April 23, 2024
Pastor Darin Youngberg
<< Next Entry Previous Entry >>
Daily Bread
Posted on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 by Bro_D
Daily Bread Nov. 14, 2017
Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
This verse and those before it are very familiar – I quote them often. But, that last phrase really caught my attention this morning – “Christ Jesus has made me His own.” He has laid hold of me as His own possession. Reminded me of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians when he said that “we have been bought with a price…. we are not our own.” (1 Cor. 6) Because I am the possession of Christ, I can know that He will take care of me. I can know that He will guide me on His path. I can know that He will secure me. I can also know that He is preparing a place for me, and that one day, He will bring me to that place that I may be with Him eternally.
This old world is a dark, scary & dangerous place – but as His possession, I can trust that He is with me, holding me in His hand as one who is loved. Paul tells the Philippians to make these truths real in their lives…. To put them into practice … To press on in order to make them personal. It is one thing to know of the opportunity to possess these, but it is quite another to actually own them.
There is a song that says, “I am a child of God, I am a child of God, He calls me friend…” – that’s a great declaration .. “I am a child of God..”. John 1:12 says that not everybody gets to call themselves a “child of God”. God gives that right only to those who believe in the Name of Jesus as Lord. Two things to note here .. (1) To be a child of God is not to be taken lightly – it only comes because God Himself declares you to be His child. (2) Therefore, man cannot simply self-identify as a child of God.
A child yearns to be like the father – he strives for it. In this same chapter, just a few verses later, Paul encourages the church to press on towards the prize – he uses terminology that describes a runner running a race – his eyes are up, he is looking for that finish line – he won’t quit until he crosses – AND – he runs to win – not just finish. Because our LORD has called us as His own, His own will be running to win, His own will be laying hold of that upward call.