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If you are new to our site, this blog is sort of a hodge podge of our ministry and family life, and whatever else God lays on my heart to share. The Home Page above will link you to our Sufficient Grace Ministries page. You can read more about the 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization and the outreaches of this ministry whose mission is to offer comfort and hope to grieving parents. The Blog button brings you to the page you are currently reading, featuring a variety of subjects...some ministry updates, some family news, and some biblically-based encouragement. The Walking With You page is a place for bereaved parents who have lost a baby or child to find encouragement and hope. It is an online support group created so that families would know they are not walking this path alone. On the Dreams of You Shop page, you can learn more about the products and services we offer, place an order, or sponsor a family. The Encouraging Women blog is a work in progress. There, we hope to offer biblically-based encouragement to all women. The Resource page has been newly updated with a list of resources that are helpful for grieving parents. Our blogroll is also located on this page. Thank you so much for visiting our site. Blessings to you...

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Little Love and Encouragement

Welcome to this week's Tuesdays Together in the Word. To join us, please click on the button below:



I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ...
Philippians 1:3-6


I love the body of Christ. Love my church family. Love the ladies (and the gentlemen) who serve with me in ministry. Love the mothers who join me in lifting weekly prayers for our children at Moms in Touch. I love the total strangers I have met in blog land who pray for, encourage, inspire, and walk with me. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. And I do pray for you, joyfully and fervently. What fellowship we have in the gospel, in the good news of Jesus.

And...I love the next part. Love this promise. He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ. He is not finished with us yet. He began the work in us...the process of making us a new creation in Him. And He will not quit until we are complete. That's a promise. He is working in our lives. Weaving a tapestry, using everything that comes into our lives to complete His good work. There are moments of amazing joy and victory...moments of great, heartwrenching sorrow and defeat. There are lessons learned. Sins and repentance. Our tears, our laughter, our will...all part of the tapestry. Our quirks, our strengths, our weaknesses, our dreams, our longings, every thought, every desire of our hearts...woven together. And, oh...what a beautiful tapestry it will be when the master Creator finishes His good work. How beautiful we already are to the One who sees us as we will be...not as we are in our unfinished state.

Can I just say that out in the cold selfish world, we don't often hear such loving sentiments? We don't often hear that we are treasured, that someone is grateful for our part in their lives, and that we are prayed for. This is not so among the body of Christ. After Paul thanks God for his fellow believers, he prays further. We see the love in the body of Christ in Paul's words: And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. ~ Philippians 1:9-11 What if we prayed this way for one another? What if the world actually operated with such love and respect for one another? Even within the body of Christ, we don't always operate in this way...we don't always encourage and pray. Sometimes, sadly our words are even discouraging. Lord, help us to have a heart that loves this way...a spirit that encourages. May we spur one another on.

There is so much about encouraging and truly loving one another in sweet unity in these verses in Philippians.

Stand fast in unity...worthy conduct...strength in numbers...
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may heart of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries... Phil. 1:27-28

And specific instructions on how to treat one another...
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. ~ Phil. 2:1-4

There are so many more nuggets...wisdom exhorting us to do all things without complaining or disputing. (As a mama, I have used these words many times to exhort my little men - and to remind myself when the "I dont' wannas" overtake me!) But I want to leave you with this. Many who read this blog have suffered terrible loss. Many come with broken hearts due to various struggles. The following verse reminded me of the hope we have in Jesus...that He doesn't waste anything in our lives...that He has plans that are good, a future and a hope for us.

No matter what we face. If there is one purpose in our lives, one truth, one goal, one theme, let it be this:
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel... ~ Philippians 1:12

In all things, may He be glorified...and may He draw us closer still...and may more come to know His saving grace...

Love to you all...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello! :)

Holly said...

I love reading your words. They inspire me greatly and this time is no exception! Thank you!

Laurie Ann said...

Excellent post, Kelly. I am always blessed by what you share.

June said...

Thankful for your prayers.

I have started a new blog and the purpose of it is praying our protigals home.

see me here
www.footstepsofapodigal.blogspot.com

June

DeeDee said...

Kelly, such a great post. (and it does not matter that it is from next weeks reading)... This was a word for us all THIS week. :)

And I especially like that last verse: But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel... ~ Philippians 1:12

God uses our history to continue writing HIS STORY... love it :)
Sweet Blessings my friend!

p.s. I have not caught up from last week, on comments and reading ... hopefully will be able to do so soon!

Jennifer said...

What sweet words of encouragment! Thanks for sharing - and for stopping by my blog this morning. This post was a blessing.

Jennifer Ross said...

Thanking God that He places people in our lives to encouage and pray for us.