“…and pray for one another”
~ James 5:16b
“Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own. To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them.”
~ John Calvin
Simple faith, desires to please;
Bows its head, bends its knees.
Longs for grace, to see God's face.
Sustains the weak, stops our stumble.
In the eyes of Christ, such faith is dear;
It's free to all, who will draw near.
~ apl
O GOD,
Thy main plan, and the end of thy will
is to make Christ glorious and beloved in heaven
where he is now ascended,
where one day all the elect will behold his glory
and love and glorify him for ever.
Though here I love him but little,
may this be my portion at last.
In this world thou hast given me a beginning,
one day it will be perfected in the realm above.
Thou hast helped me to see and know Christ,
though obscurely,
to take him, receive him,
to possess him, love him,
to bless him in my heart, mouth, life.
Let me study and stand for discipline,
and all the ways of worship,
out of love for Christ;
and to show my thankfulness;
to seek and know his will from love,
to hold it in love,
and daily to care for and keep this state of heart.
Thou hast led me to place all my nature
and happiness in oneness with Christ,
in having heart and mind centered only on him,
in being like him in communicating good to others;
This is my heaven on earth,
But I need the force, energy, impulses of thy Spirit
to carry me on the way to my Jerusalem.
Here, it is my duty,
to be as Christ in this world,
to do what he would do,
to live as he would live,
to walk in love and meekness;
then would he be known,
then would I have peace in death.
~ Valley of Vision
The toils of day are over;
We raise our hymn to Thee,
And ask that free from peril
The hours of dark may be.
O Jesus, keep us in Thy sight,
And guard us through the coming night.
Be Thou our souls’ Preserver,
O God, for Thou dost know
How many are the perils
Through which we have to go.
Lord Jesus Christ, O hear our call
And guard and save us from them all.
~ Prayer of Anatolius (5th Century)
“The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church…grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil… The church used to be a lightning bolt, now it’s a cruise ship. We are not marching to Zion – we are sailing there with ease. In the apostolic church it says they were all amazed – and now in our churches everybody wants to be amused. The church began in the upper room with a bunch of men agonizing, and it’s ending in the supper room with a bunch of people organizing. We mistake rattle for revival, and commotion for creation, and action for unction… The true church lives and moves and has its being in prayer.”
~ Leonard Ravenhill
“Regeneration is the point from which all true pleasure commences; you never live a cheerful day till you begin to live to God.”
~ John Flavel
“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
~ Psalm 16:11
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
~ Philippians 1:6
In the year 1192 A.D. ground breaking took place on what would eventually become one of the most remarkable, iconic and unique buildings ever constructed. It was in this year the freestanding bell tower of the cathedral in the Italian city of Pisa was begun. Shortly after construction of the 183 ft. tower started, the tower began to lean because of soft, unstable and unfirmed ground underneath. One hundred and ninety nine years later, in the year 1372, the tower was finally completed. Construction had to be slowed down over the decades as to allow the ground underneath to harden where it could support the structure. As a result, and with much enduring patience, this beauty and iconic tower took almost 200 years to complete.
In many ways, the Christian life is like that leaning tower of Pisa. And in Philippians 1:6, we read about how God is slowly but surely building in each of us, a beautiful, if even imperfect, image of Himself. Just because you’re a Christian, doesn’t mean you’re already perfect. Becoming a follower of Christ, doesn’t automatically sweep all your troubles away. Like that leaning tower, believers often feel like they may fall, they might stumble in their faith and lose all hope. Yet in our verse today, we find hope, encouragement and God’s promise.
Looking a little closer at verse 6 then, Paul says three distinct things: 1. Being confident of this very thing 2. He who began a good work in you 3. Will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul begins this verse with full assurance and confidence in what he was about to say. He’s using particularly strong language here. He’s saying what I’m about to tell you, I tell you with the certainty of all my hope, faith and trust in God and the Lord Jesus Christ. There was not the shadow of a doubt in the mind of the Apostle that these words aren’t as true as the God in whom Paul placed his faith.
What did Paul assert to believe? Well first, that He who began a good work in you… What is the good work the Apostle Paul is referring to here in the lives of the Philippians? Well, he is speaking of their salvation, of the redemption brought to them through the finished work of Christ and the spread of that Gospel message which did reach and convert them. So the “He” is God Himself. It is God who works the grace and gift of salvation into the hearts of sinners. The Bible speaks of the transforming work of God in different ways such as being born again, receiving a new heart, repenting or turning from sin. So it is the Lord who opens our hearts and minds to Himself. It is He, that is God, who began a good work in you. And of course, like we said, that good work is really the greatest and glorious of all works that the Lord could ever do on behalf of mankind, the work of salvation, the work of Christ on Calvary, of saving people from their sins.
It is this third part of Paul’s comments though, I want to spend a little more time on. He says, I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, WILL complete it. God knows nothing of an incomplete project. Just as with the work of Creation where in 7 days God finished the work of establishing the heavens and the earth, so too, does His Word promise He will complete that work of salvation in the hearts and lives of all those who belong to Him. God does not leave us unfinished, half done, incomplete Christians. He who began the good work of salvation, finishes that glorious work until the day of Christ Jesus. What the Bible is teaching us here is God does not forget nor forsake those He calls to Himself. Once we are called unto salvation, God through Christ, ultimately sees us through to the end. The work of salvation is a persevering work. In Romans 8:30 the Bible put it this way saying those God calls, these He also justifies; and whom He justified, these He also glorifies. Salvation once begun in the heart of the redeemed sinner is one day fully and finally completed.
And this, beloved, is where our assurance and our hope come from – from the goodness and grace of God. The reality is though, we struggle with this truth. Though we might know it is true, we don’t always feel it is true. We know we fail God. We know we aren’t always what we ought to be. We know sin continues to be a reality in our lives and all this can and does cause us to question our salvation. And no can really blame you when you wonder why God would want to have anything to do with you when you still disobey Him and do things you know displease Him. But I think it is because we do sometimes let doubt creep in that Scripture offers us these comforting words. That even though all those things are true, we never stop being loved and accepted by God our Father through Christ our Lord.
God’s love is greater than our weakness. Therefore He will complete the work of salvation in you and will bring you ultimately to Himself one day. But till that day, we are all still a work in progress. Like Paul says elsewhere in Sacred Writ, it is not as if we have already achieved or attained perfection. If you are still walking this earth, and you belong to Him, then you are a wonderful work in progress. Christians are not perfect, but we are forgiven and that makes all the difference. It took almost 200 years for the Italians to complete the leaning tower of Pisa. And to this day, centuries later it’s still leaning but it’s still standing. It was important enough for them to keep working on, even though they knew it was inherently flawed.
God promises to abide with us and to sanctify us little by little day by day, even though we might be flawed. He looks past those flaws to the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. And the Bible says He will never leave us nor forsake us. My prayer is that in those times when we might become discouraged in our faith, when we might be tempted to question the very salvation Jesus purchased for us with His own blood, that we would turn to passages like this one here in Philippians 1:6 an other like texts and lean on the promise of God and His Word, that He who began a good work in you, and in me, will certainly complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
~ apl
Speaking of expecting great things (see my previous post), I have reached over 200 followers here on my site. I want to thank everyone who reads my posts for taking time to consider what is offered here, and I sincerely pray you find what you read to richly bless your spirit and bring you nearer in faith to our merciful God. I am humbled and praise God for the privilege of reaching others with His Word and the grace and hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.
~ apl
“Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, “above all that we ask or think.” Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!”
~ Andrew Murray
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”
~ Hebrews 4:16
As a result of the supremacy of Christ in His priesthood, and His attending mediatorial office of interceding on behalf of His people, we can come boldly (that is with confidence, with assurance, with conviction and by faith in the work of Christ) to the God’s throne of grace. I like to think we do this in our prayers. As we come before God in prayer, we can confidently approach Him on the veracity of His own character, and we can seek Him out, as our verse says, in time of need. It is by faith in Christ and with God that we may find and obtain mercy and grace. What wonderful comfort that is for those who have Christ as their Great High Priest.
~ apl
A Prayer Life 