Know Christ

Believers Ministry Daily Devotional

7-28-09

Donna Braman

Today Is The Day The Lord Has Made And I Shall Rejoice In It!

A PASSION TO KNOW CHRIST

Read: Philippians 3: 3-12

In today's society, "passion" usually refers to senuality or sexuality. But the word's meaning is an intense desire toward something or someone, and can include spirituality. The one place passion ought to appear is in the believer's life: we should fervently seek to know the Lord Jesus Christ who saved us.

When we claim to now someone, we often mean that we've accumulated facts about the person or simply are aware of his existence. Unfortunately, too many Christians "know" Jesus Christ in this superficial way. He is the world's Savior, the virgin-born Son of God who accepted death in our place and then rose again to sit at the Father's right hand. Those are the facts, but collecting and sharing data points will not bring lasting satisfaction. Who is this Jesus that willingly died? Why did He give His life? The quest for these answers begins a journey to intimacy and true knowledge of Christ.

By recognizing Jesus as our Savior, we are blessed with redemption and a basic spiritual relationship. But though we've gained heaven, we can miss the treasure of experiencing Christ as Lord, the one that gives rivers of living water for our souls. Few people will delve deep enough into Scripture and spiritual intimacy to claim Him as their life, as the one who makes believers complete. The apostle Paul was so intimately acquainted with God that he viewed his own history and experiences as trash when compared with knowing Jesus.

SEED WORD:

If you want to thirst for Jesus as Paul did, only Scripture and your experience with Him can fuel your passion. Start by opening the Word and drinking Him in. The word is life, it is the discerner of the heart, it is the sword of the Spirit, instruction for your life and empowers you to have victory in warfare with the enemy, and its power can save your soul. When we start to do as we see Jesus do, His Holy Spirit begins to manifest in our life. His transforming power quickly shows the believer that nothing in this earthly realm can come close to life in the Kingdom.