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- Charter Oak Church
- Charter Oak Church is a family of Jesus followers who want to reach out to those who are searching and equip believers to become fully devoted followers of Jesus.
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to remember to put Christ first. Out in the world, it seems I'm valued for my personal accomplishments . . . and so I take pride in them. But the truth is, worldly success hasn't made me happy nor has it made me a good person. Knowing Christ is so much better! As usual, the bible's wisdom beats the world's hands down.
Verse 8 - "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him."
ReplyDeleteI want to gain Christ and be found in him more than anything in this world. More of Jesus! More of Jesus! More of Jesus in my character, in my relationships, in my words, in my actions, in every aspect of my life down to the last detail. I'm willing to lose everything this world has to offer in order to gain Christ and be found in him.
"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things." - Verse 8
ReplyDeleteMy salvation in Christ, my relationship and knowledge of Him as my Savior - is priceless! It gives everything else in my life - value. He is the light, the air I breathe, the pulse/beating of my heart. Without Him, I have nothing.
I want to show and speak to others just how much I love Christ, and what knowing Him means about my life. He is my life.
v.13 Brother, I count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth unto those things which are before. Paul had much in his past for which to harbor regret and unforgiveness of himself. But he chose to focus on what was to come not on what had passed, to begin today, to be a new man in Christ. Help me Lord, to stop looking backward, stop carrying the past like a noose around my neck, stop holding everything up to who I was and start holding it up to who I am..today..in Christ.
ReplyDelete"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
ReplyDeleteThrough Christ, Paul has been able to forget his own past, something many people struggle with for years through countless counselors and solutions. He is not perfect, but his desire for God carries him further from his past and on toward eternity. It is so easy to try to press on toward a better relationship with Christ without truly forgetting what is behind me. "Straining" is a realistic word for this process...dragged backward by the knowledge of my own sin while trying to pull ahead toward the cross. Lord, thank you for your grace and mercy and love in all circumstances. Help me to remember that I have not "already obtained all this" but that you are constantly molding me and drawing me to you.
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
ReplyDeleteThis passage jumped out at me because it is so hard to forget the past. It's very hard to look at what is ahead when you are still hurting about the past.
I keep three passages on my desk and they all seem to align with the passage above.
"God is at work in and around you. You may not see his hand, hear his voice or even understand his process, but you can rest assured that you can trust his heart. Remember, every problem points to a promise."
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but ackowledge him in all things and he will direct your path."
This is the one I live by every day. "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."
I don't know what lies ahead but I am comforted daily by the fact that I know who my redeemer is.
Lord, my contiued prayer is that you will walk by my side as I strain to see what lies ahead. Help me to leave the past in the past and focus on putting you at the center of my life.
v.8 "I consider EVERYTHING a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
ReplyDeleteDo I? Do I really consider EVERYTHING a loss.. EVERYTHING as trash... compared to knowing Jesus & being in relationship with Him. Later in verse 19, Paul speaks of people that are enemies of Christ & says "their god is their stomach." How many times have I chosen food over Jesus? Physical junk food over Spiritual, eternal nourishment?
I need to fast. I know that's not a term or activity that's talked about much in the Methodist church... but God really convicted me of this as I medidated on these 2 specific verses. I need a physical representation that my god will no longer be my stomach. I meed a physical representation that EVERYTHING is a loss compared to knowing Jesus. So from now through the end of this challenge, I will be on a partial fast. My God is the one & only true God... my Lord & Savior... my Bread of Life.