Devotions Archive Archive: 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Search Archive Print This Article Real simple Sunday, December 13, 2009 Philippians 4:4-8 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. When I was in college reading gritty realistic novels-noir, my mom suggested I spend more time with books that were true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. I wasn't interested at the time. Later I found myself memorizing Philippians 4:8 with a not-so-clever little acrostic: TNRPLA-EP. Teenerplayeepea. Finally, brothers. This passage is a treasure of nouns, verbs and adjectives. The Bible really doesn't get any better than this. These words lead to the secret Paul alludes to in verse 12, the secret of being content. No matter how much I think I understand, there is more. Much more. God is the Strong One, and the Good One. He makes me gentle, gives me words to rejoice, shows me how to be thankful, and brings me peace. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face shine upon you, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. My mom and I spent Thursday together last week. We had a good time. We looked at books, got out the Christmas dishes, arranged the chairs around three tables for our Christmas party, listened to Christmas music, decorated the tree, and stood Santa up on the mantel. We picked out a beautiful snow scene for her computer desktop.* We prayed together over spaghetti and Iraqi pickles. I wound the clocks and she set them. The fire blazed in the fireplace. Outside the wind blew. It's good to think on these things. Lord, you show me the way to go home. You show me how to trust you and not be afraid. You are my strength and my song. With joy you draw water from the wells of salvation and bring it for me to drink. Your wells will never run dry. (Isaiah 12) * Snow scene link: http://www.backdrops.net/images/88%20Snow%20Scene%2010%27%20x%2012%27.JPG "; Add      Edit    Delete