Psalm 28 | Wednesday Bible Study

Welcome back to Bible Study Wednesday! This year God has pressed upon my heart to study the book of Psalms. Each Wednesday we take a closer look at a new chapter. Today we are going to chapter 28. If you have not done so, please take the time to read through these 9 verses. I will be sharing some thoughts about today's passage and break down this chapter below. Please pray and ask Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes and ears to receive everything He has to teach you in today's passage. Let's begin!

Verse 1:

David is praying to God, asking Him to hear his heart's cry. David always begins addressing God. David wants to hear from God. He says if he does not hear from God, he will be like those who have no hope. Today, you and I have hope if we are in Christ Jesus. EPHESIANS 2:11-13 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. David is desiring to be in close fellowship with God. JAMES 4:8 Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts ye doubleminded.

Verse 2:

David wants God to hear his supplications. Supplication means to ask or beg for something in earnest and in humility. David knows God is Sovereign and in charge. He humbly comes to God begging for him to hear and answer his prayers. We see that Daniel did the same thing. DANIEL 6:11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Sometimes we pray to God with thanksgiving, and other times we ask what we need in humility, and yet other times we come with supplication and thanksgiving because our need is so great. I love that Daniel says it isn't because we are good or holy that we make these supplications, but we ask because You God are so merciful. DANIEL 9:18 O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies. 

Verse 3:

David does not want to be in the same category with the wicked. He has separated himself from those who willfully sin and say one thing but then do another in deceit. David says, "They speak peace to their neighbors but mischief is in their heart. So often in our society we see the same thing coming from political leaders, religious leaders, world leaders, and it needs to stop. God is not pleased with this work and it will not go unpunished. GENESIS 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. You may think that verse could have been written today in 2022. These were the days of Noah. What does the Bible tell us about the days of Noah? LUKE 17:26-30 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Verse 4:

David wants God to punish the wicked. He is asking that they reap what they have sown. JOB 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. GALATIANS 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. This sowing and reaping principle is in God's Word to teach us to not be like the wicked but to sow things in the fertile soil of the Spirit.

Verse 5:

In this verse, David gives the results of disbelief in God. Those that do not care for the things of GOD and do not see His hands at work are going to be destroyed. ROMANS 3:3-4 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. Whether humanity believes in God or not does not change who He is. It does not erase Him from existence. Jesus is still God whether we choose to see it or not, but one day all will see and acknowledge Him for who He is. PHILIPPIANS 2:8-11 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Verse 6:

God heard David's requests and now David honors God. Friends God is listening to our prayers. He hears us and He answers us according to His Will. He has a purpose and plan for all of us. ECCLESIASTES 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: His desire is to save humanity from our sins and to gather as many sons and daughters as are willing to join His family. You and I are here to help with that purpose. If we do not get some things we ask for, it might be because it would hinder our walk with the Lord. We can be assured He does answer us and we ought to be like David and bless God for doing so.

Verse 7:

David says God is his strength and shield. As a man of war, David understood the value of a shield. He knew how important it was to be strong in battle. Our lives are one battlefield after another and we must draw strength from God and allow Him to protect and shield us from the enemy. David says his heart trusts in God. I am sure David did not trust a great deal of people. His children rebelled against him. His father-in-law tried to kill him. He had a lot of enemies but He trusted God because over the course of his life, David could see God's fingerprints all over his life. David said God helps him and that gave him a reason to rejoice and sing praises to God. Have we appreciated the things God does for us, or are we taking it all for granted? 

Verse 8:

God is not just the source of David's strength. Look at this verse again. It says that for those who are anointed, God is our saving strength. What a beautiful promise. Do you remember when Paul said he was going to get the crown of life? He said it was stored up for him, but not just for him only. No, he said we all get one. 2 TIMOTHY 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. If we are looking for Jesus to come back with expectancy and jubilee, then we have a crown of righteousness waiting for us as well.

Verse 9:

David's ends the prayer with a final request. Save, bless, feed, and forever lift up those that are Yours God. We belong to God if we are a servant of the Most High God. He will save us, redeem us, bless us, care for us, and meet our every need.

I hope that as you studied today's passage with me that you will see how good God is. He is a loving, protective Father and He wants to be in relationship with every single one of His children. If you have been encouraged please let me know. I appreciate all the feedback. I pray that something I have shared on the blog today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Use Your Oil | Fuel for the Weekend

God told me to share my faith on Fridays and call it Fuel for the Weekend. It's my desire that the posts I put up on Fridays will give you something to think about, ponder, consider, and reflect on throughout the weekend. If it leads to discussions with your family and friends, even better!

Today I want to talk about a woman in the Bible who had a God-fearing husband, and two sons. Her husband was one of the sons of a prophet and he went into debt. Many of us can relate to that. Most Americans have a car payment, a house payment/rent, student loans, credit card debt, or medical bills. The Bible does not tell us how much was owed or to whom, but it was time to pay the debt and the widow had no means to do so. The creditor decided to take her sons in order to pay off the debt. She was distraught after losing her husband, her provider, the father of her children, her companion; and now her only two sons were to be taken from her as well. She would be alone and destitute. Her heart simply could not stand the loss of all the men in her life at once.

2 KINGS 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

Elisha is a respected man of God, a prophet, and since the widow here could not go to God directly, she had to turn to the prophet for answers. He asks the widow what he could do for her. He wants to know what she has in her home. He is not asking for an inventory. He simply wants to know what is something of value she has in her home. She tells him she has nothing except for a pot of oil.

It makes me wonder, had she already sold everything of value and it was just not enough to cover the debt? Did she feel like she had squeezed every penny and was simply out of options? She could not just go get a job to earn money. Surely she thought I have oil but what good is one pot of oil? She says, "I have nothing." Have you ever been there? I know I have.

2 KINGS 4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil.

The answer may seem strange, but God was telling Elisha how to solve this woman's problem. He told her to go to her neighbors and borrow a lot of empty vessels. Can you imagine what went through this woman's head? What good are empty vessels? Why should I bother my neighbors? I don't want others to know how bad things are. Why can't God just cause the creditors to write off my debt? Why can't God just give me the money I owe? But God has a plan and the widow was desperate. She was willing to obey.

2 KINGS 4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

He gives her strict instructions. When she enters her home after gathering all the vessels she can, shut the door, and pour into all those vessels, and set aside the ones that are full. Why close the door? This is pertinent because it keeps the doubt out and the faith in. It is up to her to believe the prophet and trust God to do everything she had been told, or to doubt this would work and let fear and dread overtake her. We have a choice to obey God even when it doesn't make sense, or to sit in the comfort of our fear and dread. Fear can be comfortable. Obeying God can be uncomfortable. But God does not seek to make us comfortable. God is building our faith with every trial and every struggle.

2 KINGS 4:5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

The faith is in the house. The woman is acting in faith. She has faith with works. Faith without works is dead, according to James 2:20. In faith she gathered the vessels. Now she closes the door. This is a private miracle because if she had left the door open, others may interrupt her. "How long will you have my vessel?" or "What are you doing with all these vessels?" The door is shut to keep faith in and doubt out. Sometimes we have to close ourselves in away from prying eyes and doubting words so God can move on our behalf.

The act of pouring into these vessels is an exercise of faith. She has one pot of oil: just one! She takes what she has and begins to fill up the first vessel. One son carefully takes it away as the other son brings an empty vessel. One by one the vessels are filled. Can you feel her excitement as she watches each vessel fill up? Can you imagine the boys eyes widened with wonder as they watch their mother fill vessel after vessel after vessel? 

2 KINGS 4:6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel, And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed (ceased).

The oil did not stop flowing until there was nothing left to fill. That alone is a miracle! But, now what? She did what she was told to do. The debt was not paid. The only thing she could see that was different was that her empty house was now full of pots of oil. It looks like her oil multiplied but that was all. The instructions she had been given were followed to the letter and now she stood there with her sons and all these jars of oil.

If the widow had stopped here, she would have missed the blessing. If she would have said, "Gosh I am really tired. I poured out all of this oil. I cannot explain how that happened, but I did the work. I did what I was supposed to do. Where is God? The creditor wants his money." She did not do that. She did not give up. She did not become weary in doing well. Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Now is not the time to stop or give up. She knew what she had to do. She needed to talk with the man of God for more instructions. God does not give us all the details at once. He gives us steps to take and when we have taken those steps, we can go back to Him and ask, "What will You have me do next?" God is going to do something wonderful in her life but she has to go back to the man of God and find out what that is. Today, you and I are able to go boldly to the throne and ask God ourselves. Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

2 KINGS 4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

The widow wanted God to help her pay her debt. God did that and so much more. She not only had enough oil to sell and pay off her debts.; she was able to live with her sons on the rest of what the oil sold for. God made her an entrepreneur for a season so He could set her up to be debt-free and not rely on anyone else for help to feed her family and herself. Isn't God awesome like that? We don't always know how God is going to do it, but He promises to meet our needs. Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I do not know what needs you have, but take them before the LORD. Lay your hands on your stack of bills, or on your empty wallet. Ask God to meet your needs. He may send money to you unexpectedly. The debt may be canceled and cleared from your name. He may give you a job, a promotion, or make you an entrepreneur for a season. Whatever He is asking you to do, just do it in faith and watch God do the miraculous. He will do it again! He will do it for you!

I hope this gives you something to think about this weekend, something to share with your family and friends. Hopefully it inspires you to pray with faith to God to ask Him to meet your needs. Whatever He puts in your heart to do, do it with joy and watch Him do the rest. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Hard Assignment | Fuel For The Weekend

Welcome back to another Fuel For the Weekend blog post. I am excited about today! My husband is off work. He is not feeling the best. Javan and I are under the weather, as well, but we are still getting things done and that feels good. What are you doing this weekend?

Today I want to give you something to think about, talk about, and dig deeper in this weekend. It is in the book of Ezekiel. We are going to discuss five verses in the second chapter. But first, I would like to give a brief overview and background of where we studying. Ezekiel is a prophet of God. He is also a priest and he is ministering during the darkest days of the tribe of Judah's history. They are in captivity in Babylon and he will use parables, signs, and symbols, along with prophecies to get God's message across to His people in exile. Ezekiel has a very tough mission because God's chosen people are rebellious and hard-headed. This is why they are in exile; they would not respond appropriately to God nor would they observe His laws and commands. Now, they are in a place they do not want to be, severe oppression and depression overtake them, and it is up to Ezekiel to share God's message with them. What an incredible quest. Has God given you a task that you did not ask for, maybe one you do not want, but you have to do it? Has He called you to help others who seem like they could care less about God or anything He has to say? Ezekiel has been so commissioned.

Today's text is Ezekiel 2:1-5 but I want to start with chapter one verse 28 for a clear picture of why Ezekiel is no longer standing. So if we back up one verse, Ezekiel describes seeing something like a rainbow after the rain. This rainbow and it's brightness was how the likeness of the glory of God appeared to this prophet. When he saw this image he dropped to the ground. He fell on his face and then he heard "a voice of one that spake." Let's pick up our text in Ezekiel 2:1-5 and I promise there will be some hope and encouragement at the end of today's blog post for you!

Ezekiel 2:1 And He said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.

In this verse, when it says "son of man" it says in the expanded Bible that it means "human being" and it is used 93 times in this book to address the prophet. It is a title that refers to Ezekiel's frailty as a human in comparison to the great Sovereignty of God. God, the Creator, the LORD of all the earth, is speaking to Ezekiel and wants him to stand up so they can have a conversation. He recognizes that Ezekiel is flabbergasted and has hit the floor in overwhelm. He needs Ezekiel's attention, because He has to give him some instructions and He wants Ezekiel to hear everything He is saying.

In the book of Acts, Saul is on the way to Damascus so he can persecute God's people. He thinks he is doing God a favor by consenting to the death of Christians in the early church. But as he goes to Damascus a light surrounded him and it was so bright he fell to the earth. Let's read it. Acts 9:4-6 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?  And he said, Who are Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks (goads). And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

God will get your attention when He needs you to step into your destiny. He has a specific call on your life and He knows what language to speak to get your attention. You will find yourself humbled and feeling very small in contrast to the vastness of God.

Ezekiel 2:2 And the spirit entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard Him that spake unto me.

In the book of Daniel, we see a similar situation. Daniel 8:17-18 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep, on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

The supernatural is scary. It is overwhelming to experience God in that way, and yet there is great significance for it. God will help you when you are in that situation. He picked up Ezekiel and Daniel and he helped Saul who later became Paul and wrote a huge portion of the New Testament. Do not be afraid to seek God and experience His Sovereignty and power. You may not have the same experiences as these prophets but when God puts something in your heart that scares you, it's your big purpose and it can be frightening to think about. The good news is you are not alone.

Ezekiel 2:3 And He said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation, that hath rebelled against Me: they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day.

Would you be excited about this assignment? If God tells you to witness to people who are too hard-hearted to listen to the voice of God, would you want to go? Would you be excited about talking to them and telling them what God had to say? I know I have had to speak to people who were so prideful and haughty they would hardly listen. They wanted things to be all about them and had no room for the correction of God's Word. Through much prayer and exhortation I was able to share what God wanted them to know. I was in awe as I watched Him chip away at their ego and their carnal nature. It was amazing to see Him work in ways I never knew were possible.

Remember they are not rejecting you if you speak God's Word, they reject Him. It is imperative that we share the Gospel and allow Holy Spirit to do the rest.

1 Samuel 8:7,8 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

Ezekiel 2:4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

I love that God does not expect us to come up with our own speech when we go where He sends us. He does not leave everything up to us. He just asks that we be willing vessels to be used by Him to reach the ones who have gone astray. This is pivotal because we are not in the control chair, He is! That is the key to all of this!

Psalm 95:6-11 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. To day if ye will hear His voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways; Unto whom I sware in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest.

Jeremiah 5:3 O LORD, are not Thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction; they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

Jeremiah 6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

If you have time, read Isaiah chapter 58. It is another instance of the stiff-necked, rebellious people that God loves and wants to redeem but they refuse. These are not accounts of the heathen, pagan nations. This is God speaking directly to and about the children of Israel that He rescued and delivered and provided for. He blessed them and helped them and they rejected Him and disobeyed Him over and over and over again.

Ezekiel 2:5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

Why would God send Ezekiel to such a people? Why bother with them at all? So they will know that God loves them enough to send a prophet to be His mouthpiece. They can never say He did not try to show them the right way. They will be without excuse. He comes in love and mercy but the choice is theirs. It is up to them whether or not they receive it. They cannot receive the message from God without the messenger so God chose Ezekiel. Did He choose you? Do you have unsaved loved ones and friends who are doing life on their terms? Do you have family or friends who think they are enough, and that by doing good things, or donating to charities they will somehow squeeze into heaven? Friends, it is up to you and me to tell them!

One final thought and it is in Romans, the first chapter. We can read it together:

Romans 1:16-21 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (suppress) the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Friends, we must take our assignment seriously. God is calling all of us to specific people in our lives. It may be a neighbor, a coworker, a friend, a family member, or even a stranger. Be sensitive to Holy Spirit and allow Him to use you to lead others to Christ. Yes, it may seem hard, because it is hard. It may seem impossible and hopeless, but it isn't. God is with us and we can do all things as He strengthens us according to Philippians 4:13. Remember with God nothing is impossible according to Luke 1:37. God bless you friends!

~Bridgett Owens

Graduation Milestone | Thankful Thursday

What a wonderful, blessed day! My baby boy graduated from 8th grade and this is a wonderful milestone in his life. He has been in a really great school environment for the past two years and we are truly blessed. It has been the stability and consistency Javan has needed. We have moved so much in his little life span and when God called us to move back up here, in Indiana, stability was one thing I prayed for and God granted it.

Javan received an AB Honor Roll award and a Citizenship award. His teacher chose a boy and a girl from each class and Javan was honored. Such a proud Mom moment. I do not think it is because of me, but I do know it is all because of Jesus. Javan loves Jesus with all of his heart and he makes decisions based on what would honor God. I am grateful because we can pour things into our children and hope it sticks, but we cannot always predict if they will take hold of those things. We must train them up in the way they should go because the Bible tells us when they get older it will not leave them. They will remember the mother or father who prayed, who encouraged with Scripture, and who read the Word of God to them.

PROVERBS 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

EPHESIANS 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Javan is in a great youth group, learning a lot, and has only missed a few times, mostly due to sports schedule conflicts. He does S.O.A.P. Bible studies and even shares them here on his blog. He has been studying the Bible like this since he was 6 or 7 years old.

We had a special breakfast for the 8th graders today. They had scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, biscuits and gravy, doughnuts, and fresh fruit. They had chocolate milk, white milk, orange juice and bottled water to drink. They all enjoyed it!

I am so thankful that God worked things out for me to be at his graduation today. Paul and Kadesia had to work and could not be there. I was able to share photos and videos with them though and they sent messages to him of how proud of him they are. My sister, niece, and nephew came and that meant a lot to him. They took us to eat at a local Chinese restaurant and that was so nice to get to talk to them and spend some time laughing and sharing together.

God worked it out so I could help serve breakfast to him and his classmates. Some of the sweet boys from the track team he was on said hello to me and that was special. One of Javan's teachers wrote a touching letter to the students and gave it to them in their envelopes. She read it aloud to them and it definitely had me choking back tears.

Here he is, so grown up! He is 14 years old, but will be 15 in August. He is a sweet boy, a kind and compassionate person. He came out of his shell a little and one of the guys on his track team took him under his wing and taught him about Shot Put and Discus. It helped Javan much more than his friend realizes. We watched Javan bloom where God planted him and that is so awesome. This evening that same friend had Javan over and they went fishing. Javan said he caught six fish!

Please say a prayer for Javan. While kids are swimming, running, playing, doing all the things this summer, Javan will have a different experience. He is scheduled for surgery May 27 and he will spend his summer recovering. We have prayed and trust God to help Javan through this tough transition. We know we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Amen?

PHILIPPIANS 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

As you can see, there is so much we are thanking God for. What about you? Have you counted your blessings today? If you want to share what God is doing in your life, feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to count our blessings with you! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

National Day of Prayer | Thankful Thursday

Hello friends. Today is National Day of Prayer. It is a time of fasting and prayer for many of us. Some may have prayed in a group before work or school; others may have a special ceremony at church or elsewhere. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. That is very possible to do. It is to have a direct line of communication with our Heavenly Father who will meet our every need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus according to Philippians 4:19.

In our world today, we have so much to pray about. There are issues in our cities, states, our country, our government leaders, and in our world. We have personal issues we are dealing with as well. There is no shortage of things to pray about.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. Whatever we are facing, we can, and should, take it to God in prayer, asking our Heavenly Father, with gratitude. We are promised that when we take our problems to God and spend time with Him in prayer, we will receive the peace of God to keep our hearts and minds through Jesus. What kind of peace is it? It is the peace that does not make sense. It is peace that will cause others to look at you and wonder, "How can you go through all that and still have peace?" It is only peace that comes from God. Jesus said in John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. We may be facing some scary situations and we begin to allow fear to take up residence in our hearts, but Jesus is telling us not be worried or afraid because He gives us His peace.

We can confidently go to our Lord Jesus and ask anything we need and we know that He is listening to us and will help us in our time of need. 1 John 5:14-15 reads, And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, we know that we have the petitions that we desired Him. The key to this verse is that we ask according to the will of God. We cannot ask for selfish requests so we can be popular, have more money to spend on vain things, or to promote ourselves. We are here to carry out God's plan for the world and if more money or material possessions will cause us to stray or glorify self then we already know we are not going to receive those things. We must be in line with God's will.

A very popular verse, one that many of us have heard and/or quoted many times is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. I feel that it is so important to include in today's blog post. It says, If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. It is no secret our land needs healed. If we take the confidence we just read about and humble ourselves, pray, seeking God's face and not His hands, and repent of the evil and wickedness then God in heaven will hear us and forgive us and heal our land. America is a very sin-sick nation. It is time we return to our Savior Jesus Christ and repent of the wicked ways we have done and allowed in this nation. It is time to honor and bless God as a country. We must become humble again. We need to seek the face of God, not to get more blessings and things from Him, but to spend time with Him and honor Him and love Him.

I am so thankful there is a day set aside to pray and fast, for those of us who will do that. I am going to spend time praying and seeking God about some big needs in my life and in this world. I know He will hear and answer me. I have confidence that He cares about us and the things we care about. I hope that you will be praying, too.

There is nothing like praying to God and Him answering prayers. I love to prayer journal because there are so many things that we can look back on and see God's fingerprints all over. We see how we struggled and how God answered and how we grew. Many of you know that we, at Blue's Blessings, have three prayer journals available on Amazon now. You can see the Men's Prayer Journals here. We have a Women's Prayer Journal here. And we have Youth Prayer Journals which is an interactive workbook with devotionals, prayer prompts, memory verses, SOAP Bible study pages and room for note taking, plus so much more. It is a wonderful gift for graduations, Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays, or anytime.

This Thankful Thursday I am thankful for the gift of prayer. I know God hears and answers the prayers of His children. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Good Friday | Fuel For The Weekend

What a blessed time of year! We get to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. We get to rejoice that our Savior is not still in the tomb. He IS risen indeed! He is alive forevermore. I am so thankful for the free gift of salvation that was given to whosoever will.

If we turn the clock back a couple thousand years or so we would not be rejoicing in this moment. This would be a time of great sorrow and mourning over the death of Jesus, only 33 1/2 years old. His mother would have witnessed such horror and grief like we cannot even imagine. It says in Matthew 27:55-56 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto Him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children. The Bible tells us of some of the emotion that was felt in the book of Luke. Luke 23:27 And there followed Him a great company (multitude) of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented Him. I know I cannot read the story of the crucifixion without crying... a LOT! I wasn't even there. Can you imagine the distress and feelings of helplessness as they watched the Son of God be nailed to a cross through His hands and His feet and wearing a crown of thorns on His head? He had been beaten and whipped, slapped and spat on. What suffering and pain!

Why is today called Good Friday? What's good about it? I have heard those questions so much. The good is that Jesus obeyed the Father all the way to death on the cross. Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The good is that Jesus did not use the cross as a display of His power by jumping down and striking everyone dead that stood and mocked Him. The good is that He said yes to this horrific ordeal so you and I could go free. The good is that everything the enemy has stolen, killed, and destroyed was redeemed with the blood of Jesus Christ. He came to give us abundant life through His resurrection! John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Jesus never sinned but He became sin for us to pay the ransom for our sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. What a beautiful gift to us.

Why would God do that? Why would Jesus have to die for our sins? Why not let us suffer? There is only one answer. LOVE. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God loved His creation so much that He gave us His Son Jesus. Who did He give Jesus to? Whosoever believes in Him. Why? So that they would not be eternally separated from God but would live with Him forever and never die.

Who is Jesus to you? Is He a good man? Maybe He is your Savior but He is not the Lord of your life. You wanted to be spared hell but you want to live life the way that pleases you. Friends, it does not work like that. When Jesus saves us, something happens on the inside of us and we want to serve Him. We have a desire to live like Him. He puts a desire inside our hearts to want to please Him. Our appetite for the things of this world diminishes and He continues to work in our hearts and lives until He returns. Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. If you haven't surrendered your life to Him, now is the time!

Dear Jesus,
I thank You for the sacrifice You made for me. I thank You for the pardon You paid with the shedding of Your blood on Mount Calvary. I am so grateful that You have redeemed me. Lord I am praying today for every person who is reading this blog today and any day in the future. Please help them Lord to know you more clearly. Open their spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear what Your Holy Spirit wants to reveal to them. Cultivate the fertile soil of our hearts Lord to receive this message with Your love. God You have made a way for all of us to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. If the person reading this blog post is saved, God encourage them and strengthen them for their journey. Equip them to be strong ambassadors for You Jesus and share the Good News with everyone they meet! If they are lost and need a Savior, speak to them, draw them with Your sweet Spirit Jesus and let them come to You with faith believing. I rejoice with all of heaven as they make a confession of faith in You Jesus. What a blessed Homecoming we shall have. I love You Jesus and it is in Your precious Holy name, the name that is above every other name, that I pray. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Psalm 13 | Bible Study Wednesday

We are in the book of Psalms all year. We have studied 12 psalms so far. Today we turn our attention to chapter 13. If you have not done so, I encourage you to take a few moments to pray and ask Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes and ears to what He would have you to know. Read through the text and then with your Bible remaining open, come back to this post and we will study it together.

David has written many of the psalms, and this is yet another one that he penned. In six short verses he goes from being distraught and sorrowful to trusting and singing to God. What happens in verses three and four that change David's song? Let's find out.

Verses 1-2

David spends both verses asking God questions. "How long will You forget me, O LORD? Forever? How long will you hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?" Those are some big questions. David is desperate for answers. Have you ever been there? Are you there now?

David feels a distance between himself and God. He feels like God has forgotten about him. We read later in Psalm 27:8 David says, "When You said, Seek My face; my heart said unto You, Your face, LORD, I will seek." We see this happening here in verse one, David is seeking God's face and he feels like there is something in the way where he cannot press in like he wants to. The fellowship he has with God feels strained and he just wants to know how long this will last. 

In the margin of my Bible I wrote this on October 3, 2021, "I relate to 'how long'? waiting on our house." You see, Thanksgiving Day, November 2020 God told my husband and me to move back to Indiana and that He had a beautiful home for us there. We were living in Alabama at the time. We received further instruction to move before the end of the year and everything fell into place so quickly and smooth that we knew it was God's provision. We left our wonderful home in the Gulf of Mexico on my daughter's birthday, December 27, 2020. So when I wrote that statement it had been almost one full year since God made us that promise and each time we tried to rent or purchase a home of our own, the doors were slammed in our face month after month. I was weary of waiting. April 27 will be 16 months since we moved back. We were in Alabama for 16 months so I am hoping that something breaks for us soon because it is a challenge to live with other people for so long when you have your own family and you just want your own life back. I have more determination now but the waiting is hard. I try to remind myself we are much closer now than when we moved back. God never promised the home would be available as soon as we got back to Indiana, but we certainly hoped it would be that way. What are you waiting for God to do that feels so long?

David is saying in these first two verses that he is seeking God's face. He is not necessarily asking for God to do something for him, but he longs to be in fellowship with God. He wants that connection he felt before. As we went from month to month, we were seeking God's hands for a home, and now we are seeking God's will and His fellowship. We know He has not forgotten us, like He had not forgotten David. Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. What a beautiful promise!

Verse 3-4

David says, "Consider and hear me O LORD my God." This is personal. He wants God to think about him. In other words, he is asking God to concern Himself with David; to give careful thought to him and his situation. Is that not our prayer as well? Lord God remember me. He asks God to allow him to see His face again. He is asking for life from the Life Giver. Life is not worth living if we do not have close communion with God.

In verse four he says he wants God to vindicate him and protect him so his enemies will not be able to mock him and taunt him while he is down. He does not want them to celebrate his failures. None of us want the world to see us fail. None of us want to lose face to our friends and loved ones. David is asking for God's grace and mercy.

Verses 5-6

David starts to get his strength back. He remembers something. He says, "But I have trusted in Your mercy, or loving kindness." What are we trusting in? Are we trusting in God's mercy to sustain us? Are we truly remembering that His mercies are new every morning? (Lamentations 3:22-23) Are we drawing strength from knowing God is fighting for us? David said his heart rejoices in knowing God has saved him. Do we rejoice in knowing we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? Are we rejoicing in what God has already done for us?

The last verse in this chapter, David says, "I will sing unto the LORD, because He hath dealt bountifully with me." David sees how God has generously given him all things. The Message Bible translates this to say, "I've thrown myself headlong into Your arms --- I'm celebrating Your rescue. I'm singing at the top of my lungs, I'm so full of answered prayers." How full are we of answered prayers?

Last Sunday I went to the altar to ask God yet again, to open the door for us to get our own home. I told Him I was coming to Him with all the faith I had and if it was not enough, I asked Him to give me more. I was so broken because I really want our own home again and I know that is not a selfish desire. It is a basic need and He said in His Word that He would provide for us. Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I memorized that one long ago. I love that He promised to meet our needs according to His riches and not mine; and He does it through Jesus Christ, not through me. I could not pray for a house anymore, and I just fell to my knees at the altar and poured out my heart in tears. I uttered no word, just wept and wept and wept. I felt as though God was pouring something out of me.

A woman was singing in her heavenly language softly in my left ear. My face and ear grew so hot that I felt it might catch fire. It was a beautiful song, a sweet expression that melted my heart and so much was poured out. Another lady was summoned to pray over me and God began to heal my broken heart. It took some time and they were patient with me. They allowed Holy Spirit to complete the work. I got up from that altar, lighter and happier than I have been in a very long time. I thought I was going to pray about a specific need but God saw the greater need and met that one instead.

I know that God has promised us a beautiful home. I do not ask for anything fancy or elaborate. I want a home with my husband and our two children. I want to clean my own home, cook our meals, have a place for everything, see all our clothing, important papers, and possessions anytime I want instead of having to drive to the storage unit to try to locate something. It is a challenge, but we do have a roof over our heads and God has supplied many needs we have had. He continues to provide. I do not know when He will choose to free us from this situation and allow us to enjoy our own home again, but it is so hard on this mama's heart to see her kids live a life I never wanted them to experience. I do trust God and I know He knows best. His ways are not mine and I certainly do not understand all the steps we are taking right now, but maybe one day I will. For now I choose to keep my hand in God's hand and trust Him with every twist and turn this life might throw at us.

I hope you have been encouraged today with what I have shared. I know it has encouraged me. I hope it has done the same for you. Do you have a need I can pray for? Please reach out to me and I will pray for every request I am given. I hope that something you have read on the blog today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Don't Put It Off | Fuel For The Weekend

I like spring cleaning. I know it is not for everyone, but there is just something so satisfying about sweeping away the cobwebs, shaking out the rugs, and polishing the wood furniture. It is so refreshing to open the windows and allow the fresh air to blow through the house. I miss having my own home and being able to do all of those things.

Tonight I was able to do some deep cleaning. My kids have been lax about putting away their clothes and things. There was so much stuff that it was impossible to neatly organize it. I feel bad that my children do not have their own rooms and we are still not in our own home. But, that does not mean we should not be good stewards of what we have been given. So, this evening I helped my children sort through clothes, art supplies, memorabilia, hygiene products, you name it! We have bags full for donations, some bags full for the landfill, and bags for the storage unit. We briefly had the window open and the fresh air was much needed. It was so nice to see the room transformed before my eyes.

As satisfying as it is, deep cleaning is a lot of work. My kids both have medical conditions that cause pain and hinder them from doing certain movements easily. More than once I heard complaints and groans and sighs of exasperation. I allowed some breaks but I reminded them we must stay on task and focus. It is similar to how we must be on our Christian journey.

We are to daily take up our cross and follow Jesus. Do you remember reading that? LUKE 9:23 "And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." The first part is to deny ourselves. Deny ourselves what? EPHESIANS 2:1-3 (1)And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: (2)Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3)Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Let's deny ourselves conversations that lead us to envy, or desire what others have. Let's deny our flesh the desires that will cause us to be distracted from following the laws of God. We must deny our thoughts to creep in that keep us thinking about what the world is doing. Are we worried? Are we anxious? What is the status of our mental health? We were once just like the world. The first part of falling in step with Jesus Christ is to let Him do the leading.

Step two in walking with Jesus is to daily take up our cross. We must put on the mind of Christ. PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8 (5)Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6)Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7)But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8)And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The mind of Christ is humility and obedience to His Father. He obeyed all the way to the cross. He knew who He was and He knew who His Father was. He was willing to do anything the Father asked Him to do, including lay down His life in a sacrificial offering on the cross. Daily taking up our cross is carrying the burden the Lord gave us to do. It is not hard. 1 JOHN 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. He did not ask us to do anything that He didn't do Himself. His commandments are not hard. He does not give us heavy crosses to bear. MATTHEW 11:28-30 Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29)Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30)For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. What an invitation! We can rest and learn about Him and draw strength from Him. How often? Daily! All day long the invitation stands. We must not just take up our cross when others are looking, or if it is convenient, or if we want to that particular day. We must make a choice every single morning before we start our day that we are going to pick up our cross and carry it wherever He says to go.

The third and final step to walking with Jesus is to follow Him. He has to be the leader. We cannot run ahead and hope He follows along. We cannot just go out and do our own thing and think He should bless it and honor our own way of doing things. No, Jesus said to follow Him. MATTHEW 4:19 And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. Jesus does not want us to play a childhood game of Follow the Leader. No, He wants us to follow Him so we can know Him and know His will for us. He wants us to be fishers of men. I like the phrase I read once, We catch them, He cleans them! We are to go and make disciples so we can reach the whole world in telling them about Jesus. Remember the young man who had kept all the commandments from his youth and asked what else he lacked? MATTHEW 19:21-22 (21)Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me. (22)But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.  Follow Jesus and do not work for money and chase the purse all the days of your life. Jesus is able to meet our every need and we only must trust Him and love and serve Him. 

So often we have comfort in our riches and in the things we possess and we do not want to get out of our comfort zone. We are afraid we will be poor and destitute. The rich young man had no idea that serving Jesus would give him a richer life than his fortune ever could, and the rewards are eternal. MATTHEW 10:37-39 (37)He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (38)And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. (39)He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it. Jesus made it very clear, we need to deny ourselves, daily take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Let's not put it off and procrastinate. Let's not wait until we feel like it or everyone else is doing it. We may be the only one doing it but if we love Jesus we will want to.

My daughter was ready to give up when we had accomplished so much. She only had a little work left to do. I pushed her gently because I knew she would feel so much better when that stuff was all cleaned up and put up nicely. Afterward she admitted she was glad it was done. She saw the effort paid off in the end. We may be struggling along on our journey with the LORD. We may not see a break coming up and only see the overwhelming work everywhere we look. Do not give up friend. You can keep going. Take a break with the Master. Rest in Jesus and learn about Him. Then go set the world on fire for His glory. He is so worth serving and loving. He is such a good and wonderful King. He is helping you. Will you do it? Don't put it off. The rewards are coming.

I hope something I have shared today has made you take a look at your daily walk with Jesus. I was procrastinating on sharing a post today. I told God, "I just don't think I have anything to say." He said to me, "You're right. You don't have anything to say, but I do." I understood and grabbed my laptop and my Bible. I am so glad I did. This was like a deep cleansing of my soul. I am so thankful for the nudging of Holy Spirit to help me hear and obey. I hope as you start your weekend you think about what I have shared today and that it gives you strength for your journey and light for your way. 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

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