Tag Archives: Philippians 1:6

Breaking the Silence

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Sounds in the forest. Does anyone hear?

Do you ever pray and think God is not listening…

When I am worried and I pray, but my anxious thoughts continue.
When I am tired and I pray for strength but continue to feel weary.
When I am filled with grief and I pray but continue to cry.
When I am afraid, and I pray but only hear my racing heart.

Lord, are You listening?

In my anxiety, God helps me to rely on His peace.
In my weakness, God helps me build my faith in Him.
In my sorrow, God cries with me and draws me closer to Him.
In my fear, the fear of God triumphs and burns away the dross.

When I think God is not listening,
I am the one who is not listening,
for He is at work in me.

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. Philippians 1:6

continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13

Drop by Drop Beauty Forms

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A beautiful ice chandelier

Just like this ice sculpture is being formed drop by drop, layer upon layer into something beautiful, we too are being carefully molded by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Christ.

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:16 NAS

Undeserved grace upon grace,

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17

Unnoticed blessing upon blessing

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.                 2 Corinthians 3:18

So take heart God is not done yet, but know this He is faithful to carry us onto completion.

…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. Philippians 1:6

Mission Impossible

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“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

The thing we all have in common is we’ve messed up our life in one way or another.

The good news is that God has plans for us, and this can be true even for the worst offender.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT

But how can we do these good things when we keep messing up?

These verses out of Ephesians lay out how to do the good God has in mind for us:
– Trust that God has saved you by His grace alone, and not of your own doing.
– Trust that you are knew in Christ.
– Seek to do what is right and good.
– Don’t give up trusting God and relying on Him. For God is faithful to carry out what He has planned for us.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6

I hope you choose to take on this mission.

Fear on the Horizon

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Storm rolling through Idaho farm land

Storm rolling through Idaho farmland

I feel weak and have a fragile faith.
When I reflect on the past, I see little accomplished and am disheartened.
When I consider the present, I have trouble overcoming my tendency to procrastinate.
When I think of future, I am fearful that I will fail.

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

So my past is a story of God’s great grace.
My present one of seeking help to take the next step.
My future? I try to leave in the Lord’s hands.
Struggling to accept that whatever may come is from His hand,
And He will help me through it.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

I don’t understand why I’m this way.
I am only able to stumble along letting Jesus continually catch me.
When I stand before the throne, truly it will be an act of grace.