"I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far." Philippians 1:23 NIV

I have to agree with Paul. Being with Christ is no comparison to being in this body. When Jesus returns we will get a new body, one without all of the problems our current body can have.

You may have noticed all the things aging does to your body. If you haven't noticed yet, you will! Some of you are thinking, Ann, you haven't seen anything yet. 

All the things doctors say to do make a difference. Exercise, diet, and thought life. What's thought life?  What you think on makes a difference to your health. Meditating on God's word brings life to our entire bodies.

Giving all our burdens to the Lord reduces stress and lifts our spirit.  God never intended for us to carry fear, doubt, worry, or jealousy. We were intended for the Garden of Eden, and what we got is no garden!

We are susceptible to all of the lies of our enemy, if we don't fight back. God's word quells all stress we were never meant to carry. No wonder Paul wants to be free from this world. I do too, but of course at the right time. 

I have lots to do for Jesus here on earth, and YOU DO TOO! The time is short before His appears a second time, not as a suffering Savior, but as a Victorious King. He will not come alone, but with hosts of angels from the heavenly realm.

Every eye shall see Him, the Bible says. Revelation 1:7-8 It will be the most glorious event of all time! Think of the most magnificent fireworks display you have ever seen. This will be a thousand times better. It won't be glorious for the lost, however.

"If I am to go on living in the body, this means fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! Philippians 1:22 NIV

Paul is trying to decide if he should stay here on planet earth or go to be with Jesus in heaven, and shed his physical body. Do you think God was giving him a choice? 

No , I don't think so. God has His appointed times for all He does. It is well planned out, even those things we are surprised about. It may be God tries to tell us and we miss His signs. We can move at a breakneck pace trying do what we thing we should.

How can God speak to us if we are too busy doing what is on our agenda? When do we relax with God and ask Him what He wants? 
I had such a situation. I wasn't doing anything wrong but I was missing the mark. 

I felt as Paul did when he was knocked off his horse by the presence of God and blinded by the light. Depression overcame me like the ocean covers the shore. One minute it wasn't there the next it completely engulfed me. I was undone.

At first I thought I could ignore it, but doing so is how I got there in the first place. I didn't know this at the time. Certainly this was a passing feeling. I needed to rest I thought. I couldn't.

I was unable to sleep, eat or function normally. God, what are you doing? He was doing a deep work in me, and I needed to learn how to lean and rest as never before. 

On the other side, I learned life is precious, and short. We do not know what a day will bring, but our God is able to keep us in His rest and grace even when we don't know what is happening.

His plan is good and right even when it hurts. The hurting has to come to the surface for healing to happen. God doesn't want anything left in darkness, but all things to come to His light. I can say as our Apostle Paul has said, "If I am to go on living in this body, this means fruitful labor for me!"

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21NIV

This is a dramatic picture. The night is over and a new day has just begun. This is our story, as we live in Christ. He is always working to make us new, complete and whole. There is no retirement in the kingdom of God.

The work He has for us is to the last hour. There is usually someone who needs to hear that this world is not it! This realm in which we live doesn't satisfy. Only through Christ does this life make sense.

Jesus paid for our redemption on the cross, which frees us from the grip of sin and death.We are no longer citizens of earth but of heaven. Our King is a benevolent Father which means He rules in justice and love and holds all power and authority.  Paul longs to see Jesus.

Paul isn't interested in dying, although he looks forward to meeting Christ after he dies. Our longing to be with Jesus, and no longer under the curse of this world is real. God has an appointed time for all of us to be on this earth.

I know I said in the paragraph above that we are no longer citizens of this earth and I mean it. The obstacle is the enemy of our souls who wants to disrupt the truth of our freedom in Christ. He lies to us about who we are, and what our destiny is.

Don't believe a word of those lies! God says in John 8:36 "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."Freedom over fear, addictions, sickness and many other things.The Bible also says, "You are the light of the world." God's light shines out of every believer who allows Him to.

We are precious to God, a chosen people, a royal priesthood. He can't take His eyes off of you! Psalm 34:15. His gaze is intent upon us because of His great love for us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:35-39 Please read these verses so you can get the full impact of how serious God is about keeping us spiritually safe.

Blessings and love to you today! 

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death." Philippians 1:20 NIV

Do you know about "Footprints in the Sand"? It is a poem about a christian asking the Lord why He didn't have footprints next to hers during the most troubling parts of her life. He answer was, "It was then that I carried you."

God never leaves us, and especially not when we are hurting!  This is what happens to me, and I believe may be your plight as well. I tend to take my trust off of God and live in the place of trouble. My emotions can take me down and fear can come in.

Paul wants sufficient courage to run the race of living for Jesus without being ashamed of something he may do in the future. God's gives us grace to be faithful, but our flesh can get in our way. As we are aware of our failures we pray for his mercy on us to overcome.

The great Apostle, who penned 1/3 of the new testament is concerned about loosing out on the blessing of walking with God. He knows how easily his old man or sin nature can take over. There are certain triggers I have and you do too. Out of nowhere, we can become angry, defeated, or thrown off course.

 When we stumble and fall, he is right there to pick us up, and as we humbly ask for forgiveness, all is forgiven and forgotten. Our Savior loves us too much to stop at this. He wants to make us over comers.  God will remove the trigger so we are not bothered by it again.

It can be a process! Everything depends on how willing we are to work with Him. We need to get into God's word and find scripture to encourage us to overcome. 

My son Rudy is very good at triggering anger in me, and he knows it. He is a major scooch. Spell check doesn't like this word, but let's use it anyway. Webster's Dictionary says scooch means "to scrunch down, to slide jerkily." It's not a good thing to do to your Mom.

He thrives on getting under everyone's skin. I have learned not to respond. My triggers are no longer triggered. I don't allow hurt to take me for a ride. He is just a kid! Moms want their children to say nice things to them, and Rudy has learned to do this.

I was sensitive, but both of us have learned how to deal with   scooching. Women don't like to be made fun of on a regular basis. We need to know those close sincerely care. Thank God both of us have made progress in our relationship! You can too!

"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance." Philippians 1:19 NIV

The Apostle Paul is looking forward to the freedom he will gain after his chains are broken. Not just freedom from the physical chains, but the ability to preach and share freely about Jesus.

I suppose he doesn't have too many new faces to preach to in prison. His fervent desire is to make Christ known, wherever he is, or will be in the future. Sometimes God will remove our prison chains and other times he does not.

Peter was removed from prison by an earthquake in Acts 12, but Paul was released by an earthquake and didn't leave the prison so the jailer may be saved. Paul had a greater purpose at hand.

I'm not saying Peter wasn't doing the right thing. His circumstance was totally different. Herod planned on killing Peter and God released him to continue with his work. God had more for Peter to accomplish.

No two situations are the same when we allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead the way. God's plans for each of us are as individual as we are. Our relationship with God will be different too.

Paul's joy while imprisoned is certainly unique. It demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit working in the Apostle in the worst situations of life. This is not a gift for Paul. It is meant to everyone.

We can have joy no matter what comes our way, because Jesus has promised to be with us. For you and I as christians living in 2018, our joy comes from believing in God's promises as He rolls out one year after another.

No matter what may happen we can stand on the promises of God. He will do exactly what He says He will. He is coming back to earth for us, and while we wait, we can see him move through prayer and worship. Don't give up! He won't.

" But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motive or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. " Philippians 1:18 NIV

Our friend the Apostle is right. It doesn't matter at all if people's motives were not pure about why Christ was preached. Those who thought to hurt Paul made him joyful instead!

Victory was on Paul's mind. He was overflowing with the truth, and he was not moved by anything else. He did see Jesus in a vision, and I expect he never forgot it. Would anyone ever forget such a sight?

I think not. We have the word of God and the Spirit of God to lead us. We don't need a sign from heaven, or any other sign because God has given us His Holy Word. 

God's word if able to bring us right into His presence as if Jesus were with us actually speaking within our hearing. God spirit and presence are the same. Just different ways of saying the same thing.

The Word of God confirms itself over thousands of years. Old testament scriptures lead right into the new. Jesus used the old testament in his teaching while on earth. We see old testament verses confirmed in the new testament.

Jesus' coming was written about long before His coming. Not only was His coming written about, but the town where he would be born, and all the circumstances before it happened.

Most old testament books speak of the coming Messiah, which can be confusing because of His first and second coming. Some prophecies have been fulfilled and some are still to come. Maybe in our lifetime!

"The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains."
Philippians 1:17 NIV

Some people are not at all concerned about the welfare of others. Paul is in jail, and we have already concluded a Roman jail in the first century was no walk in the park. Yet, their desire was to cause him more pain on top of jail.

What causes people to be mean? Desperation. Maybe they have tried others ways to stop the gospel from moving ahead, but were unsuccessful. Their thought may have been to make Paul miserable, and he would tell christians to stop preaching.

It reminds me of a national situation last week. Some were stirring up trouble for a Supreme Court nominee with no regard for anyone else. Both the Judge and witness were damaged and it left many with open wounds.

No regard was given for those who would be hurt, and many were. Not just the families in the spotlight, but victims of sexual abuse who thought this was about justice for them.

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, please know God wants to bring healing where there has been hurt. He isn't angry with you, He loves you and wants you to free from pain and harm. Too many women have suffered in silence, not knowing what to do.

Talking to someone who is trustworthy, and knowledgeable about these things is best, but Jesus is the only one who can heal the brokenhearted, and restore what has been robbed. There are many who care about the wrong being done to women and children. 

Professional Counselors know how to lead a victim out of the lies told them by an abuser. You can believe what God says about you to be true. He will never leave you, and His love is strong and constant. His hand is ever reaching out to provide the answers all of us need. 

If you know of someone who has been abused, let them know you care about them. You might be able to offer help by going to the Police with them, or finding them a qualified counselor.  Love always prevails.