The Necessity for Believers to Know Jesus and Become Like Him!

14 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Philippians 3:10.          That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

One more Monday, one more day of life! And those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs to go to in these distressing and depressing times have better say ‘Praise the Lord!’ instead of complaining about the dreariness and frustration that the job might cause, for there are many who would take your jobs in a jiffy, as they have recently lost theirs in the current unnecessary purge that’s so unashamedly taking place.  And it’s only going to get worse if the powers that be don’t smarten up and make things right. 

That’s why we always have to give thanks to Jesus and stay close to Him, for He’s the ONLY ONE who can provide solace and comfort when the stormy winds of life howl around us. Yes, we ought to be saying like Bruh Paul did to the Philippians: ‘That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.’ (Phil.3:10) 

And the scholars give this explanation of that verse. ‘This verse may also be paraphrased : “In order that I may personally know Him, that I might both experience His resurrection power and share in His sufferings, and thus I will be more conformed to His death.”  Paul wants “the righteousness … of God (vs. 9) so that he can obtain a personal relationship with Jesus in actual day-to-day experience. This knowledge of Christ is obtained by experiencing in daily problems, needs, ministry, and so forth, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. 

Knowing Christ also entails participating in His sufferings. Paul desires to share in the Lord’s sufferings because they bring him into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him; companionship in sorrow establishes the most intimate and lasting of ties, as afflicted hearts cling to each other. 

The result of participating in Christ’s suffering is that Paul is being made like Him in death. This word “death” has double meaning here, including inward and outward, ethical and physical death. As Jesus died in regard to sin on the cross, so Paul is doing more and more in his daily life. As Jesus was bodily slain, so the apostle, should Caesar’s verdict go against him, is prepared to be slain.’ 

Now, that is truly wanting to know Jesus! And thankfully, not all of us will be called to suffer on His behalf as Bruh Paul was. However, we all will have to endure some tough times if we are serious about living for Jesus. That’s just the way it is! There’s no other name in the world that can cause as much commotion and arguments than the name of Jesus. 

So, if you intend to be a true believer, then you’d better prepare yourself to go through some stuff you won’t like. But the good thing about standing up for Jesus, is that the rewards are wonderful and certainly worth the pain and discomfort we might have to endure. Remember walking with Jesus is no Sunday evening stroll in the park, but a serious battle between the forces of evil and those of good. 

Thus Peter wrote to the Jewish diaspora: ‘Beloved , think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part he is glorified.’ (1 Pet. 4:12-14) 

Yes friends, we will all suffer insults and injustices for Christ’s sake, and it’s not always easy to overlook them, but we have to, with the thought that we are suffering for His sake, and therefore glorifying Him. Consequently we need to do as Bruh Paul later said to the Philippians: ‘I press toward the mark (goal) for the prize of the high (upward) calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 3:14) That means we have to keep pressing forward, getting to know Christ better with each passing day, by meditating on the scriptures, being constant in prayer and Christian fellowship. 

So that at the end we can say like Bruh Paul said to Timothy. ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:6-8) 

Yes my faithful brethren, being a good and true disciple of Jesus is a tough nut to crack, but we can certainly do it, especially when we have the help of His Holy Spirit that indwells us. So, let’s do as we are commanded to in times of need; confidently but humbly go to the throne of grace in prayer. And we’ll do that through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And we can see from our prayer itself, that there are some things we need to do to receive divine aid, like humbling ourselves, praying and sincerely seeking God’s face. So please, let’s be wise and get to doing them nuh, so that we will be blessed with God’s awesome grace and mercy and forgiveness! Much LOVE!

…only as we sincerely seek to be more like Jesus…will we ever become more like Him…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 August 2022   2 Corinthians 12:9a.

30 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Corinthians 12:9a.        My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.

Well, it seems like today we might at last get some of the rain promised yesterday, after strong winds blew away the rain clouds. The skies are dark outside and a sprinkle of heavenly blessing has already fallen. But who knows, in these days of climate change anything is possible. So many times in the recent past we’ve been promised rain, and did see dark clouds all around, but no rain fell, at least in my area. (smile) 

But just to show how crazy our world has gotten, I recently read that in some eastern European country, two top meteorologists were fired when they forecasted a big storm for some national holiday and thus all the celebrations were postponed. But unfortunately, no storm happened. Imagine the ignorance in that nuh! Weather forecasting is an inexact science, so you can’t hold the forecasters to any rigid details, especially when our weather patterns have recently changed and are still changing as we speak. 

But I guess that’s life in these modern times. That’s why it’s ever so important for us to have Jesus as the foundation, the veritable anchor in our lives, so that those kinds of unfortunate things don’t get us too down and eventually drive us crazy. And to help us handle the madness of today’s world, promises of Jesus, like this one, should be indelibly stenciled in the forefront of our minds: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

Now that’s a most reassuring scripture! It won’t always change our circumstances, but it will surely help us to handle those circumstances in a more positive manner, driving away the desire to give up on our faith and our lives. And per the earthly life, that’s one of the major reasons to believe in Jesus. He doesn’t take away all our problems, but helps us to handle them in a positive manner. 

Too many of us supposed believers though, think that as soon as we accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour that life will just run as smoothly as a rippling stream. But that’s a total fallacy, for sometimes life gets more complicated with more problems as Jesus allows stuff to enter our lives to test our faith, to see how strong we really are. And whatever comes against us, God will give us all the grace we need to handle the situation. We need to believe that very deeply. 

And we have the perfect example of that in Bruh Paul’s situation in 2 Corinthians 12, where he had some thorn in his flesh, nobody knows for sure what it was, some malady, sickness or affliction that was obviously causing him problems and three times he asked the Lord to take it away but the Lord refused, telling him: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.’  (2 Cor. 12:9a) 

So, sometimes when we pray for relief from a problem, that’s the kind of answer we may receive, and then we must do like Bruh Paul did when he received that answer to his problem. He went on to say: ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ (2 Cor, 12:9b-10) 

Yes friends, though it’s never easy, sometimes we just have to grin and bear our problems, knowing that the grace of God is always with us, even when we seem to be at our lowest and most hurting point. All of us have strengths and weaknesses, and as we glory in the strengths, so should we accept the weaknesses or flaws, knowing that God will not allow them to destroy us, if we are faithful to Him and His word. 

Oh, living the real Christian life was never meant to be easy, a Sunday stroll in the park, but it surely is an interesting life, with all sorts of unexpected adventures, both good and bad. And when the bad ones come upon us, we need to remember these soul-searching words of Peter, as he writes about us being good stewards of God’s grace. ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings: that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part he is glorified.’ (1 Pet. 4:12-14) 

Yes mih bredrin, we will all suffer some kind of reproach or insult on Christ’s behalf, but we need to take it in our stride and not always react in the same manner, but consider it a blessing, because the Spirit of God dwells within us and gives us the power and the grace to handle whatever comes against us in Jesus’ name. Remember how Jesus said it in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’ (Matt. 5:11-12) 

And yes, it will be difficult to rejoice when you are being persecuted, be it physically or through slander and blasphemy. But the scholars offer this interesting explanation of that last verse. ‘5:12. Rejoice is the command that grows out of the blessedness of the believer. The phrase Rejoice, and be exceeding glad means even more, exult! Great is your reward in heaven focusses attention on the eternal destiny of all things. If God is as real as He claims, if the Bible is true, if heaven is to be gained, then no temporary earthly trouble or persecution can dispossess the child of God of joy in the prospect of the eternal glory that lies ahead.’ 

Now that’s saying a mouthful, but it’s the awesome truth. If all that we believe is true, then the earthly troubles we encounter are no match for the heavenly rewards to come. And we need to believe that and hold on to it tightly, otherwise we won’t be able to handle the earthly problems properly. And the only way to do that successfully is by constantly delving deep in the word of God, talking to Him through constant prayer, and fellowshipping regularly with other believers! 

Now, for those of us who are sincerely trying to live that way, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we proudly belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and confident voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

And now my fellow believers, it behooves us to go out and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…God’s grace is never in short supply…there’s always enough to see us through every problem… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​