Editors Note: The devotional has a background song called
'All in All', which can be heard if you use Internet
Explorer.
SCRIPTURE:
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no
trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for
you. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the
flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of
God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh-- though
I myself have reasons for such confidence.” (Philippians 3:1-4)
OBSERVATIONS:
I asked myself what were the Philippians asked to
do?
1. Rejoice in the Lord!
2. Watch out for those dogs.
3. Watch out for those men who do evil.
4. Watch out for those mutilators of the flesh.
INTERPRETATION: I asked myself why is it significant that
Paul asks the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord and writes the same things?
I found it so awesome that Paul is able to talk about rejoicing in the Lord
amidst what he is going through and keeps reminding them of the
same things for their spiritual well being. This shows me Paul’s relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ evidenced by his own actions. What is more exciting
is that he wants the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord and turn to the Lord no
matter what is happening.
Even as he writes to them to rejoice in the Lord, he exhorts them with 3
interesting “Watch Outs”
INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself why Paul would say to watch out for
those dogs?
In the context of the passage, he is definitely not talking about
domestic animals. Yet, he uses dogs in his language. What came to my mind is the
sign “Beware of the dog/s” that people have near their houses. They have
the sign because the dogs can attack people if they see them. Once they
attack, they can severely injure the victim. It is possible that the victim can
die too because of the attack of the dog. The victim can be severely mutilated
too because of the attack.
When I thought about Paul’s warning in that context, it occurred to me that
Paul is warning the Philippians of those people who would attack them with all
kinds of heretical and dangerous theology that is not even Scriptural. If they
put themselves in that position, it is very well possible that they could be
severely injured spiritually to the point of spiritual death. Paul wants them to
be very cautious if he is going to use a metaphor like that. Attacking a person
spiritually can be evil if it is done in a manipulative and heretical way.
Paul addresses the fact that there are those men that do evil. I believe the
evil lies in the theology that they try to get across to the people to kill
spiritually. Paul wants
them to be aware of that to the point that he mentions there are those that are
mutilators of the flesh.
I asked myself what does Paul mean by mutilators of
the flesh?
What came to my mind is circumcision. It appears Paul is telling the
Philippians to beware of those who are putting an emphasis on physical
circumcision to be right with God. I thought about that because in the next
verses Paul writes to the Philippians:
“For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by
the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the
flesh-- though I myself have reasons for such confidence.” (Philippians 3:3-4)
OBSERVATION/INTERPRETATION: I asked myself how is it that we are the
circumcision?
Paul is letting the Philippians know that they are the true circumcision, not
because they have a physical circumcision but because of a Spiritual
circumcision in their lives. He gives them evidence to know how they are the
circumcision regardless of what others were proclaiming by stating 3 important
points:
1. We who worship by the Spirit of God
2. We who glory in Christ Jesus
3. We who put no confidence in the flesh
I asked myself the significance of Paul mentioning
'we who are the circumcision?'
What came to my mind is that a person being
physically circumcised will not make them right with God unless they are
spiritually circumcised in Christ Jesus. Paul wanted the
Philippians to beware of those who were putting all the emphasis on law over
grace. Paul does not want the emphasis to be on what human beings can do to save
themselves.
I asked myself the significance of the three examples?
Some try to save themselves by worshiping God but I feel Paul is saying that
will not be enough to save them too if the worship is not by the Spirit of God.
It won’t matter how many times people worship if there worship is not done with
the Spirit of God residing in them. For that to happen, Paul reminds them that
it is those who glory in Christ. What came to my mind is those who live
for Christ and have their excitement in Christ. It is those who put their
emphasis on Jesus to help them in their walk of life and not being confident of
what they accomplish in the flesh who will be spiritually circumcised and saved.
I asked myself what example does Paul use to emphasize
'who put no confidence in the flesh?'
To make his point, Paul uses himself as an example:
“If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in
the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;
as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness,
faultless.” (Philippians 3:5-6)
I asked myself what 7 points does Paul make to show
his confidence in the flesh was to no avail?
He lets the Philippians know that he had all these things going in his favor but
none of them were enough to save him:
1. Being circumcised on the eight day
was not enough!
2. Being of the people of Israel was not enough!
3. Being of the tribe of Benjamin
was not enough!
4. Being a Hebrew of Hebrews was not enough!
5. Being a Pharisee in regard to the law was not enough!
6. Being zealous and persecuting the church
was not enough!
7. Being faultless because of legalistic righteousness was not enough!
I asked myself, why was none of that enough for Paul?
Because everything above had to do with what Paul did and who he was in
his flesh. He knew that was not going to save him. Yet, it is in this direction
that Paul feels that there are those people that will try to lead the
Philippians astray. He wants them to be careful and points them to Christ over
their flesh.
I asked myself what 7 evidences does Paul give to point
them to Christ over the flesh? This is evidenced by the next verses I learned about:
”But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for
the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost
all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is
through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of
sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to
attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11)
The answer is Jesus Christ for Paul:
1. Whatever was to my profit I consider loss for the SAKE OF Christ!
2. Consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of KNOWING
Christ Jesus my Lord!
3. I consider everything rubbish that I may GAIN Christ!
4. I consider everything rubbish that I may be FOUND in Christ!
5. Finding the righteousness not from the law but through FAITH in Christ!
6. I want to know the POWER of Christ’s resurrection.
7. I want to know the FELLOWSHIP of sharing in Christ's sufferings becoming like
Him in his death to attain the resurrection from the dead.
IMPLICATIONS: I saw important implications for my own life. As I studied these verses
what came to my mind is it does not matter if I worship daily, if I am part of a
Christian family, if I know the Bible from front to back, and how much zeal I
have if I do not KNOW JESUS CHRIST personally. I can only come to know Jesus
Christ personally when I acknowledge why Jesus had to die for me on the Cross of
Redemption realizing:
1. My worship will not save me!
2. Being raised in a Christian family will not save me!
3. Knowing Scripture from front to back will not save me!
4. My religious zeal will not save me!
All these things may make people look pious and religious but it will not SAVE
them apart from KNOWING Jesus Christ, GAINING Jesus Christ, being FOUND in Jesus
Christ, and most of all having a RIGHTEOUSNESS that does not come from the law
but through faith in Jesus Christ that comes from God. God is endorsing Jesus
Christ for our Salvation. This is the only way we can be saved by the
reformation that occurs in our lives because of Christ deciding to "die a death
we should have deserved and giving us a treatment, He should have deserved."
(Gospel Christianity, Why Jesus Had To Die?)
HOW GOSPEL
GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING REFORMATION: For reformation to occur in my life, "an atonement had to happen
incorporating five things to be understood in light of the cross of Christ:
SACRIFICE, DEBT, BATTLE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and LAW." (Gospel Christianity) As
I thought about today's study regarding circumcision, I realized reformation of
my life in Christ can only happen as these points are understood as a
transaction of the cross.
'Why God cannot just forgive us no matter what we do
and why Jesus had to die for forgiveness to happen?'
I like to call that the DEBT OF ATONEMENT for the
CREDIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS as a TRANSACTION of the CROSS OF CHRIST.
I felt I needed to share that about the TRANSACTION OF
THE CROSS OF CHRIST, as we discussed the question above but ran out of time so I
told Kristen, Josh, Vicki, Bryan, Lydia, and Cathy that I will share with them
after the study. I get to share it with you all too at the same time because it
fit well with today's devotional I am having. The link for what I wanted to
share is below:
"Why the DEBT OF ATONEMENT for the CREDIT
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS had to happen as a TRANSACTION of the CROSS of CHRIST?
Through the Gospel Christianity study and my study of
the Book of Philippians until now points me to the fact that everything about
the REFORMATION, hinges on Christ alone for the ATONEMENT of my sins!
It is Christ's atonement as a transaction of the cross which provides me
JUSTIFICATION, PONTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, and finally GLORIFICATION as I
place my faith in Christ to attain His righteousness, knowing Christ, gaining
Christ, and being found in Christ for my spiritual circumcision.
As Paul addressed circumcision and who he was, he was
making the Philippians see the importance of the reformation that occurs in our
lives through Christ. He wanted the Philippians to grasp that they will not be
saved through circumcision of the flesh, through ethnicity, through religion,
through family status, through religious worship, through the law, etc. The only
way for spiritual circumcision for reformation of our own lives too would happen
only if we understand that Salvation comes
through grace by faith in Jesus Christ and not by our own works.
I ask you now dear friends, why for reformation you
need the transaction of the cross?
Studying this passage made me think of the 5 S's of the Reformation:
1. ‘Sola Scriptura’ - By Scripture Alone
2. ‘Sola Gratia’ - By Grace Alone
3. ‘Solo Christo’ - By Christ Alone
4. ‘Sola Fide’ - By Faith Alone
5. ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ - Glory To God Alone
all occurring because of the transaction of the cross for our sake.
It is especially exciting to know that even though aul was in prison, he
was still emphasizing Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus to the Philippians
over the theology of works!
Friend, my Salvation in Christ is based upon the gift of grace I have received
from Jesus. It is a free gift offered to me by Jesus Christ so I can be set free
from the power of sin and death. All I have to do is receive Jesus into my life
and make Him the Lord of my life. You can too!
“For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ.” (Romans 6:23)
When I acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior letting Him know what a
sinner I have been, confess and repent of my sins to the Lord and turn to Him
for His cleansing blood to cleanse me of all my unrighteousness, I have received
the free gift of Salvation through faith that Jesus Christ offers apart from the
law.
I am saved to the bone not because of any works I have done but because of what
Jesus Christ already did on the cross. It is Christ Alone that saves me and
nothing I have done or do can save me apart from Christ.
That does not mean that I go on living my life in a hedonistic way because once
I come to Christ and receive His forgiveness, He sends His Holy Spirit to reside
in me. As I yield to Christ, He will work in me and through me. Now the good
works that come out of me will be seen as good from the Lord because I am not
doing it in my own flesh but the Spirit of God working in me and through me. It
is grace that saves me and the works reveal to others that I am saved. The works
are a fruit of my Salvation rather than working to attain Salvation or a means
of Salvation.
This does not mean I will never sin because I will if I yield to my own flesh.
For the Word says, "Live by the Spirit and you will not
fulfill the lust of the flesh."
I hope your concept of being saved is not based on how many times you go to
worship the Lord, how many times you pray, how many times you read the Bible,
how many times you take Communion, and if your family is a Christian, etc.
None of that can save us and reform us to be what Christ wants us to be if Jesus
Alone is not the reason for our Salvation. None of what we do can give us
brownie points apart from Jesus Christ being our Lord and Savior!
In summary, studying this passage made me think of the 5 S's of the Reformation:
1. ‘Sola Scriptura’ - By Scripture Alone
2. ‘Sola Gratia’ - By Grace Alone
3. ‘Solo Christo’ - By Christ Alone
4. ‘Sola Fide’ - By Faith Alone
5. ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ - Glory To God Alone
May we all reform our own thinking on how to be saved by remembering that
Scripture alone, Grace alone, Christ alone, Faith alone, and all done to the
Glory to God alone WILL save us as a transaction of the cross occurred for our
sake.
"Realize Everyday, For Our Redemption Messiah's Acceptance
Truly Imparts Omnipotent Nurture! (R.E.F.O.R.M.A.T.I.O.N)"/"Why for R.E.F.O.R.M.A.T.I.O.N
you need the transaction of the cross?"
PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, I want to thank you for dying for my
sins and coming back to life to save me as you love me so much. Your love is
what has imparted to us your free gift of grace to be saved. Lord Jesus, you
alone can save us and not anything we do or others do for us will save us. So
Lord help us to always seek you and know from your grace alone that comes
through faith alone in you is the only way we can be saved according to your
Scripture alone to the Glory of God, our Heavenly Father. No matter what we do
whether it is worshipping you, praying to you, reading your Word, taking
communion, etc let it be because we love you and are excited to fellowship with
you and remember what you have done for us. May they not be for the sole reason
of being saved because we cannot save ourselves by anything we do but only by
your grace!
So we thank you for your grace to help us win the race
for you are our ultimate Ace! Jesus, as we give our life to you, we ask you to
fill us with your Holy Spirit and guide us so that the good works we do will be
the fruit of righteousness as our relationship with you. They will know we are
Christians by our love shown by the fruit you display of our lives. Help us Lord. Thank you for your cleansing blood that cleanses us from
all unrighteousness. Thank you for saving us as we turn to you for you give us a
promise in Scripture alone saying, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.” I claim this promise from Acts 4:12. Help us to live for you and serve
you Lord. Thank you for hearing us and answering our prayers. Thank you for all
that I have learned from your Word. Help me to put it to practice. In Your Name
I Pray Jesus! Amen!
May you experience the POWER OF
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him the LOCKED areas of your
life too so you can experience His PEACE as you become an ACTOR in the
film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR, JESUS CHRIST who comes
to give JOY and PEACE.
You
don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and
give you peace to LIVE out your actions.
How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?
One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this
example one Sunday at the
RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh
Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:
If
you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin
and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no
peace.
But
as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to
tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.
Yes,
friend God is aLIVE and wants to bring a transformation in your life
through the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on
the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and LIVE
with us.
Yes,
friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE
& LIVING GRACE.
When
we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive
us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.
"For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his
Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)
Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our
sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge
so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the
finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.
"For it is by GRACE you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your
Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the
Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!
If you want to be a soldier in the Lord's army, you can become it right now.
Now is the time of Salvation! You do not have to wait but can pray this prayer
and give your life to Christ to serve Him daily! There is no draft but coming to
Christ is voluntary. He loves you so much and wants you to come to Him! He will
take care of you, guiding you and leading you!
PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for loving me so
much and thank you for choosing the cross to die for me. You became the Son of
Man and LIVEd here on earth. Then you humbled yourself and became obedient to
death-even death on the cross. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. You
died on the cross so that I can be covered in your blood and cleansed by your
blood as I acknowledge that I need you and cannot enter Heaven without you being
my pathway. So, Jesus I confess all my sins to you and all the ways I have tried
to get into Heaven when you already provided the means and the Way. Thank you
for all that you have done for me. The cross is the place, a wonderful place
where accused and condemned find mercy and GRACE. Thank you Jesus, it is at the
cross where the wrongs we have done and the wrongs done to us were nailed at the
cross. Thank you Jesus, at the cross you died for our sins and at the cross you
gave your life for us. I thank you for that and thank you for coming back to
life to save us. Thank you Jesus for being there for me! Thank you for loving
me. I love you Jesus! Please take me as I am and make my life into something
that you will be proud of. I surrender my life to you and need your help to LIVE
for you. I am forever grateful for what you have done for me and I can never
repay you. I want to LIVE for you and need your help. Help me Jesus please. I
thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me.
Whatever your will give me the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you
Jesus! I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray
precious Jesus! Amen!
No matter what you feel in your heart,
know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To
make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him
as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the
Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into
prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel
of John or Gospel of
Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord
show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to
help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches
the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our
crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But
beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but
there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.
As a professional, it is not too late to join a
church! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus this new year of 2009! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His
love now and forever! Amen!
Friend, if you have prayed this
prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and
all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may
feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your
new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave
you nor forsake you! Amen!
Spend time in His word and let the Lord
speak to you! Start out in the Gospel of John! You can also check out
the Gospel of Mark which are the devotionals I have been going through.
Learn from Jesus through study and prayer. Also find yourself a church
fellowship and a college fellowship you can be part of where you can be
part of a community of believers to supplement your own walk with the
Lord. Let it be a Bible-believing and Bible-breathing church! Believe in
Bible LIVE Eternally!
Feel free to email me at
reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible,
pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My
number is 412-720-4579
"This is my
work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)
Devotional of yesterday:
"When will your H.O.M.E.C.O.M.I.N.G begin?"
(Aug 14, 09, 10:42 a.m.) Epaphroditus'
homecoming began when he gave his life to Christ and also after he
served the Apostle Paul for awhile as his brother, fellow worker,
and fellow soldier.....
Oakland
International Fellowship welcomes incoming students to its worship service on
Sundays at 10:00 a.m. near North Dithridge St. followed by Sunday School at
11:30 a.m. and fellowship lunch at 12:30 p.m.
Book
Review of "Lord Change My Attitude Before It's Too Late" “McDonald's Mesmerizes
Lovingly, Leading Searching SOULs!”(June
04, 09, 2:51 p.m.) "Lord Change My Attitude:
Before It's Too Late!" is a mesmerizing book of 224
pages that will keep you glued to your seat bringing to life the
attitudes that have brought you down into the wilderness using Biblical
examples but...
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