Philippians — God’s Family

Day 2 of Philippians 1 !!

Today verse 3- 7 are standing out to me.

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart…”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As I read them, the question— “Who’s your tribe?”, keeps coming to my mind.

Tribe is defined as “family.” Paul had his “spiritual family” or “tribe.” He prayed joyfully for them. They had a “partnership in the gospel.” They worked together to make Jesus known! Paul even spoke of his deep feelings of affection for them. He said he had them in his heart.

We are not meant to go it alone! God designed us for relationship, not only with Him, but with each other.

Who is it that you share your life in Jesus with? Who do you pray for? Who prays for you?

If you lack spiritual family (i.e. God’s family)in your life, where do you need to connect to experience it?

Philippians — Servants and Saints!

Good morning!!
I have been feeling prompted to switch gears on what I am studying in the Bible and present another way of digging deeper in the Word to you all.

I LOVE the Book of Philippians that is in the New Testament! I wanted to invite you all to join me in an in depth study of Philippians in April.

Each week we will read one chapter each day. I would encourage you to take notes and reflect on what God is speaking to You through His Word.

This is going to be AWESOME!!

Philippians is a book that has a lot that is said about Joy. Joy is the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good. Jesus, and His promises in His Word, are that Good!

Paul wrote this book while he was in prison/ under house arrest — chained to a Roman guard. His circumstances did not determine His Joy! Jesus did!

Each Monday we will start with a new chapter. So today let’s start with Chapter 1.

Post a general summary statement below of what God is showing you!

Here’s mine for today:

Servants and saints! That is what sticks out to me in the first two verses. Paul said he and Timothy were servants — in the Greek, slaves — of Jesus. A person who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who has no will of his own, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another. Is Jesus my Lord/ Master? Is my will subject to Him and His Word, or am I calling the shots?

Saints — God’s holy people — Set apart for God. He was writing to people whose lives were devoted to God alone! Am I entirely, totally, and completely set apart for Jesus? This is God’s desire for us!

When we are His we will experience His grace and His peace that comes from Him! (Verses 1-2)