Please pray for peace. Also, please pray that we will not have bad storms and rain in my area in the next couple of days. I had problems with the last storm. Please pray. Thank you.
I Corinthians 13:13 -- "And now these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Romans 12:12 -- "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Thank you for once again reading the message for this week. I hope and pray that everyone is having a very good week.
Today, we are going to finish up chapter one in the book of Philippians. If you remember last week, we saw that Paul had a strong desire to go and be with the Lord. He wanted to be the Lord he loved and served. He had been suffering a lot. However, Paul knew that as long as he was on this earth, he still had the opportunity to tell others about the life changing power of Jesus. Whether he lived or died, he wanted his life to be all about serving the Lord and doing the best that he could to honor God.
Paul begins our section of Philippians today by instructing the people that they need to live in such a way that their actions bring only honor and glory to the Lord Jesus. That is what we are to do in our day and age too. We don't want to do anything that would cause someone to turn away from having a relationship with the Lord Jesus. Many people get turned off of Christianity because of the hypocrisy and meanness of those who say that they are believers. I believe that this is one of if not the major reason that so many people don't want to have anything to do with the Christian religion in the Western world.
We don't want to turn people away. We want to live in such a way that people see that we are people of love and goodness who follow the teachings and the commandments of Jesus. We want people to see Jesus is us. We need to be those who are loving God with all that we have within us, and we are loving our neighbors as ourselves. Also, we are following the rule that Jesus gave to His followers to do unto others as we would have done to us.
When we practice what we preach and follow the way of the cross, that will attract people to the message of Jesus. So many people would love to see those who say that they are Christians practicing a little bit of kindness in this world, instead of spewing out hate and acting like the devil.
Paul finishes out this chapter by telling the people in the church at Philippi to be brave in the midst of persecution. Jesus told us that in this world people would persecute His followers just as people persecuted Him.
When a believer faces persecution and criticism in this world, that is the time to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit who gives guidance, encouragement and comfort in and through all circumstances.
Whatever we face. Whatever we do, and wherever we go, we have the mission of telling people about Jesus. It is our mission to live in this world to glorify the Lord. Let us all serve the Lord and follow Him so that others will want to follow Him as well. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying for my health. I am having good days and bad. Also, please pray that the rains forecast this week in my area will not cause any problems. Thank you.
Please pray for peace on the streets of the US.
Pray for peace in Ukraine. Pray that aid will reach Gaza and that peace will come there. Pray for the release of the hostages. Let us also pray for peace in Sudan, Yemen and Congo.
Let us all pray for an end to the measles and mpox outbreaks.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us remember to pray for those in the nations of Laos and Guinea. Pray that many will come to know the Lord Jesus.
Next week, we will start chapter 2 of Philippians. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
Isaiah 43:18 - "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old."
Luke 1:37 -- "For nothing will be impossible with God."
Thanks for reading the message this week. I hope that all of you are well. I am doing some better, and I am thankful that I have been doing ok through all of the stormy weather that we've been having.
Today, we will be continuing with our series on the book of Philippians. In our message last week, we focused on the importance of proclaiming the message of Jesus.
In our passage today, Paul begins by expressing that it is his desire to never do anything of which he would be ashamed. It was his hope and prayer to always do the things that brought glory and honor to Jesus.
This is an important message for all of us. First of all, as followers of Jesus, we should all want to live in such a way that Jesus would be pleased with what we are doing in our lives. We should never want to fall into a sin that would cause others to be turned away from the message of Jesus as a consequences of our actions. Furthermore, we would not want to be engaging in some sort of sin at the moment of Jesus' Second Coming. That would be a horribly shameful thing. We all should strive to live in the way that Jesus told us to live. As the Bible says, we want to live in such a way that people will see our good works and give glory to the Father in Heaven.
In verse 21 Paul states, "If I live, it will be for Christ, and if I die, I will gain even more." This should be our attitude as well. As long as we are living on this earth, we need to be following the teachings and the commandments of Jesus. We need to be sharing the good news of Jesus' love. As ambassadors for Christ, we need to be living in such a way that people will see Jesus in our words and in our deeds. Our lives need to be controlled by Jesus. He is our Lord. We follow Him, and He is to be the center and focus or our lives.
At death, those who are in Christ will go to be with Him in the place that He has prepared for those who love Him. That will be a great day. To die is gain as Paul says. Those who die in Christ will be with Jesus forever, and there is nothing better in all of the universe than that.
In the remainder of our passage today, Paul writes about a dilemma that he is having that I can really relate to. Paul is in prison. He could be executed at any time. He longs to go and be with Jesus. Life isn't really easy at all for Paul as he is writing this epistle. He wants to go and be with Jesus, but he also knows that he has things to accomplish on this earth. As long as he is living and working on this earth, he can continue to spread the message of Jesus and help those in the churches that he has worked to establish.
I can really relate to what Paul is saying. I've had some bad health problems since the time I was born. It all really gets me down a lot of the time, and I often long to be out of this world and be with the Lord. I can't wait to be with Jesus. However, I know that that Lord has a reason for me to be here.
Whether the Lord calls me home or wants me to remain here, it is all about Him. It is up to me to do what Jesus wants me to do at all times. I have to follow Him. He knows what is best, and I want to be committed to His Lordship.
In all that we do, let us follow and honor the Lord Jesus. Let us be good representatives of His while we are on this earth. Let us do all that we can so that we will not be ashamed when we stand before Him face to face. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I am thankful that I am making it through all the bad storms. Thank you for your prayers. Please pray that I will continue to get to feeling better.
Let us pray for peace. Israel and Gaza need peace. Pray that aid will reach the people of Gaza, and pray that the remaining hostages will be freed. Keep praying for peace in Ukraine, Sudan and Yemen.
Pray for an end to the measles outbreak here in the US. Pray for an end to the Covid outbreak and pray for an end to the mpox outbreak.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Madagascar and Bosnia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
I've been wanting to go on a trip for a long time. I've been doing quite a bit of research trying to find the place that I would most want to go to.
Thinking about traveling and trying to plan out a potential trip has got me to thinking about some of the fun trips that I took when my friend Toby was with me. I've been thinking back and trying to decide what trip of all of the many trips that we took together was the most fun. It has been a difficult decision. However, I believe that our trip through South Dakota was the best.
When my Grandma was still living, we went each summer to visit her out in Wyoming. My Dad didn't like going back and forth on I-70 all the time, so we often planned alternate routes. One year, we decided to go up to and across South Dakota and see the sights before heading back down to Cheyenne, Wyoming. As always, Toby came along.
Our first stop was in Sioux Falls. We planned for that to be just a stop over for the night, but we discovered the USS South Dakota monument and had a good time looking at that. Toby and I walked all the way around it and had a fun time in the park where the monument is located.
The next day, we went to Mitchell and checked out the Corn Palace. The exterior of the building is designed with grains to create a new image each year. It was pretty interesting. Years later, one of my cousins attended a college in this town.
From Mitchell we made our way to Chamberlain. This is a nice place next to the Missouri River. Toby and I explored all around the area and had a great time out in nature.
One of the things that you will notice if you travel in South Dakota are signs telling you how far you are away from Wall Drug in Wall, SD. We finally got there. Not too exciting.
Toby and I really enjoyed our time in the Badlands. The scenery is spectacular. In some ways, it reminds me of a planet in distant space. I highly recommend that you visit this area if you ever get the chance. The two of us walked around here some, but we were afraid of running into snakes.
The area of the Black Hills is truly spectacular. We enjoyed being out in all the beauty of creation. We saw buffalo and pronghorn. My parents enjoyed Mount Rushmore, but Toby and I were not impressed. I do not recommend. If you are going to the Black Hills, concentrate on the natural beauty and not on people's imprint on the land.
From there we went down to my Grandma's house for a nice visit. I am so thankful to the Lord for allowing me to have so many good days with my friend Toby.
Please pray that we won't get flooding rains in my area today. Thank you.
Romans 5:8 -- "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Ephesians 5:2 -- "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you for taking the time to read the message. I pray that you are all well.
Today, we will be continuing our series in the book of Philippians concentrating our attention on what we can learn from chapter one verses 12-19. I want to focus on a couple of different things that Paul is teaching in these verses.
If you remember, Paul was writing this particular message while he was in prison. He was thankful that the people in the church at Philippi were thinking about him, and they were continuing in the faith that he had brought to them.
Even though he was in prison, Paul was able to see the good that had come as a result of it. Because he was in jail, he had the opportunity to share the message of Jesus with those who may have never had the chance to hear about Jesus in any other way. Paul was telling the Roman guards about the Lord. I am sure that some of them came to faith in Jesus, and they then went and told their family members and friends about what Jesus had done for them.
As people saw that Paul was still fearlessly preaching the word of the Lord, they began to boldly proclaim the message of the Lord as well. More and more people were getting to know how much Jesus loved them and that He wanted to forgiven them of their sins and give them a new life filled with peace and hope.
Some were not proclaiming the message of Jesus for the right reasons. However, Paul wasn't going to let this get him down. Regardless of their motives, the Gospel was being proclaimed. That is ultimately what Paul was concerned with.
There are two things that I want to bring out from this passage. This passage reminds me of something that was said about Joseph in the book of Genesis. Man meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Something bad happened to Joseph as he was sold into slavery, but God used that to bring Joseph to the place where he could provide deliverance for the Egyptians and eventually his own family.
Paul was in prison. However, God used that as an opportunity for many people to learn about salvation in and through the Lord Jesus.
There are bad things that come into our lives. Some have many more bad experiences than others. However, God can take those bad things and make something good out of it to bring honor and glory to Himself. People might mean some bad things for our harm, but God can turn it around and make something beautiful for time and for eternity.
I also take from this passage that we have the responsibility like Paul to be those who boldly proclaim the message of Jesus wherever it is that the Lord has placed us. There are so many people around this world who need to know that Jesus loves them. The Lord wants us to tell others about Him. Hopefully, each of us is doing something to fulfill the Great Commission given to us by the Lord to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
We should always be glad when we hear that the Gospel is reaching people and changing lives. Let us do all that we can to tell the world that Jesus lives. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I am still having some trouble with my arm where the dog bit me. I am also once again having a lot of joint pain. Please pray that I will get to feeling better. Thank you.
We must keep praying for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Ukraine needs peace. We need to pray that aid reaches people in Gaza and that the remaining hostages are freed. Pray for peace in Congo, Chad and Sudan.
Keep praying for those who have suffered loss as a result of natural disasters.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Myanmar and Maldives. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
