Phil 3:4b-14 (NRSV)
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Verse 4even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: Verse 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; Verse 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Verse 7Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. Verse 8More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Verse 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. Verse 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, Verse 11if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Verse 12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Verse 13Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, Verse 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Devotion
My admiration for the Apostle Paul grows the more I study his writings. From the day the Lord stopped him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-9), Christ was the center of his life.
Paul had a proud heritage. He was named for the great Hebrew king, Saul. He also belong to the Pharisees, a group noted for their zeal for God’s law. He was convinced that Jesus was a false messiah and that his followers were a threat to the temple.
Meeting Jesus changed all that. Thereafter he went by his Roman name, Paul, which means “little one.” He regarded his previous pride as “rubbish.” His heart was changed. “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death.” Only God’s Holy Spirit can make a true disciple. And so we follow the “heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we give thanks that you have made us your own that we might serve you all the days of our lives. Amen.