3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 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. 7 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,[d] both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
I have the privilege of attending a Bible study with the female directors and camp wives. All of the Bible studies at camp this summer at going through Philippians and I was really struck by the affectionate language Paul uses when speaking to them.
The "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus" portion was first brought to mind when one of my dear, dear camp counselors sent it to me in a letter way back when (ninth or seventh grade, I think). Linda Spencer, who led worship at PCA camps back then, taught us a Steve Green song springing from that verse.
It hold a lot of "camp applications" for me, and this morning I was mulling over it as I cleaned the kitchen and realized that God has blessed Tuan and I with some deep, sweet relationships springing from camp and I feel that same affection and longing for these people as Paul describes. I love how camp ministry brings people back into your lives year after year (sometimes) and allows you to develop these relationships that push you to Jesus, comfort you on your journey and point you to glory.
Deep affection. Indescribable. Because really, the curtain is lifted a little bit and you catch a glimpse of the greater, more wonderful beyond and if you think about it too much--its just too much to bear.
Here are the lyrics--best as I can remember them.
If the struggle you're facing is slowly replacing your hope with despair
And the struggle is long and you're losing your song in the night
You can be sure that the Lord has his hand on you
Safe and secure--He will never abandon you
You are his treasure and he finds great pleasure in you
He who began a good work in you
He who began a good work in you
Will be faithful to complete it
With be faithful to complete it
He who started the work will be faithful to complete it in you.
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2 comments:
So encouraging Paula. I enjoy reading your posts.
Thank you, Jill!
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