Christian Commentary Encouraging Devotions

A followup to yesterday...

"I am still not all I should be." Philippians 3:13

Ain't that the truth!

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection!

I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. Philippians 2:12

As I have often told you before and now say again even with tears,

many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

There are many whose conduct shows this.

1) Their destiny, their future, is destruction,

They are headed for destruction.

2) their god is their stomach, their appetite

and their glory is in their shame.

3) They brag about shameful things.

4) Their mind is on earthly things.

They think only about this life here on earth.

But our citizenship is in heaven.

And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control,

will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

The following is from www.desiringgod.org

"The tears are not for fear that we will be hurt.

They are for sadness that Christ’s sacrifice and God’s love are so dishonored, and that so many enemies of the cross will perish.

The Bible says, "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

It is a huge sadness when God shows his love for people and in return they despise it.

That is what God did on the cross: "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us [on the cross]" (Romans 5:8).

To hate the cross is to hate the demonstration of the love of God, because the cross is the greatest display of God’s love that ever was or ever will be."

Enemies of the cross who are outside the church...

and some who are within the church...

"…these are people who say they are the friends of Christ and the cross of Christ, who advocate Christ, who identify with Christ, whose names are on the church roll, who want spiritual leadership, but they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. They're very subtle. It takes discernment to recognize them." (John MacArthur)

"Beloved, I would rather have a thousand devils out of the church, than have one in it. I do not care about all the adversaries outside; our greatest cause of fear is from the crafty "wolves in sheep's clothing," that devour the flock. It is against such that we would denounce in holy wrath the solemn sentence of divine indignation, and for such we would shed our bitterest tears of sorrow. They are "the enemies of the cross of Christ." (C.H. Spurgeon)

In Matthew 7:15...

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

2 Peter 2:1...

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

Serious words for serious times.

One of the things that came out of corporate prayer last night was the need for the fear of God to come upon the church.

Also the need for dramatic conversions.

Truly saved and know it.

Eager to follow Jesus and share Him with others.

The church has programs.

The church needs power.

God's power.