Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who will transform the body of our humble estate into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. There is our guarantee that this is not the end of everything. When our body dies, that is not the end. It ain’t over till it’s over. The body that we have now is subject to all types of frailties; but the one that we will receive when He returns will be eternal like His. How can He do that? We say that we believe that He has the power to subject all things to Himself. If so, would it not be a trivial matter for Him to change our decayed body into one like His glorious one? Father thank You that we have a hope that will one day be fulfilled - our bodies will be just like Jesus’!

  Good morning. For many walk, of whom I often told you, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. Paul says that these people are enemies of the cross of Christ. They don’t want the cross because it shows exactly who they are. They want to proclaim a different standard for getting into the kingdom of God than believing on Jesus’ redemption of us by the Cross. The Cross says that they cannot behave any old way that they want. They were striving to live their lives on the earth to fulfill their desires. They were so earthly minded that they were no heavenly good. We, however, should live our lives as follows: our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are citizens of heaven, not the earth; so we should live our lives as such. Speaking of heaven, notice that it says “from which” we wait. This re...

  Good morning. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect (Paul just said he was not perfect; so I assume he was being facetious towards those who were believing that they were perfect), have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. If we continually keep ourselves open to God, He will let us know when we have the wrong attitude. In the meantime – let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. God has a very high standard. If we strive to live by that standard, we will become exactly the kind of person He wants us to be. How do we know how to behave? Join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. We follow the examples of the leaders in the church (as long as they walk according to the Word of God - that’s why we need to know what the Word says). Father help us to have the right attitude and to live by the standard which You have taught us in Your Word.

  Good morning. Speaking of resurrection from the dead: not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. If one has become perfect, that one does not need to do anything else to improve himself or herself. The Christian life is one of continuously improving oneself - becoming more like Jesus. It’s like taking the limit as X approaches infinity. You never get there, but you get closer and closer forever. I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet (still approaching infinity, but not having reached it); but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Everyone needs a goal in life, and this is the one for the Christian. Father thank You that when we become Christians, we do not behave like we have arrived. We continue every day to become ...

Good morning. And why does Paul count all things as loss? That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Paul is not saying that he wants to know about Jesus; rather he wants to know Him personally. We can read in the Bible and in books written about Him, but that does not mean that we know Jesus personally. The power of Jesus’ resurrection did not affect just Him; it also affects every believer. His resurrection brings power into our lives to live the Christian life. It also gives us the hope (hope is not just wishful thinking; it is confident assurance) of joining Him in our own resurrection one day. The part that we don’t want to participate in – the fellowship of His sufferings. And why does Paul want all of this? In order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul does not mean that he is trying to earn the right to be resurrected from the dead. As the next verse indicates - it’s just that he...

  Good morning. Paul then says that he himself might have confidence even in the flesh - he then proceeds to expound upon his “religious” heritage. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. If we do things in our own abilities, they are worthless to God. I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. Paul was on top of the world and a zealot for Judaism. Who knows where he would have wound up had he not gotten knocked off his donkey? And  may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. Paul was trying to obtain righteousness through his persecution of the church, until he was on the road to Damascus. As the song says, “I couldn’t earn it, ...

  Good morning. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Paul, I’m glad you finally got around to saying what you meant – rejoice 😊 . To write the same things again (for the umpteenth time) is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. That is a true statement. I know that students need to hear the same things more than once for them to sink in. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; but we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Calling people dogs is pretty harsh; but it does give a true picture of certain people. Dogs were not as highly regarded as today. You get the picture of a pack of dogs yelping at you and nipping at your heels. That was what Paul faced from some people. The “false” circumcision was forced upon Gentiles converts to try to get them to conform to Judaism. They wanted them to worship according to the laws of Moses. The true circ...