What Paul is Teaching Me

Philippians 1:12-14 "Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear."

This verse is talking about Paul's imprisonment for Christ's sake, it furthered the kingdom. It opened up a freedom for those who were Christians to speak up. He had already gone to prison for this reason and was showing how God can use hard times for the glory of His Kingdom.
I also thought when meditating on this verse that imprisonment can be imprisonment to anxiety or fear, to money or work, to pornography or relationships. God can use all things to glorify Him. We turn away from these things for Christ and allow Him to lead our lives and that is a victory in His name because we cannot be free from these things without Him.

"For me to, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith," Philippians 1:21-25

Oh how Paul must have longed to be with Christ in Heaven, in perfection. He says to die is gain and it most certainly is! To be with our Father in Heaven is what we all desire. There will be no more pain, no more fear, no more tears. We will rejoice and praise our God forever! But Paul said He would rather help those around Him so that they can become true followers of God together. This to me is mature thinking. He was thinking of others and not of himself. He was convinced of this and knew that he would remain on earth to help those around Him so that they would also have the opportunity to be with God. We are to "not only believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Phil. 1:29)

In Philippians 2, I can't help but think, Would I be able to risk death for the work of Christ? At this point in my life I have not been challenged with these things of people and having to stand up against someone who is blaspheming my God. Only on TV have I seen such things and with that I can just turn it off. I think back to the time of Cassie Barnell in 1999. She was asked at gunpoint to deny Christ and she wouldn't. Michael W Smith has a song called "This is Your Time" that was inspired by this horrible crime.

The lyrics begin like this:

It was a test we could all hope to pass
But none of us would want to take
Faced with choice to deny God and live
For her there was one choice to make

What if tomorrow
What if today
Faced with the Question
Oh, What would you say?

This is a tough thing to do and I pray that I would have the strength to stand up for Christ if I was faced with that same question.

What would you say?

Meetings in the Secret Place

Matthew 6:6
"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you"

Our Father tells us to go into your room, your closet, your inner room to pray to Him. Finding a place with no distractions is hard, especially these days. I also get distracted very easily. I've been trying to find a place that has no distractions. Having two dogs that want to whine, bark and play when you want quiet time with God doesn't help this. Also, if you live in an apartment, you know how you can hear everyone that lives above you? that walks down the breezeway? In all of this I'm going to find the perfect place to meet with God. I think this is very important because we as humans and in modern times are so distracted with our phones, social networking and our happiness in materialistic things. I am definitely not against any of these things (obviously) but I do find it very important to put God first in your life. First one you talk to in the morning and the last you talk to at night. The Beginning and the End. The Start and the Finish of your day. I find this hard because I tend to put my husband in first or myself. Then my job and then my dogs and then if I have time I'll worship God in secret. This happens because I have a faulty focus. I need to look through God's lens and not mine. To have a clear lens I need to learn how to focus on the things He tells me to in Philippians 4:8 "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."

I encourage you today to go and find your secret place to meet with God! Whether it be in a closet, in your room or somewhere else. Wherever you choose to meet with God be sure there are no distractions and where you can openly praise and worship Our God!

Secret Place
Rachael Lampa
Brent Bourgeois/Chris Rodriguez

You are my Father, I am Your child.
Will You hold me in Your arms
Just a little while
And let me know how much You care for me?
There’s no other place in this world
I’d rather be.
And when I fall down on my knees and pray,
My heart is captured when I hear You say:

“Come with Me My child to the secret place.
I love you, I love you, I love you, oh.
Come and find your rest in the secret place.
I love you, I love you, I love you

Everywhere I turn, everything I see
Reminds me of the joy that You bring to me;
And I...I need You so don’t let me go.
Touch me with Your healing hand.
Tell me that You understand.
When I falter, when I lose my way,
You shine Your light on me and I hear You say:

“Come with Me My child to the secret place.
I love you, I love you, I love you, oh.
Come and find your rest in a secret place.
I love you, I love you, I love you.”

And when I fall down on my knees and pray,
My heart is captured when I hear You say:
Come with Me, Come with Me
Just a little while...

God's Love For Me is Mind Boggling

This writing will probably seem choppy but this is how my mind is processing...but these are my thoughts; they might be a whirlwind of thoughts, but still they are what keeps me loving God more and more every day.

Today, I finished reading the newest book in a series of books I've been reading since I was eleven years old. (What an amazing ending to this book in this continuing series!) I have learned so much of God's Holy and Perfect Love through these books! I think it's amazing how God can use so many things to speak to us and teach us!

I realized today how much God is pursuing us. This is a great example of God's love for us, that He pursues us! He shows us continually how much He loves us and wants us to love Him the same, He desires that from us. But, He also loves us enough that He gives us free will to decide. What kind of love would it be if it were forced? It wouldn't be true. God loves us not because He has to, but because He wants to! This truly excites me and just knowing this brings my love for God on a deeper level. Knowing how much He truly loves me even though I sin against Him is just mind boggling.

I also feel encouraged today by this verse, "I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget to help you. I have swept away your sins like the morning mists. I have scattered your offenses like the clouds. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free." Isaiah 44:21b-22 NLT

So many times in life I feel like God is not helping me. I say things to Him like, "Yeah, You could help me get out of this if You really wanted to!" But really God knows what we can handle and He knows how strong and close we can become to Him through the valleys if we trust Him. He loves us so much that He sees us saddened and He doesn't like it but then He knows how strong we can become and close to Him we will become so He keeps encouraging us to stay on the path that is the straight and narrow.
God also is on a completely different timing scale. "A day to our Father is like a thousand years and a thousand years a day" I might feel as though this is taking "forever" to get through a hard time but really it's just a passing moment in the grand adventure of eternity.
God loves us so much that He paid the highest price for us. Therefore, He deserves all of our worship and all of our praise and all of our lives.

May the Glory be to God Forever and Ever.