Philippians for the Month of March

Thank you for continuing with me in my blogging journey. For the Month of March, I will be reading, meditating on and praying through the book of Philippians. I intend to read the entire book daily; please join me in this. Philippians is composed of only four chapters and how wonderful they are! Let's meet in Philippians and then share in the blog how God's Word is changing your life. God's word has the ability to change us, making us more like Him. How can we pass up any opportunity to be changed for the better?

I would like to start with Philippians 1:6, since it's one of my favorite verses: "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

This verse gives me hope. Paul, the author, is confident of his statement. He's not just hoping; he's not wishing. He's not projecting or calculating the probabilities of how things will unfold for us. Paul is CONFIDENT that God, began a good work in us (You and Me).

If you feel like you are not up to par, like you've blown it somehow, you may be right. Maybe you have blown it. Maybe you've blown it alot. Just because you may be inadequate in some way or many ways, doesn't mean you won't ever change. If you are a believer, God has begun a good work in you! HE is working on YOU and ME. That is amazing! For this, I am truly grateful because I have been working on ME for a long time and I'm not so sure I'm good at it. But God is. I believe He knows what He's doing. What a privilege it is, for the God of the Universe, to work on you and me; He is working on us.

Yes, He knows our names and our circumstances. He has begun that good work. I understand this to mean that He cares for us. He's willing to spend time thinking about us and doing something about it. He's doing a good work. That means you and I are going to be changed for the better. We are going to be more like Christ.

The verse also says that God will perfect (a verb) that good work until the day of Christ Jesus.

The NIV version says it this way, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The New Living Translation says, "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

This tells me that God finishes what He starts.

He won't give up on me or you.

We are important to Him or He wouldn't waste His time.

The statue above is called"The Pieta in Italian/The Piety in English"; 1498-1499. It is a work of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. I have seen this statue with my own eyes. It is more than magnificent. This work is considered one of the greatest works of art in any medium.

This statue was once a rock, a slab of marble. Now it embodies Mary holding the body of the crucified Christ. Notice how draped and flowing the clothing material appears. Notice the bodies, the hands, feet, faces and the proportions. This is a beautiful work of art. Michelangelo finished what he started. And he did it beautifully.

You are more valuable and beautiful than this unrivaled work of art.

You are God's masterpiece.

You are valuable, not because of who you are but because of who you belong to.

As a Christian, you are a child of God. You are in His family. He is your father.

Your father loved you so much that He began a good work in you. And He will finish it.

Thank you, Father God, our Savior Jesus and our comforter the Holy Spirit for saving us and perfecting us until the day that Christ comes again. Amen.

Please share your thoughts and comments.