Knowing Christ And The Power Of His Resurrection

To know Christ is a lifetime journey. Accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord in our lives is the starting point of that journey. We are now born in His family bearing His Name and that is how we are called Christians.

Then we start knowing Christ with few Scriptures that we encounter with such as “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3: 16.

Then  in Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  As a child we are so dependent on Jesus and thankful of Him of every blessing we are receiving from Him.

If we will not stop knowing Him and His Word, we will eventually grow in the knowledge of His grace. Sometimes, part of growing up we may encounter trials and testings in our lives.

There, our gracious Lord allow us to stand on our own but we must know that He is just nearby and carefully watching how we will get through to our testings, if we will ask His guidance or know His very will through His Word or just do our own thing. We may make some mistakes but the good thing about making mistakes is we learned. God can redirect our lives and use us for His glory.

In Phillipians 3:10 “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  Paul a great man of God, wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.

He considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. In every way Paul conducted himself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. He once said in Acts 20: 24 that he considers his life worth nothing to him, if he only finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given him-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.  

Nothing is more valuable than knowing Christ and to attain the resurrection of the dead in the second coming of Christ.

In our present world today, the world and its poeple are decaying morally and spiritually but true Christians are being renewed day by day through the power of the Holy Spirit. God is continually equipping His saints in preparation for the second coming of Christ.

And He can only do it with those who are willing and obedient in their callings as ministers of the true living God. I remember the story of the parable of the ten virgins in the book of Matthew 25; those five who were wise are prepared of the coming of their groom, they have with them jars of extra oil in case of emergency.

That oil represent the Holy Spirit in our lives. Whether awake or sleeping the Holy Spirit recognizes those who are his.

I once heard about the story of the old man who cut trees way faster than the young cutter. The young man asked the old man how he did it? And he simply answered him back that it can only be done faster if he take time to take some rest at a time while sharpening the edge of his axe.

Again, as a Christian our time with the Lord is vital. It includes our quiet time with the Word of God, prayer time, and worship time plus doing what the Word of God tells us to do.

It is not an easy task but perseverance matters. I remember the sayings that “everything begins with a seed and it always ends in harvest.” Are we sowing seed that will harvest good crops?

Let us give careful thought at where are we heading to, or how are we living this precious lives God entrusted us.  Are we living to please our God or please ourselves. Like Paul, let us consider our lives worth nothing only to do what the Father wants us to do, and that is to live for Christ alone.

To live for Christ is a balanced lifestyle. We must love Him first above anything else. He must be at the very center of our family, of our marriage, of every ministry that He has entrusted to us.  

Again, it is not easy but it is all worth it. Once we are living according to His will even hardships arises it is always easy with the Lord.

Finally, my brothers and sisters according to Galatians 6:9” Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” That is our hope as we faithfully wait for Christ’s second coming.