Philippians 2:5-8

Good morning, all!!
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Philippians 2:5-8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

These, of course, are very familiar verses, since they are some of the most oft-quoted! However, that familiarity in no way diminishes the depth of their meaning, nor does it mean that I will not occasionally see something new in them!! :)
That clause, "which is yours in Christ Jesus", jumped out at me recently. This mind of humility, of emptying self and being obedient to God no matter the cost is mine already in Christ Jesus! It is not something I come up with or accomplish on my own, but something that Jesus bought and paid for with His very life in order to give to me. How often do I find myself struggling, fighting for this in my own strength and failing miserably because it was never meant for "me" to obtain it alone. I can only have "this mind" when I come to Jesus and say, "Give me Your mind, Your heart!!"

Father, I'm done with trying to do this on my own! I will choose to walk in "this mind" that Jesus already gained for me and that only You can give!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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Philippians 3:7-11

Good morning! :)

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Philippians 3:7-11
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

These verses boil down to a couple of very simple facts: Paul wants to know Christ, he wants to know Christ's power and he realizes that the only way to get there is by being conformed to His death. The knowledge and the power only come through dying with Christ. We have to die to self, to stuff, to sin, to anything that is not God Himself. Even "good things" can only become "God things" after they have been laid on the altar, and we have been put on the cross.

Father, I also want to know You, and I want Your power to flow through my life...teach me to die, to truly surrender, to live as one that is dead to everything but YOU!

May the Lord richly bless you as you seek to know Him!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website