Skip to main content

January 01: Philippians 1:20 - Bold for Christ in the New Year (Today's Reflection from My Utmost For His Highest)


Happy New Year

Guided by Oswald Chambers' Golden Book: My Utmost For His Highest - We begin the New Year. 

Note: I will use this book only as a "guideline" for our daily bread. This is my blog and my words. I am guided mostly by my own walk, my own journey...God is leading me and to this end, let us begin.

Oswald Chambers had an astute insight. Charles F. Stanley wrote a foreword note for this book and a snippet of it states: The most important aspect of the Christian life is our personal relationship with Christ. Few individuals have had the insight into the Person of Christ as Oswald Chambers, and fewer still have been able to make its application so inescapable. This volume is not a treasure to be admired but a message to be lived. 

And I say: Let's live it. 

Portrait: Oswald Chambers

Oswald Chambers 1874-1917, a black and white portrait.

Daily Bible Verse: Philippians 1:20 (NLT)

For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die.

Paul's words remind us that determination in Christ is not abstract - it is lived in daily choices.

Oswald Chambers says: It's as if Paul were saying, "My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest - my best for His glory." To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning.

When God directs you to make a choice about something in your life...what is your response? 

Sometimes we just do not hear him; other times we ignore him, and then other times we hear him but deny him. We usually regret all of these actions...we are selfish. We do not want to surrender our will to the Most High God. 

Most of the time we begin to debate about the decision...what it will cost us...in our time, our relationships with our family, friends, spouse, co-workers etc...we usually do not immediately respond with a resounding: Yes, Lord. 

Unresponsiveness to God will cause a crisis to arrive in our lives to get our attention. We come to a crossroads. We must make a decision - either for or against. 

If a crisis has reached you...consider surrender. To Jesus Christ and what He wants you to do, so He can use you, for what He wants to Do through you.

Christ our Savior

Three Crucifixions, against a blue sky with darkening clouds.

We are His hands and feet, we are His vessel. Our bodies are His temple - His Holy Spirit - The Holy Ghost - lives within every Christian from the moment we accept him as our savior. We belong to him. He alone paid the price for our sin. His blood, his pain, his life... sacrificed...so we might have eternal life. Doesn't he deserve your everything?

Blood, Crown of Thorns, Two nails in the sign of a cross, against a stone background.

Paul, the author of Philippians, was used by God.

Paul is in prison at the point of his writing Philippians. The time he spent in prison is when he wrote Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians and Philippians.  

If you have not read of Paul's powerful encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus...written by Luke, it is in the book of Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:6-16; Acts 26:12-18. I also encourage you to read all of the books written by Paul: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus. Paul is thought to be the author of Hebrews also. 

Ancient black and white painting, depiction of the apostle Paul chained and in prison, writing his letters.

Prayer

Let us begin the year in prayer...

Father, we praise Your holy name. 
Thank You for Your mercy, love, and bountiful grace.
Forgive us of our sins. 
Shine a light on our path.
Strengthen us and give us faith over fear. 
Guide us to obedience. 
Your will be done in our lives.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Prayer spelled out using a child's wooden building blocks in cream and brown.


Jesus the True Vine: John 15:4 (NLT)

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me."

Grape vines full of purple and green grapes on a dark green background.
Selah: think on these things

Benediction

May this year begin with surrender and end with fruitfulness in Christ.

Go forth in His promise,
walk boldly in His truth,
and rest in His peace.
Jesus, 
The Quill and Me
On a blue snowy background, the words: Jesus, The Quill and Me; depictions are Jesus, triumphant on horseback, a whimsical quill and bird; a winter tree line in blues and green covered with snow below the bird at the bottom of the image.



Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meaning of Forgiveness: Key Bible Verses, Jesus' Command to Forgive, How to Forgive, and a Prayer

The Meaning of Forgiveness and a Prayer Prayer Illustration Offer after the Benediction Forgiveness Meaning :  What the Bible Teaches About Letting Go Bible Verses About Forgiveness Matthew 18:21–22 (KJV) Then came Peter to Him, and said, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” Jesus saith unto him, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21–22 (NLT) Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!” Luke 23:34 (KJV) Then said Jesus, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they parted His raiment, and cast lots. Forgiveness Forgiveness. It is all about forgiveness. The Lord commands it. He suffered and died for our sins—every sin of the world. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us so that we might have the Comforter with us at all times. That is what it was all abou...
Post a Comment
Continue reading...

December 2: 1 Peter 5:7 Do Not Worry (Bible Verse and Prayer)

Bible Verse 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you ." KJV Give all your worries and cares to God, because he cares about what happens to you .  (NLT -New Living Translation) Reflection Worry has a way of creeping into our hearts, especially when life feels uncertain. Yet this verse reminds us that we are not meant to carry the weight alone. God’s care is not distant or abstract — it is personal, tender, and constant. Every detail of our lives matters to Him. When we release our burdens into His hands, we exchange anxiety for peace. It doesn’t mean the challenges disappear, but it does mean we walk through them with courage, knowing the Lord is holding us steady. Today, let us practice surrender by naming our worries and laying them before Him, trusting His love to carry what we cannot. Prayer Father, I lay my worries at Your feet.  Please give me calm for my mind and courage for my work, and remind me -   You hold every detail.  In J...
Post a Comment
Continue reading...

March 12: Mark 10:28 - The Choice of Christ Alone (Today's Reflection from My Utmost For His Highest)

Bible Verse Mark 10:28 "Peter began to say to Him, 'See, we have left all and followed You' " Reflection Total surrender is never a transaction—it is a preference. Not a preference for relief, usefulness, holiness, or spiritual gain, but a quiet, unwavering choosing of Jesus Christ Himself. Peter’s words, “We have left all and followed You,” reveal how easily we imagine surrender as something we give for something in return. But Jesus redirects the entire center of gravity: “for My sake and the gospel’s.” Chambers presses into the uncomfortable truth—we often want God’s gifts more than God. We want cleansing, usefulness, spiritual brightness, or a sense of being “on display” as proof of His work in us. But genuine surrender is not motivated by any of these. It is the laying down of every subtle self-claim so that Christ becomes the only reason, the only aim, the only desire. True surrender goes beyond natural devotion. It steps past the excuses we make in the name of ...
Post a Comment
Continue reading...