Philippians 3:10, 11


I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead ~ Philippians 3:10, 11

“I want to know Christ” - that is what makes me a Christ follower! I want to know Him, to understand, to experience His nature and character and His work in a way that shows me clearly who He is so that I can mirror Him. I want to know in the depths of my being the salvation He has worked out for me and the power that lies within it. How, in my own mind and heart does His death impact me and my life? How do I now sense the hope of immortality because of His saving grace and His resurrection from the dead? This is what makes Him like no other – that He was raised from the dead and now lives. I want to know Christ so that I can live as He did, and if need be, that I can die in a way that shows others who He is. New Testament people seemed to want to by martyrs. I have no desire to be one myself, but, if I should be challenged or persecuted, I do have the desire that my death would bring glory to Him who died for me. It is a hard thing to even think that I would participate in His sufferings, so great were they. I could never imagine in any way going through what my Saviour went through on the way to the cross. How few of us would be willing to die as He died? When I think of dying, I want to go to sleep and not wake up, I want a “bed of down” for my deathbed, I want it to be as comfortable as possible. I do not look to suffer in death, to have the intensity of suffering be my bedmate. But, if that were to be my wish, it may not be my reality, and suffering may be a part of my end here on earth. Should that be so, may God give me the patience, faith, and His compassion, for I know that when my end comes, He will take me to be with Him, for that is why He died and was resurrected.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh...
Read more

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t...
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the...
Read more