Reflecting God Devotions for Holy Living – Wednesday, 25
December 2013 “Imitating Jesus” Scripture Philippians 3: Finally, my brothers
and sisters,[a] rejoice[b] in the Lord.
Breaking with the Past
To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and
for you it is a safeguard.
2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of
those who mutilate the flesh![c] 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, who
worship in the Spirit of God[d] and boast in Christ Jesus and have no
confidence in the flesh— 4 even though I, too, have reason for confidence in
the flesh.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have
more: 5 circumcised 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; 6 as to
zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss
because of Christ. 8 More 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 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ,[e] the righteousness
from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ[f] and the power of his
resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his
death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Footnotes:
a. Philippians 3:1 Gk my brothers
b. Philippians 3:1 Or farewell
c. Philippians 3:2 Gk the mutilation
d. Philippians 3:3 Other ancient authorities read worship God in
spirit
e. Philippians 3:9 Or through the faith of Christ
f. Philippians 3:10 Gk him
“Imitating Jesus” by Greg Mason
As a child I wanted to be like the great baseball player Pete
Rose. I tried to play just like him, but I was far from Pete Rose. The truth is
Pete did not get where he was simply by playing in games. He became a great
player in long, tiring, sweaty hours of practice, practice in the cold, with
blisters on the hands and boring ground balls all day. I wanted to play like
him, but I did not want to work like him.
The apostle Paul has a deep desire to be like Jesus. Paul had an
incredible background. Still, it takes more than education, birthright, and
inheritance to be like Jesus. To be like Jesus we must be willing to
suffer–even to the point of death. Only in Jesus’ sacrifice and suffering do we
meet the essence of His grace and love.
Being like Jesus is easy when the weather is nice, the kids get
along, and people notice us. However, to be like Jesus is to participate in His
sufferings. As I heard evangelist Stephen Manley say: “Put a microphone in my
hand, I’ll be there. Put my name in lights, I’ll show up: but, a cross?”
Hymn for Today:
“I Am Thine, O Lord” by Fanny J. Crosby and William H. Doane
1. I am thine, O Lord, I
have heard thy voice,
and it told thy love
to me;
but I long to rise in
the arms of faith
and be closer drawn to
thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where
thou hast died.
Draw me nearer,
nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious,
bleeding side.
2. Consecrate me now to
thy service, Lord,
by the power of grace
divine;
let my soul look up
with a steadfast hope,
and my will be lost in
thine.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where
thou hast died.
Draw me nearer,
nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious,
bleeding side.
3. O the pure delight of
a single hour
that before thy throne
I spend,
when I kneel in
prayer, and with thee, my God,
I commune as friend
with friend!
Refrain:
Draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where
thou hast died.
Draw me nearer,
nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious,
bleeding side.
4. There are depths of
love that I cannot know
till I cross the
narrow sea;
there are heights of
joy that I may not reach
till I rest in peace
with thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where
thou hast died.
Draw me nearer,
nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious,
bleeding side.
Thought for Today:
“’Putting on Christ’. . .is not among many jobs a Christian has
to do; and it is not a sort of special exercise for the top class. It is the
whole of Christianity”(C. S. Lewis).
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in Greece.
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