Philippians 1:6 (NASB)
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Paul was so convinced of their amazing future
that there was no timidity in writing the letter to the church at
Philippi. This church was dear to Paul’s
heart as it was the first church established in Europe. God had directed Paul
through a vision to go to Macedonia. I
love this passage of scripture. It details the intercession of the Macedonian
people crying out, “Come help us!”
Acts 16:9-10 (NASB)
A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Paul, Silas, and Timothy set out immediately
for Macedonia. They had the word of the
Lord and did not delay. As Paul was speaking to a group of people down by the
riverbank, one of the first people they met was Lydia. The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to believe the
gospel message Paul was sharing. The church at Philippi was birthed in Lydia’s
house. This was the beginning of the Gospel and the church in the western
world! Oh how thankful I am for this first journey to Rome.
Paul sent this letter to the church in
Philippi from a Roman prison a decade later. He loved the church, the body of
Christ so very much that he desired to encourage and exhort her. These were not
fanciful, empty words. He knew salvation would have its perfect work in the
person who surrendered completely to Jesus. Jesus the Author and Perfecter of
their faith would complete it!
A word of the Lord:
I will bring you through to the end. I will perfect and complete all that concerns you. Do not become weary and give up in the process. I am patient and I see the end result. You are beautiful in my eyes. The intended outcome is quite spectacular!
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