Skip to main content

A Morning View By the Wood Stove

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.”   -Philippians 4:12-14  NLT

This is one of the passages of scripture I have always focused on one verse, Philippians 4:13. But in the passage Paul is telling the readers that he understands being in need and that God will always meet the needs. AND letting the Philippians know that they were the only church to share in his giving and receiving. He encourages them to continue to do what is right, thanking them for sharing in his distress.

My pondering today is that the followers of Jesus need to be Jesus to help others along the way. When I claim I can do all things through Christ, I need you to encourage me and be Jesus Christ in skin for me. 

Thank you for being there in my distress!

Peace,
PB

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Morning View From the Porch at Lakeside

I typically am not a big breakfast eater. Every year at Lakeside for Annual Conference there is a group of men who invite me to breakfast at The Patio. Every year I go one time and enjoy talking and joking with this group and every year I order the same breakfast, a plain toasted bagel with cream cheese and a glass of water. It is tradition, you know! I often get asked why I do not order something different? My answer is, "if something is good and satisfies my hunger, why should I order something different? Besides, I like a plain toasted bagel with cream cheese!"  I wonder why some people have a salvation experience with Jesus Christ but wander away from the most amazing relationship possible with the Creator of all? They seem to have a taste for many different flavors of seeking to fulfill their Spirit hole in their lives. Often people bounce from one religious experience to another without a deep connection and commitment. They order something different from the menu each ...

A Morning View By the Patio

When I was a young boy we lived in the country and I had to become very creative in how I played. Much of the time I was alone and hd to create imaginary situations so that there were "others" around me. I would also "become" someone else and emulate everything they did. I would know them, study them and learn all I possibly could about them and then become them. One of the people I "became" was Wilt the "Stilt" Chamberlain. At the time he was a famous Los Angeles Laker NBA star. I always wanted to become Wilt. I practiced his famous hook shot, watched him play on TV and learned all of his moves. I had some of the most amazing NBA battles all alone in my uneven gravel driveway. In my mind I was Wilt the "Stilt" Chamberlain. There were a few drawbacks in becoming Wilt. First, my skin pigment was as white as could be. Wilt was African American and I was never going to become Wilt. Second, Wilt was over 7 feet tall. At my peak of vertica...

A Morning View From the Patio

I have been gently encouraged by someone who was nudged by the Lord to make a list for the next week of positive characteristics which make me who I am.   Today I begin with compassion. I truly strive to be compassionate with everyone I encounter. I desire to reach out and care when others are struggling. Even if I encounter someone who has hurt me in the past or I may not connect with, I try to put aside differences and find a way to share compassion with them. After all, Jesus was compassionate all the way to death. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Peace, PB