“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 carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 1:3-6
Heavenly Father, as the last week of August 2021 begins, thank you for a diverse tapestry of friends who share one BIG common unifying passion and delight. And that is, as Paul calls it, “partnership in the gospel.” Not partnership, as in being “owners” and “voters.” But partnership as in belonging to you and being hidden in Christ, with citizenship in heaven and a mission on earth.
Thank you for writing us into your story of redeeming grace and transforming love. Thank you for rescuing us from gospel-less religion and grace-less spirituality. Thank you for freeing us from dreams that don’t include you, and a lifestyle that makes Jesus “nice,” but peripheral. Thank you for the joy of posing less, and depending more on you—the God who raises the dead.
Father, stoke the flames of our passion for your now-and-coming-Kingdom. Give us deeper empathy and compassion for the least and the lost. Make the Gospel central to our thinking, feeling, and choosing.
Life is just too short for energy-depleting micro-dramas of being liked, vying for control, and getting more stuff. How boring and yawn-fueling. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.