To all my friends and family
in the Lord, my fellow believers in Jesus Christ in this physical world of
ours, and in the blogging world, on social media, and on Christian support and discussion
sites:
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:2 ESV
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Phil. 1:3-6 ESV
I thank the Lord for you all!
What a blessing you have been to my life! There were many years when I had
little in the way of true Christian fellowship, spiritual and emotional
support, and regular and consistent encouragement from the body of Christ in my
walk of faith with my Lord. Those were desert times in my life, yet they were
learning and growing times, too. I think, in fact, that having had those times
in my life, that it makes me all the more appreciative of what God has now
blessed me with in the way of Christian fellowship and mutual encouragement from
within the body of Christ.
Just knowing you are there is
an encouragement to my heart. I pray for you that God would encourage your
hearts, as well, and that you would be lifted up in him in your walks of faith,
steadfast in love, and assured of his watch and care over your lives. He loves
you beyond measure!
I know that many of you right
now are going through trials and tribulations which test your faith. I pray
that God will make you strong in him, and that in Christ you will have the
faith to endure much hardship on his behalf. I pray that you will be comforted
with Christ’s love for you and that you will trust in his sovereignty and in
his grace for your lives. All that we are going through has a purpose, and God
will work out all things for good for those of us who love him - who follow him
in obedience - who are the called according to his purpose.
You’re in My Heart
It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:7-8 ESV
I do hold you all in my
heart. What a blessing from God it is to know that we are not alone in this
battle against the enemy of our souls, but that we have other believers in
Jesus Christ standing with us in prayer, supporting us with encouraging words,
and agreeing together with us in what needs to be done to bring this world of
ours to its knees in humble submission to God. This must happen in order that
they might find the only true hope they will ever know, which is found in Jesus
Christ, our Lord. He alone can deliver them from their demons, and he alone can
set them free to walk in victory over their enemy and in Christ’s righteousness
and holiness.
I can’t tell you how many
times the Lord has spoken to my heart on a particular issue facing us, as
believers in Jesus Christ, only to read where he was speaking to one or several
of you on the same subject, on the same exact day. That is a God-thing! He works
all things together in conformity with the purpose of his perfect will. He does
this, I believe, to confirm in our hearts the messages he has for us
individually and as his body. That is such a tremendous encouragement when HE
does this in us and through us for his glory and praise. Amen!
I have a deep affection in my
heart for you all, even for the ones I have never heard from, but I know are
there reading what God has impressed upon my heart to write each day. Some of
you I have gotten to know pretty well, while others of you I know little of, and
yet you bless my heart. I know God is using many of you to bless the hearts of
many others, too. And, I find encouragement in that, as well, when I read what
God is giving you to say, and when I read the responses you get from your
readers. Even your readers bless my heart by the responses they give to you.
More and More
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Phil. 1:9-11 ESV
But, this is not about us, is
it? What I mean is, this is not about us just patting one another on the back
so we can feel good about ourselves. This is about encouraging one another to
follow in Jesus Christ’s footsteps and to be his servants and witnesses in
taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the regions beyond so that many more can
come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives. And, this is
about helping each other to grow in our walks of faith so that we do not fail,
and so we truly walk in freedom from sin and in victory over darkness and in
the power of God living within us.
This is about love for God
and sacrificial love for one another, sharing with one another the love, grace
and mercy of Jesus Christ so that we may all walk in Him and in His
righteousness and holiness. This is about caring for one another’s needs, and
carrying one another’s burdens, too, and praying for one another and
encouraging one another in our walks of faith.
I love the story in the Bible
recorded for us in Exodus 17. God’s people were in a battle against an enemy.
Whenever Moses held up his hand, God’s people prevailed against their enemy,
but whenever he lowered his hand, then their enemy prevailed against them. But
Moses’ hands grew weary, so a stone was put underneath him on which he sat, and
Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other
side. And, then God’s people won the battle against their enemy.
On a spiritual plane, what
this is teaching us is that we can’t go it alone. If we have to, and God is our
only support, he is absolutely enough!! And, sometimes that is exactly where we
are, too. But, oh how wonderful it is when the body of Christ comes alongside
us and holds up our hands, i.e. holds us up in prayer and encourages us in our
walks of faith, for we do grow weary, at times, do we not?
And, just when we begin to
feel that we are all alone in this battle, the Lord will encourage us through
his Word or he will send someone alongside us to lift us up in prayer or with
just the right words to spur us on toward love and good deeds, and that makes
all the difference! And, they might not even know they are doing this, but they
are just obeying the Lord in writing or in saying what God gives them to say,
and the Lord leads us to hear or to read what He has given them, and it is as
though the message is just for us. Do you relate?
But, notice with me here what
happened first, before his hands were held up by others. He had a rock placed
underneath him to give him support. That Rock is Jesus Christ, our Lord. If he
is NOT our foundation, then having other Christians support us may have little
impact on our lives. Or, we may find that we are finding our dependency in
these others to hold us up, and when they don’t, our faith may fail. We cannot
put our hope and trust in humans. Our Lord has to be our all sufficiency, and
then if he blesses us with encouragers along the way, that is like getting a
bonus, is it not?
Basically, if we are going to
win this battle over our enemy Satan, we have to have Jesus Christ as our
foundation and as our all sufficiency, no matter if we have human support or we
don’t. And, then, when he does send helpers our way, our trust and reliance
remains in our Lord, as it should.
Cornerstone
Hillsong
My hope is built on nothing
less
Than Jesus' blood and
righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest
frame
But wholly trust in Jesus'
name
Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong; in the
Saviour's love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all
Thursday, January 25, 2018,
6:35 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for this teaching from your Word. May it minister
Your grace to each of our hearts, I pray in Jesus’ name, and all to Your honor,
glory and praise. Amen!
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