In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes that we are citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom. The Lord has set his people apart and we are called to live holy lives. Will you choose to journey Heavenward each day or remain content to live like the world?

"It makes little difference how fast you can run the 100 meters when the race is 400 meters long. Life is not a spring; it's a distance run and it demands the kind of conditioning that enables people to go the distance."  - Gordon MacDonald. 

In his letter to the church in Philippi, paul encourages the church to pursue personal holiness by feeding their minds with "those things" which are holy and to follow the lead of those who lives holy lives.

The writer of Psalm 3 knew what it was like to be unjustly wronged by someone who should have deeply loved him; however, he placed his confidence and hope in the strong presence of the Lord rather than being defeated by the one who unjustly sought to destroy him.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul expressed his gratitude to the church for their gospel partnership. One area of their partnership was in the material provision for ministry needs, both for himself and his companions. Every believer has the opportunity to give to support ministry. How are you engaged in providing to meet the needs of ministry?

The topic of pain and suffering is woven throughouth Paul's New Testament writings. In the New Testament era, many followers of Jesus were persecuted in extreme ways and knew pain and suffering well. Today, we as Christians in America aren't persecuted for our faith, but we still experience pain and suffering. 

Every follower of Jesus has a personal testimony that is meant to be shared to advance the gospel. What's your story? How can you share it with someone this week?

What the Lord has put into us in salvation we are to publicly practice before men, living a life that shines openly for Jesus.

The Bible commands people of faith to "Praise The LORD" hundreds of times. Individual and corporate "Praise" is essential to the joyful and abundant life Jesus offers His people. 

We live in a world full of different avenues for satisfaction, but nothing ever truly fills us up. Why are we always craving something but left feeling empty? It's because true satisfaction doesn't come from the world, but from God.