The Power of the Resurrection

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus and the Davidic Covenant
Son of David

Philippians 3:7-11

The Message

^7-9 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.
^10-11 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.

 
For Reflection

Everybody seems to pull the Authority Card!  Politicians, religious leaders, law makers, and virtually anyone who wants to influence your attitudes, beliefs, values and action.  We live in the era of empirical proof.  The problems is that sometimes the proofs contradict themselves or guide us away from the spiritual truths we hold in an attempt to discredit our hope.  Remember the most valuable truths are not empirically derived.  The most important truths are theological, residing in God.

 

Pray

that your faith remains robust in the face of confusing alternatives.  Pray that you will always be a partner to Christ's suffering.  Pray prayers of thanksgiving for the resurrected Christ.