Prayer
letters coming from men in the trenches of ministry always warm my heart. I
received one such prayer letter today from Jonathan Holdt, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church, in Pretoria, South Africa. The whole prayer
letter is worth reading as it oozes with energy about what the Lord is doing in
Jonathan’s church. However, below I share with you his opening paragraph. It is
about the amazing and all-sufficient grace of God.
Jonathan
writes…
One
of the great promises in the Bible is Philippians 1:6 where Paul says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a
good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
What
an encouragement that is as we reflect on our own sinful weakness and failings.
The longer one progresses as a Christian the more one realises just how far
short we fall of the glory of God. We realise more than ever before of our need
for daily grace and the atoning blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our
sins. You may even wonder how you will make it to glory in the light of life’s
trials, burdens, disappointments and failures. This is where God’s grace is so
wonderfully magnified.
What
a magnificent promise Paul brings to our attention that reminds us of God’s
work within us; of His grace that is transforming and changing us as well as
preserving us from all evil and preparing us for glory.
One
thing I am learning in the ministry is just how much we need to take hold of
such promises through faith. The ministry is a continual spiritual battle
against the powers of darkness that is ever menacing and aggressive in its
efforts to oppose and undermine the work of the Lord. There are times when one
feels weary, tired, demoralised and discouraged. Yet, what sweet comfort we
taste in such promises – to know that God is at work in you and will not
abandon the work he is doing.
Sometimes
it may even be hard to see the good that God is doing in and through you. Yet
we draw fresh strength and courage from His promises that remind us that our
labour in the Lord is never in vain [1 Cor 15:58].
The
call to us as Christian pilgrims is to press on cheerfully – knowing that in
Christ Jesus we have the victory over the powers of darkness and knowing that
God will never abandon us as His children and will continue to work in us not
withstanding our sinful weaknesses and failings. Praise be to the God of all
grace!
