Observations:
I asked myself in what context do we see God and Jesus Christ used in this verse?
1. God can testify how I long for all of you.
2. I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Interpretation:
I asked myself what is the significance of Paul mentioning God and Jesus Christ?
Paul is so confident in his longing for the Philippians with the affection of Jesus Christ that he is able to say that GOD CAN TESTIFY on his behalf. Wow! Paul is assured to bank on the testimony of God on his relationship with the Philippians, that it is genuine with the affection of Jesus Christ!

Implications:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life?
In any relationship that the Lord Jesus places in my life whether it is with my sweetheart wife Chandra, family or friends, can I be able to say, 'God can testify that my longing for others is with the affection of Jesus Christ' or can Satan testify that my longing for others is with the selfishness of Satan. There is no middle ground. It is one or the other in relationships. I want God to be able to testify on my behalf to others that it is with the affection of Jesus Christ. Anything mentioned in Scriptures has implications for our lives somehow and somewhere because God's entire Word is our instruction manual.

There are and have been relationships in my life that I can confidently say with the apostle Paul, "God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." And then there are also relationships in my life that I cannot bank on God to testify on my behalf because that affection of Christ Jesus is not exhibited on my part towards others.

I realized how much the Philippians meant to Paul that he was not shy to use the word affection in the context of Christ Jesus. It showed me that affection should not be limited to a romantic relationship alone but affection of Christ Jesus should be shown to those relationships Jesus has placed in my life. I want affection of Christ Jesus to be a phrase that people can use about my relationship with them.

As Paul longed with the affection of Jesus Christ towards the Philippians, my affection for certain brothers and sisters of Transformers, the small group of Oakland International Fellowship that I am part of, grew based on the time spent with them as it was led by our fearless leader Optimus Prime (I mean Calvin Chiang :) 

Our purpose is to be transformed by and for Christ without being conformed to this world. I realized the more time I spent with my brothers and sisters in Christ, the degree of affection became greater.  

It is not just limited to Transformers but some of the relationships I have had in Living Acts, Potters Clay, and IVCF have been with deep affection. Many of them are not here anymore and I miss them. Currently, I long to meet with Pastor Hugo Cheng every opportunity I get.

The point is that the Lord Jesus can place people in our life that our affection grows based on our own relationship experiences with them BUT more than anything, it is because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The purpose of today's devotional for me was to have relationships in such a way that God can testify on my behalf that the longing it is with the affection of Christ Jesus.

I ask you now dear friend, how can your A.F.F.E.C.T.I.O.N. grow towards others? Dear friend, it starts with having loving relationships in life. A relationship does not have to be romantic even though our culture equates 'being in a relationship' with being with a member of the opposite sex but that's not how Paul defined a relationship and neither should we box a relationship in those terms alone. The day you and I were born, we were in a relationship with those who loved us. Through the years, the Lord Jesus has placed people in our lives to love us, train us, challenge us, etc for our own growth. Your affection will grow depending on how much you experience the Lord's love first and foremost.

Jesus wants to have a relationship with you to take all your scars and heal them by His love. You can be in the best relationship possible with the best person who is perfect and will never disappoint you. Yes, friend you can be! He loves you so much and if you were the only one living, He would have still come to have a relationship with you because you are special and precious in His sight. He has called you by Name and will never leave you nor forsake you. Jesus went to the cross for your sake and my sake.  He paid the ultimate price by shedding His precious blood for you and me to cover over all our sins and came back to life on the third day to save us. For when Christ loves you and heals you, He does not want you to live your life alone but be part of a community of believers where we can reciprocate His love for us and His affection for us.

When you are in a relationship with Jesus, His love in your life will help you find a community of believers where your affection will grow towards others because of Christ's work in your life. When you experience a relationship with Christ, He will introduce you to a 'Witnessing Community' that can help you experience love that will turn to deep affection towards others.

The Lord Jesus has used my mommy mightily to help me come to know Jesus as my Lord and Personal Savior so my love for the Lord and experiencing His strong community is what grows my affections towards others. The Lord continues to use my mommy and my darling wife Chandra through their prayers to help me grow in affection towards others. Thank you Jesus!

You and I can be in a relationship with Jesus and wait upon Him to transform our lives and experience affection that grows towards others because of what He has already done for us.  I hope you would join me if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior, for He waits for you and is calling you. Yes, He is!

May you rest in Him and Him alone where your affection will grow towards others because of His love and work in your life! Amen!

"Acknowledge, Faithfully Forever Christ Triumphs In Our Nurture!" (A.F.F.E.C.T.I.O.N)/"How can your A.F.F.E.C.T.I.O.N grow towards others in life?"

jMake this your prayer to receive Christ the Lord into your life who offers His gift of grace to you and if you have your own words to pray, pray them too openly to the Lord.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I heard that there is nothing I can do on my own to receive your favor. Your favor is not dependent on what I do. Thanks Jesus because I know now just as the Hindu person I read about, there is nothing I do that can save me because my good works are seen as filthy rags to you making me unclean. If I am unclean, you cannot receive me into Heaven and I cannot have a relationship with you that is fruitful. But, you already know that and you intervened for me. You have offered me the FREE GIFT OF GRACE that I did not even know about because I was so busy trying to do my own things to reach you God. I am sorry. Now, I know I cannot reach you by anything I do but I can reach you because you reached me first. Thanks so much by providing Christ to become the bridge for me to save me. Now I can come to you and have that personal relationship with you because Jesus died on the cross shedding His precious Blood washing away all my uncleanness of sin and making me pure in your sight. OH  thank you for amazing GRACE, how sweet the sound that can save a wretch like me. So, Lord I once was lost without receiving your GRACE but now I want it in my life and open the gift of GRACE you have given me through faith and ask you to be part of my life. Thank you for loving me so much. Everything you did for me and do for me is because of your love for me. I now confess all my sins to you and repent of them and want to follow you Jesus receiving your GRACE. Please help me by coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for coming into my heart right now and making my heart your home. You live in me Jesus by your GRACE. I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior. Thanks for being my Lord and Personal Savior. Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me. I belong to you now Jesus. Thanks for saving me and you will work in me and through me by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you when you give Him your heart! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help by His grace alone!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

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