Spirit Led Living

A Devotional based on Draw Me Close by Kelly Carpenter (Inspired by an idea from Stephen Newby) Draw me close to You             Because I feel so far away never let me go I tend to get distracted and walk away I lay it all down again Because I forget and pick it back up To hear You say that I'm Your friend I feel so alone and in need of a friend You are my desire But so many other desires compete for my attention  no one else will do I’ve tried others but they leave me empty 'Cause nothing else could take Your place I’ve substituted others but they have been untrue To feel the warmth of Your embrace Nothing feels safer or more loving Help me find the way I get lost so easily bring me back to You             I can’t find the way on my own You're all I want You're all I've ever needed You're all I want Help me know You are near...

Phil 1:29-30 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,  since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. As we were going over this passage in Bible study last night this verse simply jumped out at me.    Paul wrote this to the church at Philippi. Unlike some of the diatribes in Corinthians where he is addressing a litany of misdeeds by many in the local church, the letter to the Philippians is a letter of thanksgiving for a church the “got it” and had steadfastly supported him through all his trials. The predominant theme of the letter is “joy”. And yet in the midst of it he writes, in a joyous kind of way, how thankful he is that they have been counted worthy of being “granted” to suffer for Christ’s sake. In my mind this seemed to contradict the words of Jesus when He said, “I came that you might have life and have it to the full”. In other ve...