Tim Johnson
Philippians 1:5 (NKJ) “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will not complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” In other words, we will not be complete until we go home to Christ. Because of this I often think about those people in my past who helped shape who I am today.
It’s amazing how people affect each other, good and bad. They become influences in your life. With this new age of social media, it is far easier to influence other people. I see good and bad that come from this. I bring it up because it is a fairly new descriptive word that has developed. Some people use social media to gain popularity for many different reasons, and many people begin following them and their content on a nonpersonal level.
In days gone past our “influencers” were on a personal level, the local newspaper, or a book. Today you probably don’t know the person that is trying to influence you or how they live their life.
Honestly, we have always had “influencers.” It’s just taken a new form today with this social media platform concept. As a matter of fact, most if not all of us, are influencers of some kind to someone else.
Our scripture today is a part of the greeting from the apostle Paul and is part of a thanksgiving and prayer. The verse is an uplifting one, and one that I want to give to you to think about today. This devotion I am sharing is for you. Please take it personally. I can’t see your face or know your name, but I want you to know God knows all about you, your name, your face, your heart, your past, your future, as well as your pain, your difficulties, and your struggles.
Read it again, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will not complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” This verse is awesome.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, please know that the enemy is not and never will be content or happy about that. He desires to distract you, depress you, discourage you, and dissuade you from serving the Lord Jesus Christ. This journey wasn’t intended or promised to be easy, but it does come with some guarantees. Jesus promised us the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to live inside and be with us. Jesus promises multiple times that He will be with us and even says ‘even unto the end of the age!’
Paul gives us this verse and I am sharing it with you as a prayer and a promise. If you are born again that means that Jesus began a work in you. You may be down and out, feeling like a failure, but you need to realize today that it’s not about how ‘good you can be’ it’s about letting Him lead, guide and direct what He wants to create in you. Let Him have it, let Him complete it, He wants to and is going to complete that good work in you. As He works in you, some people are going to look back and remember you as one of those influencers in their lives, in their journeys, and the work that Christ is doing in them. Jesus is here, in your day today, rejoice for He is worthy.
Remember that you are prayed for, because I pray for anyone who is reading any and all the devotions that I write.
Tim Johnson is pastor of Valley of Light Fellowship