Hello friends!
How is your week? How is the reading going?
Here are some questions to help you dig a little deeper as you study.
Questions for Philippians 1:27-29
- “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27a). We could literally park on this half of a verse for an entire study! Let’s just stick with “whatever happens”.
-We are in the midst of a situation that none of us could ever have imagined. We could not predict how we might react to these extenuating circumstances. How has it been for you? Take time to allow yourself to feel it all. Have you been anxious, frustrated, disappointed? Are you someone who has simply rolled with the punches and made the most of the days, even finding the hidden blessings of time together and a slower pace of life? Lay all of this out before the Lord. Ask Him to heal the hurting places in your heart, replace the anxiety with peace and thank Him for the blessings that you are experiencing in spite of the challenges.
-Moving beyond this pandemic, back to your “normal” life, is there a line that you draw to the “whatever happens?” Lord, I trust you…up to this point. Lord, you can have total control of my life…except for this one area. Lord, you are my everything…right after this relationship, job, bank account, plan. What is your line? Get honest. This is just you and the Lord. I’ll start and open up to reassure you that you are not alone. I trust God right up to the point that my boys could be hurt, physically or emotionally. That is when I leap into action, desperately taking matters into my own hands. Of course, I know this is wrong and total futile. We never actually have control. But when it comes to my boys, I really like the illusion of it! So today, I will ask the Lord to work on that area in my life. Ask Him to teach me to surrender. It scares me…but I trust Him. What do you need to lay down? What “whatever happens” is standing in the way of your intimacy with the Lord? - Verse 29, “For it has been granted to you behalf of Christ not only believe in him but also to suffer for him.”
-This makes it seem a privilege, a gift granted to us, to suffer for Christ. We may agree with that on an academic level, but what does that really mean? Can you recall a time when you were suffering and either in the moment or in hindsight, it was apparent to you that God was working and glorified in the situation?
-In honesty, I can think of times of crisis when I was aware of the gift of suffering for the Lord and also times when I was distant from Him. Despite my mental status, God was faithful and, in retrospect, I can see His hand at work. The difference is my ability to experience His blessings while I struggled. The times when I was running from the Lord, I regret missing the comfort, blessing, and tenderness that He was extending to me in the midst of the storm. The times that I drew into Him, I still dealt with the pain but I was given the gift of understanding that He was suffering with me, that I was not alone, never abandoned.
-God remains the same, the circumstances remain the same, but our experience changes when we lean into Him.
-Take time to remember and record times of crisis in your life and how you responded. What difference did it make?
-How does this Truth change how you will walk through the COVID-19 crisis today? How will it change how you face a crisis in your life?
Questions for Philippians 2:1-11
- Let’s break down verse 1, the promises are so beautiful.
-Define encouragement.
-Define comfort.
-Define tenderness.
-Define compassion.
-How does encouragement come from being united with Christ?
-How does comfort come from His love?
-How do we experience tenderness and compassion when we are united in the Spirit?
-Write a brief statement putting all of this together to give you a deeper understanding and appreciation of this verse and the promises that it holds. - Verses 3-8 give clear instructions on how to treat one another. What instructions in these verses come naturally to you? What aspects are difficult?
-Ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit today so that you can love others the way that He loves you. None of us can do this in our own strength, it is only Christ in us that can allow us to “have the same mindset of Christ Jesus.” - Verses 9-11 are a celebration of the victory of Jesus over sin and death. It is in the power and ultimate triumph of Jesus’ gift of salvation and promise of eternal life that gives us hope in uncertain times. Let’s take a few moments to shift our eyes from our current circumstances to the power of Jesus. Look up the following verses to help you fix your eyes on Jesus:
-1 Peter 1:3-5
-Hebrews 12:1-3
-Colossians 1:12-13
-Jeremiah 10:6-7
-Isaiah 40:28-31
Thank you for studying with me this week! I look forward to hearing from anyone who is open to sharing on Friday…just comment below.
Hugs!
Kinsee
