the simple word that changed my life.

I went into my sophomore year of college just like I had every other season of life, not expectant of anything spectacular or life changing… my life had been, for a lack of a better term, blah.  I was living in darkness.  Toward the middle of the semester I participated in a Bible study titled “Game Changer,” and no doubt that’s what it was for my life – it was the lightbulb I needed to guide me into the arms of my loving Father.

Philippians 2:14-15

“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.”

• Do EVERYTHING
  • Colossians 3:23-24 – “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
• Grumbling (complaining) and arguing
  • Proverbs 12:18 – “The words of the reckless pierce like swards, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
  • Proverbs 18:21 – “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”
  • Luke 6:43-45 – “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes form briers.  A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
• Blameless, pure, children of God, faultless
  • 1 John 1:5-9 – “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
  • 1 John 2:29-3:1 – “If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
• Shine Like Stars
  • John 8:12 –“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
  • 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 –“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.  We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.  This makes it clear that our great power is form God, not form ourselves.”