The great trade-off

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:1-11


TO CHEW ON: "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8

Paul, here, could be the merchant in the story Jesus told: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. who, when he had found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).

What had Paul "sold" (Philippians 3:4-6)?
- His own efforts to satisfy the law.
- His confidence of special Hebrew-born status.
- His self-assuredness from his training, education and prestige as a Pharisee.
- Faith in his zealous religious work.

And what did he get in exchange (Philippians 3:7-21)?
- Intimate knowledge of Jesus.
- Right standing with God based on faith not works.
- Power (resurrection power).
- Suffering - to the extent of death.
- A new life-goal.
- A new final home.
- The hope of a glorified body.

A sidebar article in my Bible comments:

"This passage sums up Paul's primary pursuit in life: to know Christ. From a prison cell in Rome, Paul pens this personal letter in which he comes to terms with an accomplished past and a confining present. After his past as a persecutor of God's people and through his "superior" religious activities as a Pharisee, Paul came to the liberating conclusion that all is rubbish compared to knowing the Lord (Philippians 3:8).


Freed from the stagnation of yesterday's victories and the emotional paralysis of yesterday's mistakes, Paul knew that the only thing that ultimately counted was knowing the Lord and being obedient to His will." - Steven Fry, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p 1664.

I ask myself, have I felt the heartbeat of such a passion to know Christ? Could I readily "count all things loss," turning my back on everything that is "me"—my education, family, comfortable home, attainments—if such relinquishment meant I would get I would get to know Jesus better? What about you?

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please birth in me a deep hunger and longing for more of Jesus. Put in my heart a burning desire to know God in a greater way then ever before. Amen.

MORE: "He is No Fool" - by Twila Paris

Live by FAITH

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Habakkuk 2:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith." Habakkuk 2:4

Yesterday we left Habakkuk voicing his frustration with God's apparent inaction. He tries to goad God to act by pointing out things He shouldn't be tolerating: sin, the rise to power of evil leaders. Today we have God's reply. I wonder if Habakkuk wasn't just a little disappointed in it. For God didn't give a direct answer to a single concern Habakkuk raised. Instead He said, in effect, trust. Live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

Of course we know it isn't faith that is the real answer. We can have faith in all kinds of things that aren't faith-worthy. The godless Babylonians of Habakkuk's days had faith too — in their methods of warfare and in their idols.

The faith that Habakkuk was to live by was faith in God, which encompassed believing that He was who He said He was, and could and would ultimately align things on earth with His character.

Two additional verses in this chapter help to flesh out what faith in God was and is all about:

"For the earth will be filled

With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

As the waters cover the sea" - Habakkuk 2:14

This verse tells us that someday God's presence, invading every crack and cranny of Earth will crowd out injustice, sickness, disaster of every kind. For light and darkness can't coexist. When the earth is filled with the knowledge of God's glory, the source of all Habakkuk's and our why questions will be overcome by God's light.

And:

"But the Lord is in His holy temple.

Let all the earth keep silence before Him" - Habakkuk 2:20

This verse comes after Habakkuk's description of someone worshiping man-made gods; idols. It tells us that God will outlast any and every other thing which we worship and in which we trust.

So, instead of dwelling on the why questions we asked yesterday, let's take the answer Habakkuk got and apply it to our own lives. Let's live by faith, but faith in not just anything, but in the God of the Bible who outlasts all other gods and has promised to someday illuminate every why with the light of His presence.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this deep, rich answer to my dilemmas. It puts the ball back in my court: will I trust You even when I can't see? Help me to do that today. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Faith showdown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:20-46

TO CHEW ON: "And Elijah came to all the people and said, 'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.' But the people answered him not a word." 1 Kings 18:21

After three long years of rain, Elijah was determined to make its return as dramatic an event as he could. He challenged the 400 prophets of Baal to a prayer duel on Mount Carmel. The citizens came in droves to observe. Before they got started Elijah threw out the challenge: whichever god would answer the prepared sacrifice by sending fire would be the one worthy of worship.

We know the story—how the Baal prophets carried on all day, beseeching, dancing, even cutting themselves. All for nothing. And then, how Elijah made the task even harder by dousing his offering with water. (He had his nerve—or maybe it was his faith in action— using 12 pots of such precious stuff in this way!)

We can learn a lot from Elijah about faith and prayer as we watch him.

1. All or nothing: Elijah made the stakes clear. Either God would answer and prove Himself real or He wouldn't and show Himself a sham (1 Kings 18: 21, 24). There was no third option. Elijah gave himself no way to save face should God not answer.

2. God's representative: Elijah made sure the people knew Who was behind the last three years of misery and that he had been a mere spokesman for God. He told them the purpose behind the exercise: to turn them back to God (1 Kings 18: 36-37). Thus when God did send fire, the people worshiped Him, not Elijah (1 Kings 18: 38-39).

3. Finish the job: Elijah completed the unsavoury task of destroying the Baal prophets (1 Kings 18:40).

4. Unwavering faith: Elijah's faith was so certain, he spoke to Ahab as if the rain could start falling any moment even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky (1 Kings 18:41).

5. Humble prayer: Elijah "bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees" (1 Kings 18:42).

6. Persistent prayer: Do you suppose Elijah felt a niggle of doubt when God didn't answer after his first prayer, then his second, his third… We don't know how much time passed between when Elijah started praying and the clouds appeared (1 Kings 18:43-44). Perhaps several hours. At least enough for Ahab to have a decent picnic.

7. Supernatural ending: As if the whole fire-throwing, rain-sending demonstration wasn't spectacular enough, God gave Elijah strength at the end of this grueling day to outrun Ahab's horses. He beat the king to the Jezreel gate.

One thing seems clear from all this: Elijah had a mighty tight and intimate relationship with God to enable him to act with such confidence. It brings to mind the verse: "…the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits" Daniel 11:32.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to know You better. I want to be a person to whom You entrust "exploits." Amen.

MORE: Twila Paris sings "Days of Elijah"

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Watch and pray

"The sleep of the disciples"
Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 14:32-65

TO CHEW ON: "'Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.'" Mark 14:37-38


Jesus' first request that His inner circle stay awake and watch while He has it out with His Father seems rooted in His need for their spiritual support of Him (Mark 14:34). His second request implies they needed to watch and pray for their own sakes, "...lest you enter into temptation."

Bible writers link sleep with a dangerous spiritual state in other places.

• Isaiah talks about sleeping watchmen - Isaiah 56:10.

• Jesus speaks of the master of the house returning to find His servants and doorkeeper asleep, implying that there will be trouble for them if this happens - Mark 13:35-36.

• Paul warns of the "spirit of stupor" (Romans 11:8) and advises his readers to "awake out of sleep" to become aware of how how time and events are progressing (Romans 13:11). Again, he implores the Thessalonians, "Therefore let us not sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober" - 1 Thessalonians 5:6.

I have a lot of empathy for these sleepy disciples. I have been there—physically falling asleep when I meant to pray. However, this passage alerts me to the even more dangerous possibility of being asleep spiritually, even though I may be awake physically.

How easy it is in our noisy world to take a spiritual nap while we are preoccupied with  many things—family matters, the state of our finances, world events, entertainment, the need to work harder and harder, information and stimuli that bombard us through our electronic tools and gadgets. Then, because of our lack of alertness and prayer, we become ripe for temptation's picking.



PRAYER: Dear God, I confess that I am often in a spiritual stupor. Please help me to stay awake and prayerful as I view all of life through a spiritual lens. Amen.

MORE: Twila Paris - Watch and Pray