“I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ
personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering,
and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on
the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it” Philippians 3:10-11, The
Message.
Each new day I encounter a cross-road of Kingdom decision. Is
this going to be as far as I am willing to go with Jesus? “The spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak.” Of course, the religious part of my flesh says
emphatically, “I will go all the way to death with Jesus.”
The really amazing thing is; I find the same thing at each
cross-road, nothing else offers me what Jesus does. So, the starting point in
the daily journey of following Jesus is a fresh, willful, commitment to give up
all the other “inferior stuff.” And everything else is inferior! It’s at that
moment that the eyes of my heart open up to that absolute joy and privilege of “knowing
Jesus Christ personally.” In that light, everything else that seems to be vying
for my attention fades.
It is also at this cross-road that I begin to experience his
resurrection power! The power is there to say ‘no’ to temptation (even though I
don’t always utilize that power). “No temptation has seized you except what is
common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what
you can bear. But when you are tempted, (and you will be) he will provide a way
out so that you can stand up under it” 1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV parentheses
mine.
The reality of sharing in his suffering is another daily
cross-road. It comes in many forms--all the way from just being uncomfortable
in a present circumstance, to being persecuted for living in his righteousness
(usually instead of political correctness). I find as I choose to suffer with him
that this is actually a gate to the joy, meaning and purpose that is beyond
myself and only found in him. His suffering shapes me into his image!
As we daily go all the way with Jesus, we are ‘nurtured’ by whatever
he allows to come our way. The decision to take up my cross (choose his way at
each cross-road) and follow him is the only one that produces the power and
hope of attaining the resurrection of the dead. He alone offers the ‘hope’ of
eternal resurrection!
In the grip of His resurrection power, Ron Ross
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