^{Philippians 4:}

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

⁵ Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

⁹ Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

¹⁰ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

¹¹ Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

¹² I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

¹³ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

We sometimes in this modern day Christianity hear people proclaiming "name it and claim it"; as though God were some Santa Claus passing out elaborate and expensive worldly gifts.  When we do that we forget that the true treasure is not this mess of worldly things which we hope to cling to.  Our treasure which can cause us to Rejoice always in the Lord is our relationship with Him.  Paul admonishes us here to stop worrying about all this stuff; but, rather with a thankful heart talk to God about our needs, our desires.  As we do that, strange thing is we become more content with what we do have and like Paul we discover that we become content in whatever state we are in.  Are you thankful this morning that you have a job?  Or if you don’t have a job right now, are you thankful that somehow you have been provided a place to stay and food to survive?  If you are uncertain about where your next meal is coming from, are you thankful that you have a friend that sticketh closer than a brother who has walked that very road before you?  In Matthew 8 a scribe came to Jesus and announced that he wanted to follow Christ.  Note His reply, ¹⁹ And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

²⁰ And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Christ did not tell him you will have fancy houses and fancy cars; instead, He was saying, "To follow me there may be moments of sacrifice and suffering on this earth.  I don’t even have a place here to sleep; but, you will have me.  Are you willing to do with little earthly treasures if I so choose, so as to have fellowship with me?" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_AqncMT7RQ

Philippians 1: (KJV)   ⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

¹⁰ That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.

¹¹ Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

¹² But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

¹³ So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

¹⁴ And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

¹⁶ The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

¹⁷ But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

¹⁸ What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.¹⁹ For I know that this shall turn to my salvation (from the pains of imprisonment)  through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

²⁰ According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from a prison cell.  He urged them not to be distressed over his imprisonment but rather to understand that God who is in control was using his imprisonment to help in spreading the Gospel of Christ.  Even in those early days he recognized that some taught about Christ for personal gain and not out of sincere hearts; but he even rejoiced in this, knowing that Christ was being preached. He urged them to continue in sincere teaching and spreading of the gospel, without fear of the judgement that might occur on this earth.  Are we willing to continue to spread the gospel, unafraid of what that might mean to our comfort zone?  Are you afraid that it might cost you financially or that someone might criticize you for proclaiming His name?  Where are you willing to go in order to spread the Gospel of Christ?  This was Paul’s prayer for the church at Philippi  and mine for you "that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

¹⁰ That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.

¹¹ Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."   Is there anyone that you will say this same prayer for today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ODe4sGCKxc

Titus 3  ³For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.  ⁴But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, ⁵Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;⁶Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;  ⁷That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal lifeI

Ezekiel  36²⁵Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

²⁶A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

²⁷And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

²⁸And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

²⁹I will also save you from all your uncleannesses

Not much that I can add except a reminder.  It is by grace that we have been saved and it is by grace that He continues His work of sanctification.  He has promised to complete the work that He began in this heart of mine, no matter what it takes.  My only two questions to you is 1.  Do you know Him as your greatest treasure?  2.  Do you believe that He will complete this work in and through you?  If your answer is yes to both of these, then what do you need to worry about?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjhbkCz0-Xs

I Peter 3: ⁸ Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren [of one household], compassionate and courteous (tenderhearted and humble).

⁹ Never return evil for evil or insult for insult (scolding, tongue-lashing, berating), but on the contrary blessing [praying for their welfare, happiness, and protection, and truly pitying and loving them]. For know that to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing [from God—that you may obtain a blessing as heirs, bringing welfare and happiness and protection].

This is an incredible admonition whether it be within the Christian community, the family, or inside your work family.  This can be at times a very difficult thing to do; because we tend to "want what we want."  We tend, in our humanity to ever seek to protect our own egos and by thus doing frequently fail to lovingly, humbly look at the needs of the others who are around us.  We become fragmented as a group when we become concerned with meeting our own crippled emotional needs and stop seeing the needs of those around us. We need to remember the grace by which God has entreated us and thereby extend that same grace to others.  We were not deserving of any grace; yet, we so often fail to extend that grace outward.  We wear our own feelings on our sleeves and dare anyone to injure it.  United we may stand against the evil that may press in from all sides, divided we will fail.  Beyond all that, we stand united under the blessing of God’s hand when we learn to show the same mercy we have been shown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZcTQ2RoXO0

I have a second website which just went live which showcases both my books which are available and the artwork of Ronald Barba, my son.  That website is: http://www.truthofgodunveiled.com/.  

The beginning of the concept for myglorytoglory.com was to be able to share in this my journey of Grace.  Genesis 6: ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

That grace was unmerited, he was among the men that God looked down upon whose heart was filled with evil imagining. ⁵ And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagining of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually  Yet, God reached down and chose Noah and shone a light of unmerited Grace to him to save him from the coming judgement.  I have found it so amazing that God would have chosen this heart of mine to demonstrate that same unmerited Grace; yet, He did.  Before I was ever born, He knew each time that I would fail Him, every time that pride, human desire, or jealousy would cause me to fail Him.  Still, in spite of all that, He still chose me to be adopted into His family.  This rebel child was chosen from the orphanage of life and surrounded by His mercy, His grace, and His love.  Ever so gently He has wooed me, causing me to develop a love for Him that goes beyond any human love could.  I so desire to please my Father and feel the bitter pain of sorrow each time I dishonor His name by some deed of my own or by doubting Him. He gave me a part of Himself- the Holy Spirit to guide me along this journey.   Romans 8: ⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

¹⁶ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

He then promised not to leave me in the rebellious state where He found me; but would step by step transform me into the image of His own Son. Romans 8: ²⁹ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

³⁰ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.  He continues to display more and more of Himself so that as I gaze upon the Glory that is found in Christ, I am being transformed into that image  2Corinthians 3: ¹⁷ Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

¹⁸ But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord   My human heart is unable to see Him in His fullness of Glory; but as I continue to gaze upon Him (though through a glass that dims the magnitude) He changes me into that same image Glory by Glory.  Little Glories followed by new little Glories, inch by inch, step by step–I am changed.  By studying and meditating upon His word, I am polishing that glass so that I might see Him more clearly and yearn for Him more with each passing day.  Even that, is by Grace; because I could not be enlightened by His Word were He not to illuminate it to shine it deep into the dark recesses of my heart.  If you feel Him calling you, I urge you to run to Him.  Don’t sit in the corner of some orphanage of life and say that maybe later.  Later may never come.  He is standing there.  He paid the price for your adoption and He is bidding you to come now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXVUYC_ykwE&feature=related