Our church is going somewhere together.
On a journey.
A journey through God's Word using "40 Days in the Word" by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church.
Adults...teens...kids...
All of us.
Paul and I have joined a small group that will be meeting weekly and working through these 40 days together learning the Devotional Method of Bible study. This week we are learning to take a verse from the Bible and use the "Pronounce It" method on it, which is reading the verse over and over again emphasizing each word in the verse one at a time. After each word, we are to stop and write down our thoughts, even it it's just a word or two.
I have missed blogging, but I find it a challenge to sit down and write.
So...I thought that maybe to prime the pump, I would do my daily lesson here.
I may do it daily using my blog as my journal.
But I also may decide to handwrite my thoughts.
I will see how God leads me. I do know that I need to quiet myself and do more listening. This has been a year packed with all kinds of emotion. My mind has been swirling. It's time to quiet my heart and listen for His still small voice (1 Kings 19:12) as I meditate on His Word.
Today's verse is from Philippians 1:27a (NIV):
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Whatever: no matter what
happens: comes into being
conduct: behave or act
yourselves: me...I'm the one being spoken to (my actions)
manner: a person's outward behavior or way of behaving toward others
worthy: deserving, honest or true to
gospel of Christ: the good news of Jesus Christ...His truth, life, teaching and the revelation of Jesus
No matter what happens...I need to behave in a way that is true to who Jesus is.
I need to act like Him.
No matter what.
Now I need to meditate on this verse. I need to roll it around in my head and my heart.
Yesterday's verse, Philippians 1:6 was "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." When I first sat down with this verse and did the Pronounce It method with it, I was focused on God's good work in me being ongoing. By the time I had meditated on it all day, I was more focused on the words "being confident." What or who, in this world, can I be completely confident in? People will disappoint me. I will disappoint myself and others. The only One I can be confident in is God. All the time.
No matter what.
My confidence in Him and His ongoing work in my life makes me want to behave in a way that is true to who Jesus is...to conduct myself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Pretty cool.