Philippians 1:3-11 (NRSV)
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Verse 3I thank my God every time I remember you, Verse 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, Verse 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. Verse 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
Verse 7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. Verse 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
Verse 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight Verse 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, Verse 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Devotion
“Waiting with a sure and certain hope,” Paul wrote to his friends in Philippi from his prison cell. Paul was confident that “the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” That is confident waiting for Jesus.
Ten minutes before she died, my mother had a window of clarity. Emerging from her dementia, she looked up and me and asked, “Are you happy, Hubert?” “Yes, Mom. I am happy.” She seemed satisfied and slipped back into her private world. Minutes later she breathed her last.
Mother was not asking me if my life was full of parties. She wasn’t asking if my life was devoid of difficulties or challenges. She wanted to be assured, before she went to be with Jesus, that I was on the same track. She wanted to know that I was enjoying my walk with our Lord. Before she left this world, she wanted to be sure that we would meet up again in the new Jerusalem.
We buried Mom, commending her to Almighty God with a sure and certain hope.
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for those people who are our cheerleaders as we seek to realize our identity with you. Amen.