Philippians 4:13

This well known verse is my "verse of the week" to encourage myself in daily fasting.

I want to make something clear on this verse. Paul was talking about his personal history of being poor and being wealthy. Then he says that either way, he has learned how to live in Christ.

He says, "I can do all things in Christ who strenghtens me".

We use this verse to tell ourselves that we can do whatever we set out to do through Christ. While that may or may not be so, this particular verse merely states that whether Paul was poor or rich; hungry or well-fed - he could do all of those things in Christ.

This is a verse about circumstances, not projects. Are you poor, yet you have children depending on you and going to work would either leave them alone or rob all your paycheck to see they are care for? "I can do all things ... " You see, God is not going to leave us unattended when we are first doing His will.  He is more powerful than a 9-5 job. A good job that allows you to care for your children too will come to you.

Are you rich and are beginning to think that you have it all - you don't need God? Think again. Deuteronomy 8 is an excellent chapter to read to make us realize we must never forget the One Who gave us our riches. And, everyone is rich compared to someone else, just like everyone is poor compared to someone else. It all depends on how you look at it yourself.

The promise here is to those in Christ - so make sure that you are in Christ, if  you are counting on this promise. Read the scriptures, especially the book of Acts to see the history of the church and how the people were added to it, which is being in Christ. Go read.

For me, this verse helps me to know that God is providing what I need, which is not a continual supply of food going in my mouth. (Bleh!)  I'm thankful for this verse this week.

To change the subject, I feel SO much better with less food. I had a great day yesterday - I actually went up a small mountain with steps rather than take the shuttle, walked around the folk demonstrations & shops at the top of the hill and came back down the steps. This was the first year I had felt like doing this in about six years. We go to the same place every year on their opening weekend. (Ozark Folk Center at Mt. View, Arkansas, if you are interested). Even though I stopped twice going up, and once going down, I was proud that I did it. My goal is to be able to go up and down without stopping by the end of this summer.