Priceless
Opening Prayer
Jesus, You are my only confidence and I will give all that I may gain You!
Read PHILIPPIANS 3:1-11
[1] Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. [2] Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. [3] For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh- [4] though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: [5] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; [6] as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. [7] But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [8] 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 [9] 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. [10] I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What or who gives you your worth?What is your recent experience of knowing deep joy in the Lord Jesus? Has it affected your perspective on life? Why do you think Paul describes finding joy in the Lord as a safeguard to the Philippian Christians’ faith (1)?Paul is really troubled by those who reduce Christianity to some sort of human effort, even though he himself has plenty of human credentials. Those of us who are not Jews may not immediately resonate with Paul’s list of personal virtues (5,6). However, we are not immune from lapsing into thinking that we have qualities that make us acceptable to God. What would your list look like? Many of us know that we become Christians because of all that Jesus has done for us–it is by grace we are saved. But we often then behave as if remaining a Christian depends on our work and effort. This passage highlights Paul’s deep conviction that Jesus alone is the Savior of the world. Paul’s relationship with Christ is committed enough to take the rough with the smooth. To what extent can we echo his words in verses 10 and 11?
Apply
Worship the Lord Jesus Christ as the one of infinite value, the one worth your all in all.
Closing prayer
Father, thank You for Your grace in Christ. I have no other hope or foundation.
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