Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 11th Edition.
Dear Saints,
I trust you are well on this “Atheists’ Day”. Some of you may be wondering about that. It’s a joke I heard recently. An Atheist was arguing that they needed a holiday, just as Christians have Christmas and Easter, Jews have quite a few, Muslims have Idd and Hindus have Diwali. A young man shouted, “But you already have your holiday!” “I am not aware,” replied the Atheist, to which the young man responded, “It’s April 1st.” The atheist asked, “How so?” The young man replied, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1).
Yesterday, we saw in Philippians 1:3-5, about cultivating an attitude of gratitude, and promoting it also, in others. Today, we look at verse 6.Paul expresses confidence that God, who began the good work in the Christians, will bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. We talked two days ago about our being saints. We are saints by God’s decree, from the moment we receive Christ as saviour. But our conduct is often far from saintly. God works in us, through the Holy Spirit, with whom we are sealed, upon believing, to make us more and more, Christlike.
Sometimes we have setbacks; at other times, we want to give up. God says through the Apostle Paul that his work will not be left half-done and will not be abandoned halfway. This work of making us more like Christ was begun by God the moment we gave our lives to Jesus. It will go on throughout life, being completed in the day the Lord Jesus returns, or he calls us home. Is God’s work continuing in your life? If it is not, you should ask yourself whether you are a Christian, at all. One of the true marks of a Christian is the ongoing work of sanctification (being made holy, Christlike). If you cannot see that evidence in your life, it’s time for a reality check.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.