Please Pass The Sugar

September 10, 2020

Lynn Brown

Please pass the sugar Hi this is Lynn Brown! Pastor Ken asked that this week I give you my thoughts on a Thursday, so thanks for joining me! As a teacher, the Saturday before Labor Day is the literal calm before the storm. It does look somewhat different this year but as I woke this morning I was no less excited for what is to come, and no less aware that another school year is upon me. I’ll save you the lengthy to-do list that is making its way into every corner of my brain! If you know a teacher, he or she probably needs coffee! It was Saturday morning and time for my daily read. Normally, I’m just reading through the Bible and though I’ve done this maybe five times now, there is still more to be gleaned every time I read through it again. Over the last couple of months, I have been book hopping in my bible, choosing from the Old Testament and also from the New. Yesterday I finished Romans for the some dozenth time and this morning instead of doing my usual bible roulette, I turned to Pastor Ken and asked him what I should read next. His reply was, “If you want encouragement to start the school year, read Phillipians, it’s the ‘sugar bowl’ of the New Testament.” After chuckling and talking about his analogy for a second, he suggested that I take my time, and not read through it too quickly, rather, reading whatever amount of verses I needed to each day until I felt encouraged by something or discovered something I could ponder for the day. So that’s just what I did. I only made it to chapter 1 verse 6, and I know many of you will be familiar with it. Now, Paul wrote this joy-filled book of encouragement from prison and in his letter to the Romans he reminds us our joy comes from the Lord, in spite of the circumstances we face and that joy is the antidote to our fear and anxiety. In my NKJV verse 6 reads: “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” First it says we can be confident. I don’t always “feel” confident, and I’m sure you know what I mean when I say that - my mind can think, re-think and overthink until I am unsure of myself. Christ did not create us for doubt, he wants us to do what we are able to do, always relying on Him for the rest. “When we are weak, He is strong.” Next, it says “He has begun a good work in us.” This world is full of poor examples, which is not what Christ created us for. The Bible says he created us in his image, and that is good. Remember with every character you meet, that they too, were created in His image, whether they are currently living that out or not. We are all made in His image and have the DNA of our creator. We must live like we are in Him and of Him, and not allow defeated messages to play in our minds, but always remember He has begun a good work in us. The verse finishes by saying He will complete what he started; He won’t let us down. This is my favorite pearl in this verse, it simply says to me that the Lord, our creator, redeemer and friend, will never give up on us; He is my author and finisher and isn’t finished with me yet! Again, the world is full of people who give up, who don’t finish what they start, who stop just shy of realizing a goal. Let’s be who God intended us to be, living in full confidence that “He who created a good work in you will be faithful to complete it!” So now, with that confidence, go be awesome!