# 42 2018 Dev. Php. 3:7,8. Confidence! Read Ch.3. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw Gremar and I closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
Philippians 3:7,8 “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”
In Ch. 3, Paul doubles down on sacrificing everything for Jesus. He draws a comparison of confidence in the flesh and confidence in the Spirit. He uses his own experience as the example of moving from flesh to Spirit. We would think that this would be a non issue today, but in fact it is alive and well in two ways.
First, sacrifice is a bad word today, real sacrifice is unheard of except in the military. As followers of Jesus we just don’t stand for something but for peace, justice, righteousness and the grace of Christ. Do these issues demand sacrifice? Yes, they do! Think about peace in today’s self-seeking society. Road rage, indiscriminate killings every single day, just to mention a few. Think about justice, the housing and homeless issue, the nasty political adds, and the problems of the poor. Think about righteousness, guilty before proven innocent,
a string of false convictions, laws that contradict God’s laws in the name of choice and equality. Think about grace, some personal actions alienate us from each other and from God but the grace of Jesus forgives and addresses all the issues we have mentioned. Are we ready to forgive?
Second, many Christians still depend on themselves (flesh). Self-reliance is subtle and comes to expression with self righteousness, arrogance, condemnation and lack of forgiveness. Relying on tradition, order of worship and music is detrimental if that is what defines worship. The Biblical standard is to worship in Spirit and in Truth. In the sanctuary of God’s creation all of life is worship and the demands of the gospel is for followers of Jesus to live in Spirit and in Truth.
So what do we take away from Ch. 3? How does this chapter change our perception of “flesh” and “Spirit”? Giving the pressure of the world around us (Satan), living by the Spirit is a daily commitment to Jesus and daily decision to seek and listen to the Holy Spirit. How does it change our perception of serving Jesus? Not all that claims to be spiritual is spiritual, not everything that seems right is right. We need to evaluate and discern everything by God’s Word. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit living in us and He never leaves us! Are we seeking Him and listening to his urging?
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