3 Verses to Live by in 2010 – Part 2/3
In my last post I mentioned a verse from Philippians 4:4. The second verse that I've been trying to live by comes in the previous chapter of that book and is the reason why rejoicing is even possible.
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10)
Three reasons why this verse has special emphasis in this season of my life:
1) God is everything - In light of everything and with eternity in mind, the most important and the only thing that really matters is knowing God. That's why heaven is heaven--because that's where we will be with God. Apart from God, that's what we call hell.
2) Praying for others - I've essentially been praying this prayer for certain people that have come into my life and those who I've just met randomly. In every prayer for others, for those who are Christian, essentially what we pray for is that others, too, would come to know Jesus. I love the context of this verse, though--Paul even cusses ("rubbish" is just the nice translation for "sh__"--yeah, that's right, the Bible ain't so nice all the time!). Nothing else matters, and the desire of my heart is that if I am to tell others about Him, I better know Him.
3) You don't know until you know - I've seen way too many people come to church, say they know God but don't show it in their lives. That's not being judgmental. If you bear no Godly fruit, you're not living your life for Christ. I'm praying this prayer, and making it a banner statement for myself this year because I want to know Him, I want to make Him known, and others better be able to recognize Him in my life. I pray this prayer for people I love and are just starting the journey of faith, or may just be seeking, in hopes that they would continue to seek God before they give up. For anyone who's skeptical about Jesus, I just have one question for you to consider--"Do you really know what you're giving up before you turn your back on Him?"
