Daily Bread

First, no confidence in the flesh (1-9). We are tempted to earn our own righteousness, as if that were even possible. False teachers were infiltrating the church and teaching that salvation required circumcision and obedience to the Jewish laws and traditions. Paul says that if that were true, he would be better off than anyone else! But his conversion on the road to Damascus taught him differently. When Christ intervened in his life, he realized that everything he had done in the flesh was pure rubbish. The only thing that mattered was gaining Christ and having the righteousness that comes from God alone through faith. Second, every confidence in Christ (10-11). In Christ, we find salvation, sanctification, discipleship, and glorification. To know Christ is to have a relationship with him and to have eternal life. Jesus said, 'Remain in me, as I also remain in you.' To experience the power of the resurrection is to experience the power of the Holy Spirit as he shapes and molds us into the image of our Lord. To participate in our Lord's sufferings is to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. To attain the resurrection from the dead is to be with him and share in his glory forever. Our only hope, our only desire, our only passion is to know Christ.

Prayer: Father, help us to hold on to the only thing that matters - the righteousness we have in Christ.

One Word: I want to know Christ