Philemon

"I always thank God when I pray for you, Philemon, because I keep hearing of your trust in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people."
Philemon, verse 4.

It is not unusual to read a passage like this and have people come to mind who have had that kind of impact on our own lives. Hopefully there are many who have invested in you and your walk with Christ of whom you can say, "I always thank God when I pray for you...". However, how many can say that of you? Have you taken the time to show kindness to someone in the store/at work/on the road who may not be having a very good day? Have you spent time listening to a child babble on and on about seemingly nothing just so they know they matter to you? Have you taken the time to pray over and with your spouse or significant other that God will work in such a way as to make the most of what God has made them to be? Who in your life would say to you, "I always thank God for you!" If you can't think of anyone right now take the time to ask God to help you invest in the lives of others...nothing else can be taken with us when we die.

One other thing...Paul took the time to encourage Philemon in his work...it's not wrong to want to be encouraged as well as to encourage. If you're needing some encouragement today ask God to bring it (and to open your eyes to see it when it comes)...He will not let you down.

Psalm 19:8

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." Psalm 19:8 NIV

Precepts: the laws, the ways the instructions. They give joy. Commands: the instruction, the direction, the motivation. They give light. Joy & Light are attractive ~ they are desirable attainments. Precepts & Commands are difficult ~ they require subservient action. You can't have one without the other, though. If you want joy then you need to do what you know needs to be done. If you want to be a light to those around you there needs to be a different set of actions at work in your life. You need to follow God's Word and His commands more than you do the crowd. (This includes the command, "love others as you love yourself.") The two, Joy & Light, go hand in hand. Have you ever seen a joyful person who wasn't also a light to those around? Or a person who just seemed to shine who didn't have joy? However, the hands don't work without the muscles in them...the tendons and the mind to tell them what to do. These are the Precepts & Commands. Without knowing and doing what is right in God's eyes there will never be Joy & Light. You can act happy and be nice to people, but without fully immersing Yourself in Him...body, mind and spirit...you will never know complete Joy & Light.

Ephesians 1:11

"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for."
Ephesians 1:11 The Message

So many times we hear it. "Who am I? What am I supposed to do with my life? Where am I supposed to go after this time in my life? What's Your Will, Lord?" I love how Eugene Peterson takes the fact that we are made for a purpose..."predestined according to His purpose" as the NASB version says...and takes away all the question of what does this mean? It means that when we seek HIM and HIS righteousness we will know who we are...where we should go...what we should do...and for Whom we do it all. As we draw closer to The Very One who created us in our mother's womb ~ who knit us together as He laid out His plan for our lives ~ we discern the road before us. And when we get there we know the path which we should take.

But only when we remember the first three words of this verse: "It's IN CHRIST..."