Philippians 4

This 2 hour block we did as a group. I started us out with a devotional on thankfulness and then I read through Phil 4. For about an hour we each prayed and wrote what the Lord was saying to each of us. The time flew by as it did in each 2 hour block of time we had.

What struck me in the devotional is that thankfulness is beneficial training. And that if I walk on the road of thankfulness, I will find all the delights God has for me. Then it talked about how we can be so distracted by the world that we become darkened. That immediately made me think of Romans 1 ... they would not honor or even give Him thanks ... and they thought up foolish ideas about who God is ... and as a result their minds became dark and confused ... and then they chose to worship creatures rather than the Creator.

So if I forget to be thankful ... I am not honoring God, I begin to believe lies about who God is, I become dark, confused - and focused on me... and to top it all off I worship idols instead of the ONE true God. All from forgetting to be thankful... wow that is a testimony of evil - how it sneaks into the smallest of cracks - the chinks in our armor.

The devotional went on to say that if thankfulness is the rule in my heart ... the scales begin to fall off my eyes - and I can see even more of His glorious riches. And that a life of praise becomes a life filled with miracles taken from the treasure house of God. Wow - I really want that!

So here is what the Lord gave me from Phil 4...

Paul is longing to see friends reconcile. He wants them to be full of joy and to rejoice. I always thought that verse had very little to do with the above verse about the 2 women - but I think it all comes together  when he says we need to be considerate because the Lord is coming soon.  What does rejoicing have to do with being considerate? Paul wants these women to be considerate and to reconcile soon - because we never know when the Lord will return.

Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.... and these thoughts came ...
- give yourself over to thanks and praise (the O)
- a focus on thanks leads to humility
- thanks takes our eyes off of self and puts it back onto Him
- a memory of growing up - feeling like I could never express my true feelings of beauty, joy, thanks, or beaming excited love ( During prayer - I confessed this sin that I took out of my childhood and asked the Lord to heal me ... it felt so deep - so old and untouched. And asked the Lord to fill me with wonder again and give me a vision of Him High and lifted up and to filled up with thankfulness)
- my flesh feels like it deserves and is entitled
- thanks leads to His glorious storehouse of riches vs 19

Thanks and prayer bring God's peace and peace guards when I am IN Jesus. Focusing on the 'right' things and practice of the 'right' things ... and the God of peace is WITH you. He is with me ... because Jesus is in me ... I will know He is with me because I am doing these things - it is the fruit of the Spirit.

The secret to contentment - Jesus! He gives the strength ... another reason to keep my eyes fixed on Him. God supplies all my needs from His glorious riches. Ephesians 1 - He is head over everything - and the church is His body - made full and complete by Christ ... who fills us with HIMSELF. Eph 3 - infinitely more than we can ask or think! Fullness of life and power!

Why do I ever look anywhere else to be filled? Why do I ever take our eyes off of Him? Lord forgive my smallness - my complete lack of sense - my complete and total self is always focused on me and my desires... teach me to take my eyes off of myself and place them totally on YOU!