Philippians is flippin brilliant!!!

Take a gander at these beauts - what inspiring verses, it makes me think about just how much I have to learn and explore in my lifetime and how much of it will go unlearned because this is SO hugely awesome... what a journey I'm on, and I'm on it with 'the God of peace' who will 'lead me into all truth' and who will always and forever be my 'strength and shield':

'...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus, (1.6) (We're on our way - how encouraging is that... every day we get closer to our goal, to our Lord and Father God, to heaven itself! God is using us!)

'And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight...' (1.9) (What exactly is that knowledge and depth of insight?? I don't reckon it has anything to do with being intellectual or smart, i think it's knowing more of humility, bearing more of the fruit of the Spirit, to have more of an eternal perspective on things...)

'For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.' (1.21) (We don't need to be scared of ANYTHING! We don't need to worry about our mistakes and our dreams, we need to submit them to God and let him use us and turn everything around for his glory. God has given us an awesome purpose to be loved by him and to love him! We don't need to fear death because we have a faithful God and when this life is over we get to see him as he is... 'OH YEAH!')

'Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the intersets of others' (2.4) (Selfishness sucks ass! I know that it gets me nowhere and doesn't bring half as much joy as serving others and loving others does!)

'Do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing..' (2.14) ( You what!!?? - Well I guess we have been given everything for free. We don't deserve a breath!)

'For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ' (2.21) ("me me me" that seems to be the first thing my mind tells me! I don't want that, I want to think of my Lord and live for him. I choose to pick up my cross daily and follow him!)...HELP!

'What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things' (3.8) (Jesus is everything! Purpose, Provider, Redeemer, Counsellor, Comforter, Shield, Protection, Salvation, Love, Joy, Peace, Bread of Life, Water to my soul, and SO much more... and that beats all earthly things outright!)

'I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me' (3.12) (It ain't just gonna jump into your arms, you can't run a marathon without training, we need to work for that prize, and that prize is worth it big time! Pray for the Spirit, cozyou're gonna need it EVERY day!)

'Only let us live up to what we have already attained' (3.16) (We are holy, blameless, dearly loved children of God with the inheritance of Christ in our hands! When are we gonna start living out our unbeatable richness of life? We have EVERYTHING! We are so so rich in Christ!)

'But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body' (3.20-21) (Yeah, we get new bodies - pretty cool if you ask me... no more spots or shaving or sickness come to think of it! We get to go HOME to heaven! Awesome or what!!!)

'Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.' (4.5) (The Lord is near!!!)

'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.' (4.6) (God is Sovereign, Almighty, awesome, wonderful, faithful and he knows way more than we do how we got into our troubles and how to get us out of them. When we lift our hands he will lift us up!)

'And the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' (4.7) (I guess it transcends all understanding coz it's not humanly possible. We can't conjour up this peace, it only comes from God. We worry because we can't see what's coming, but God does and he offers to take our burdens and give us this indescribable, unexplainable peace that you can't find down the town or at the bottom of the glass! That's a promise! God's got it sorted!)

'Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me - PUT IT INTO PRACTICE. And the God of peace will be with you' (4.8-9) (This is where we put it into practice... this is where we need to look! We need to adopt a cross centred life of thanksgiving, and not get distracted by worldly negativities. It starts in our mind; our action come from out thoughts, and God has already promised to guard our hearts and our minds. Don't keep letting those nagging thoughts get you down, take them to the cross and lay them at Jesus' feet (that's what he's there for)! Talk to God about your troubles before moaning to others)

'...I have learnt to be content whatever the circumstances.' (4.11) (Amazing!)

'I can do EVERYTHING through him who gives me strength.' (4.13) (Everything! Can't really beat that!)

'And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus' (4.19) (Again, what a promise, what else could we ask for? We are SO rich in God! Money, gold, holidays, new cars... doesn't even come close!)

THE END