“Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, then make my joy complete by being of one mind, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.…” Philippians 2:1-3 Berean Study Bible
Seems a little strange to me that in the above passage we are finding a man, an apostle of Christ asking the church to make his joy complete by virtually being nice people. I must say it’s worded a little odd to me. Yet, as I continue to work on a new habit I hopefully have now formulated of ‘talking to scripture’ it’s not so odd.
You might ask? What about my conversation with the Apostle Paul changed my thinking? Paul was speaking to the church as an authoritative parent. I often find myself speaking to my two grown sons, just as I did when they were young children, in much the same way. When my sons play nice in life my joy is complete. I feel the same about being connected to the church. I need to play nice as well.
It just seems like our hearts intone like a harp when all the conditions Paul speaks of are embedded in our sheet music. If we are as skilled as little David aka King David on the harp while singing and dancing like Miriam, the art sister of Moses, our inward person would overflow with being a part of the music written by St. Paul.
I hear, Sara, “…in humility consider others more important than yourselves.…” Thank you, Paul for inviting me to be a part of your symphony. I’m just a coffee carafe with a single rose as my staff!
thedailylily.com 
This blog started in my being in the wee hours of the morning. At first a bee sting🐝 of vain glory revealed. Then a moment of repentance in words and hope for actions of change. As I buzzed about my day the words found In the book of Jeremiah rang true for me. God called Jeremiah to the potter’s house where Jeremiah finds a potter working at his wheel. The potter takes a marred vessel and shapes it into another vessel. “Then the word of the LORD came to [Jeremiah]: Can I not do with you . . . just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” Jeremiah 18;1-12
Awesome story! There is hope for pride-vain glory when it is given to the Potter and allowed a reshaping. Whoa, as I think on This story I wonder what will be my new look? The new look of our nations. I hope you will read this story and have hope and offer reshaping prayers for the USA and its upcoming presidential election. And, nations everywhere.
Sara, what beautiful, creative words and descriptions you wrote to explain Philippians 2:1-3. I am thankful to be a reader who benefits from the insight of your ‘new habit’ of ‘talking to scripture’. You took a lot of leaves from that scripture tree and distilled it down to something I can grasp, “make his joy complete by virtually being nice people.”
As I read and re-read your Potter story, I do hope to be able to do a part in joining others to “have hope and offer reshaping prayers for the USA and its upcoming presidential election. And, nations everywhere.”
Debi, when we are clear and precise in our speaking and sharing others hear the clarion call. I think you are striving to this end which puts you in the reshaping of a nation.
Your sharing made me think of your grandfather’s horn he blew for announcements. I don’t remember the story exactly but I can hear the sound of his horn through your writings.
Sara, you remembrance of my grandfather blowing his horn for announcements is correct! His job as coachman for a horse-drawn coach was to stand on the back of the coach and blow his long horn to announce when they entered cities or towns or came to crossings.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.…” Philippians 2:1-3 Berean Study Bible” I just came home from the Wednesday night church service, in my home town. It is amazing to see the Holy Spirit work! (As I listened to the minister, I was thinking of what I had just read, in this blog at home, before leaving to go church) Tonight we covered Philippians 2:1-11. I’d like to share some of what I understood tonight, from the message; in regards, to the above scripture verses 1-3. The question was asked where else in scripture did Christ demonstrate this? The answer: “Matthew 20:25-28New International Version (NIV)25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I think God is having a talk with His church. Let us arise and hear what He is saying. Tammy, this is amazing. And, awesome how you read this blog and comment just before you went to your Wednesday night study and you remembered what you had read and able to connect the points and tie the knot. Best yet, returning home you made haste to encourage us in our hearing and doing. You must be on God’s A list! Congrats!
This is being of one mind.
In reshaping a nation, the POTTER has told His prophets, with whom He always shares what He is doing in the earth…..that He has a ”Cyrus” in the ETERNAL Mind. The Cyrus story is written in the Book of Isaiah 44:28 and Chapter 45. and many other Scriptures, also. But in reality, as the Story reads in Jeremiah, He’s not just reshaping a nation, but a people…..”who are called by HIS Name, who are beginning to humble themselves, turn, seek Him and repent’ i.e. to quote Sara..a “‘pride given to the Potter to reshape”. And in return, He is hearing from Heaven and what some prophets call a ”strategic delay” has been granted. Now in reality nothing has changed. Because, our GOD does not change. He doesn’t need to. He already knows the end from the beginning. So in eternity past [according to us in ”time” ] He already knew that His people would rise up, begin to turn from their wicked ways and their pride and arrogance, pray, intercede and repent and that this would allow for His Prophetic Word’ to come to pass….”I will hear from Heaven and heal their land!”
Will this preempt judgment? Not at all. Every word written in the Scriptures will come to pass ……but it is according to HIS time-table… or shall we say ETERNITY- TABLE and not ours, nor of any man’s or any god-rivals!
I remember that when we were teens back in my home town we always were interested in the ”New Look” That was the catch phrase. And my Aunt Mimi who was quite stylish would talk about the ‘new look’ and we all did. It was in the mags and in the papers, etc. Long, short, mid-calf, drop-waist, empire waist [shades of Audrey Hepburn] The New Look was au courant !!So now that God’s people are being given over to the Potter to reshape, what will be the ”New Look”? I see, like Paul wrote in his epistle to the churches…
a kinder, gentler people of God; a less self-absorbed people of God, people who consider others more important then themselves; less vain-glory; much less involved with the world and much more involved with an intimate relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, much like Paul, or John or Peter; greater works of koinonea; leading a prayerful, repentant life of worship.; bringing greater numbers of souls into the Kingdom before the final door of grace is closed and a redemptive judgment must fall on the Church and on America. Hopefully that is what God’s people will look like in their ”New Look” And what about our nation? Those who have not come into the Kingdom of God? Will they take their cue from the ”NEW LOOK ”church? Will they see Christ living in us as we shine like the stars, as it says in Daniel? Will they want what we have? Will what the church does in this short gracious respite affect our nation to the good to the extent that the judgment upon us will be mitigated by our GOD, The Creator of the Universes, the Just Judge, the Father of Jesus Christ, …..The Potter of Jeremiah? It is written, God’s Word does not return void but it accomplishes everything it has been sent forth to do.
So I believe with all my heart and pray as such that the ”New Look” of the Church, God’s People will look like Jesus Christ in the earth and many, many will come to the brightness of her shining.
MG, not sure I garner all your connections. But, that’s not my job. I think I understood you to say you had a host of new readers online to glean help from your writings.
I say WELCOME to our new readers that are following MG and maybe others.