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 Chandraleela, 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 was part of for 4 years , grew based on the time spent with them as it was led by our fearless leader Optimus Prime (I mean Calvin Chiang :) 

Our purpose was 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.  In other words, we became a stronger community together and were making a greater impact upon those who did not know Jesus as we grew in deeper faith through study of Scriptures and prayer.

I am so excited that our fearless leader has returned to lead a small group this semester that Chandra and I decided to commit to with the Lord's help. We hope the experiences we had with Transformers can be experienced in this group too. I had 4 years of experience while Chandra has 1 year of experience with Transformers.

It was not just limited to Transformers but some of the relationships I have had in Living Acts, Potters Clay, New Creation, and IVCF have been with deep affection. Many of them are not here anymore and I miss them. Especially, I miss Pastor Hugo Cheng and Edwin Chan who I could not wait to meet up weekly. I looked forward to that time because it was awesome discipleship for me. My affection for them just grew and grew.

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. It happened to me and Chandra with Transformers and we are excited about what will happen as we have joined small group again under the leadership of Calvin.

Having the right people in your life can make a huge difference. 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 Chandraleela through their prayers to help me grow in affection towards others. Thank you Jesus!

You and I will need the Lord's help to grow in affection towards others that we are not used to. I am confident that in His grace, He will help us so we can adapt to change that we are not used to and grow in affection towards others.

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?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your affection that Paul was able to display and confidently say that God could testify on his behalf. Lord Jesus, please help me to show your affection to those around me and help me to experience the affection of Jesus Christ from others. Thank you for the people you place in our lives for a season or lifetime. We are grateful for that when we experience your love through them. Thanks so much Jesus. We love you Lord. Thanks for loving us so much and dying for our sins. Thank you for coming back to life to save us, redeem us, ransom us, and rescue us from the bondage of sin and death when you shed your precious Blood on the cross to deliver us. We believe in the power of your Blood to cleanse us of all our sin and help us be what you want us to be. Help us Jesus. Thank you so much. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)