40 Days in the Word: Day 2

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.