Start Your Year, Start Your Day



January 12, 2010
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)



Did you ever feel slighted? That you were denied either the appreciation or respect that you deserved? How did it make you feel like reacting?

Paul hints, here in the text, that our natural inclination is to make a grab for it, something you know if you’ve tried, can lead to embarrassing moments that we had rather forget.

Paul encourages us to share Jesus’ point of view. When he came to earth, as its most celebrated visitor, he could have demanded star treatment. After all, he was the Creator! He could have insisted on being born in a palace to a royal family. He could have chosen to spend his time on the French Riviera lying on the beach sipping lemonade. He could have nuked on the spot anybody who disrespected him in any way. But, as verse 6 tells us, even though he was equal with God, he didn’t make a grab for the treatment he deserved. Instead, he chose to see himself in terms of being a servant to God’s plan for his life.

Jesus’ willingness to be a servant took him lower than any human being has ever been asked to go. Earth’s greatest celebrity was willing to suffer its ultimate ignominy. But that isn’t where the story ends. Pay attention to the first word in verse 9, “therefore.” In other words, because Jesus was willing to go to the bottom to be a servant, God has brought him to the very top, the highest place, so that every living creature will confess him as Lord.

All that to say this, when you, as a servant of God, are disrespected or have credit stolen from you, just turn it over to Him. Say to yourself, “That kind of thing just goes with the territory of being a servant.” You can afford to be that generous because God takes people like you to the top!
 

A Thankful Thought


I'm grateful for a God that cares and puts an exclamation on it by repeating Himself.

God said HE would never leave you. Not only would HE never leave you, HE said HE would NOT Forsake you! HE will be with you and HE Believes in you! God doubles it up to reinforce HIS commitment to you! I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. (Heb 13:5)

God said HE is with you always. Not only is HE with you always, HE said even to the end of the age! He will be with you and no matter where you are or how long! God doubles it up to reinforce HIS commitment to you! I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Mat 28:20)

Thankful for mornings because it is a new day, a new beginning. Christ told us not to let the sun go down on our wrath. To settle things before we went to bed. Partly because He knows we need to settle things. But my thought is that He knows the importance of starting the day all fresh and clean, nothing hanging over our heads. We still may have problems to deal with, we still may have jobs left undone, there will always be challenges, but with the new day come a fresh start, unhindered by yesterday’s short comings, but no matter what, it's a new day with Christ by your side.

How can you not be thankful?

A NewSpring Staff Member



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