Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Kings 12; Philippians 3: Ezekiel 42; Psalms 94
“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; ]in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 3:7-14
These are the verses I am meditating on this morning. These are the things I am bringing to mind, remembering the surpassing value of knowing Christ, remembering to “forget” what is behind me and reaching forward. I think that as I age it is easier to look back than to look forward. As a child it seems I was always looking forward-looking forward to weekends, to summer vacations and a break from school. Looking forward to graduations and the next step on my path, looking forward to reaching my career goal, looking forward to marriage and children. But then we grow older and I realize this morning that I do not have those kinds of goals ahead of me. I do not spend as much time looking forward. Paul reminds me here that I should-the real goal is still ahead and I am pressing on towards that goal-the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Now there is something to look forward to!
“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; ]in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 3:7-14
These are the verses I am meditating on this morning. These are the things I am bringing to mind, remembering the surpassing value of knowing Christ, remembering to “forget” what is behind me and reaching forward. I think that as I age it is easier to look back than to look forward. As a child it seems I was always looking forward-looking forward to weekends, to summer vacations and a break from school. Looking forward to graduations and the next step on my path, looking forward to reaching my career goal, looking forward to marriage and children. But then we grow older and I realize this morning that I do not have those kinds of goals ahead of me. I do not spend as much time looking forward. Paul reminds me here that I should-the real goal is still ahead and I am pressing on towards that goal-the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Now there is something to look forward to!
Grace, peace, and mercy,
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