The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3:10 wrote the following:
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” [I have made myself cards with this verse so that I see one when I wake up, and the second is in the bathroom I use all day. I want that same determination Paul had. Jesus will work that into me!]
I am convicted by Paul’s determination to know Jesus.
I don’t wake up every morning thinking that my goal is to know Christ better. I want to experience His power, the power that resurrected Him from the dead. I want to be willing to participate in His kingdom such that I am sharing in His sufferings, so that I am becoming more and more like Him, when He willingly chose to take upon Himself the wrath of God to pay the penalty for my sins. He was sinless. I am guilty. He was innocent. He became the guilty party, and I became the innocent party.
I want that determination to be what motivates me to get out of bed each day. I want this to be woven deeply into my character so that others can see Jesus, not me, and want to share in His kingdom also.
Having an experience with God is very different than having head knowledge of who He is. I want more than information about my Lord and Savior. I want to experience His presence in my daily life. I want to experience His love. I want a rich love relationship with Him.
His love is true love. It is love that is active on our behalf. It is love that is unconditional, and so much more than I can grasp, but I want to know as much of His love as I can before I meet Jesus in person.
We need knowledge from the Bible that will lead us into a loving, living relationship with God. But Godcatapults the knowledge we gain from studying His word, into experiences of His love, goodness, discipline, comfort, compassion, and so much more.
Paul learned, as he states in Philippians 3:7, that earthly gains are meaningless when compared to the richness of having an intimate and personal relationship with the living God!
Philippians 3:7-9 states: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
Paul had a lot of worldly advantages – he had a strong religious position [He was a high standing Pharisee.], he was an upwardly mobile young man, but God touched his life, and turned all of that into something of eternal value. None of what Paul had before his conversion to Christ had eternal significance.
So many people today put value on all the wrong achievements. Money, fame, high position and any other earthly status symbols are insignificant when compared to knowing God personally.
What motivates you to get up each morning? What is the deepest desire of your heart? If it is not knowing and serving Jesus, I recommend that you get alone with the Holy Bible, and ask God to help you know what truly matters in life. Because it not only matters for this life, but has eternal significance.
Consider Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
It was not frightening to Paul to lose his life for Christ, it was what fulfilled him. It is what will fulfill you, as well. It is what fulfills me.
Prior to God opening my heart to be His child through Christ, I looked for fulfillment in all the wrong places. I was a sinful wanderer, lacking the moral compass of Christ, but didn’t realize it was Jesus I needed. But God, in His great mercy and compassion, opened my heart and mind to know Him personally. I have the pleasure of experiencing Him each day as I traverse the challenges of this life.
Prior to my relationship with Christ, I managed life. I found ways to cope with its challenges. But Godchanged all that. Now I don’t have to cope or manage my life, I seek God, His kingdom, and He takes care of all the rest.
Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I don’t sit on my couch eating bonbons all day. Following the Lord is often a rigorous path. But God doesn’t leave me alone, He carries me through the challenges. I experience His presence every day through His Holy Spirit who permanently indwells me.
He is my comfort. I experience Him in my life when I am distraught. His presence, through His Holy Spirit is as real as if He were here in the flesh.
He is my source of provision so I can live in this world. I experience God personally in the many ways He provides for us financially. He provides me with emotional stability.
He is the source for my spiritual strength.
He is my Protector. That doesn’t mean He stops all hardships, but He protects me in and through them. I experience His peace and calm in the midst of rejection, unkindness, and so much more.
He is so much more….and you can discover that truth when you dig into the Bible.
Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com if you want to discuss how to dig into God’s word, and have a living and vibrant relationship with Jesus so you can know Him with the same exuberance as the Apostle Paul.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!
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Copyright 2024 Donna Shappy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.