Verse of the Day 6/23

Through the Bible - Jeremiah 48-49Philippians 1

 

Good  morning,

One of the hymns that has survived the flood of contemporary Christian music in church services is "Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing".  One of the stirring, perhaps even disturbing, but very real stanzas is:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,  	prone to leave the God I love;  	here's my heart, O take and seal it,  	seal it for thy courts above. 

Even though we may be prone to wander in our very nature, we can take comfort in the fact that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.  He will finish the project that He started in us as Paul tells us in today's verse from Philippians 1.

 

Phil 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began  a good work in you  will bring it to completion at  the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you  in my heart, for you are all  partakers with me of grace, both  in my imprisonment and in  the defense and confirmation of the gospel.   ESV

What are some of the things that make us prone to wander?  Pastor, author and friend Fil Anderson, in his book "Breaking the Rules" writes, "the weapons of mass distraction and self destruction pose a constant threat.  But the inner pull to return again is increasing, and I know I must resist the conflicting urge to remain away." (page 160) 

 

Our enemy, Satan and his cohorts, are finding new weapons of "mass distraction" every day with new gadgets and ways to communicate trash with the speed of the internet and through "social media" to turn our thoughts and hearts away from God.  Thankfully, if we are a child of God, we will feel that inner pull, it will increase until we return to Him, get back in the game, and once again set our hearts "on pilgrimage" (Ps. 84:5 NKJV)

 

Read the passage from The Message below which concludes with this prayer from the Apostle Paul, it is my prayer for you as well.

 

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Phil 1:6-12
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

 

It's not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!

 

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

THE MESSAGE