Central Church of Christ

OCTOBER DEVOTIONS

Philippians 1:1-5Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ​​How often do we thank God for all our brothers and sisters in Christ, even those that do not see eye to eye with us?  How often do we try to understand their differences?  We need to have confidence in our Father that He has allowed each of us to be where we can accomplish His will if we allow Him to work through us.​We all fit together like a wondrous machine, we are different parts of a whole that can create amazing things.  We have to learn from each other and complement each other and work hard at discovering how to do that.   We need to apply God’s love as a lubricant so there will not be any squeaky parts, or any friction.  When there is friction, we need to understand it could be ME that God wants to reshape.  It could also be that I am the instrument He is using to reshape a fellow Christian.  This just points to the fact that we need to pray for our fellow Christians as Paul did for his fellow Christians in Philippi. I pray, Father, that my fellow Christians will find love that “may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.“ (Philippians 1:9-11) Sandra Clark


Sometimes it takes faith and courage to step out in to the unknown.  However, when you make that step with God it always ends with beauty. 
​But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Phil. 4:19



We tend to get what we expect.

 - Norman Vincent Peale

 

You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.

 - Maya Angelou

 

These two quotes are the reasons we need to start each day with God.  When we start our day with our Father we become refreshed, we have time to ask Him to join us.  We remember more of His word.  We expect peace and love to be part of our day.  Most importantly, the Lord has a chance to influence our thoughts before the world does. 

Sandra Clark

.




Philippians 4:4-7 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.

 

“Celebrate in the Lord every day”.  This cannot be said often enough.  Make joyful noises, smile to strangers, give of yourself.  Show the world that God is near, and the serenity of God will guard your hearts and your minds.  This is done through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Do you do this, do you celebrate God’s loving mercy daily?  Do you sing His praises, does your laughter ring aloud?  Do you have peace, the peace that is far above what is understood?  It is not far away.  It is within our reach, it is within our grasp.  It is ours, we just have to accept it.

 

Sandra Clark



Jeremiah 33:2-3 "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it--the LORD is his name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

 

Jeremiah 33:6 " 'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security

 

Jeremiah 33:8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.

 

When I clean - I mean really get down and clean - I remove everything.  I take and look at each item to decide if it is worth cleaning and saving.  If so it stays, if not it goes.  The Lord does the same thing to us.  He formed us, He formed this world and when it is time to clean, He knows how to clean.

 

I fell down awhile back, tore a hole in my jeans and put a hole in my knee clear down to the bone.  It hurt but it hurt even more when I was cleaning it out.  I used soap and a clean cloth and I really washed it up.  Then I used this thing that forces water down into the wound.  Gee, did that hurt!  I then put antibiotic cream and a band aid on it and hoped it would heal.  When Dale got home and saw how bad my knee was he took me to see a Dr, who then cleaned it some more and gave me a round of antibiotics.  All this was done so that in this gaping hole germs could not come in and make it worse.  All the scrubbing and cleaning worked.  No infection, just a small unnoticeable scar and a knee that does not hurt.

 

It would have turned out differently if I had not cleaned it up, if the Dr had not cleaned it up and if I had not been diligent about keeping it clean and taking the medicine.

 

This can be said about my Christian life, sometimes I fall and it is just a little scratch, but sometimes I fall and it has to be scrubbed clean.  That hurts, but it is needed in order for peace and healing to once again reside in my soul.  I always need to remember to take my daily dose of my loving Father’s words, love and kindness.  I need to cover myself with Him daily.

 

                                                                 Sandra Clark.