Reflecting, Renewing, and New Beginnings

Hello Everyone, I am so sorry that I started this late. From now on you will get a post about every day. My Pastor says Philippians acts like a road map for the many avenues in life and that it is full of directions on how to get the most joy out of life.That's why I decided to share this in a 30 day series. I hope you all enjoy it and really take it in and apply it to your life. -

Day 1 Philippians 1:3 I thank God every time I see you. Do you have someone in your life that you feel this way about? It can be your spouse, your child, your boss, your pastor, it can be anyone that you thank God for having in your life. I thank God for many people in my life. It is amazing how much love can we have for others. In my last regular post, I talked about making sure you appreciate the people you love the most, even if we aren't happy with them at the time, because we are not promised a tomorrow. It would be a great misfortune to not tell someone that you really love them because you are mad at them, and then God decides it's time to bring that person, or yourself, home to Him. That happens to people all of the time, unfortunately. But, it doesn't have to. Thank God every time you see that person, talk to that person, and think about that person. You will be glad you did. Our hearts should have no room for bitterness or holding a grudge. Take a minute to tell that person that you thank God for them. We can all make a difference in someone's life, and we should try. I hope this post finds you at a time in your life that you are willing and ready to change the path you are on. Please make sure to come back for each day of the series. I welcome feedback and comments. I hope you all have a blessed and beautiful day! talk to you soon!

Day 2 Philippians 1:9-11 This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love;that you will see the difference between good and bad and will choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ; that you will be filled with good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God. What can I really say about this? Well, I can say that I know we don't always grow in our love, we don't always make the good decisions, some of us, should, but don't, know the differences between good and bad, and that none of us are without wrong,but I know we can try to be the best people we can be. I know that we have a choice and I know that we can make a conscious decision from here on out to start making the good decisions. I know that when we choose happiness,we grow in our love for Christ and others. I know if we allow God to come into our life and our hearts, that so many doors will open for us. We will be able to find peace and happiness. When we make wrong decisions, we are not allowing God to work in our lives. We decide to take life on, all by ourselves. That is never a good decision. We always blame others and God for our misfortunes, but the truth is we have decided to not let God work in our lives. We think that we can do it all on our own. Sure, you can do it all on your own. But, guess what? That is when we start making bad decisions, even if we didn't mean to make the wrong decision, we still did! We can't blame others because we chose not to let God in. That is wrong decision #1, wrong decision #2 is thinking we can do it on our own, and wrong decisions 1 and 2 lead to every other wrong decision we make. So, you see, that one decision causes a ripple effect. It will continue that way until you decide that you can't weather your life on your own, You need God in the driver's seat. You will then start to see an abundance of good things come into your life. It is up to you, though! Don't you want to be pure when Christ returns? I know that if I stayed on the road I was on, I would be embarrassed to stand before God and answer for the life He gave me, so freely,and I made a mess of it all, because I couldn't do just one thing He wanted me to do, accept His Son as my Lord and Savior. I am so thankful we have such a forgiving Lord. So, my point is, if you truly want happiness, there is only one way, one decision, that you need to make. After that, if you TRULY accept God into your life, you will have a life that is pure and full of happiness! One decision leads to another! Make the good one! Talk to you all very soon!

Day 3 Philippians 1:6 God is the one who started this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete. God starts His work in us before we are even conceived. He has a plan for each one of our lives. Are you following God's plan for your life? I know for a long time, I wasn't. Nothing was going good in my life and I thought God abandoned me, but I was the one who abandoned Him. The great thing is you can start following His plan for your life right now. I urge you to do that if you haven't already. He will not stop being there for you. He will always be there cheering you on, helping you along, and loving you forever. Your life is important to God. He wants you to be fulfilled and happy. Are you willing to accept God's hand? That is all you have to do to start seeing Him work in your life. Make Him #1 in all you do, and you will be able to live a fulfilling and happy life! He is never finished with us. He is constantly Blessing us with so many things. Sometimes, we think God isn't listening to us or working for the good in our lives, but He has a plan and it is a great plan. Just open yourself up to the possibility that God is there for you, no matter what the situation, and even when we think He is nowhere around, know that everything happens for a reason and God has a plan and if you allow Him, He will do good work in you and will not stop until that good work is completed! If you are reading this, it is not too late! What are you waiting for? Talk to you all soon!

Day 4Philippians 2:1 Christ encourages you, and His love comforts you. I know He encourages me, and His love comforts me through all my days! I know I say the same thing over and over, but He can be that for each of us. All you have to do is be willing to accept Him into your life. We all search for fulfillment in our lives. The only way to achieve that is to be comforted in Christ's love for us. He encourages us to accept Him and His love for us.True fulfillment can't be found by oneself. He has a plan for us and until we realize that the feeling of fulfillment only comes when we take God's plan for our lives, we will never truly have a fulfilling life. We must turn our focus away from worldly things and turn to Christ, accepting His love, encouragement, and plan for our life! It will not happen over night. It is a process, but you will start seeing a change in yourself as soon as you allow God to take over your life. Find comfort in Christ's love for you. Let Him in! Talk to you all soon!

Day 5 Philippians 2:2 Live in harmony by showing love for each other. Be united in what you think, as if you were one person God wants us to love one another, share our thoughts and feelings with one another, and share Him with one another. We should all be striving to be like Christ, and we should be helping others to do the same. He wants us to be like-minded in our thoughts of love and what that means to Him. The apostle Paul speaks about unity in several Books of the Bible. In, 1Corinthians 1:10 "Now i plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement" and again in, Rom. 15:5-6 "Now, may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be likeminded toward one another to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind, and one mouth, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" God will find great joy when we have the same thoughts of to love on another, and having the same love. He says we can't let little arguments separate ourselves from each other. Max Lucado says "God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus." We are never really worthy of the love God has for us, but He still loves us no matter what. The point is, if He can love us and forgive us for all of the things we do, can't we show that kind of love and forgiveness for one another? I think we can and we should! Just think on this for a while, do you deserve God's love? If you don't, and if you know despite that, He still loves you, don't you think you have an obligation extend that love and grace to someone else, whether you believe they deserve it or not? When we can do that, we are truly starting to live like Christ, which is what we all should be striving for anyway! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I hope you all share your love with many people! Talk to you soon!

>Day 6 Philippians 2:3-5 Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Paul is saying that we need to not be selfish, and we need to show humility. I know humility is sometimes difficult. We don't like to admit when we are wrong, or we criticize others to make ourselves feel better. We as humans, have a tendency to be judgmental and cruel to people that, we think, we are better than. The truth is, one person is no better that another, we are each just different from each other. Some of us choose to always do the right thing and some of us always make the wrong decisions. We as Christians, should be willing to help someone that is not a Christian, and always making the wrong decisions. We should not judge them for making wrong decisions, or for not being a Christian. We need to pray for that person, talk to that person about getting to know Jesus, and do whatever we can to help that person start making right choices. Some people may not have ever been told about Jesus. Isn't it our duty as a Christian to be the one who does? I know that God wants me to find a way to help anyone that I come across in my life, whether near or far, and I know He wants that from each of us. I am committed to doing God's work for my life by praying for others always, finding a way to reach non-Christians and talking to them about Jesus, and start putting others needs ahead of my own. Will you commit to this with me? It's a small sacrifice to not put myself first, in comparison to how God showed His love for us. Don't you think? Isn't it better to know that you are making a difference in other people's lives and doing God's work, than being selfish, self-centered, and making the wrong decisions for your own life? Because when we are not following God's Word, we are making a bad decision! Take the time to reach out to someone and ask if there is anything you can do for them, say a kind word to everyone you see in your day everyday, and be sure to pray for all of those people that have yet to know Jesus and His sacrifice for our lives. Remember: Don't be Selfish, Be Humble, Pray for others, and put someone else's needs above your own for once. The more we practice these actions, the more Christ like you become! Isn't that what we are all striving for anyway? I hope you all had an amazing weekend! Talk to you all soon!