Finish Strong & Start Over | Fuel For The Weekend

This is our very last post for 2021! What a year it has been. I think back to a year ago when we moved back to Indiana and I see His hands all over our lives this year, but it has been none of what we expected it to be. We had hoped we would have a home and that hope is still alive in our hearts. Perhaps 2022 will be our year to see that happen. I have had different jobs this year and that has been interesting to say the least. I have lost an important friendship because the person was just not in a good mental state and it is so hard to see that dissolve, but God has given me richer and deeper friendships this year that has helped heal those old wounds. I think my best friend, Heather, and I have grown even closer as we have been one another's prayer warrior, advisor, confidante, listening ear, and source of laughter and joy. She has blessed my life so much this year and I have loved staying in touch with her, though the miles may be keeping us apart, technology has cemented our friendship all the more. Lots of sickness and illness in our family, several family members have lost their battle with cancer and our hearts mourn them. My mom moved back to Indiana, Paul and I flew to Florida to get her and drive back to Indiana with all her stuff. That was my first flight ever and I am glad I got to experience it but it was super scary for me. I am so thankful I had Paul with me for my first flight. Blue's Blessings, my small business, had some great success. We published a women's prayer journal and a men's prayer journal. I am going to launch a youth prayer journal that I am so excited about, and it will be available on Amazon. I am also going to make the men's and women's prayer journals available on Amazon, so the customization feature will no longer be available, but whomever purchases a journal can write their name in book on the blessings page if they choose to. I also have finished my book edits and ready to get it published in the new year. I am so excited for that!

Sometimes when we reflect back on a time in our lives we see great difficulties and struggles, and other times we look back and see celebrations and victories. Our lives will always be like that as long as we are pilgrims in this world. We do not belong here. We look for a city whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:10) Right? We may have goals and dreams for 2022 and that is fine to make plans and to hope for good things, but we must remember that God has numbered our days and we must keep checking in to see if we are still in His Will and walking the paths He has designed for us to walk on. James says that our lives are like vapors and we shouldn't brag about going to do anything. Instead, we should say Lord willing we will do this thing or that. 

JAMES 4:14-16 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

We can make plans, but we must be sure to include God in them and then wait for His approval to make them happen. Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." We can make plans and goals but when we put God as the head of our lives, the director of our days, then things may not work out like we want them to. We have confidence in knowing that He only wants what is best for us. Remember in the Bible where it says in Luke 11:11-13, "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask?" The Holy Spirit leads, guides, instructs, comforts, and helps. What a precious gift He is.

God has made plans for us according to Jeremiah 29:11-13. We must be seeking Him with all of our heart to find out what He wants to do for us. What dreams has God dreamed for your life? What does 2022 look like for you through God's eyes?

My family and I are going to do a 21 day fast to start the new year. I do not share that to brag or to do my alms before men. I am not looking for applause or acceptance. I am mentioning it only to share that we are choosing to give God the first fruits of our year. We are choosing to crucify the flesh of things it wants in order to savor the things of God. We will taste and see that the Lord is good when we go hard after the things of God. (Psalm 34:8)

This year may have been a banner year for you and your family. If so, that is awesome! It may not have been though, and for all of us, I say let's finish the year out strong. Let's keep our hand in the Master's and never let go. Let's step out of the old year and into a fresh new year with Jesus leading the way! We can finish the year strong in faith, hope, love, kindness, and mercy. We can begin fresh with forgiveness, gratitude, and hope for a brighter year. With God all things are possible.

My new word for 2022 is going to be PLANS. I looked up the definition, because I thought I might be just thinking of the word plans. After all I have multiple planners and I love making planners and writing in them and changing them out over and over. I read the definition and I am sure that PLANS is what He has given me for this new year. I know He has big PLANS for our family and for me and for Blue's Blessings and for this blog and my YouTube channel and my books and prayer journals. I am so excited to see what all He has planned for me.

Thank you all for joining me on this journey. I appreciate the comments, messages, texts, and phone calls letting me know how much these posts mean to you. It blesses me to know I have made even a small difference in anyone's lives. Ram Dass said, "We are all just walking each other home." I often quote that statement. It is very true. We are all supposed to uplift and encourage one another, sharing our love for Jesus with everyone, and telling them about the ultimate plan of God's, the plan of salvation. We are truly just supposed to be helping each other make it to our Heavenly Home. When I was younger, my brother and sisters and I would go visit my grandparents next door. They lived down the hill from us and their home was surrounded by big, mature trees and even with the moon out, it was dark to walk up the hill sometimes. I was terrified of the dark and my grandmother would often walk me to the top of the hill and then I would proceed to run the rest of the way home. There was something incredibly comforting about the walk up the hill with my grandmother and her flashlight in the dark. She let me hold her hand and she would remind me that the angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him (Psalm 34:7) and it would bring me peace. I knew she loved Jesus and would never lie to me. I had read that scripture many times at her house. She had underlined it in her Bible and would quickly flip the worn pages to that familiar passage when I was afraid. 

I hope that in some way my blog can serve as a beacon of light, pointing others to the foot of the Cross of Christ. I do not know everything. I am definitely always learning. I just hope that something I have shared in my blog posts on any given day has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you and Happy New Year!

~Bridgett Owens

Psalm 103 | Thankful Thursday

Welcome to the final Thankful Thursday post of 2021. What a tremendous opportunity to reflect back on this year and see the goodness of God all over our lives. He is so faithful and so good and so loving. We do not always understand everything we have to go through in this life, or why He says, "Wait," or "No." But we know that God has a purpose for every detail of our lives and so we turn toward Him today with a heart full of gratitude and praise and honor that is due His Holy name.

PSALM 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

This is a reminder that I am to bless the LORD with everything in me. My situation may seem bleak. I may have lost loved ones this year. My finances may not look like I want them to. My health may be failing. Things in my life right now may not be ideal, but yet I will bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, I will bless His holy name! He is worthy! My circumstances do not diminish God's worth! I will bless Him and love Him and trust Him!

PSALM 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:

This is a reminder that I am to bless God always and not to forget all the benefits I have because I am His child. I belong to God. He is my Heavenly Father. I have many benefits to serving Him. We will list them in the subsequent passages.

PSALM 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;

He has forgiven me of all my sins. I could stop right there. That could be enough benefit, but there are so many more. I am so incredibly grateful that God sent Jesus to take away my sins. He paid the penalty for my sins and now I am free. I do not die and eternally separate myself from my King. Instead, I have eternal life through Christ Jesus. He raised me when He was resurrected. The same power that brought Him back to life is at work in my life to revive me after I died to sin. I am set free and that is a wonderful benefit.

He heals all my diseases. No matter what suffering I have gone through, He is my healer. He may not heal me in this lifetime of the physical ailments I suffer with. I may have loss of blood, weakness, pain, and fatigue in this life, but He is my healer. He will heal me before He takes me Home and I will have a glorified body, no pain, no sickness, no dying there. It will be wonderful. He has healed my body though through the years of many, many ailments and issues that I nearly died from. He is my healer.

PSALM 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

He has redeemed me so I do not have to pay the price of my sins. He saved me from great destruction in my spirit, but He has also saved me from destruction in my lifetime. I was spared from an abusive relationship that would have possibly taken my life, not once but twice. He redeemed my life from destruction when He spared me from taking my own life. He has redeemed my life from destruction in many ways and I am forever grateful that He loves me so much. He gently places a crown upon me of His amazing love and kindness and tender mercies. He could have punished me for all the things I did wrong, but He did not do that. He chose mercy and great love and incredible acts of kindness throughout my 43 years of life and He does it again and again every single day.

PSALM 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

He fills my life with good things. I am tasting the pleasant goodness He gives me daily. He has renewed my strength. I may not be a young person any longer, but in my spirit I can soar like an eagle because the deeper in Him I go, the higher I seem to climb and the heights He has taken me to is incredible. The view is amazing as I look back over my life and the hills and valleys He always brought me through. He has moved mountains out of my way and at times enabled me to scale great heights to conquer obstacles in my way. I love Him so much for His goodness and His love.

PSALM 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been oppressed in my lifetime; not depressed, but oppressed. I felt the weight of heaviness on my life so many times. Trials in this life have left me battered and battle-scarred when I was not properly suited up for battle with the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). So often I gave in to fear and worry and doubt, when I should have remembered this powerful verse. God Himself delievers His righteousness and His perfect judgment to all who have been heavy burdened and treated harshly and with cruelty. He takes care of the situation for us. He fights for us and He always wins! He invites us to rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30).

PSALM 103:7 He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.

He used Moses and told Him what He was going to do. They were in close relationship. Their bond was secure. The good news is that God lets us know what He is doing, too, if we ask Him. Moses was afraid of the call God placed on His life. He wanted to run away. He said he was not fit to be used by God because of a speech impediment. He ran away from the palace after killing a man. He was tending sheep and started a new family but God pursued Him anyway. He led God's people out of captivity into freedom! He showed the children of Israel what He was going to do. He made them promises. He does the same for us. He has told me so many things He would do and they all came to pass just like He said, even when it did not seem possible at the time. He is still revealing His heart to us if we will listen. What a wonderful benefit of being His child, to have such great fellowship with Him.

PSALM 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

This is a reminder of who our God is. If we want to know what our Heavenly Father is like, this is a perfect description of some of His characteristics. He is full of mercy. He could have punished us for all our sins but He loves us so much He made a way for us to escape damnation and be saved. He is gracious. He gives us grace even though we do not deserve it and will never deserve it. He does not blast us off the face of the earth in anger, but He is slow to anger. He does get angry. The Bible says He is angry with the wicked every day. (Psalm 7:11). He gives us all a chance to get in right standing with Him again, though. He has plenty of mercy for the whole world. What a wonderful picture of who He is!

PSALM 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger for ever.

He is a good Father. He is not always angry with us. He does not hold grudges. He will not scold us all the time. Some people think God is up in heaven, with a big hammer in his hand, ready to punish us as soon as we do something wrong. He is not like that! He is so patient with us. He will not stay mad at us. When we are sorry and we repent, He is loving and kind and welcomes us back to Himself. He cleans us up and tells us that He loves us. He will not beat us up or harm us. He lovingly corrects us and forgives us.

PSALM 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

We should all be lost and bound for hell because none of us are righteous, but He did not deal with us according to what we have done wrong. Instead He allowed Jesus to take our place and pay the extreme penalty for our sins so we could be given grace and mercy and saved from the judgment we should have had. He does not reward us according to the sins we committed. He responds to us with grace and love and forgiveness. What a wonderful God we serve!

PSALM 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.

I could tell you of so many mistakes I made and failures I have had in my lifetime. I could go on and on about the times I messed up and did the easier wrong than the harder right, but I would rather tell you about God who loves me in spite of my shortcomings and this verse sums up God's amazing kindness and mercy. How high is heaven above the earth? It's very high. It's so high we cannot get there by an airplane or any special aircraft that we could build. We cannot send a satellite to heaven or a rocket ship. There is no way we can even measure how high is above the earth. In the same way, we can never measure how great His mercy is toward those who fear Him and love Him. His mercy is a never-ending supply to His children.

PSALM 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.

How far is the east from the west? God has created an incredible universe that if you keep going in one direction, toward the east you will never run into the west. If you start out in a direction toward the west, you will never meet up with the east. That is just how He designed things to be. That is how He designed the forgiveness of our sins. They are so far from us that we will never run back into them. We will never have the stains of our past to soil our garment. He has given us His righteousness to clothe us. We will never have to bear the markings of a sinner because Jesus bears the marks in His hands and in His feet. We are free and cleansed. We will never face those things again. The enemy may try to remind us of some past wrong we have done, but God chooses to never remember it again. He takes it so far from us that we can never be connected to it again.

PSALM 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him.

He is our Heavenly Father and He loves us greatly. He feels sorrow and compassion for us, His children. Just like I am quick to help my children when they are hurting, or to tend to them when they are ill, He is right there with us to protect us and help us, too. I would not allow my child to be mistreated by others, so as much as is within my power I would have pity on my children and quickly come to their defense. He does the same thing only in a greater way. He is by our side and when we have been abandoned, abused, lied on, mistreated, and harmed He is there to shower us with His compassion and love. His heart breaks when we have been wounded. It is not His desire for us to suffer but He will always turn it around for our good. (Romans 8:28).

PSALM 103:14 For He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are dust.

He knows we are human. He remembers that He created man from the dust of the earth. He knows that to dust we shall return. Another benefit of being His child is that He knows us better than we know ourselves. He understands why we do the things we do, say the things we say, and behave the way we behave. He understands. He knows. He remembers.

PSALM 103:15-16 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. 

We humans will not live forever. We have a day appointed to us to die. (Hebrews 9:27). Unless we get called away by Jesus when He comes back for us, we will all go by way of the grave. None of us will make it out of here alive. Just like the grass in a field may grow, and flowers be in the field, and it is beautiful to see, but over time the flower fades away and the grass may stop growing, or someone may pave over it and it is all gone; the same is true for our lives. We may live happy, flourishing lives. Others may admire our lives from a distance, but one day we will pass on and after so long our memory may even fade away. This is not meant to be depressing but it is empowering. We will not live here forever. We will one day be carried away with the wind and forgotten on earth but God never forgets about us and one day we will be with Him and never die. We will live forever with Jesus our King.

PSALM 103:17-18 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them. 

This is what will never fade, never pass away, never be forgotten. God's mercy is never changing, never ending, and it goes from one generation to another, on and on, to those who are in a covenant relationship with God. This promise is to those who remember His commandments and do them. This is how Jesus said we would show we love Him if we are found keeping the commandments. (John 14:15 and John 15:10)

PSALM 103:19 The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all.

This is a great reminder of His Sovereignty. He reigns over all the earth. He is the final authority. He has prepared His throne high above us. We do not have to go to a physical location on earth or a nearby planet to find Him. He sits high above all and He rules all but we know how to find Him. We simply call on His name. He has allowed us to boldly come to His throne of grace and He will help us when we need Him. (Hebrews 4:16).

PSALM 103:20-21 Bless the LORD, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure. 

This is a word for the angels. God created mechanical beings to do the things He wants done. They listen to Him and obey Him quickly. David is admonishing the angels to bless God. I am so thankful God has set angels to keep watch over His children. (Psalm 34:7, Psalm 91:11).

PSALM 103:22 Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

The final verse is for all God's creation, not just mankind. This time David addresses everyone and everything God created. He says to bless the LORD and finally reminds himself to bless the LORD. I will bless the LORD because He is my everything. If you want to know what I am thankful for this year and always, it is for God my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ my King and Holy Spirit my Comforter. I am so happy to be a child of the Most High God and to be in the family of believers. I am thankful I am in the Bride of Jesus Christ. I am glad that Holy Spirit teaches and instructs me in the way I should go. I will choose to end 2021 blessing God and my Savior and begin 2022 with His praise on my lips.

I hope you take some time today to reflect on what you are thankful for. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Philippians Chapter Four | Wednesday Bible Study

We are wrapping up this year with one last Bible study. I think it is a timely message that we discuss today. If you have not been working through the book of Philippians with me, you can go back to Philippians Chapter One here, Philippians Chapter Two here, and Philippians Chapter Three here. If you are ready for today's study, grab a notebook and pen or pencil, and your Bible and we will begin. As always, I encourage you to read the entire chapter before we get started. I will share some insight into this final chapter of this book but I will not go verse by verse.

Verses 1-9 The God of Peace

We have heard a lot about peace on earth with the celebration of Jesus' birth. Jesus calls all of His followers to a life of peace and love and harmony. Sometimes we get upset with one another and argue over things that should not matter so much. Two women of great faith, involved in building up the church in Philippi found themselves in a dispute. In verse two, Paul encourages these two women to be like minded. He is encouraging them to come together in unity. He calls them by name in this letter and throughout the letter it tends to hint at how he expects these women, and all believers, to behave. He encourages others to help these women come together in humility and harmony. The entire church felt the tension and discord of these two individuals. Paul said they labored in ministry with him. They were hard workers for the Kingdom of God. Knowing that a quarrel led to this portion of the letter, if not the entire letter, we see that Paul tells them to rejoice in the Lord always and he even repeats the command to rejoice. When we rejoice we do not have tension and ill-feelings toward others because our mind is on God. When we are hyper-focused on being right or being validated we lose sight of the work Jesus did on the cross and there is no rejoicing done. In verse five, Paul says let them reasonable so everyone will see it because the Lord is coming back soon and we simply have no time for this kind of arguing and division in the church. There is too much work to be done. Paul goes on to urge them to not worry about anything, but rather pray about everything with thanksgiving. Paul is reminding them that a heart of gratitude has no room for this kind of divisiveness. Rather by both women, and all believers, to get their minds on God and doing His work and His will, they will come into agreement and the disputing will be put to rest. When they have their mind on God then in verse seven, we are told the peace of God that doesn't even make sense will come and guard their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. They will have protection from warring in the flesh. And then he gives them a checklist of things to think about. What should they have on their minds? Paul says we should all think about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, things of virtue and praise worthy. If our minds are filled on those things it is much harder for the enemy to sow seeds of discord among the brethren. Paul finishes this segment of scriptures by saying that he has already given them an example of how to live in a manner pleasing to God. He tells them all that what they learned from him and heard him say, watched him do, that if they will do that too, they will have the peace of God with them.

Verses 10-20 An Acceptable Sacrifice

Paul begins this section of his letter with gratitude. He had just touched on that briefly, admonishing them to be grateful and we see him modeling it for them yet again. He is thankful for their help and kindness to him. He begins to share a secret with them about how to remain joyful. The secret is that our circumstances do not dictate whether we are grateful to God or not. Paul's life was hard, especially after his conversion. He was battled daily because of his faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Paul learned how to be content regardless of where he found himself. We do not immediately know how to be content, it is something we must learn through time and trials in this life. Paul said he knew how to overflow with God's goodness and he knew how to humble himself. He says no matter what the situation is, he has learned to be hungry and to feel full; to have anything he desired and to suffer great need. And the key to all of this is found in verse 13. You can never unlock the secret to living in contentment and joy without realizing you can do all things through Christ Jesus who is the One strengthening you. There is no other way that taking hold of that nail scarred hand of Jesus's and walking with Him. If you are in unity and humility with your walk with Jesus, you will not feel the effects of suffering need or walking through lonely, deep valleys. He is with us and so we are never walking alone.

Paul once again is thankful for the giving this church has done toward him. He speaks highly of the things they sent by Epaphroditus and called it a sweet smelling odor, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. What a wonderful compliment that had to be. Not just to exalt them or make them feel prideful, but to remind them to keep doing those good things because it pleases God. And then to wrap up this portion of his letter he says to them, no matter what their need is, God will supply all of it according to His riches in glory, which we know is so wonderful that He used gold for pavement. God does not check our bank account before He helps us, instead He meets our needs with His own riches in glory and it is all done by Jesus Christ, His Son. Then Paul glorifies God now and forever. Amen.

Verses 21-23 A Salute to the Saints

Paul's final thoughts in this book are to salute and greet each saint. It was a sign of respect, an expression of kind wishes, courtesy, and honor. He wanted to praise them and encourage them as believers of Jesus and then He gives them a blessing. He says, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." What a tremendous way to close the letter that in some ways had some heaviness and sternness, but seasoned with love and grace.

I hope that you have enjoyed studying the book of Philippians with me. It has been an incredible year of trusting God, not understanding His plan at times, and then lots of hope. My word to reflect on throughout 2021 has been JOY. God has given me great joy despite several trying circumstances, losing two cousins to cancer, and my father-in-law to cancer and now his brother has passed away. My husband mourns the loss of another uncle. We continue to pray that God gives us a house. Monday was one full year since we have been back to Indiana and no home of our own yet. It has been stressful and hard but God has given His peace and grace and filled me with joy that circumstances could never take away from me. 

I hope you'll come back tomorrow to see what I am truly thankful for and then again on Friday for a little Fuel For The Weekend. I have a couple of end-of-year messages I want to share and blessing to impart to each of you. I am grateful to have this opportunity to share my faith with other believers. Thank you for coming alongside me on this journey! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Thankful For Jesus' Birth | Thankful Thursday

Welcome back friends! We are wrapping up 2021 like last minute Christmas gifts! It has been a LONG year in many ways, but I think starting in November someone hit the fast-forward button. I feel a little lost around this time of year and I do not know if it is because my dad's Going Home was December 29 or if it's just because of all the end of the year stress, hustle and bustle, overwhelm, but it's a heavy feeling at times of disconnect.

It is times like this that I am thankful of the birth of Jesus Christ. Now, I know we have no idea when Jesus was born. We have some clues about the weather because there was a census taken and we know shepherds were in the field with the sheep. So, whether that is the same time of year as now or not, makes no difference to me. I am still just thankful Jesus Christ was born. I am so glad that He came.

LUKE 2:6-7 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Bible tells us that everyone was going to be taxed. Doesn't that sound like fun? I mean, think of it, you are about ready to deliver your baby and you have to travel to another town, about 70 miles, and not on paved roads in a comfortable vehicle. Some say Mary rode on a donkey, and if that was the case, that would not have been a pleasant experience for any length of time. Mary and Joseph were married at this point, though they had not consummated their marriage. And so you have a newlywed couple and this most unusual circumstance, and I have no doubt that it was all very stressful and overwhelming.

I am sure the roads were crowded and noisy. I can imagine people carrying carts behind animals with their belongings as everyone had to go back to their ancestral town for this census. It would have been frustrating to stop and start again as people would have no doubt crossed paths with one another, perhaps bumping into each other. It would bring a new sense of fatigue to an already tiresome journey.

Once they reach Bethlehem, they are trying to find somewhere to stay. Joseph surely tried his best to find somewhere, anywhere to take his new bride. I can imagine his heart sank with every rejection. The need for somewhere to stay was far greater than the capacity to hold everyone who came and I am sure that many were turned away. 

Now, it was not like they were just going to check in with the census and leave. So they stayed and many people were most likely waiting to participate. I am sure the turn out was greater than the availability of people to register everyone, so they must have come up with a system to have a certain number of people come per day. We know that she finished her last trimester there in Bethlehem and then our Savior was born.

I am thinking back 14 years ago, and 20 years ago to when I had my children. I made sure I bought them a cute little outfit to wear home. I had adorable clothes for both my children from things their dad and I purchased as well as the many gifts our loving family and friends showered us with. Mary did not have a sweet little outfit for baby Jesus. She had to wrap baby Jesus in swaddling clothes. Do you know what swaddling clothes are used for? Shepherds used them to wrap baby lambs tightly in these cloths so they could be examined for blemishes. The Lamb of God was wrapped in similar fashion. I am sure this would have had great significance to the shepherds who were out in the field and the angels heralded His birth to them.

My babies were given soft bassinets to lay in when they were infants. Jesus was laid in a trough where animals would eat. Definitely not an ideal setting for anyone. How many of us would complain to our new husbands that the conditions we were staying in were unacceptable? How much more would they be inappropriate for the Son of God to lay His precious head in a manger? Yet, we never hear of Mary nor Joseph complaining about their circumstances. Could it be that they were just so mesmerized by the sight of God's own Son in their arms? Were they just content to be wherever He was?

The shepherds were given the glorious birth announcement when He was born. They were told where to find Him and how to find Him. So they decided to go see for themselves. They found the baby Jesus just like they were told He would be in a manger with swaddling clothes. And the shepherds told everyone they knew what had happened. Everyone who heard about it were amazed, but Mary treasured these things in her heart and often thought about them.

I do not know what it was like to be Mary. What a great responsibility she had. She did not always get things right. Remember the time they left Jesus behind and it was a day's journey before they discovered they lost Him? I wonder what terror filled her heart. It would be terrifying to lose any child, but this child was the Son of God. He was very special and I am sure she was protective of Him. After all there were those who tried to kill Him since birth.

We never were told what Jesus liked to do as a child, what His favorite snacks were, when He learned to walk, if He was left-handed or right-handed, or was he ambidextrous? What was Jesus like as a teenager? Was He helpful without being asked? We just don't know those things and I think it is nice that it was a mystery. Each stage of parenting is so hard and different, but yet rewarding. The hardest part of being Jesus' mother had to be to see Him after they tortured Him and then slung Him on a cross, nailed in His hands and His feet. I can tell you that would have been the worst thing a mother could ever go through.

I am so thankful that we celebrate that Jesus came. I do not get caught up in the religious legalism that demands we do not know when He was born and therefore we should not celebrate a pagan holiday like Christmas. I know that we do not know when He was born. We just know that He was. So instead of the emphasis being on the decorations, parties, snacks and treats, presents, and gatherings. Let's choose to keep Jesus as the focus of our holiday. He is the true reason for this season. He is the hope we have now and always. The birth of Jesus is a gift to the whole world. It is the best gift any of us can receive.

I hope you have unwrapped the gift of salvation. It is found in Jesus Christ alone. You cannot be saved by being good enough, kind enough, generous enough. It is a free gift that you cannot earn, and it's a great thing because we are not good enough on our own. We are not worthy of His love and saving grace but He chose us and loved us before we ever loved Him. So please accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you have done that, welcome to the family of God! Angels rejoice at the decision to follow Jesus Christ. You will never want to exchange this gift for anything else. Nothing will ever compare to it and it can never be taken back or away from you! You are sealed with His blood when you accept Jesus as your Savior and Redeemer.

I hope you have a wonderful Thursday as you reflect on the things you are thankful for this season. I am also thankful for all of you who comment or message me about how much these blog posts mean to you. I am going to make a better effort to post on schedule in 2022. By God's grace and strength, I will post a Bible study lesson each Wednesday and a post about what I am thankful for each Thursday and then finish the week and kick off the weekend with some food for thought in Fuel For The Weekend every Friday. I hope to have a video uploaded to YouTube each week on Saturday or Sunday, as well. I am still trying to figure that out.

I have a few announcements to make soon, but until then God bless you and have a blessed day!

Hugs,
Bridgett

Philippians Chapter Three | Bible Study Wednesday

We continue to study the book of Philippians, written by Paul, who was Saul from Tarsus. We will be breaking down this chapter into two parts. If you missed the first two chapters we have studied so far, you can catch up by reading Philippians Chapter One Bible Study here and Philippians Chapter Two Bible Study here. We will begin with Chapter Three verse one today.

Verses 1-12 That I May Win Christ

Paul opens this chapter with a call for rejoicing in the Lord. This is an encouraging letter to the church at Philippi and we find this a recurring theme of his to remind the believers to rejoice in the Lord. Note it does not say rejoice in our circumstances, or rejoice in our pain, or rejoice in times of turmoil. We are to rejoice in the Lord. He alone is worthy of praise and honor and nothing we are going through changes how worthy God is of our rejoicing and praise.

My "The Woman's Study Bible" explains verse 2 like this, "Dogs in the ancient Near East were mostly street roamers, scavengers. Jews frequently called Gentiles "dogs." By "dogs" Paul meant Jewish legalists who insisted on the rite of circumcision for all believers. Paul's implications were emotional and strong: Circumcision was neat, planned surgery; yet the Judaizers would rip, tear, and mutilate tender, new believers! But those who had voluntarily "cut away" all confidence in the flesh, were the true circumcision (verse 3)."

Paul goes on to give his spiritual resume, his religious pedigree, dating back to the tribe of Benjamin. He was named after king Saul in the Old Testament and he shares his heritage to prove he knows what he is talking about. He is backing up his statements with a genealogy that goes back to Jacob. He says that what he gained for his religious attempts to please God was counted as a loss to Christ. He was fighting against Him, but now he counts all the accolades he may have obtained as loss and gain to Christ. He says, "That I may win Christ, And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."

We may read that and think it is backwards: resurrection, sufferings, and death, but without the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we would not have any fellowship of sufferings and could never die to sin and self. For the believer we are a part of His death and resurrection when He paid for our sins with His precious blood. 

Paul ends this section by saying He is not perfect. He does not want to give the illusion that he is holier than any of the people He is addressing in this letter. He says he has not received everything God has for him yet, but he is reaching out to grab onto the things of God because God through Jesus Christ has grabbed on to him.

Verses 14-21 The High Calling of God

Paul gives us the formula for how to get ahold of the things of God. He says first of all he is going to forget his past. He allowed Christians to be stoned to death, hauled off to prison, brutally beaten and suffer many things for loving and serving the very Christ he once persecuted. I imagine the memories must have been haunting at times. Remember how he stood by and held the coats of those who stoned precious Stephen to death! If Paul allowed the things he did wrong to play over and over again in his head, he would go mad! So he chooses to forget those things because he knows Jesus forgave Paul and He covered his sins with His blood on Calvary. So, if your past wrongs try to hold you back, and you know Jesus has covered them with His blood, then do what Paul did and choose to forget them!

There's a second step though to obtaining the things of God. You must PRESS in. You cannot just read a memory verse and expect God to change your whole life. We give babies finger foods and soft things when they are younger and as they get stronger and have better control of their bodies, they get foods with more substance. The same is true for the Christians. We start out on milk. We learn that Jesus loves us and He did miracles and He answers our prayers and He forgives us. But when our faith gets stronger we get some tests and trials and we have to find answers in the Word. We start consuming more substance in the Word. You have to press in to get answers because some of our trials threaten to take us out! When we find ourselves on our knees, we are in the perfect position to summon help from our Savior and press toward the mark, or the goal for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. We must keep going and not stop! Eternal life is our reward and we must keep pressing on to obtain that promise. We cannot allow the enemy to wear us out and make us give up and turn away from serving Jesus. The prize is within reach, we must just keep pressing on.

Paul warns us to watch for those who walk after the ways of God's Word. Some go to church, may even have a leadership role, and might even be a big giver to offerings and tithes, but they do not walk like the examples we have been given in God's Word. Instead, Paul said with great sorrow that these individuals are the enemies of Christ. That is a BOLD statement. Their end is destruction, not salvation. Paul said that their god is their belly. It is not the God of heaven. They choose other paths. They compromise. Their god is their appetite and satisfying their flesh. They boast about shameful things. We know them because they are only focused on the here and now, things that are happening on the earth. They are concerned about fame, money, popularity, influence, and things of this earth. They are not thinking about eternity or storing up treasures in heaven.

Paul says we are not residents of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. We are looking for Jesus, our Savior, to change our vile bodies into glorious bodies that are made just like His! He says and it is all done according to the power He has because all things are under His control. He has the authority and ability to do that for us. 

In conclusion, I want us to think of who we might know that is walking after earthly things and desires. Let's pray for them and ask God to open their eyes and help them see they are headed down a path of destruction and despair that they will never be able to get out of if they don't fully follow after Jesus Christ. We do not want anyone to go to that awful place. It was never intended for us, but for those who refuse to believe in Jesus and accept His nail scarred hand offering them eternal life, they will find themselves there.

Let's press in and keep going strong for God. We know there is so much pain and turmoil in the world today but God will give us His strength to keep marching on and He will give us His rest when we need it. 

I hope something I have shared today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens