Word for Today, Wed, 2 Jan 2002: A New Perspective
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
I have seen a couple of devotional writers use Philippians 3 in
the past week as the basis for their messages. Since the epistle
(letter) of the apostle Paul to the church at Philippi is my
favorite letter and one of my favorite books in the Bible, I
would like to share the text of the 3rd chapter with you today.
Then I'd also like to share with you a devotional from The PCCWeb
Daily Devotional.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Philippians 3
1 Finally, my brothers, 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 men who do evil, those
mutilators of the flesh.3 For it is we who are the circumcision,
we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus,
and who put no confidence in the flesh--4 though I myself have
reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has 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 legalistic
righteousness, faultless.
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake
of Christ.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 Christ9 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
and is by faith.
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and
the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in
his death,11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from
the dead.12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have
already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 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,14 I press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of
things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God
will make clear to you.16 Only let us live up to what we have
already attained.
17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take
note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.18
For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with
tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.19 Their
destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their
glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a
Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,21 who, by the power
that enables him to bring everything under his control, will
transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious
body.
bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=Philippians+3&version=NIV&showfn=yes&showxref=yes&language=english
Today's Devotional
Great Is God's Faithfulness
Lamentations 3:22-23 - Because of the Lord's great love we are
not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every
morning; great is Your faithfulness. (NIV)
Yet another year has flown by. It seems each passing year goes
more quickly than the year before! And so now, we are faced with
the beginning of another brand new year with:
new opportunities
new challenges
new fears
new joys
new sorrows
new doubts
new hopes
new dreams
The list could go on and on.
As God's people, we are called to leave the past behind and move
forward into the future. As we continue our faith journey may we
always remember that we do not travel alone. Our God is always
with us.
Matthew 28:20 - And surely I will be with you always, to the very
end of the age. (NIV)
God has provided a way for us to become the people He created us
to be. Because He sent us His only Son, Jesus, to die on the
cross for our sins, we can leave the past behind us and begin
anew.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (NIV)
This new year is a gift from God. We should be "forgetting what
is behind and straining toward what is ahead." (Philippians
3:13b) Instead, "let us run with perseverance the race marked out
for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of
our faith." (Hebrews 12:1c,2a NIV)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as another new year dawns, we come to
you with grateful hearts. We cherish Your unfailing love for us
and pray for strength and courage to live each day in a way that
is pleasing to You. Forgive our past failures and fill us with a
deep desire to face the future with confidence, knowing that You
are always with us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Dee Renaud erenaud@freespace.net
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Today's Canadian Bible Society Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
bible.gospelcom.net/bible?Ecclesiastes+3:1-15
The PCCWeb Daily Devotional on the Internet The PrayerLine,
Subscription and Feedback features on this page, as well as a
searchable archive of over 1700 past devotionals, are all
accessible through daily.presbycan.ca.
=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send your FREE holiday greetings online!
greetings.yahoo.com