“I thank my God every time I remember you… I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will complete it.” Phil. 1:3-6
Dear Jesus, as the last week of August 2024 winds down, I thank you for the diverse tapestry of friends you’ve given me—friends who increasingly enjoy friendship as “partnership in the gospel.” Not partnership as owners and stakeholders of a corporation; but partnership as in belonging to you, being clothed in your righteousness, and engaged in your commitment to “make all things new.”
And the tapestry just got bigger, with more colors, textures, nuances, hearts, and stories. Time with you started later than usual this morning, Jesus, because of my late-night arrival from the weekend you gave me among the Redwoods in Santa Cruz, California. As impressive as those trees are, more endearing are the hearts of those I got to retreat with at Mount Hermon.
A church family from Berkeley (Christ Church East Bay), didn’t just remind me of the Berkeley I knew as a young believer in the late 60’s, but it also reminded me that you are at work all the time, everywhere—in ways we see and in more ways we will only discover later. Thank you Jesus. Fear, anxiety, and angst aren’t the order of the day. Faith, hope, and love are—now and forever.
I’ve never led a retreat with more Ph.Ds. present than fly-fishing vests—so many “smarts” and hearts grateful for the Gospel, and craving a deeper experience of your love—the only love better than life. Thank you Jesus. As crazy as this time is in our world and culture, more certain than the crazy is your commitment to fill the earth with your glory and make all things new. So Very Amen.