"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:10-11
The word from God today is incredulous referring to the lack of belief or doubt regarding the journey with Jesus.
This verse in Philippians is an excellent description of the journey with Jesus. It is unvarnished and reflective of the reality of the Cross in the life of a believer. And, it is not sugar coated to appeal to believers.
Initially it is very easy to get to know Jesus. You make a decision to live for Him and you draw near to Jesus through prayer, reading the Bible, and fellowship with other believers. Religion paints a beautiful picture of Jesus which makes Him even more attractive. Unfortunately, they leave out most of the agony of the Cross.
The difficult part of the journey is participating in the sufferings of Christ. This will happen to all believers who are serious about Jesus. He will engineer trials and circumstances in your life that will cause you to die to self. The gradual death of your natural life will be replaced with the resurrected life of Jesus.
Jesus shares His resurrected life with believers so you can draw upon His strength, wisdom and joy to meet the challenges in life. Everyone wants the supernatural attributes of Jesus.
Jesus is at work to replicate His life in a believer. This process called sanctification is taking place every moment of your life.
The purpose is to glorify God in your thoughts, words and actions. The Holy Spirit fills you with Living Water to flow into the lives of those around you.
There is a steep cost to be a disciple of Jesus. You have to give up your life and independence to Jesus. This is an internal death to self and does not relate to religion or works. You are giving Jesus the right to do with you as He pleases.
Jesus wants you to live in oneness with Him without a vision or plan for the future.
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