{"id":1656,"date":"2015-03-13T17:45:50","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T23:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2015-03-13T17:45:50","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T23:45:50","slug":"encouragement-from-paul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=1656","title":{"rendered":"Encouragement from Paul"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning I completed my first report as a “professional lobbyist.” <\/em>While not extensive, it is nice to have some activity that keeps me engaged in the life I’ve had in recent years. After finishing some of my office work and having lunch, I made it back to the fitness center for a workout. I’m not sure if it was a strenuous as earlier in the week, but it was good to get it in.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow I will attend the Republican State Central Committee meeting where I have been invited to offer the opening prayer. I’m looking forward to seeing some friends and acquaintances that last saw me in a power wheelchair.<\/p>\n

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…<\/strong>\u00a0“I thank my God for you every time I think of you;<\/em><\/span> and every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy<\/span><\/em> because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel….”<\/em> Philippians 1:3-5<\/span><\/p>\n

I read through the Book of Philippians this morning. I was reminded how that each of the four chapters have some outstanding verses that\u00a0 bring encouragement to those who are followers of Christ. First of all, I like the way that Paul reflects with joy and gives thanks for the Christians at Philippi. I can relate to his feelings as I reflect on those who have been so supportive of me and my family during my illness and lengthy recovery. When I think of those who have blessed me, I thank the Lord for you and “pray with joy”<\/em> because of the many ways we have been helped.<\/p>\n

Here are some encouraging thoughts and reminders from each chapter of the Book of Philippians.<\/p>\n

God is faithful to work in us…and He doesn’t quit.<\/strong>\u00a0 “<\/em>I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus<\/em>.”<\/span> (Philippians 1:6)\u00a0 What the Lord begins, He finishes. We may fatigue and falter, but God is patient and faithful to work in us and through us as we yield our lives to Him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our responsibility is keep working<\/span>.<\/strong> “Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation, <\/span><\/em> because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.”<\/em> (Philippians 2:12,13) I believe it is difficult to comprehend the ways of the Lord. As Paul admonishes believers to “work out their own salvation with fear and trembling”<\/em><\/span> (NIV) he reminds us that God is always working and His work is to empower us to make us willing and enable us to accomplish his purpose. When I think of that, I picture being swept down a river by the current. If we jump into what the Lord has for us, His Spirit will help us get to where we need to be.<\/p>\n

We must maintain our focus<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span> “…the<\/span> one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.”<\/em> (Philippians 3:13,14) Life is a marathon and not a sprint. It doesn’t matter how far you have come if there is still a finish line to be crossed. It is tough to move forward if you are always looking back. For Paul his past had some humbling failures, and some honorable achievements. But he realized that resting on accomplishments or being bogged down by failures doesn’t help in making it to the finish line. We can all make it our goal to “finish well.”<\/em>
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Replace worry with prayer<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>“Don’t<\/span> worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.”<\/em> (Philippians 4:6,7) Anxiety is the curse of modern day living. We have too much information, too little time, too much stress and that can weigh us down and be a distraction to where our focus needs to be. I recall a church in our community when I was a youth had a slogan on the side of its building that always got my attention. I read, “Why worry, When you can pray.” <\/em>Our commitment to seek the Lord resolves worry and brings God’s peace in its place.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

So there you have it. Four chapters and four reminders of how to live our life of faith. I believe if we reminded ourselves of these on a daily basis, it would make a difference and allow us to experience the joy Paul writes about to the Philippians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning I completed my first report as a “professional lobbyist.” While not extensive, it is nice to have some activity that keeps me engaged in the life I’ve had in recent years. After finishing some of my office work and having lunch, I made it back to the fitness center for a workout. I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1656"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1657,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions\/1657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}