Jan 2, 2012
Posted by PhatherPhil on Jan 2, 2012 | 5 comments
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” – Romans 8:14-17 (ESV)
We, as followers of Christ and our Heavenly Father’s beloved children, are significant; we matter. When we are one with Christ Jesus and have begun a new life in Him, we no longer are slaves to our sinful natures, but instead can place all due effort into our daily trials knowing our Heavenly Family is by our side.
Dec 30, 2011
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 30, 2011 | 2 comments
“In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” – Ecclesiastes 7:14 (ESV)
Nothing in this life is certain. God brings to us both times of abundance, and also places challenges in our path to teach us, strengthen our resolve, and draw us to His side. When we realize that His hand guides both seasons, and that all things are architected for our greater good (Romans 8:28), the unknown nature of our future seems much less daunting.
Dec 29, 2011
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 29, 2011 | 4 comments
“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”” – John 4:7-14 (ESV)
Like drinking water from the well will eventually leave us thirsty again, when we seek to find personal fulfillment in things of this world we’re always brought back to finding something “missing” in our lives. Only when we give our lives over to Christ can that hole in our hearts truly be filled, and our spiritual thirsts be quenched.
Dec 28, 2011
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 28, 2011 | 3 comments
“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”” – Jeremiah 9:23-24 (ESV)
Whatever our accomplishments, achievements or gains, it’s important to place glory for those Blessings firmly where they belong; in the hands of our Heavenly Father. True wisdom doesn’t come from the reliance on our own strengths or abilities, but instead in the knowledge that all good gifts flow directly from God (James 1:17).
Dec 27, 2011
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 27, 2011 | 3 comments
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” – Matthew 6:25-27 (ESV)
For many people, anxiety can be a pervasive and overwhelming force in their lives. It can gnaw at our very beings, and obscure from us those Blessings that surround us each and every day. In this teaching, Jesus warns us against allowing such emotions to poison us, and reminds us that as our Heavenly Father provides for the necessities of other creatures of the world, He will make available those basic needs to support our lives as well. When we allow our fears and doubts to overcome us, we place a barrier between ourselves and God, denying His many gifts in our lives.