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“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” Philippians 3:8
What is the most important thing in your life? Generally speaking, the thing that is the most important in our life is what we gain our identity from.
For some of us we would say that our most important thing is our children. For others it may be our career. For others it may be our social action activity. Still others may look at the future and may say the most important thing now is to prepare for the future by building a nest egg for our kids for college and for our retirement.
It’s important to realize that none of those things are bad things in anyway. The things that we have in this life are important. But the most important things are we what we are laying up for ourselves in eternity. Each of us will face eternity whether we believe in it or not. The important question is “how are we preparing for eternity?”
The apostle Paul put all of these things, relationships, finances, family, and careers in the same category as garbage! It isn’t that he doesn’t think they are important, he has just come to the realization in his life that the most important thing to him is his faith in Jesus Christ. Everything else may fall away but our faith will remain strong through every circumstance.
The fight for power, rights and control is never more evident than it is today. This fight is driven by emptiness, pain, and hatred. It shows itself in anger. There will be no peace this side of Heaven.
There will be no contentment until we grow deeper in Jesus. The deeper we go the more peace we gain. It’s much like mining for diamonds. We can stop in shallowness and enjoy the a few low quality diamonds or dig deep and get the best ones. The best diamonds are deeper and get better the deeper we go. Grow deep! Reap the best God has for you.
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” 1 Peter 1:13
Yesterday we talked about the importance of being ready, being prepared for action. Peter warned his readers that difficult times were ahead. He reminds us to be prepared for action and committed to the ways of God so we will be able to endure everything that lies ahead of us.
There’s one more aspect of this verse that should not be ignored. Peter tells us to put our hope in Jesus and in the salvation he offers. But there’s also a line in this verse that I don’t think we should forget. Peter reminds us that our salvation, the hope that we have, won’t be fully realized until Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
Salvation through Jesus has both a present and a future aspect to it. As we go through life, we know we are forgiven,. As we live for Jesus , we experience the peace and the love of God. But our salvation won’t be complete until Jesus is revealed to the whole world.
This is important because the people that Peter wrote to, and millions after that, never saw that hope revealed. They never saw Jesus revealed to the world because that will not come until his second coming. That time we are still waiting for and I believe is very imminent.
Hebrews chapter 11 tells us of people of faith who put their hope in God but never saw the promise of the Messiah in their lifetime. In spite of that, they are in God’s Hall of Fame of faith because they never let go of the hope he promised them.
We may not see Jesus come in our time. We always need to be ready for his return but patient and realizing his kingdom will never be in this world until he comes in great power and glory.
In the meantime as Peter says in the beginning of this verse, we need to be ready. We need to be prepared. Continue to keep the faith. Remember our citizenship is in heaven. There will come a day when our salvation will be complete and Jesus will be revealed in all his power.
There are two things we can know about God. He never acts the way we expect him to. Secondly he always acts in the way he said he would, according to his character and his love. Be faithful. Be hopeful. Be ready. But be patient. God has always come through on his promises.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” Psalms 27:1
Fear is one of the most paralyzing tools of the enemy. He uses it to keep our eyes off of God and on our problems. Fear is almost always focused on the future and the unknown. Even if your fear is based on something from your past, the fear concerns the consequences of your actions.
From a human perspective, the level of fear we have is based on our ability to handle what’s coming. If we know we have the knowledge and resources to handle what’s ahead, our fear is minimal. But when the unknown faces us, and we aren’t sure we have the resources to tackle the challenge fear takes over.
Fear can keep us awake at night. Fear can take away our appetite. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear can kill you! The saying “scared to death” can actually be a reality!
Fear is often synonymous with darkness and danger. The Psalmist writes that “God is our light…” The smallest light amount of light can penetrate the deepest darkness. You don’t need a large amount of light to see your way through the darkness. You don’t need a large amount of faith in Jesus to see your way into the unknown.
If you can allow God‘s light to shine on your fears, he will, through the power of his Holy Spirit that lives within you, give you his peace that passes understanding. He’s given us his Spirit of power, not fear so you can face the future knowing you have the resources you need to overcome.
He is your light. He is your fortress. He alone is your salvation.
“How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” James 4:14
I remember staying overnight at my grandparents cabin. Quite often fog covered the lake in the morning and you couldn’t see much past the front steps. But soon the sun rose and the fog disappeared. Then it was forgotten and we went about our day without giving the fog a thought. Fog is a lot like our daily struggles. Very real when we are in the midst of them but quite often the worries we struggle with today are forgotten tomorrow. Struggles, like fog in the morning, cloud our view but when the sun (SON) enters we can enjoy life! Remember, Hod is in control no matter what men may do here on earth. His plan WILL succeed!
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 