“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.” (Philippians 4:10-15 ESV)
Now, the original context of this passage (and the verses following it) has to do with the gift of financial giving, from what I understand. But there is a broader context here, as well, for we give to people (or not) in so many different ways, not just with money and/or with possessions, but with our time, with our compassion, with our understanding, and with our support and encouragement. And as followers of Jesus, this all should agree with Christ and with his teachings and with the teachings of the NT apostles.
Now I am going to center on what Paul stated here when he mentioned that, in the beginning of the gospel, no church entered into partnership with him in giving and receiving, except for the Philippians. And this has an interesting parallel in my life, as well, but not anything to do with financial giving, but with spiritual and emotional support and encouragement coming from a group of people living in the Philippines in today’s world. And we give and receive such encouragement from one another daily. Glory to God!
I have been a believer in Jesus since age 7, and I began teaching the Scriptures (The Holy Bible) at age 16. And at a young age I began to face some opposition to my walk of faith and my seriousness of relationship with the Lord, although I was not a perfect child, but I was not a rebellious child. And then as a young adult I began to face even more opposition and harsh treatment and false accusations from other Christians, some of them pastors and elders of church congregations, because of my walk of faith in Jesus.
Throughout my life I have faced much opposition and persecution and mistreatment at the hands of pastors and other “church people” who did not like me for one reason or another and who mistreated, persecuted, and falsely accused me of what I did not do. Or they just didn’t like me because of my seriousness of my walk of faith when they were not that serious about their relationships with the Lord or when they were following a diluted gospel message, and I was not. So I kept being pushed aside as unwanted.
Now they would want me if I would change who I am and if I would become more like them and if I would not answer God’s call on my life to ministry but if I would be content sitting in a “church service” as a spectator with me not using the gifts the Spirit has given to me, and without me serving the Lord in the “body part” that he has made for me, and if I would accept a more diluted gospel message, and if I would just succumb to the modern way of “doing church” and support their marketing schemes.
But God didn’t put me on this earth to just be a spectator or to accept an altered and diluted character of God/Christ, and of his church, and of his gospel message. He didn’t put me on this earth to just “play church.” He gave me spiritual gifts and my body part within the body of Christ so that he could use me within the body of Christ to minister to the needs of the people and to be his witness and to speak the truth of the gospel message. But they were “warned about people like me,” i.e. “people with strong convictions.”
Yet I was submissive to church leadership as long as they did not require me to sin and to disobey my Lord and to compromise my faith. I was not out of line. I just didn’t fit in with what they were looking for, and they did not fit with the biblical picture of what “the church” is and ought to be in practice. And so I kept getting rejected by them and pushed aside as unwanted and recommended that I “go someplace else where you will be a better fit.” And so the Lord Jesus took me to the internet 20 years ago. He uses me here.
Now a few years ago I met a young woman from the Philippines who was a fellow blogger and we became friends, and then we friended each other on “Facebook” (social media). And then she began sharing with her friends what I was posting in the way of what the Lord was teaching me from his word each day, and then others of her friends did the same, and then others of them friended me. And they have been my primary encouragers, although I also have a very few others. And all of them have been a blessing to me.
So, when I read Paul’s words today it immediately made me think of all the “churches” which have rejected me and cast me aside as unwanted and who have misjudged and persecuted me. And then I thought of the body of believers in Jesus Christ from the Philippines who have been such a great encouragement to me over the past several years and who continue to bless my heart over and again. So they are meeting my need for fellowship with the body of Christ that I do not have in any other way. Praise the Lord!
I am also thankful to the Lord for that handful of others who also regularly support and encourage me spiritually and emotionally. That goes a long way! But my dependency is not in them or in any other humans. I must keep on in the work to which the Lord has called me even if all desert me and leave me alone and I have only the Lord as my support. For I do not do what I do each day in sharing what the Lord is teaching me each day from his word for the praise and acceptance of humans, but for the glory and praise of God.
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70
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Giving and Receiving Encouragement
An Original Work / January 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
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