Joy...

For the next couple of bible studies i have decided to focus on the book of Philippians. To be honest i am not show exactly why i decided to pick this book....it was more of a random idea that popped in my head and i therefore decided to listen to. I have never really done this before and have never even lead a small group etc so i dunno how well this will turn out or if it will make any sense to anyone else besides me but yeah....here goes....

Philippians 1:1-19 (click title for the passage)


V3-4: "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4. Whenever I pray, I make requests for all of you with joy..."
-Reading these verses makes me realize how little I actually pray. And when I do it usually involves me ask God for something or to keep me safe etc. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, isn't not a good thing. That is no way to communicate and build a relationship. I need to talk to God more through the good AND the bad. I also have a bad habit of forgetting to pray for people after they ask me too. Usually i will pray right then when they ask me but then later on i forget to pray for then again. This is something that i need to do and am remind of such with these short yet simple verses.

V9-11:"I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10.For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ^[b]—for this will bring much glory and praise to God."
-This is my prayer, my hope and goal. I hope that as a result of reading my bible and blogging my thoughts, my love will begin to overflow and that i will be able to understand what truly matters and not just what i think matters. Its hard to express the depth at which these verses hit me and how much i pray that will be true for me too.

Overall:
-I can't help but wonder at all the love and joy that pours out from Paul as he is sitting in prison witting this letter. I mean, there he was jailed and sentenced to death and yet he was rejoicing about the spreading of God's word and thinking of others outside of the prison instead of dwelling on his own predicament. And yet, here I am, in the United States, "land of the free", doing the exact opposite. instead of focusing on others and rejoicing in God's glory, i dwell on the negatives in my life and self-impose myself into a prison of sadness and loneliness. No more! I have decided that i will no longer focus on the negative aspects of my life but rather focus on God and the positive aspects of my life. It is my hope that in doing this i will not only become happier but also stronger in my faith and my walk.