Living in the Spirit

October 6, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Philippians 3:4b-14
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: 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; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 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 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, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Christ cannot be compartmentalized. Our relationship with Jesus Christ must be reflected in everything we do and say, from morning prayers through time for devotion and study, but just as important, how we great the mail carrier, volunteer at the local school, take care of our family and neighbors, feed the hungry, work for justice, and enjoy a Thunder game that I sometimes must record and watch later. Our faith is not something we do in two hours on Sunday morning, it is our way of being as we address all aspects of life. One of my mother’s favorite sayings was, “Do not cry over spilled milk.” Paul, in his way, is saying that in the above scripture. We sometimes make mistakes; we need to learn from them and move ahead as we answer Christ’s call to build a better world ruled by love.

Prayer: We thank you, God, for the gift of your Son, who models your way of being, and for the constant presence of the Holy Spirit to guide our paths.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.