And this is my prayer:

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,

Philippians 1:9-10

Today's passage comes from Morgan Firing's Facebook status. I read it this morning and it touched me, so I decided to use this today instead of the passage I had planned. The first verse is about growing in love. It talks about how as our knowledge and insight grow, our love will also. This is something we definitely experience at youth events, but it doesn't have to stop there. It's just that often we use those events as crutches, and only bother growing in knowledge and insight when we're at them. The rest of the time it's easier to pine for the next event. I know, I've done that plenty of times. It's a trap that's easy to fall into - even when you're an adult. Nothing can compare to the [insert youth event here] experience, so why bother trying?

But the second verse talks about how we are to apply that increase in our lives. We are supposed to use that knowledge and insight to "discern what is best". We know what's right and wrong. We know what we should be doing. This verse is straightforward. It says go out and do it! Stop making excuses! You don't have to turn your life upside down, but apply what you have learned in little steps.

The reward? To be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. This isn't talking about being good so we have no sins. You and I are sinners. We are also saints - but not vecause we try to do good things. No, we are saints because God's grace covers our sins. So what's being pure and blameless? You know that guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach when you're afraid you're goign to get caught for somethign you did? Yhe regret and the remorse? To be pure and blameless is that contended feeling - the absence of guilt. The absence of remorse. It's that happy tummy feeling. The feeling that you did the right thing. It's not for God that we do the right thing. It's not even for our own salvation. It's because it's the right thing to do. And when we do that - we know it.

I pray for those away at New Orleans, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

I pray this same prayer for all of you at home like me, and I encourage you to pray for those in service this week. Pray that their works will make them to shine like stars in the heaven and make them witnesses for Christ.

Amen

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Be Content

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Philippians 4:11 (NIV)

I really like this verse, because it talks about the fact that all we need is God's grace. It's not what we have, but what we do with it that matters.

But for us, coming off Kairos, it takes on additional meaning. We can be content in what we have. Yes, we miss Kairos, but we have the memories. We have the growth in our faith. We can be content in that growth and nurture it by going to church, being involved, having fellowship with others.

Even though we aren't at Kairos, we carry it with us. A tangible piece of that is the relationships we take back. The people from our small groups that we meet. The people we stay in contact with. We go to church because we are social creatures. Some people like more contact, some less, but everyone wants to be part of a group that accepts them, and that is what is so wonderful about Kairos.

We can be content in what we have. I'm happy with what I have. The best part of Kairos is the relationships that I develop. They are a large part of what sustains me both in my faith and in my life.

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Self-Sacrificing Love

Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,

Philippians 2:1-5 (NIV)

This passage speaks of how we should treat our fellow Christians. Furthermore it's the foundation of any good relationship - especially marriage and/or dating. The marriages that last and are happy are the ones where the partners live to make the other person happy (at least most of the time).

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com