely the truth... it amazes me when people just walk around miserable and complaining all the time... I will never understand why someone would choose sad over happy... while we may not be having great circumstances... things could ALWAYS be so much worse... be thankful!!

2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

while it is important to realize that we need to be striving to be all that God has called us to be... we still need to keep in mind that we are not saved by our righteous acts.. we are not saved by our bible knowledge.. we are only saved because Christ was willing to be slaughtered so that we might have life...
I remember when I was a kid... I am a full blooded german... and as you should well know... germans have always felt they are above others... and I was raised thinking that no one else was the same as me.. that everyone else is impure... what a ridiculous thing to teach your children... the only value I have at all is that Christ was willing to die on the cross for me.. that is what give me value... nothing I did or did not do... surely not the blood that runs in my veins... it is my spirit that holds my value... and only then if it is the spirit of the living God...

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

our works don't make us righteous... although God requires obedience from us... that still is not what saves us... it does however open the lines of communication between us and God.... and just like we are always willing to allow our kids to have another chance to do right.. thankfully.. God allows us to have another chance to do right too...

Philippians 2: 19-30

19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. 20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. 21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. 22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. 23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. 24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.

25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. 26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. 27 And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
28 So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. 29 Welcome him with Christian love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. 30 For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.

we look at what Paul said about these two men that worked with him...
the first thing I notice is that he spoke only good things of them... talking of how much they have done for him... encouraging them... talking about their good qualities...
I also notice that he recognized their value to him... their faith and their walk was obvious and useful to him in the kingdom work....
what are people saying about us? are we encouraging? are we useful? does our faith stand out as an attribute of who we are and Who we serve? can someone else see our value to the kingdom?

Philippians 2: 1-11

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

I was thinking this morning... (you may not be able to relate to all this...) I used to lay in my bed and ask God to hold me... I used to talk to Him like most people talk to a man... and I was in love with Him the way we are usually in love with a man... then enters God saying He is now my Father.. so you can't be in love with your father... right? well this morning.. I decide to go back to the old way of thinking and doing things... I am going to be spiritually incestuous and be in love with my Father.... I will just be pouring out at the seams with love.... then surely I can give it to others too!

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

I guess he says what you should do... then what you shouldn't.... LOL! stay humble... I told you.. that one is on the forefront of my mind much of the time....

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I never thought about that before... the reason that God raised Jesus up so high that His name is above all names.. is because He was willing to lower Himself... He thought of Himself as a man... a slave to men... obedient to God.... He could have been different... He could have said that He is the son of God and used the power He has to make men bow down to Him... He chose the servant's life and God lifted Him above all men...

Philippians 1:20-30

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

isn't it amazing that even now... thousands of years later.. Paul is STILL someone who helps us grow and learn about walking this walk... can you imagine your life impacting the kingdom like that... I cannot...

27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

I doubt we really view ourselves as citizens of heaven... truthfully.. we rarely even view ourselves as members of the body of christ as we should... we often see ourselves as insignificant and useless... that our tiny life means nothing... but even if our walk only influences one person.. it is worth doing right.... of course we influence others... at work.. at home.. in church...
don't be intimidated by our enemies... I admit that sometimes I get intimidated.. not necessarily about a particular person.. more like I am not enough... someone else would be so much better suited for this...
recently.. I was told that the reason women hate me so much is because I am so confident... and it makes them insecure... I thought that was amazing.... if only they knew how very insecure I really am...
suffering for Christ... I would rather not suffer at all... but if I have to... thank God it is for Christ...

Philippians 1: 1-10

1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

how often do we send an email? I don't know about you.. but I send LOTS of emails daily... can you imagine if we included in them.. may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace... what I am meaning is.. what if we prayed peace and grace on every person we email or text through the day... even if they didn't know it... if we just prayed for them before we press send... wonder what impact that would have on the world around us...

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

thankfully... God continues to work in us.. despite our flaws and failures.. He continues to pick us up and speak life back into us...

7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

I also pray that we will continue to grow in love and in knowledge... to understand what really matters... time is a true teacher... think back to who you were 5 years ago... and how you thought... I can honestly say.. I have come a long way baby... I am not at all the same person I was in the past.. my mind is renewed praise God... I think completely differently... my first thought no longer is a negative one... that by itself is a truly amazing act of God.... may you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation.... a righteous character... so that we can bring glory and praise to God... I pray that for each of us.... I am sure God will be faithful and continue to change us.... for His glory and honor...