Resolutions to Live By (Part III)

“Resolutions to Live by” Part III  ( Philp. 3 :6-11)

“for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” For our society, loss  (Zemiioo) is a hard concept to grasp. We are all about gaining and acquiring. Normally we only lose something if we replace it with something better. Even so, parting is tough. I sometimes think that the three car garage concept was designed to give us extra storage for stuff that “someday” we might use. We even pay storage sites to store our extra stuff. Regardless of how our society is geared, to suffer loss for Christ is needful for growth. When The Lord puts His finger on one of our idols and says, “either it goes or I go,” we are presented with a choice. For The Lord will have His Throne in us, and He  will have His Bride free from all her sin, liberated from all her idols. Therefore we must decide, are we willing to be His Bride, choosing no other? 

Have you noticed how some Christians never grow, they warm a pew but that’s about it. They are just  like the Israelite’s going around Mt. Sinai for forty years. The Israelite’s  murmured and complained, never happy with the Lord’s provision. They were always looking back to Eygpt,  which represented the world as well as their bondage which they never seemed to acknowledge. They would not trust The Lord, so that generation died in the wilderness. Such a waste of time and life, spending their lives wandering in the desert accomplishing nothing. I am concerned that some of us are doing the same. We must be willing to suffer loss of whatever Christ calls into account and count it (assign it) as dung, literally manure so that we may “kendano” Christ (to make the choice to gain).

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: The words to “be found” is made up of 3 definitions. Eu – means easily, peri – means around or surround (like in the word perimeter) and histemi – which means to stand and or abide. It even means convenant. All together we have the rendering that means to be readily surrounded and or standing in Him. Our justification is based on the covenant He made with us, not trusting in our own efforts to make us right before Him. This is so hard for us, for we innately we want to think of ourselves as being a good. However being good is not“the righteousness which is of God by faith:” To say that righteousness and goodness are the same is like saying a whale  and a guppie are the same. There is no comparison between these two, nor is there between righteousness ( akin to Holiness) and being good. To truly accept that I am a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness and atoning work in my life is to take a major step forward. It is to put God in His rightful place as Holy, and Lord, and me as His son or daughter by grace daily dependent upon His  work in my life. When God is in His rightful place, my problems become smaller and solvable, and life starts becoming enjoyable.

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; It is interesting to me that Paul connected death and life together in the same sentence with the end goal to know Him. We always want to keep a distance between us and suffering, especially if it involves death. There was a three year period in my life that I literally cried every day. The trial was beyond me. Nothing of my maturity in Christ gave me the strenght to bare it. My faith pointed me in the right direction, but to have hope was a different story. However through the course of that period I had a recurring vision of a man digging a well. I clearly saw how shallow the well was prior to digging and how limited it was to hold water. I also saw how deep it was becoming and how much more water it was holding, and it’s depth was growing. I didn’t understand the vision until I asked The Lord. He revealed to me that it was me, my heart. God needed only what a broken heart could provide, broken soil where the ground was made wet by my tears. He knew my pain, for He Himself was made perfect through His suffering. It was as if my broken heart allowed Him to make short work of this period in my life. I literally felt as if someone was digging in my heart. It was so painful, yet His Spirit was growing steadily in me.

At the end of those years I was a much stronger man, having seen God not only do miracles for my family, but miracles within me. During this period I witnessed answers to my prayers weekly, building my courage and confidence. I began to get a little bold with God and told Him to “bring it on;” for if my suffering would help my family, I was more than willing and wanting to go through it. Another recurring word picture was that of cattle getting branded. I saw myself tied on a table with my chest exposed and a hot iron being seared into it. I screamed, and fought  to get off the table but to no avail – I could not move. My  strenght  ended and  there was no fight left in me. I was forced to receive the pain as it penetrated deep within me. It was like being in a nightmare, I was waiting to wake up. However I could not get away from it. As in the vision of the man digging a well and me accepting the pain, I too accepted this pain as I witnessed God’s presence growing in me and comforting me. I welcomed the holiness that was being developed; I was winning – both personally and with my family.

That period in my life has not been repeated, though I have gone through many tough times. I

liken that period to a severe boot camp that prepared me for whatever the future would bring. To be “made conformable unto his death”  is a necessary requirement to enjoy

“the power of his resurrection.” There are no short cuts to maturing in faith. The price of death to my flesh and its desires must be paid if I am to intimately know His presence.

He alone is reward enough, but Paul speaks of ” If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” The end goal and glory for any true believer is this, and how do we get there? “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This is one of my most cherished Bible verses, we well save it for next time. To grasp this verse as well as what was shared is to revamp your whole Christian walk; shaking off the dust and bringing life and fire back into our souls.

Father God,

I have only shared this very painful period of my life with only a few people. I pray that in sharing with my brothers and sisters that they would not be scared, but gain courage, hope and a willingness to go through the purifying fires. For all that burns is hay, wood and stubble, the things of the flesh, and that which is eternal, faith, is purified.  Let us count the cost knowing that every tear is cherished by You, and worth it. Thank you and Amen