Today

 October 14, 2024

“This one thing I do; forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 3:14

Today grab a cup of coffee, sit down and relax; it’s story time. It’s not my own; I borrowed it from Jason Lowrance.

“The devil appeared to three Pastors and said to them: "If I gave you the power to change something in the past, what would you change?"

The first of them, with great apostolic fervor, replied: "I would like to prevent you from leading Adam and Eve to sin, so that humanity does not separate from God."

The second, a man full of mercy, said to him: "I will prevent you from straying from God and condemning you forever."

The third of them was the simplest and instead of answering the tempter, he knelt down, bowed his head and prayed: "Lord, deliver me from the temptation of what might have been and what was not."

The demon, screaming and trembling with pain, fled.

The other two were surprised and said to him: "Brother, why did you react like this?"

And he answered them: “First, we should never talk to the enemy.”

“Secondly, no one in the world has the power to change the past.”

“Third: Satan’s interest was not to prove our virtue, but to trap us in the past, so that we neglect the present, the only time God gives us His grace and we can cooperate with Him to fulfill His will.”

Of all the demons, the one that most holds men back and prevents them from being happy is “what could have been and was not.” The past is left to the mercy of God and the future to His providence. Only the present is in our hands. Live today loving God with all your heart. 

As Paul said, “Forget the past and press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Slacking Off

 October 13, 2024

I remember watching a bicycle race where the guy in the lead began to celebrate crossing the finish line just a bit too early and was passed by the man in second place. Because he let up his pace, he lost the race he thought he had won. Cocky boxers who taunt their opponent have often found themselves on their backs on the mat. 

It’s easy to get complacent. We’ve done this a thousand times before and imagine we can do it with our eyes closed. “I’ve got this one in the bag,” we say. It’s a dangerous place to be. The king of Syria boasted that he was going to wipe Israel off the map. The king of Israel wisely answered, “Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.” (I Kings 20:11) 

Paul was afraid of this very danger, and said,

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

—Philippians 3:13-14 

I thought faithful Christian living would get easier as I got older. After all, I’m wiser, know the devil’s tricks a bit better, and am not tempted by many “youthful temptations.” Here’s my word to you: “It doesn’t get easier; it gets different.” Slacking off on prayer, letting down the guard of my mind, filling my head with the thoughts and attitudes of this world instead of God, are as dangerous today as they were sixty years ago. 

Don’t let yourself get spiritually lazy. It will catch up to you sooner or later, and the results are never pleasant.

The Price

October 12, 2024

This is the last of my thoughts on these verses…promise! 

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” —Philippians 3:7-10 

“That I may know…the power of his resurrection…” Most Christians don’t think much about the resurrection until Easter Sunday, but every single Sunday is a resurrection Sunday where we gather, not to honor the founder of our religion, but to worship our Savior who died and is now alive again. We are so used to this thinking that we don’t realize just how revolutionary it is. People who have never heard of Jesus often live in fear, and always live in dread of death. It’s the end of everything for them. 

There’s something else about Christ’s resurrection: We are included in it.

“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,” —Colossians 2:13 

But in order to be included in his resurrection, we must be willing to be included in his death by dying to our own dreams and aspirations as well as our sins. Resurrection is glorious, but costly. The only question is, “Are we willing to pay the price?”

 

Suffering Together

 “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” —Philippians 3:10 

Most Christians I’m acquainted with say they want to know Christ. We say we want to know the power of his resurrection. But when it comes to the fellowship of his sufferings, we draw the line. We know people suffer, but desiring it? That seems a little extreme! One has to be a fanatic or crazy to want such a thing! And yet that’s exactly what Paul says.

If you think about it, it’s not really as odd as it first appears. Paul speaks not just of suffering, but of the fellowship of suffering. If you’ve been through a particularly difficult experience—rejection, death of a loved one, depression, life-threatening illness, etc.—someone may come alongside you to offer comfort. They mean well, but only those who have been through a similar experience themselves can really understand. When they come alongside you, there is a depth of understanding that brings a measure of comfort no one else can offer. That’s what Paul means when he speaks of the fellowship of Christ’s suffering.

He wants to know Christ so deeply that he can in a sense, come alongside him with an understanding that is only available through his own suffering. And conversely, he wants to know Jesus so deeply that when he (Paul) suffers, he can experience the comforting Presence of Christ that’s only possible because Jesus went through the same, and more.

We don’t look for suffering like some masochist, but we desire to know the fellowship that only mutual suffering can bring.

Unbelievable

 October 10, 2024

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” —Philippians 3:7-10 

Sometimes it’s really hard to believe the Bible. That may sound strange coming from me, but it’s true. In the verses we’ve been considering, Paul states the unbelievable—that we can be righteous. I don’t know about you, but most of the time, I don’t feel very righteous. I don’t have to look very deeply into my heart to see judgmentalism, greed, lying, envy, pride…the list could go on and on. In spite of all I know is inside me, Paul says I possess righteousness, not from the law (ie. trying to do what’s right), but “through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”

Hebrews tells us that faith is “the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith grabs hold of what I can’t see with my eyes, what I don’t see in my life now, and believes what God says about me instead of what I feel about me. I have to work at this kind of faith because what I feel and what I see are very real to me. I have to decide which is more real: my feelings and even sometimes my actions, or God’s promises in his Word. You must make that same decision if you want to experience grace, forgiveness, and life.

Found

 October 9, 2024

I think it’s time to once again quote the entire paragraph in Philippians, so that we don’t lose sight of the context for the things that are on my mind.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” —Philippians 3:7-10 

Today I am thinking about the phrase “be found in him.” It’s an odd way of putting things. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he speaks repeatedly of being “in Christ,” and if we are already there, what does he mean by wanting to be “found” in him?

I don’t think Paul here is speaking of God somehow finding him in Christ. I think Paul is wanting those around him to see how being in Christ transforms a man’s life. Paul spells it out: he’s no longer scrabbling to follow the law to the letter, becoming in the process a critical, judgmental shell of a man. Instead, by being in Christ, already redeemed, he is free to love and serve selflessly. He wants people to see this, to “be found (by others) in Christ.” 

That’s a pretty good goal, one I am pressing into; one I hope you are pressing into, too.

Who Are You!

October 8, 2024

“I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ that I may know Him …” —Philippians 3:8, 10 

“That I may know him…”

When we start really getting to know someone, we discover two things: 1) Who they really are, and 2) who you really are. Those discoveries can be pleasant, but are often painful. It takes time, but we learn about compatibilities and differences. The problem is, compatibility doesn’t guarantee a good relationship, and “incompatibility” doesn’t necessarily mean a bad relationship.

It takes time to learn if the other person is selfish or selfless, arrogant or humble, kind or controlling. But it’s only when we’re in a relationship that we learn the same things about ourselves. How can I know if I’m kind or mean if I’m never in a relationship where these characteristics can surface? 

In the same way, we learn who we really are by being in relationship with Jesus. He is like a mirror to our souls, revealing things about us that we might not want to know, but also revealing his unconditional love that makes such self-knowledge useful in our transformation into his image. 

Pay attention to your relationships. They will both reveal you and refine you.