IN MY HEART!

IN MY HEART!

Phil 1:1-7

1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

          Paul and Timothy wrote this letter to the people at Philippi expressing a great love for this church. The relationship between a pastor and his church is not always this cordial, but when it is, it is heaven on earth. In these first seven verses, Paul lists several things that is worthy of our focus.

          I have your best interests at heart! I want you to know God’s grace. The word for grace is charis and it means “the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life.” I want God to be so very real to you that it transforms you! I also want you to experience God’s peace. The word peace is eirene which means not only quietness and rest but also prosperity. I want all this for you!

          I have you in my mind! Paul said, “I thank God upon every remembrance of you!” They were always in his thoughts – and they were good thoughts!

          I have you in my prayers! The requests Paul made for them were made with joy. I know that it is not always so. Sometimes when we pray we have a heavy heart because of some sin lurking in the lives of our friends or some tragedy they are experiencing. How pleasant it is to make requests with joy.

          I have good expectations of you! Paul was confident that God would continue to both bless and guide them “until the day of Jesus Christ.” God is faithful to us and will never give up on us! Paul was pleased with the responses of these people to the leading of the Lord. They were growing and he was glad!

          I have you in my heart! You are lodged there like fuzz on Velcro; like a sticker in my sock. I can’t get you out nor do I want to! You are a pleasant and permanent fixture deep inside me. Such is the love that a shepherd has for his sheep. Sometimes this love comes naturally as a result of our interaction with one another and sometimes it is placed there by the Lord Himself. We can’t always understand it but we can’t deny it either.

Ps 133

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord  commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Dear Lord, thank you for the love that exists between me and my flock. May it continue and grow even stronger. Amen