Monthly Archives: September 2012

2012 Day 274 – Philippians 2

30 Sunday Sep 2012

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While they are not meant to be a complete statement about the nature and work of Christ, verses 5-11 give us a pretty good blueprint for the example He left for us.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

As believers we must take the example of Christ and lose our attitude of entitlement and allow ourselves to be used by God for the service of others. We should also adopt Christ’s attitude of humility as we serve even in the absence of recognition. Everything we do should point back to Christ and His saving grace for the salvation of others. That is our most important purpose. All glory must ultimately go to Him and God the Father.

2012 Day 273 – Philippians 1

29 Saturday Sep 2012

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I love reading Paul’s letters to the early church. There is so much to digest in almost every verse. Chapter 1, verses 23-24 shows how dedicated Paul was to the church and how much he loved Jesus, 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. While Paul loved the church and genuinely loved people, his greatest desire was to be with Jesus in heaven. I think this points to Paul’s maturity and I can relate to it. When I was younger I was afraid that God would take me from this earth too early and I would miss out on too many things. Now that I’m older, I know being with God can not compare to any experience I could ever have in heaven. While I look forward to the way God chooses to use me for the rest of my life, I know my life will pale in comparison to the eternity I will experience with Christ in heaven.

2012 Day 272 – Psalm 123, 133

28 Friday Sep 2012

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Sorry for posting this a day late… Psalm 123:2 paints a great picture, As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy. We are to look up to God and wait on His mercy and His timing. It is often times difficult to do it, but God’s plan is perfect.

2012 Day 271 – Psalm 25, 86

27 Thursday Sep 2012

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I am such an admirer of David for many reasons. In Psalm 86:7 we see how much confidence he has in God to deliver him, In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. We should see this passage as an example of how David approached God when he needed deliverance. David never questions God’s ability to do anything, much less His ability to take care of all his needs; including protecting Him from his enemies.

2012 Day 270 – Ephesians 6

26 Wednesday Sep 2012

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Paul’s request in his letter to the Ephesians in verses 19 and 20 is a very good reminder to me about my position in Christ and what I should concern myself with. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. May I become fearless in my actions, deeds, and speech so that I can fulfill my duty as an ambassador of Christ.

2012 Day 269 – Ephesians 5

25 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Verse 1 in chapter 5 summed up today’s reading for me, Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. As a kid I always tried to be like my dad when I was growing up. I tried to talk like him, walk like him, act like him; in fact, I kinda wanted to be him. That is what we should be like when we are imitators of our Heavenly Father.

2012 Day 268 – Ephesians 4

24 Monday Sep 2012

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Chapter 4 of Ephesians talks extensively about unity in the body of Christ, meaning, unity with all of us as believers. It is easy to get caught up in our individualistic desires and our own sin, but God wants us to focus in on the greater good. We need to put away our struggles and sins in order to focus on being children of light for Christ. In the second half of the chapter, verses 26 and 27 were a bit convicting to me, 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. I’m a happy-go-lucky sort of guy, but when anger takes hold of me it is difficult for me to let it go. These verses have served me well (at times) in reminding me to let go of anger because it only gives the devil another means into my heart. Any time we allow sin to enter into our cracks of imperfection, it is like water running through cracks in a foundation; eventually the foundation will be ruined. We can not allow that to happen to the foundations of our lives.

2012 Day 267 – Ephesians 3

23 Sunday Sep 2012

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In today’s reading, the second half of verse 17 and all of 18 spoke to me, And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. God’s love is total. It is wide enough to cover the breadth of all our experiences. It is long enough to cover the entirety of our lives. It is high enough to reach above any elation we could ever experience without Him. And finally, it is deep enough to cover despair, discouragement, and even death we will experience at the end of our lives. No matter what happens to us, we will never be lost to God’s love.

2012 Day 266 – Ephesians 2

22 Saturday Sep 2012

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In verses 18 and 19 Paul is talking about our Christian lineage, For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. Since Christ died for the sins of the world, it included those people who are not necessarily of Jewish heritage. The beauty is this now includes the rest of us. This is our gentile heritage, and we are now the equivalent of God’s chosen people as citizens of His kingdom.

2012 Day 265 – Ephesians 1

21 Friday Sep 2012

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Verses 22-23 are great reminders of God’s leadership over the Church, And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. As the Church, we are His body. We are to be aware and available to be used by Him to fulfill His perfect plan in this world. God gives us gifts and blessings for His glory, not ours. We are to be the full expression of Christ as ambassadors for Him. This is something I need to continuously remember.