Tag: Philippians

Morning Musing: Philippians 1:6

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“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I was watching a movie the other night and in one scene a dad had taken his kids backpacking in the mountains. As they were hiking to their intended campsite, he kept telling them, “There’s just one more hill.” But then they’d crest that hill only to find another one waiting for them. Sometimes life feels that way. We make some forward progress only to discover just how much further we still have to go. This is especially true when we’re talking about following Jesus and becoming more like Him. Paul here offers us some encouragement in the journey. Let’s take a look.

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Digging in Deeper: Philippians 1:1-5

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“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,  including the overseers and deacons. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

“‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said, ‘to talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—of cabbages—and kings—and why the sea is boiling hot—and whether pigs have wings.’” Those words from the Lewis Carroll poem, The Walrus and the Carpenter, have since eighth grade meant it is time to make a change. It was just our class seating chart in Mr. Brock’s eighth grade algebra class. Today it means that our journey together through the Scriptures is heading off in a new direction. Romans is officially under our belt (along with Exodus, Amos, and Mark). Next up will be Paul’s letter to the Philippian believers. We’ll start right where Julie Andrews helpfully identified is a very good place to start: the very beginning. Let’s dive in.

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Digging in Deeper: Philippians 2:12-13

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“Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Do the things you do matter? How do you know? What is it that gives our lives meaning? These are big questions for a Friday morning, but they are ones the latest offering from Disney+ has me thinking about. The series is the next chapter in the ever-unfolding storyline Marvel has been weaving together on both the big and now small screen for the last 12 years. Like Wandavision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier before it, this one picks up right where Avengers: End Game finished and reveals what happens next with one of the characters. This time, the character is Loki, the villain-turned-hero brother of Thor and a fan-favorite. Let’s talk about the series that bears his name.

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Morning Musing: Philippians 4:6-7

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“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A week of peace isn’t a bad thing to have. My hope and prayer is that as we have explored the idea of biblical peace this week you have been encouraged and even inspired to do the things necessary to experience more of it in your life. Last week ended on the high note of the video of Meredith Andrews’ wonderful version of Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. This week, we’ll try that again. If you’ll suffer me a couple of comments on one of my favorite passages of Scripture, we’ll end this week with another song that I think ably captures our virtues of the week. Thanks for being with me this week.

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Good Habits

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Last week we confronted the uncomfortable reality that we are often not fine in this life. This week we start to explore a solution. How can we keep the hard emotions that so often bring us down at bay before they have a chance to do their dirty work? We learn the secret from something Paul wrote when he was in some pretty dark times himself. Check this out with me.

Good Habits

I am a man of habits. It’s just part of my personality. I operate best in conditions that are customary and repetitive. Maybe you’re the same, maybe you’re different, but that’s simply my personality type. And when it comes to personality types, there’s no one type that’s particularly right or particularly wrong. At least…that’s what I keep telling myself. No, each personality type comes with advantages and disadvantages. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. For me, when something is a habit, I’m dependable. Now, I’m sometimes forgetful, but once something is locked into a habit, you can count on my doing it. On the other hand, I can be boring; especially if you have the kind of personality that prefers a bit more variety.

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