From the letter of the apostle Paul to the Philippians 2:12-30 Work out your salvation My dearly beloved, obedient as always to my urging, work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation, not only when I happen to be with you but all the more now that I am absent. It is God who, in his good will toward you, begets in you any measure of desire or achievement. In everything you do, act without grumbling or arguing; prove yourselves innocent and straightforward, children of God beyond reproach in the midst of a twisted and depraved generation—among whom you shine like the stars in the sky while holding fast to the word of life. As I look to the Day of Christ, you give me cause to boast that I did not run the race in vain or work to no purpose. Even if my life is to be poured out as a libation over the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad of it and rejoice with all of you. May you be glad on the same score, and rejoice with me! I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you very soon, that I may derive courage from learning how things go with you. I have no one quite like him for genuine interest in whatever concerns you. Everyone is busy seeking his own interests rather than those of Christ Jesus. You know from experience what Timothy’s qualities are, how he was like a son at his father’s side serving the gospel along with me. I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. In fact, I am confident in the Lord that I myself will be coming soon. I have decided, too, that I must send you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker, and comrade in arms, whom you sent to take care of my needs. He has been longing for all of you, and was distressed that you heard about his illness. He was, in fact, sick to the point of death, but God took pity on him; not just on him, I should say, but on me, too, so as to spare me one sorrow after another. I have been especially eager to send him so that you may renew your joy on seeing him, and my own anxieties may be lessened. Welcome him joyously in the Lord and hold men like him in esteem, for he came near to death for the sake of Christ’s work. He risked his life in an effort to render me those services you could not render.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 05:35:25 +0000
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