LORD, thank you that You have worked in my life, for the past 40 years, more or less, and that You have changed me a lot and You have blessed me a lot. But I still have many weaknesses, defects and still prone to sin, like my temper occassionaly flares up. I still have many weaknesses, but I can take comfort in the truth that He who began the good work in me shall see its full completion in the day of the Lord Jesus. Thank you LORD that you are not giving up on me and that You are still working on me, to change me. Thank you LORD that You will complete the work that You have started in me. I worship You, O Lord.
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Text: Philippians 1:3-6 New International Version
Thanksgiving and Prayer
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3 I thank my God every time I remember you.
4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT:
[From ODB] While our family quarantined due to the global pandemic, we took on an ambitious project—an eighteen-thousand-piece puzzle! Even though we worked on it almost daily, often we felt like we weren’t making much progress. Five months after we began, we finally celebrated adding the final piece to the nine-by-six-foot puzzle that covered our dining room floor.
Sometimes my life feels a bit like a giant puzzle—many pieces in place, but a whole lot more still lying in a jumble on the floor. While I know that God is at work transforming me to be more and more like Jesus, sometimes it can be hard to see much progress.
I take great comfort in Paul’s encouragement in his letter to the Philippians when he said he prayed for them with joy because of the good work they were doing (1:3–4). But his confidence came not in their abilities but in God, believing that “he who began a good work . . . [would] carry it on to completion” (v. 6).
God has promised to finish His work in us. Like a puzzle, there may be sections that still need our attention, and there are times when we don’t seem to make much progress. But we can have confidence that our faithful God is still putting the pieces together.
By Lisa M. Samra
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[From Commentary] Paul’s exuberance over the church at Philippi is made more remarkable by the fact that he wrote these words from prison (see Philippians 1:13–14). Amid confinement and, no doubt, a certain amount of mistreatment, he found joy and celebration as he considered his friends at Philippi. Why? Primarily because of their partnership with him in the work of the gospel (v. 5). The Greek word translated “partnership” is koinōnia—the word normally translated “fellowship.” This is a reminder that fellowship in the body of Christ is much more than just enjoying being together or building strong friendships with other believers in Jesus. It means to share something in common. Not only do we share a family relationship with one another through being part of God’s family, we also have a shared mission—to take the message of His love and forgiveness to the world (Matthew 28:18–20).
by Bill Crowder
[From me] LORD, thank you that You have worked in my life, for the past 40 years, more or less, and that You have changed me a lot and You have blessed me a lot. But I still have many weaknesses, defects and still prone to sin, like my temper occassionaly flares up. I still have many weaknesses, but I can take comfort in the truth that He who began the good work in me shall see its full completion in the day of the Lord Jesus. Thank you LORD that you are not giving up on me and that You are still working on me, to change me. I worship You, O Lord.
Posted July 20, 2023
