Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Philippians 3:1-11
Set – 1 Kings 14; Philippians 3
Go! – 1 Kings 13-14; 2 Chronicles 12; Philippians 3
Philippians 3:1-11
1 It is time that I wrap up these thoughts to you, my brothers and sisters. Rejoice in the Lord! (I don’t mind writing these things over and over to you, as I know it keeps you safe.)2 Watch out for the dogs—wicked workers who run in packs looking for someone to maul with their false circumcision.
3 We are the true circumcision—those who worship God in Spirit and make our boast in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King—so we do not rely on what we have accomplished in the flesh.
4 If any try to throw around their pedigrees to you, remember my résumé—which is more impressive than theirs. 5 I was circumcised on the eighth day—as the law prescribes—born of the nation of Israel, descended from the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew born of Hebrews; I have observed the law according to the strict piety of the Pharisees, separate from those embracing a less rigorous kind of Judaism. 6 Zealous? Yes. I ruthlessly pursued and persecuted the church. And when it comes to the righteousness required by the law, my record is spotless.
7 But whatever I used to count as my greatest accomplishments, I’ve written them off as a loss because of the Anointed One. 8 And more so, I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing the Anointed Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him. 9 When it counts, I want to be found belonging to Him, not clinging to my own righteousness based on law, but actively relying on the faithfulness of the Anointed One. This is true righteousness, supplied by God, acquired by faith. 10 I want to know Him inside and out. I want to experience the power of His resurrection and join in His suffering, shaped by His death, 11 so that I may arrive safely at the resurrection from the dead.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Have you gotten to the point Paul discovered? Paul realized that all he gained and thought important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing Me. Have you developed a relationship like that with Me yet? What’s really important to you right now?
There was a time when Paul thought the Temple and the law were the most important things in his life. He prided himself on keeping the law and enforcing it upon others. He wanted all who associated with the Jewish faith or called on My name to understand that he studied under one of the most rigorous rabbis.
Gamaliel took few disciples and fewer still could stand up under the rigor of his training, but Paul did. He worked feverishly to keep the Pharisaical traditions pure and stop the radical teaching of My disciples. Paul applauded the arrest and imprisonment of those who disrupted the activities of the Temple. He hunted down those who declared Jesus the Messiah. Paul even held the coats of those who stoned to death Stephen, the gentle servant caring for the children and orphans who claimed allegiance to My kingdom.
Paul did all he could to persecute My church. That is until I met him on the road to Damascus. Then everything changed. When he saw Me, he saw the mistake he made in not believing My disciples’ word. He understood the truth of their message. Paul recognized the wrongs he committed in unjustly punishing those who lived as I instructed them.
As I opened his eyes to the scriptures Gamaliel taught him, Paul saw in them everything I told the crowds on the Judaean hillsides. He recognized the fallacies of the traditions he had tried to uphold and the necessity of love reaching out to overcome the failures of trying to keep the law.
Paul found in Me the hope he tried to find in his religion without success. He felt the forgiveness that lifted the burden of guilt sin placed upon his life and knew the stories he heard from My followers about My grace and mercy were true. Paul understood the transforming power of My Spirit and gave himself fully to Me.
Paul died to himself. He gave up everything for Me. Paul recognized the mission I wanted him to complete and eagerly accepted it. He saw the eternal ramifications of his decision and the temporary nature of all else around him. Paul could say without any doubt that everything he gained to that point in his life truly appeared as garbage compared to knowing Me.
Why? Because I am the Eternal God…and that’s enough.
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