“For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me” (Philippians 1:7).

We each have our part in the unfolding drama of salvation which the Lord has accomplished on our behalf.  Come then and rejoice in the gift you have been given, living your part.  We are those who have relinquished our selfish will so that the will of the Father would be done in us.  We are the ones who are living in the hope of the Gospel because of what Christ has accomplished for all who believe.

Lord, You have laid before us the truth of the ages.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of truth so that I may now and always be guided by You with Your guidance.  Confirm in me the Gospel in order that I would be willing travel any distance and bear any difficulty knowing that I too am now in adversity to this world which hates You.  Help me to be reconciled with You and not the world.

Lord Jesus, all that is needed You have already provided.  Lead me this day and help me to walk faithfully with You.  Let me care for others as You have cared for me.  Guide me in the way of the Gospel truth and help me to hold fast to all that You have revealed.  In You, Lord, is all hope and an eternal future.  Keep me abiding richly in You so that Your Gospel may radiate from me.  Amen.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

The promise of the Lord is more sure than the dirt under your feet.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of the Lord is forever.  He will perfect all who come into the gift of salvation.  And what is perfection?  To be complete as He is complete.  To be one as He is One.  To be whom He has made you to be.  This is the good work of the salvation He gives and is accomplishing.

Lord, You will not stop until the work is complete.  Lead me, Lord, along the journey of this salvation as You see it needs to be led.  Let me not resist the work You are doing but join in and be led by Your Spirit to walk each day according to Your leading.  Let me not hinder my walk by rebellion, but willingly submit to You in all things knowing that You alone are able to complete all that needs to be done.

Lord Jesus, You have come so that we may be in You and You in us. Guide me this day in the way You have shown me in order that I may learn and grow according to Your perfect plan.  Grant that I would be content in all things knowing that in You alone is hope and a future. Lead me Lord so that I may be led rightly and help me now and always to remain in You as You are always in me.  May I willingly follow Your lead this day.  Amen.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:3-5).

Are you thankful for those with whom the Lord has placed you?  Be thankful and do not wish away the life you have been given.  You have been placed in the circumstances you are in for God’s will to be done.  In all things rejoice and give thanks.  The Lord, who has given you the power to become His child, has made all this possible.  Give thanks from now on for all His benefits.

Lord, teach me to have a thankful heart.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth, living in the light of your countenance with every breath You give me.  Bring to remembrance all the good things You have taught me so that I may put into practice what is right and good.  Lead me, O Lord, now and always in the way You know I need to go so that I may work with You in accomplishing Your will in my life.  Teach me to be a person of prayer.

Lord Jesus, You have guided me thus far.  Continue to strengthen me in this faith You have given me so that I may now and always be guided by You and the promises You have given me through grace.  Lead me this day to remember and give thanks.  Guide me this day to love others as You love me.  Lead me this day to go where You send me, doing what is pleasing in the Father’s sight.  Amen.

“Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:1-2).

Grace and peace from God our Father.  What does this mean?  God our Father?  Be comforted in the hope which is yours.  God has shown up and given us power to become His children through the grace He purchased on the cross.  We are then united as servants, no, slaves, for we need His direction to live into the glorious hope which is ours through Christ.  He has done this!  What joy and peace this brings to those who believe in Him.

Lord, let me see through the noise and confusion of this age to understand the great offer You have given me.  You have given up Your life so that I may adopt it as my own.  You have been raised from the dead so that I may be raised from the dead.  You, who are the only begotten Son, have given me the ability to be a child of the Heavenly Father.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of truth.

Lord Jesus, You have come in order that we may have true life.  Help me this day to understand that only in You can we, and will we, become what has always been intended.  Guide me, Lord, in the way of truth so that I may now and always abide in You and You in me.  Lead me by Your Spirit to become what You know I will be and keep my eye always on the prize.  Through You alone is there an abundance of hope!  Amen.

“Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.   Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love” (Ephesians 6:23-24).

Listen to this benediction.  Peace and love with faith be with you.  What is it we should desire?  Is it not these things?  Why do I spend so much time on things that do not matter and so little time on what my heart truly desires?   Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Come into the presence of the Lord and live in His peace and love.  Share the light of this truth with all whom you meet.

God has given us life.  God has shown us how that life is to be lived.  Will you follow the Lord’s lead and live into the life you have been granted through grace?  This is the proposition of the faith.  You can live for yourself or you can live the life for which you were created.  In that you have the freedom to chose.  Choose the better portion and live life as it is meant to be lived.

Lord, teach me Your way so that I would live with grace, loving my neighbor.  You have come as the example of the godly life, giving Your life so that we may live.  You have come to be the expression of love in a world filled with rebellion.  By Your example, help me now and always to live into the hope which is mine through the salvation You give.  Amen.

“I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts” (Ephesians 6:22).

The Lord sends those who will instruct you and comfort you in His ways.  Do you listen to them?  So often, we are busy and distracted and do not listen to what the Lord would have us hear.  Repent of your closed ears and be willing to listen as the Lord speaks to you each day.  Be willing to receive what the Lord gives you, knowing that in Him is all hope and eternity.  Listen to the words of everlasting life.

Lord, I live in a world that is filled with noise.  So many have opinions about this, that, and the other thing.  Guide me, Lord, to live into the faith You have given me.  Help me see that only in You is there true hope.  Open my ears to hear and my eyes to see so that I would understand more fully this gift of new life You have given and the promise of eternal life that You have made.  Help me listen to You today!

Lord Jesus, You have the words of everlasting life.  To whom else can we go?  Yet I am distracted all day long and do not listen as You speak.  Kill the old Adam and raise the new person You spoke into being so that I may put into practice those things which lead into the life You give through faith.  Let me receive and give comfort in and through You and the way of grace You give.  Amen.

“But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you” (Ephesians 6:21).

We share with one another as we are able.  The Lord has shared what we need to know.  We have not yet received everything, but this we know: He who created us has also made possible our redemption.  The redeemed are seeking truth.  You have the words of eternal life.  Let us come then and be encouraged by those whom the Lord sends.  Listen and learn.  Know that in the Lord You will become whom He is making you to be.  He who created you has great plans to prosper you and keep you from evil.

Lord, You must be Lord and I must submit.  I am often struggling with this because although I know You are Lord, I always seem to want to inject my opinion in almost every matter.  Help me to learn how to sit back and listen.  Help me learn how to take directions.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of true life so that I may walk according to Your guidance and not according to my self-directed way of living.

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill me and prepare me to go out.  Let me not be concerned with myself; but help me to lose myself in You.  Through all things, strengthen me in this faith that You have given me and continue to conform me to the image of Christ.  Lead me, O Lord, and teach me to follow.  You have already given me all that I need.  Help me see and put these things together so that I may become complete as You are complete.  Amen.

“And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19-20).

We all need encouragement.  Do not look to another as your model of the godly life, but to Christ who is the author and finisher of your faith.  Do not be guided by those who might conform you to this world, but to the One who will conform you to Himself so that you might be presented without spot or blemish to the Father as one who has overcome through the grace you have been given.

Lord, the mystery is great, yet I see it every day.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth so that I may now and always be guided by you. Help me this day to see more clearly, to love and follow you more nearly, as You lead me in the way I need to go.  Help me to look beyond myself and be an encouragement to others as You have encouraged me.  Lead me Lord where You will.

Lord Jesus, You came not to be served, but to serve.  You are Lord, but You do not lord it over others.  By Your example, help me to be an encouragement to others so that I may be bold in this faith You have given me, knowing that only in You is there hope and a future.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of life and I will follow You all the days of this life into life eternal.  Give me boldness to always speak truth with kindness.  Amen.

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18)

Jesus taught us to pray without ceasing.  Pray in the spirit and know that the Holy Spirit walks with You.  Do not lean on your own understanding, but upon the Word which has been spoken to you and dwells within you.  Be guided every day by the simple truth that you are battling against the wiles of the wicked one.  Know that he has already been overcome by your Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lord, I hear these things and know them, but I do not practice them as I ought.  Grant that I would become a person who continuously prays and leans upon You for all understanding.  Guide me ever deeper into the faith through Your Spirit.  Keep me connected with Your saints so that I may be encouraged in the daily battle which is ours in this age of rebellion and sin.  Keep me close to You.

Thank You Jesus for paying the price I cannot afford to accomplish the tasks I could never do apart from You.  Lead me ever deeper into the mystery of the salvation You have given me so that I may grow to be like You.  Help me now and always to look to You, listen to the Holy Spirit, and be constantly focused upon the Father’s will.  Lead me today, Jesus, in the truth You have revealed.  Amen.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)

You have been saved by grace through faith, and you know this because of the Word which has been spoken to you.  When Jesus resisted the temptation of the devil, it was the Word He spoke to counter the lies of the wicked one: “It is written…”.  The Word is a two-edged sword and will never come back void.  Wear your salvation, carry the Word with you wherever you go and know the Lord is with you.

Lord, I hear these things, but I do not do them as I ought.  Lead me, O Lord, not only to be one who hears, but also one who heeds what I hear from You.  Guide me, Lord, so that I may walk humbly in Your presence, knowing the truth and living it.  You have saved me.  You have given me all that I need.  You are the One who empowers me to become Your child.  Help me live this.

Lord Jesus, You are the Word made flesh and through You and about You are all things.  Guide me ever deeper into the truth You have revealed once for all.  Your payment on the cross is the redemption we need in order to become what You are making of us.  Help me to dwell deeply in Your Word, for Your Word is truth.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth so that I would now and always abide in You and You in me.  Amen.