Philippians

Wow...could I have taken a longer blog break??? I don't know what my deal is. I do have things to blog about, I just haven't taken the time to sit and do it. So, I am back with many things to talk about. :)

First of all my pastor has started going through Philippians on Sunday mornings. I love Philippians. Our former college pastor took the college ministry (which I was serving in at the time...I wasn't in college) through it in his Sunday School class and I just fell in love with it. I learned so much and I can't wait to go through it again and see what God has in store for me this time. We've been on the first four verses the last two weeks. (If you aren't familar with my church, our pastor teaches one book at a time and goes verse by verse, passage by passage. We will probably be in Philippians for at least a year.).

I'm not going to go through all the background....I am going to just touch on what I learned or what was convicting to me.

"Keep your focus on your service to Jesus Christ, not on your circumstances."

"When we look at our circumstances, we sink; When we look at our Savior, we stand."

I think this is something I always struggle with. I believe it most of the time, but every once in awhile I sucked into the circumstance. My favorite thing to dwell on is when I'm not getting my way. Yes, I begin to act like I'm two years old. I have struggled with this for a long time, and for some reason I'm not learning very quickly so God continues to work on this area. Its like a knot in your neck or back that just won't go away...not matter how many massages you get or how hard you try to relax....its just not going away. I begin focusing on my circumstances when God's timing isn't my own.

As many of you know, marraige has been my biggest struggle. I just couldn't understand why God wouldn't let me get married. I may never know the reasons, but I do know that I have had to learn to be content with where He has me....which we will also be studying in Philippians. It was a daily adventure of learning God's character and learning to trust Him in everything. It wasn't always easy and I made some godly decisions, some not so godly decisions, and some really stupid decisions. I wouldn't trade my single life for anything!!! I really enjoyed it! One of my favorite things about being single is that I was able to focus ALL my time into serving in whatever ministry I wanted, as much as I wanted. That meant, for me, the college ministry...pretty much every night until at least midnight and some nights it was later.
The best advice I got was "Its better to be single and alone and know WHY you're alone than to be married and alone and not know why you are lonely." I knew from that moment on that I would wait for God. As much as I HATE waiting, I didn't want to be lonely in marraige....I hated it enough on my bad single days, so to think of it being DAILY and IN A RELATIONSHIP made me sick. It broke my heart to think of the college girls I knew that were so discouraged at the fact they weren't married by the time they finished college. I had been there and I felt the exact same way....but how much worse would it have been (for both people) to marry the wrong person. I am so very thankful for God's timing even though I am incredibly impatient.
I am still having to learn to be patient on His timing. I still feel like I know what's best in the relationship He has brought me. I still would like to offer God my assistance KNOWING He doesn't need it. I get so upset because I don't get my way all the time....also knowing deep down that my timing is NOT the best! Thankfully God has brought me someone that is incredibly logical, yet loving. He offsets my emotions that I love to quickly react to....and yet he loves me for me. He doesn't get frustrated with me...he gently explains the logic and godly intent that he has and keeps me going and encouraged during the wait. He helps me calm down and see what God is doing and ENJOY what God is doing.

Which kind of brings me to the next point:

"Live a life of joy in an uncertain world."

"Our joy is not found in some joy-getting-method, but in the person of Jesus Christ."

No matter what is going on in our lives or around us (especially things we can't control), we can have joy because of our faith in Christ!!!

In the first four verses ALONE, this is what I've learned:

1. We are bondservants=slaves of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)...we belong to Christ. We have been bought with a price.
2. Paul was writing to the church at Philippi and he specifically called them "saints," which means "set apart ones." As believers, we are set apart.
3. Not only are we set apart, but we are positionally set apart in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)...our goal is that our experiences and lives will live up to our position in Christ, a saint.
4. one of my favorites...when you see "Christ Jesus" in the Bible, it is emphasizing His deity; when you see "Jesus Christ" it is emphasizing Him as Savior.
5. We are to thank God for believers in our lives...whenever they come to our mind. The believers that made an impact in your life, that YOU made an impact in someone else's life, and those you have served with. Be thankful that we are ALL in this together!
6. We are to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) and what makes that easier is to know what to be praying for. Ask people how you can specifically be praying for them....and then MAKE IT A PRIORITY!!! When you tell someone you are going to be praying for them, DO IT!
7. Joy and rejoicing are mentioned at least 14 times in the book of Philippians. WOW! We are to be characterized by joy. We can be joyful b/c no matter what comes into our lives, God is working EVERYTHING to the counsel of His will.

I am so excited to be back in Philippians again. I know I will be sharing more with you b/c this book always gets me. :)