Beloved Brothers and Sisters:
Philippians 4:4-9 (NASB95)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
This short passage clearly illustrates the kind of attitude and determined outlook that marks the person who has been indwelled with the Spirit of God, radically transformed into a new creation, and bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
I have found that in those times I am not experiencing the all comprehension surpassing peace of God, the times I am harboring anxiety, it is because I am not dwelling on the kind of things a believer ought to be consumed by.
When we worry, when we are consumed by fear and uncertainty, are we focusing on those things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise? I sincerely doubt it.
Do we believe God? Do we believe that God is good, loving, kind, able and willing to bless us beyond what we could ever ask? If we don’t, or if we have for a season forgotten, there is a very good chance that we have not been dwelling on those things we are called to dwell upon.
What can we do to make sure we don’t forget, that we don’t lose focus on those things that are worthy of dwelling on? Keep the Word of God consistently before our eyes and on our hearts and minds, and surround ourselves with other believers who dwell on the right things and that will take notice when we begin to fall and can encourage us once again to healthy remembrance.
In Case You Missed It
This past Sunday Pastor Matt took a break from his series through Hebrews to bring us a Mother’s Day sermon. Listen to Do You Know What You Have?
Scripture Reading and Prayer
In order to promote unity of heart and mind among us, we are encouraging as many as are willing to join with us in reading through the entire Bible this year together, as well as devoting specific Scriptures to prayer each day. It is our prayer that as we meditate and pray over the same Scriptures each day, that God will work in our midst to bind us to one another, and to give us a common vision for the ministry here in Maynardville. Prayerfully consider joining with us in this endeavor, and we will see how God will work in our midst.
Our Scriptures to pray over this week are:
- Thur (5/15): Ps 42:1
- Fri (5/16): Ps 63:1-3
- Sat (5/17): Ps 51:17
- Sun (5/18): Heb 12:1-2
- Mon (5/19): Heb 13:20-21
- Tue (5/20): Lk 17:5; Mk 9:24
- Wed (5/21): Ps 51:1-11
- Thur (5/22): Lk 18:13
Our Scripture reading schedule for the week is:
- Thur (5/15): 1 Sam 17:1-18:4; Jn 8:21-30; Ps 111:1-10; Pr 15:11
- Fri (5/16): 1 Sam 28:5-29:24; Jn 8:31-59; Ps 112:1-10; Pr 15:12-14
- Sat (5/17): 1 Sam 20:1-21:15; Jn 9:1-41; Ps 113:1-114:8; Pr 15:15-17
- Sun (5/18): 1 Sam 22:1-23:29; Jn 10:1-21; Ps 115:1-18; Pr 15:18-19
- Mon (5/19): 1 Sam 24:1-25:44; Jn 10:22-42; Ps 116:1-19; Pr 15:20-21
- Tue (5/20): 1 Sam 26:1-28:25; Jn 11:1-54; Ps 117:1-2; Pr 15:22-23
- Wed (5/21): 1 Sam 29:1-31:13; Jn 11:55-12:19; Ps 118:1-18; Pr 15:24-25
- Thur (5/22): 2 Sam 1:1-2:11; Jn 12:20-50; Ps 118:19-29; Pr 15:27-28
With Love and Affection in Christ,
Caleb
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