Knowing Christ

Philippians 3:8 

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.

There is nothing in this world more important than knowing Christ. Our relationship to Christ is what really matters in life. We seek acceptance, pleasure, and happiness, but all is waste compared to winning the prize of eternal life with Christ. There are people that measure their worth by how many “likes” they get on social media, how many “friends” they can gain on Facebook. Yes, God made us with these desires. We all have a need to be wanted and accepted, but in reality, Jesus is all we need. He is our all in all. Without Him, it matter not who befriends us or what pleasures we experiences, they don’t compare to the love and friendship that Jesus can give us. In Him, we never walk alone, in Him we are never alone, in Him we can win the battle, and in Him we have eternal life.

Discover Our Identity

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

It was ironic that the message I listen to yesterday would be the topic in Daily Bread this morning. Discovering our identity, who we are and who are we meant to be. People spend a life time searching out their purpose in life, and to find meaning in life.  Why did God create us, for what purpose did He have in mind when in the womb of our mothers, He was thinking of us? Born into this world as sinners, the plan of God is to reveal the holiness within each one of us through Christ. We were form from the dust of the ground, and unworthy earthen vessels. But God, who loved us, desires to reveal to us His created purpose within each one of us. To discovery who we are in Christ, will bring peace, meaning, and freedom to be what God wants us to be.

All Things Created

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

His name is Jesus. Before the world was created Jesus, one with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, created the heavens and the earth. All things were made by Him and for Him. He made man in His likeness. Man was made to have fellowship with Jesus, given a free will to choose to love and worship the Creator. Sin has warped the nature of man and put within man a desire to please the self-nature of the human heart. Jesus came to earth to redeem man from this nature, but man must make a choice to deny self and believe in the redemption power of Christ. Satans, the enemy of God, does everything he can to keep man from believing. the struggle to believe is real because sin reigns within the heart of man. The choice is still ours. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”  We were made to live in Christ, but we must choose to do so.

The Comforter

 John 14:18, 20 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you…At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you… you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

The promise is given to believers. The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to live in His word. For He is the Spirit of truth and lead us into a deeper relationship with Christ. He leads us to help us find who we really are. Our identity is found in the person of Christ. We have left the ways of the flesh. By the Holy Spirit, the flesh has been crucified and put to death. In the newness of life, The Holy Spirit dwells within us. He is not just with us, but He is the power that lives within us to give us power over sin and fear. He is the Spirit of love that will cast out all fear. This is the comfort given to believers, that Christ dwells in us and we in Him. 

Under His Wings

Psalm 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

The protection of God to them that love Him is shown to us in scripture by the way a mother bird protects their young. Shelter from the storms that come, and safe from predators, the mother bird wraps her wing around her own. The devil is out seeking to destroy God’s children in any way he can. God’s children, whether they be adopted in the family or His by creation, the devil desires to keep them from putting their trust in God. God does not play favorites, but to those who draw near to Him, seeking His wing, He draws them in. Under His wings we can know that we our safe, and no harm will come to them that put their trust in God. As a born again child of God, we can be assured that in Christ we our shielded and protected from becoming prey to the enemy of our soul. May we always abide under the feathers of His wings.  

Love One Another

John 13: 34,35  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another… By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

The golden rule, the thread that is woven into the hearts of all believers. Love, the theme that is the hallmark of God’s word. Love the goes beyond mere affection, desire, and passion of the flesh. In a world that is filled with hate and selfish gratification for the things of this world, it is rare to see true love. This is how Christian are marked. The image of Christ is stamped in their heart, and the love of Christ indwells the believer through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. “…The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”(Roman 5:5) Such love is not possible in the flesh. The love of the flesh is limited and given to man by God, but God’s love goes deeper and is divine. This is the love that can only be found in Christ and through Christ. Let us live in Christ so that we may love as Christ loves.

All Things Are Passed Away

2 Corinth 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The old things before coming to Christ are those things that kept us from being one in Christ. What are those old things? We all have things in our past life that were contrary to God’s will and His purpose. The old habits of sin and living each day thinking only of ourselves. Paul also refers to the old things as the old man. The old man desires to hold on to the old things. The new man who is now in Christ now sees the world through a different lens. His ideas are no longer shaped by the viewpoint of a Godless culture, but are formed by understanding the principles of God’s word. All things in life are now based on what God’s word has to say. The things we now do, we do for the sake of glorifying Jesus and living our lives in His footsteps. We follow a different path, our hearts no longer seek to please self, but to reach out to please others with love and kindness. This is the transformation that take place in a person’s life when he becomes a new creature in Christ, and all things are passed away, and all things become new.

Pleasing Self

2 Corinth 5:15 “and that He died for all, that those who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.”-

Living to please self is an indication that one has not come face to face with the One who died for sin. Weather we realize it or not, we were all born into this world as sinners. We inherited the fallen nature of Adam, and the seed of sin is within us. The accountability of this sin nature is revealed to all men at some point in their lives. The law of God reveals to man the thing that are sinful and break the heart of God. Living life to satisfy the desires of the flesh and thinking only of oneself is at the root of sin. Unbelief in the One who died for sin is manifest in the way one lives their lives. When we come to Christ for forgiveness of sin, He takes our sin, they are nailed to the cross, and cast into the sea of forgetfulness. He begins to change the desire in our heart. We start to focus on the needs of others because that is what Christ did when He died for us. He died that man may live. God wants us to live a life of loving and giving. For those in live in Christ will no longer live unto themselves, but live to please the One who died for them. 

New Life in Christ

2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.”- 

It was Feb 21st, 1974 that I began my spiritual journey as a new babe in Christ. The life I lived before Christ was a short 15 years. The sins of my life were washed in the blood of Christ. I became a new person, and slowly my life style started to change as I grew in the knowledge of my Lord. Life now had new meaning and purpose as my eyes were open to spiritual truths. I now look at life through the eyes of God’s Word. Christ became the center of my Life and everything I did was focused on pleasing Him. Almost 40 years later, and I don’t regret the path that I choose to take. A life of full surrender and adventure as I journey this earth with the Lover of my Soul by my side.