Exciting Worship Matures with Family

Scripture: Philippians 1:9-11

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Insights:  This weeks final thought deals with God’s work in maturing us in our faith through our family.  God puts our family in our lives to help encourage, strengthen, shape, disciple and mold us into the image of Jesus.  As the Lord is using our family to do this He is training us up to know and recognize Him better and better.  We develop knowledge from His Word and His Spirit grants us discernment.  We are able to prove the things are that excellent and good.  As a result, we are able to walk in a manner that is both sincere and blameless until Jesus takes us to our eternal home.  The body of Christ helps in this journey and is used by God to work on us.  This transforming work can be very exciting and can even be a very worshipful experience.  Now it is true that often times this transforming work is painful, but even in the midst of the pain, we can rejoice and declare this is an exciting time because the Lord is doing a work in me and using my family to help in the process.  When we are able to recognize this truth, it can help us worship this good and just King properly.  Beloved, don’t fight His transforming work.  Don’t resist the church body when they encourage you to walk more faithfully with Jesus.  Rather see these moments as God’s way of making you into a person who will experience much growth over the next year and worship the Lord for such a blessing.  To His great name be praise.

Questions:

1.  Is there a distinct difference in the person you are today as compared to the person you were one year ago?

2.  Have you embraced the transforming work of Jesus in your life and have you surrendered to His purging work of making you more like Him?

Prayer: Father, when You start to chisel away at my defects, flaws, desire for sin and every other blemish that my life produces, it is painful.  The rewards of such work, however, is worth all You take me through to be conformed into the image of Your Son, Jesus.  I thank You that even in Your work on my, You are gracious and always good.  Amen.