Week of April 30-May 5

Sunday
growing deeply
MONDAY: Philippians 3:12-16 Process
With any skill or ability, there is always something to learn, something to improve.
The same is true of our spiritual lives. Perfection comes within the process – it is a
journey and not a destination.
REFLECTION: Reflect on a skill or ability that you enjoy or strive to master. Do you
foresee a time in which you will have mastered all there is too know, or do you
recognize a constant path toward improvement?
TUESDAY: Philippians 3:12-16 Perfection Through Christ
In this passage, Paul shares his understanding that the pathway toward perfection –
that complete unity of spirit with God – comes through walking with and emulating
Christ.
CONSIDER: Consider Jesus as the pathway toward perfection. Consider that Christ
offers constant guidance and continual forgiveness and second chances.
WEDNESDAY: Philippians 3:12-16 Looking Forward, Not Behind
Our human nature pulls the emphasis of our thoughts to our short-comings. We
tend to focus on our failures and look behind us rather than ahead of us.
QUESTION: When you make a mistake, do you immediately return to past
difficulties or do you look forward and use the errors as learning opportunities?
How would your success improve if you kept your focus forward?
“Grace Anatomy”- April 29
Scripture: Philippians 3:12-16 (NLT)
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have
already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which
Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved
it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what
lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize
for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on
some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the
progress we have already made.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
MY NOTES:

THURSDAY: Philippians 3:12-16 Making the Connection

At times we may feel a sense of knowing: an inkling that something is going to
happen or a sense that someone is near. God’s grace reaches for in that same
sense.
REFLECTION: Reflect on a time when you felt guided. Imagine God reaching
toward you as that guide and as the first step in relationship.

FRIDAY: Philippians 3:12-16 Building a Relationship

First, we feel God reaching for us, then we reach out for God. As we recognize the
power and beauty of connection with God, we work toward a life-long relationship
with God that is built on faith and trust in God’s grace.
CONSIDER: Consider a reality in which you feel connected to God throughout your
life journey.

SATURDAY: Philippians 3:12-16 Constancy

PRAYER: God of the journey, help us remember that you have designed a way to
be connected to us throughout our lives through your means of grace. May we cling
to your promises through every bend along our spiritual and physical journey. AMEN Read or subscribe to the weekly guide at moumc.org/grow
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