Above is a pic of my youngest daughter and me.
My Husband, My brother in Christ
Philippians: "The fragrance of Grace, Peace and Thankfulness"
As my pastor said last night in our home, "We all have the propensity to agree with everything, but then do nothing to make changes... if we aim at nothing, we get nothing."
Let me ask you:
How often are you double minded and unstable in all your ways?
How often do you forget to be thankful?
How often do you live in turmoil because your eyes are on yourself?
Are you actively participating in the furtherance of the Gospel?
OR
Are you throwing out excuses like, "I do not have time (to serve God) right now."
If you do not make living to bring God glory your priority, than you will not have peace... you will not be thankful... you will be double minded, unstable, insecure about your standing before God, you will not have true joy, you will likely be puffed up with knowledge because your eyes will be on yourself, you will not be sincere, and you will have no ability whatsoever to approve the things that are excellent. In other words, you will not have the ability to discern or set your priorities in order.
Are you a slave of Christ or a slave to the world? Because you are either one or the other... there is no middle ground here.So how can you exude the fragrance of grace and peace, with a heart of genuine thankfulness even if your circumstances are not what you expected? Mine aren't... Do you really think I want brain lesions? Do you really think I want to have MS? No. I pray everyday that God will heal my body. But God's will and purposes are PROVEN to be trusted. He IS faithful. and I have NO excuses NOT to be thankful exuding the fragrance of grace and peace... and with that comes joy no matter what.
Let's not only look into the Word of God for the answer to how, but let us ALL actively pursue making changes for His glory by pleeding before the Lord to give us the eyes of Christ. (consider answering the questions in bold by making a comment here or e-mailing me.)
Read (and memorize, if you dare) Philippians 1:1-11
In verse one, Paul identifies himself and Timothy as bond-servants (doulos) of Jesus Christ. They are altogether consumed in the will of Jesus Christ with exceeding joy, in newness of spirit, and the enjoyment of true freedom... even though Paul is in prison. How can this be and why is it important for us to understand this in regards to our relationship with Christ?
1. Do you think you could stand before God if left to yourself? If you want to know what grace is, look up John 1:17; Romans 5:21; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 3:7; and James 4:6. And then ask yourself if you have experienced God's grace as described in the above verses. When?
2. Do you think the world that screams "Peace, Peace..." can truly have peace? If you want to know what true peace is, look up Isaiah 26:3; 66:12; John 14:27; Romans 5:1; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 2:14; Colossians 1:20; 3:15. Have you experienced God's Peace in your life? Does this peace RULE and REIGN in your heart? or have you allowed sin or difficult circumstances to rob you of your peace?
3. If you are not comprehending what Christ has done for you, you have no ability to be truly thankful. Look up these verse to read of examples of thankfulness: 1 Corinthians 10:29-3; Colossians 3:14-16; Psalm 8 and 9;1 Samuel 2:1-10; Job 1:21. How often do you forget to be thankful even when you "appear" to have nothing to be thankful for?
The Lord says, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!"- Isaiah 43:1-2
"When I was hungry, HE fed me. When I was thirsty, HE filled me, When I was worthless, HE bought me."Aim at the active pursuit of Christlikeness and you WILL have joy no matter what.
Comments
I just plain love ya, sister!
Thanks for this post.
Posted by: amy DeBurgh | June 23, 2006 09:38 AM
It's my turn for an M.R.I.
Their looking for a tumor in my inner ear.
God has used all of your posts to set my heart on Him.
I am joyful and at perfect peace.
Thanks!
Posted by: amy | June 23, 2006 09:42 AM
Lisa,
Inspired in part by our friend Mike Ratliff's series on the "pilgrim heart," in part by my own circumstances, and in part due to other contributing factors, I am currently blogging on this very topic. (Contentment/Joy in the journey).
I hope to have Part 2 up by tomorrow evening, at the latest. (Be gentle with me, folks, I'm much more comfortable with my writing when I can incorporate a great deal of dry humor, so attempting a completely serious article with no wisecracks kind of makes me a tad nervous).
You guys are blessed with a great teaching pastor, aren't you? :-)
Posted by: littlegal_66 | June 23, 2006 09:49 AM
Just don't wear aluminum underwear, Amy. Apparently it causes stuttering. (if you have no clue why I just typed this, then you need to go to this post and read the comments )
I will be praying for you. Thank you for letting me know, and please keep me updated.
Posted by: 4ever4given | June 23, 2006 09:50 AM
Yes, Littlegal. I am very blessed to have Pastor Ed and his wife. I look forward to reading your blog posts on contentment. How exciting!!! And I love your humour. As I have told you before, I wish I was half as funny as you are!!!! You bring me much needed laughter!!!
Praying for you, Little gal!
Lisa
Posted by: 4ever4given | June 23, 2006 09:55 AM
"Just don't wear aluminum underwear. Apparently it causes stuttering."
I'll keep that in mind. ;-) I sure don't want that.....it's challenging enough to write a serious article....stuttering would really complicate things (and besides, how do you type in a way that reflects stuttering?)
Just kidding, I know you were addressing Amy, but my comment snuck in between the comments you two made.
I'll be praying for you as well, Amy.
Posted by: littlegal_66 | June 23, 2006 09:58 AM
How do you type in a way that reflects stuttering?
Let, let, let, let me show you.
Posted by: 4ever4given | June 23, 2006 10:19 AM
Lisa,
Great post. There are those Christians who seriously believe that their lives should be absent of trials if they're pleasing God.
The scriptures make it quite clear that trials do not merely extend our faith or chastise us for disobedience. They evidence whether we even have faith to begin with.
It's through trials, and our reactions to them, that we live out what we truly believe and that we are the children of God.
And for the Christian, we have the added assurance that trials not only work for good, they work to conform us to the image of Christ.
I cannot understand why you have MS or why my wife has NF. So often I wish I could take my wife's condition upon myself. But I do see where the two of you continue to praise God. I have my own set of trials, which God uses in my life to work the same purpose. And I'm very thankful for them.
Take care,
Mike
Posted by: Mike Young | June 23, 2006 10:42 AM
We have a friend whose dad illustrated this concept very well in his home. They had a shelf up on the wall that said, "Just Two Choices on the Shelf," and there were two coffee mugs on the shelf. One said, "Pleasing God" and the other one said, "Pleasing Self".
Posted by: sheshe | June 23, 2006 03:01 PM
th-th-th-thanx
f-f-fa-fa-for
the-the-
p-p-p-pr-prayers!
Posted by: Amy | June 24, 2006 08:39 AM
You buh-buh-buh-buh-betcha!
Posted by: 4ever4given | June 24, 2006 10:28 AM
Yeah. Tell it like it is. God takes away our stuff in an effort to give us himself.
I have a good story about that from a few years ago, but I'll maybe save that for some other time. BUT, here's a killer link to check out on the idea of glorigying God admist physical suffering:
For those who follow John Piper, he had a bout with cancer this past year. He wrote a letter to his church the on the night before his cancer surgery. Here's the link:
http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2006/021506.html
John has a way of articulting the things we're all feeling and thinking. He's an amazing wordsmith.
Posted by: The_Armchair_Theologian | June 25, 2006 01:03 AM
I read this from Piper when it first came out. It was wonderful to read once again. Thank you for linking it. Perhaps I should write a post called "Don't Waste Your Brain"...
Posted by: 4ever4given | June 25, 2006 01:03 PM