OUR DAILY BREAD : STRAWBERRY MESS

[cimi]

April 7
Monday


STRAWBERRY
MESS

READ:
Philippians 4:1-5
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Be of the same mind
in the Lord.
__Philippians 4:2
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My husband and I had recently moved into our house when a man dropped off a large box of strawberries on our front sidewalk. He left a note saying he wanted us to share them with our neighbors. He meant well, but some children discovered the box before any adults did and had a strawberry-throwing party at our white house. When we returned home, we saw children we knew watching us from behind a fence. They had "returned to the scene of the crime" to see how we would react to the mess. We could have just cleaned it up ourselves, but to restore our relationship, we felt it was important to talk with them and require their help in cleaning our strawberry-stained house.

Life can get messy with relationship strugles. This was the case in the Philippian church. Two faithful servants, Euodia and Syntyche, were in sharp disagreement. The apostle Paul wrote to the church to encourage them to work through their problems (Phil. 4:2). He also wanted another person to come alongside them with a spirit of gentleness. He wrote, "I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel" (v.3).

Realizing we've all made messes in life, we can trust the
Lord to help us deal gently with others. __Anne Cetas

`````````````````````````Dear Lord, please give me discernment and```````````````````````
````````````````````````courage in my relationships. Help me by Your`````````````````````
`````````````````````````power to be gentle and show the same love``````````````````````
```````````````````````````to others that you have shown to me.``````````````````````````
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True love both confronts and restores.

****************************Today's Bible Reading __ Philippians 4:1-5***************************

1 Therefore, my beloved
and longed-for brethren,
my joy and crown, so stand
fast in the Lord, beloved.

2 I implore Euodia and I
implore Syntyche to be of
the same mind in the Lord.

3 And I urge you also, true
companion, help these
women who labored with
me in the gospel, with
Clement also, and the rest
of my fellow workers,
whose names are in the
Book of Life.

4 Rejoice in the Lord
always. Again I will say,
rejoice! 5 Let your
gentleness be known to all
men. The Lord is at hand.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

As Paul's letter to the church at Philippi comes to an end, he
provides his readers with a number of imperatives: "stand fast in
the Lord" (v.1); "be of the same mind" (v.2); "help (those) who
labored with me in the gospel" (v.3); "rejoice in the Lord always"
(v.4); and "let your gentleness be known to all men" (v.5). Notice
the varied kinds of imperatives given. Because unity, support,
rejoicing, and gentleness are needed depending upon the situation,
sensitivity to the Spirit's leading helps us to tap into God's resources
so that we can respond appropriately to each circumstance.