“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

Steve Green (years ago!) sang this verse beautifully; a great musical reminder of an even greater promise. As surely as God started loving me and providing everything I need for life, both now and for eternity, even so He will always love and provide for me. As surely as He was there in the beginning He will be there right to the end. This has special significance as I remember the story of the context of this book. When I was in the Mammertine Prison in Rome (just visiting!), the place where Paul was imprisoned and perhaps the place from where he wrote this letter back to his friends and fellow church members in Philippi, I had a whole new appreciation for his commitment and trust in God. In prison for only one reason- being a Christian- Paul could have doubted God (and maybe he did a little bit but it never showed!) but instead he focused on the lives of those he loved. That in itself could be a good lesson for this morning- sadness, homesickness, and discouragement might be effectively remedied by reaching outside myself and blessing others. It doesn’t have to be something big or great, just SOMETHING where I force myself to stop looking inward at what at the moment seems hopeless (that’s the crippling effect of depression in all it’s forms!) and to look outside myself to the needs of others. It’s a pretty good cure I have found.

So there sits Paul in a big hole in the rock (with a hole in the top where they would drop the prisoners in. There are steps down there now so you can experience the “prison” without risking the fall through the hole! There was also a locked door down there that led directly to the Rome sewer system so that when the prisoner “rotted away and died” they could just throw his body out into the sewer and be rid of it!) THAT would be a pretty depressing place to be. But Paul wrote to his friends (in Philippi, Colosse, Ephesus and others), letters of ENCOURAGEMENT, not “poor me, pray for me” (he just added that a couple times sort of parenthetically!), Letters of joy, support, prayers and guidance for their spiritual growth.

It had been 10 years since Paul had been in Philippi in response to the famous “come over into Macedonia and help us” story. Philippi is in today’s northern Greece, then called Macedonia, and a lot of time had passed since that visit. He had introduced them to Jesus and now he is reminding them that as good as God was at the introduction, so He is still that good 10 years later. Christianity IS for me about a journey; it’s about believing that the journey I started on is worth it no matter what comes because the finish line, as in a marathon, makes all the challenges and difficulties worth it. It’s also about supporting and encouraging others along the way. That’s what Paul did in this whole book. That’s what I want my life to be too. Want to join me?

Have a great day journeying with encouragement for other and a positive confidence that He who began it will be there to the end,
Pastor Rich