God is at work and Jesus IS ALIVE! He is inviting us to live in a place of deep awareness of his presence as our way of life.
Philippians 2:1-5 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus NIV
Paul is writing to the Philippian church saying experience Jesus intimately because your experience produces expression.
Whatever is taking place in your heart is setting the tone for your life.
If children live in the atmosphere of criticism, they learn to condemn. If they live in the atmosphere of hostility, they learn to fight. If they live in the atmosphere of ridicule, they learn to feel shy. If they live in the atmosphere of shame, they learn to feel guilty.
The amazing news with all of this is that you can process the things of God and become more of who He designed you to become from the very beginning of time.
If children process the atmosphere of praise, they learn appreciation. If they process the atmosphere of acceptance, they learn to love. If they process the atmosphere of sharing, they learn generosity. If they process the atmosphere of encouragement, they learn confidence.
He is inviting us to live in a place of deep awareness of his presence as our way of life.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them (he gave) power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. KJV
The power to become is part of your God-given design. You are destined to become a more exaggerated version of yourself. I’ve seen happy people grow happier. I’ve seen sad people grow sadder and I’ve seen crazy people grow crazier. What you think about matters so think about what you think about because that’s what is feeding this process of becoming.
We are all in the process of becoming and what we process determines who we become.
This is the idea of algorithms. In the natural, Algorithms are these predictable rhythms of your behaviors. Your browsing habits are monitored and monetized tracking what you watch and read and place in your shopping cart.
A team of researchers in one study documented 9,000 Android apps that were secretly recording smartphone activity and providing the information to third parties. Be aware that you live in a world that is trying to take control of what you process internally.
Maybe more than ever we should pay attention to:
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. NIV
God is inviting us to live in a place of deep awareness of his presence as our way of life. When you do this, you live in confidence that the best is yet to come.
Hope is not a principle. Hope is the person, Jesus Christ. You were designed to process hope in his presence as your way of life and in doing so it produces a more God-designed expression of your existence.
A man posted on social media, “What is your greatest hope in heaven?” and here were some of the responses filled with hope:
“My sister can’t walk or talk as she is severely handicapped. We have this special bond and one day in heaven we will have long conversations filled with happiness and joy and for the first time we will dance together.”
“I can’t wait to see my sweet baby boy David, he passed away at 8 months old – to see what it’s been like for him to grow up in heaven and have him introduce me to our Savior who we continued to serve even through the pain of losing our son.”
“Look forward to talking to my sweet daughter who is severely autistic now but will one day be made whole. I can’t wait to hear what this life looked like through her eyes.”
“Because Jesus has conquered my shame and has forgiven my sin I will one day meet the baby I aborted. I hope I’m able to hold him in my arms and love him like I should have here on earth. Thank God for his forgiveness in my life.”
An elderly lady expressed her hope of heaven very creatively with a plan to inspire others. She knew she was living in her final days so she asked her pastor to come.
She told him the songs she wanted everyone to sing and the scriptures she wanted to be read. Then she made a very unusual request, “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”
She explained how as a child she attended many socials and dinners. One of her childhood memories was when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’
It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming, like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. When it felt like the meal was over THE BEST WAS YET TO COME.
When people see me holding a fork they’ll ask, “What’s with the fork?” I want you to tell them: Keep your fork. When it looks like this life is over, the best is yet to come.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them (he gave) power to become the sons (and daughters) of God… KJV
Again - it is to those who have received him that he gave the power to become sons and daughters of God. The big question for today is have you truly received him? Are you living your life in such a way that the hope of Christ?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Make purposeful time this week to deepen your awareness of God’s presence in places of prayer listening and reading Scripture. #TurnThePage
The Best is Yet to Come
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: As a church family we want to be OUTRAGEOUSLY LOVING people who PASSIONATELY PURSUE the Lord with IRRATIONALLY GIVING lifestyles as we CONSISTENTLY SUBMIT to God’s desires and EFFECTIVELY DISCIPLE others to do the same.
Our 2022 New Year’s Revelation as a church family is EVERYONE IS CREATED FOR ABUNDANT LIFE!
Much will flow from heaven into our hearts and homes this year!
The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy but realize the aim of death is not to kill you but to keep you from the fulness of life until you die. Distraction is destruction of what could have been in your life.
John 10:10b “...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” Amplified
Jesus came demonstrating that true life is discovered in a willing death. When we die to ourselves we learn what it means to be alive in Christ.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Don’t move on to the next question until everybody who is willing to share has had the opportunity to give their perspective.
Philippians 2:1-5 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. NIV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
6. Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Make purposeful time this week to deepen your awareness of God’s presence in places of prayer listening and reading Scripture. #TurnThePage