Philippians 3: 8-9

Note: For the Summer we are reprinting some devotions that ran back when we were getting this site up and running. Hopefully this is new content to you, and we will get back into writing fresh devotions as our schedule allows.


8What 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 9and 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.


In this passage the two words that really stick out to me are "surpassing greatness". What is the greatness that is being surpassed? All of our stuff. Paul says I consider everything a loss compared with how great it is to know God and to have His righteousness.

Now righteousness simply means "right standing before God". You see, our righteousness cannot come through the law, because none of us are good enough. We will never make it on our own. Nothing we can do can make us right with God, which is why He gives us His righteousness. If you haven't made the decision to follow Christ yet, now is your opportunity.

-Jeff-

Matthew 5:6 The Beatitudes

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.


Taste and see. The next time you open a Snickers bar, take a good long look at it.Really, what is there that's appealing about that right there? I mean, if you didn't know what chocolate tasted like, and you saw one of those laying on the ground... I mean, it's brown, it's long, it's bumpy... Do I really need to spell it out for you? And yet even now I'm trying to resist the urge to go buy one, because I've tasted Snickers and they are GOOD!

The Bible says it's the same way with righteousness. If we hunger for it, we will be filled. But how can you hunger for something you've never tried? Righteousness is simply our right standing before God. So spend the rest of today trying to do what God wants you to do, and see how it feels. I bet you develop a taste for it.

-Jeff-

About These Devotions

If you're reading this, it means that God has a plan for your life. But in order to figure out what it is, we've got to spend time listening to what He has to say. These devotions are meant to be an appetizer to get you interested in studying the Bible for yourself. They are a collection from the youth leadership of Reality Student Ministries. If you like them, subscribe either through RSS or e-mail in the sidebar, and then leave us a note and tell us what you thought.

Thanks,

-Jeff-

StatCounter