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Every Time I Remember

Every Time I Remember

Words of Faith 7-25-19

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2019

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Philippians 1

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

[2] Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[3] I thank my God every time I remember you.

 

       Today we begin a study of Paul's letter from a Roman prison to the Church at Philippi. The Philippian letter is a favorite among Christians because of Paul's emphasis on Joy in the midst of difficult times.  It is a wonderful and inspiring letter.

      When the grizzled Apostle settled down to write these words, a flood of memories must have rushed into his mind and heart.  It had been 10 years since Paul had first met the people he pictured in his mind as he sat in that Roman prison cell.  The chains attached to his arm rattled a little as he dipped the pen into the ink well provided by local followers of Jesus. The guard in the room probably looked a bit sleepy as Paul recalled it all. What a journey. 

       It was 50 A.D. when Paul had first come through the little Roman colony called Philippi. His traveling team consisted of some of his dearest friends: Silas, Timothy, and Luke. They found no synagogue in town, so the four had gone outside the city gate to the river.  This was a place where Jews knew to gather on the Sabbath for prayer when there was no formal place to meet.  There, near the flowing waters of the river, they shared the Gospel with a woman named Lydia, a gentile follower of the Law.  Before they knew it, she became a believer in Jesus, and her entire family converted and was baptized (Acts 16). 

       Things were going along just fine in Philippi until Paul exorcized a demon from a slave girl. The girl had been used to tell fortunes for money.  She was set free from the demon, but her owner was none too happy about it!  The locals realized this new religious thing was an economic threat to the town, so they had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in jail.

       The guard was dozing off now as Paul chuckled quietly remembering the way the two of them sang into the night and then miraculously escaped from the prison and the jailer was converted in the process!  An earthquake broke open the jail, but they didn't leave.  The jailer was so impressed with their concern for him that he surrendered to Christ and had his whole family baptized.  Paul paused from his writing and rubbed one of the many scars on his arm and remembered how the jailer's family had tended the wounds from the beating.  It was all worth it.  Even the scars.

        Ah, those were the days.  Now a decade had passed, and here he was in jail again. The jailbird apostle!  The church at Philippi had undoubtedly grown and matured.  The jailer was a leader in the church, a big, humble, grateful servant.  The church had financed many of Paul's missionary endeavors over the years.  There had also been the normal struggles of a newly planted church. There had been the typical conflicts between people that are so painful for a pastor to hear about. Word was that some of the original believers weren't talking to each other.  He shook his head and lifted a quiet prayer.  Perhaps he could gently address that matter at the end of the letter.  There are always harsh memories attached to anything good.

        But even with such struggles, Paul boldly dipped his pen and wrote: "I thank God every time I remember you..."   While there were undoubtedly some beautiful memories of the Joy of the Lord invading the founding families of this baby church, there were also some terribly painful moments. There always are.  In fact, some of the current church leaders were probably former persecutors of the original missionary team! Yet, Paul gave thanks for every remembrance.  Every scar.  Every bruise.

        How is that?  Perhaps it has something to do with the greeting Paul had penned just moments earlier.  The ink was not yet dry. "Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."  This was no casual salutation. Paul's life was all about teaching and living the grace and peace of God the Father made known in the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew the Joy found only in drawing near to God and seeing the old pains and struggles fade away. He knew that when we are aware of how much we have been forgiven, it is not nearly so difficult to forgive others.  The truth is there are always bittersweet memories if not some that just plain ache in any family or church family.  But God is able to give us grace and peace.  

        Paul was able to say to his friends: "I thank God, every time I remember you...  Even when I remember the hard and painful times, I thank God.  Even when I recall disagreements we had, I thank God.  Even when I realize we had to part ways, I thank God.  Even though today I sit in prison, I thank God, because God is in all of this."  

         As we hear the scratching Paul's pen echo in that jail cell, we might do well to ask: How is my spirit of thanksgiving?  Am I able to remember with thanksgiving the people and work and family of my past?  Am I able to thank God in every remembrance?  Is there someone that the Lord has brought to mind that I might need to jot a note to, or make a call to say, "I thank God every time I remember you?"  Is there a ministry of grace and peace that we need in our own lives so that we might come to rejoice in every memory of the Body of Christ?  Forgiveness to extend or forgiveness to seek?

         Paul could have easily given in to self-pity or bitterness, but in this letter, we won't hear anything like that.  He has no doubts about the plan of God for him and the church and the Philippian believers. In the weeks ahead we will hear nothing but a deep abiding 'spring' of Joy.  It is out of that spring that a spirit of thanksgiving flows.  

 

       Lord, give me the grace to live my life today in gratitude, much like Paul. Bring to mind those things for which I need to be more thankful and those relationships I need to recall.  Put the healing balm of Your Spirit and grace upon those memories that are painful. Teach me the spirit of Joy in all things.  In Jesus name, Amen.

 

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, and our website, and our church app, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.  

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