‘…God, who began the good work within you, will continue…until it is finally finished…’ Philippians 1:6 NLT
When Paul wrote to the Philippian believers, he told them God was at work in each of them. What an awesome truth! He wrote: ‘I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 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. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.’ (Philippians 1:9–11 NLT) You say, ‘That’s a tall order!’ Yes, and you’ll never accomplish it through willpower, good intentions or self–effort. You must seek God for direction, submit to Him in all things, and draw strength from Him. Trying to do for yourself what only God can do is like trying to pick yourself up by your own bootstraps; it doesn’t work. You must entrust to God the job of equipping you for the work He’s called you to do. Yes, you need to do your part, but don’t try to do God’s part! ‘…We all…beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory [degree by degree]…by the Spirit of the Lord.’ (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV) What is it that changes us? ‘The Spirit of the Lord.’ He takes the pressure off, and relieves us of the stress and anxiety we so often feel when we try to ‘change’ ourselves.
SoulFood: 1 Ki 12-13, Luke 12:1-12, Ps 58, Prov 6:12-15
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2015
