Philippians 1:6-11

⁶ 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. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul’s prayer for the church at Philippi was the scripture for my devotion this morning. I’ve read this passage many times in my life, but today I looked at it differently. You see, on Sunday with a joyful heart and tears streaming down my face, I watched my two daughters get baptized.

It seemed like just yesterday, my husband and I stood in front of our Fullerton Free church family dedicating our daughters to the Lord. That gesture seemed so simple at the time, compared to the years that followed: tearful mornings of one kid not wanting to go to children’s church, the other screaming as we tried desperately to get out the door on time and the repeated yearly urging to “just go in the door” of a new class, “I know you will make a friend.”

Fast forward 10 plus years later, I felt blessed as I watched my dear girls, no – dear young ladies, standing up again in front of our church family with several close friends from their core groups. To watch and hear the encouraging stories from their core group leaders, the high school and junior high ministry leaders and the presence of many supportive friends and family in the congregation made my heart swell with gladness. On Sunday, my daughters made their own public declaration of their dedication to Jesus Christ and to follow Him with all their hearts.

This decision did not occur in a vacuum. My babies, uh, my young ladies were ministered to by the many godly, obedient servants who invested their time teaching Sunday school, the leaders who spent countless hours praying for our church youth, the planners of weekend retreats, organizers of weeks of camp, the supporting phone calls, mentors who spent hours of one on ones with our kids and so much more.

Thank you to all the people in our church who dedicated hours of their lives investing in the lives of our children. My prayer and hope for all those baptized on Sunday, as Paul declared in Philippians “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” To God be the glory!

– Julie Buz’Zard