It's amazing that after 20 years of living for Christ, Philippians still remains my favorite book of the Bible. I can't get past the first chapter without claiming that first prayer Paul prayed for the Philippians in verse 6. "He who began a good work in *me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."My email signature used to read:
Gina Conroy
Writer In Progress...my way of playing with the code word WIP (Work in Progress) that all aspiring and published authors know so well.
But couldn't every Christian sign their email with a WIP?
We're all WIPS, Works in Progress.
Nothing gives imperfect, stumbling Christians more hope than the book of Philippians. Maybe that's why I love it so much. It gives me a perfect picture, a road map of how I should "carry on until the day of completion." Until Jesus comes.
2 vs. 3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself."
2 vs. 14 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe."
3 vs. 7 "...I consider everything loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things."
4 vs. 8. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."
And who can read chapter 3 vs. 12-14 without clinging to Paul's hope "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
That could be the theme scripture for many Chrisitians, including myself! But it's also comforting to know Paul was a WIP.
A Work in Progress.
And if the Apostle Paul was still growing and maturing, how encouraging is that to all us other WIPs!
*words changed for emphasis.
Don't forget to check out the rest of the carnival.
Here's some more links I found on Philippians:
Robin Lee Hatcher
7 comments:
Thanks, Gina. We often need reminding that, just because we're Christians, we can't expect to be perfect. We can't even come close. I'm definately a rough draft.
For me, it's not just not expecting myself to be perfect, but not expecting other Christians to be perfect. People aren't lovable because of who they are, but because it is my duty to love them.
Amen, Gina. Philippians is my favorite Epistle in the New Testament. I am reading it over and over. Phil 4:13 is actually my life's motto...
Thank you so much for your participation in the Carnival of Beauty this week.
Works in Progress indeed! Amen! Letting ourselves and others off the hook for not being "divine".
Thanks for this post! Found you through the carnival.
Gina, thanks for the reminder today that the Lord will be faithful to finish his work in me, my husband, and my children. That's a lot to rejoice about!
Thanks Gina for that wonderful post. Sometimes it is easy to get frustrated until you remember you are a WIP and He isn't finished yet. Thanks so much for sharing.
Great thoughts (I don't know how I missed it when it was first published, but I'm finishing up my carnival reading).
Post a Comment