Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders[a] and deacons.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ[b]—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Paul’s Joy That Christ Is Preached
12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters,[c] that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard,[d] knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers[e] here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message[f] without fear.
15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
7 comments:
OK, do me a favor fellas. Read this as though it was written to the members of this blog. How amazing would that be. My prayer for this group is echoed in verses 9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.
You cant go wrong with sending out a prayer from Paul...I echo CAS's prayer and would like to raise that prayer with the following:
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
How cool is that!
JB, I'm waiting to hear from a Young Life contact in Coatesville about needs. I also wanted to have my kids look through their clothes, shoes, and toys to do a drop off. Let me know what you think.
Prayer dittos!
It's gonna be a tough time in our country over the next couple years. Chances are all of us are vulnerable in our careers.
May our love and chrustlike spirits shine and make a difference to those around us.
v. 12 jumped out at me:
12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters,[c] that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.
I'm pretty convicted by this verse, cause for the first 4.5 years here, I lived this verse, (sometimes better or worse), so that people could see me as a good example, and I had helped spread the Good News by example and discussion. The last 8 months here by myself I feel like Paul in prison, except I have not lived by his example. I've been overwhelmed, my relationship with God weakened, and I have been basically alone and without Christ. Things are returning to "normal" slowly as I sprint towards the door.
crb
shows me how even in tough times, we can love God and have joy
For everyone here, including the whole palace guard,[d] knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers[e] here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message[f] without fear.
I remember being taught that a roman prisoner was chained to his guard. Paul used it as an opportunity to witness to the Roman guards. I pray that we would seek those opportunities to spread the Gospel using words if necessary!
Indeed, brothers, (11) May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
For the question about the Coatesville fires. One of our ministry partners for Young Life is County Corrections Gospel Mission. They actually run our urban Young Life club in Coatesville. They are taking gift card, clothing, and financial contributions. If a contribution can be mailed, then use the address below:
County Corrections Gospel MissionPO Box 1136
Coatesville, Pa 19320
If you want to donate clothing, contact Jordan Crans (one of our YL volunteer leaders) with the Bridge Academy and Community Center at jordan.crans@gmail.com.
BTW, there were 7 of 15 of the most recent families impacted by the fires that attend our urban club in Coatesville.
tba
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