Scripture standout: 1 Kings: "14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’”
Phillipians 2: "3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Morning thoughts: There are revolving writers for the Episcopal Church's daily devotional series, Forward Day by Day. Some I like, others, not so much. Today's? I likey. I suppose it's an underlying theme of this little life experiment. Her 'tis:
Philippians 2:1-11. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
One of the great questions of life is, “How can we all get along?” History tells us that we do not do this well.
In his letter to the Christians in Philippi, St. Paul gives some practical wisdom: Think like Jesus.
Paul was always concerned that in the little churches he established, the members would stay together in unity. He gave directions on how they were to live and how they were to deal with disputes.
His great model for this is Christ Jesus. He reminded his readers that even though Christ was “in the form of God,” he “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”
If the Lord could do this, we his followers ought to be able to empty ourselves. In the likeness of Jesus, we are to be humble servants of each other.
Paul does not say that this will always be easy or that we will always enjoy living this way. But, his teaching is clear, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Just do it.
When Jesus is present, all is good and nothing seems difficult; but when Jesus is absent, everything is hard.
--Thomas a Kempis
His Deed/The Day: I sent some towels to my high school friend, Jennifer, whose house was destroyed in the Bastrop, TX fires. Today, I also had the opportunity to see One by One, the new exhibit on the city's dropouts at the Cummer Museum. It was fabulous. Photographer Ingrid Damiani captured the images of 20 high school dropouts, who shared their stories of success. What turned these kids around? One person. One person — a teacher, a mentor, a guardian —gave them a hand. There's not science to that. This exhibit is a study in humanity. I think today we're too spread out, we don't apply "the village" concept as much as we should.
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