Learning Faith


Second, he prays for learning faith: “I pray for you… knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” The Greek text might be rendered some- thing like this: “Be a know-it-all for Jesus’ sake!” It was a romantic fool on a fast track to disaster who first said that love is blind, even if his name was Geoffrey Chaucer and even if he is called “the father of English literature!”! Not so, Sir Geoffrey! Love studies everything available about its beloved. Guys, try telling your best girl, “I really don’t want to know anything more about you!” When you fall in love with Jesus you develop an insatiable desire to know everything there is to know about Him and to be more like Him.


Living Faith Third, Paul prays for a living faith: “filled with the fruit


of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Things that are not living are dead and only living things produce fruit. So, as Paul prayed for his favorite church, I also pray for you: Love + Learning + Life! All this brings me to my parting charge to you: Beloved


people of God, never settle for spiritual mediocrity! All of us who are ARPs drink out of spiritual wells we did not dig. People whose names we do not know laid a deep and powerful Gospel foundation for us. They carried their banner through royal opposition and across the ocean so that we could have this heritage we share together. We cannot honor what they passed on to us by shallow, small thinking or doing! Determine today as we move into the post-COVID-19 era that you will endeavor to raise our ARP banner for Christ as never before. Pray daily and fer- vently for revival in our church and in your local congre- gation. You will never live to regret praying harder, dig- ging deeper, reaching higher, and expending more energy for Jesus and His ARP church. I invite you to join me in giving your utmost for Him who loved us all the way to Calvary and who loves us still. I love you. The Lord Jesus


will forevermore love you much more. Yours for Building healthy


Churches and Birthing healthy Christians,


Leslie Holmes 4


It is my prayer


that your love may abound more and more, with knowl- edge and all dis- cernment, so that you may approve what is excel-


lent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit


of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.


Philippians 1:9-11 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


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