Joyful Letter

My favorite book of the Bible is Philippians, Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. Of all of his epistles, Philippians is characterized as a joyful letter, one full of encouragement and affirmation to the church there in the first century. My love for it began as a junior in college.

It was very early New Years day in 2008. I had just gotten home from a friend's house, and wasn't tired at all. As I began to reflect on 2007 my mind kept thinking about how rough it had been. And during my time of reflection my mind kept going to the words of Philippians 3, "forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Over the next several months I poured myself into the four short chapters of this wonderful letter. The pages of my Bible are covered in highlights, the margins are filled with notes. If you flip through the other pages you'll see countless references to the verses in Philippians. If you study the words of Paul in it you will see the whole of scripture contained in its 104 verses. In it you find the story of Christ's life on earth. The road to salvation, and the path to holiness and the call to Christlikeness. Paul gives instructions for life and death, for good times and bad, for dealing with people and with yourself. It is an amazing letter.

I've preached from it several times, written papers and Bible studies on it, and I'm working on memorizing it. It is a letter I turn to frequently, and the words of truth that it contains fill me with joy, courage, and hope every time. Recently I've found myself facing a difficult situation, and once again I've turned to the pages of Philippians. Each day I've been reading the entire book, and each day God has drawn my attention to a different part. My wife and I are studying it together, reading it in its entirety each day, and seeing what God reveals to us.

This blog is titled, "Give me words... searching and sharing", and I know in some posts I get away from that. Sometimes I post my thoughts, my words, not things God is showing me. I want to get away from that, I want everything I do to be lead by Him, to be guided by His hand, including the things I write. I don't know how long my wife and I will be in Philippians, but as we study it, I'll be sharing what God is showing me here. I've been studying since Friday, and so I am able to share with my wife first, these postings will be a few days behind our study.

I invite you to join us. Read the book in it's entirety each day. Write down what God has showed you, and focus on how it applies to your life. Share it with someone, if you're married, share it with your spouse, if not share with a friend. Feel free to leave what God has shown you here, leave your comments, and share what God has revealed to you. Search and share.

Peace be with you