Today is August 22.


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.  
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”   
 
Today’s reading is from the book of Philippians, chapter 3.  
 

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.   
 
 
St Paul had what we might call a stellar resume’ when it came to religious zealousness. He had, he wrote, lots of reasons to be confident in his own achievements. But of course WE know that all of these things he did – all of these human achievements, accomplishments, were aimed at a prize he realized was – as he calls it – garbage. He came to realize that his achievements actually were working contrary to the purposes of God. Before he met Christ, he was a persecutor of Christians. Take a moment and imagine the feelings Paul may have wrestled with emotionally and spiritually when he considered who he was before he met Christ. 
  
So often, we listen to scripture as though it’s a play, not a description of reality. Paul is St Paul, the Apostle Paul, Saul the Pharisee… but Paul is also just an ordinary guy. Some 1st century guy with a radical call from God that totally interrupted everything he had been so convinced was true. Listen to the words of this letter again, and ask God to make you attentive to what Paul may have been feeling as he wrote these words.
  
When I listen to Paul, I hear a man rescued. A man who had his certainty interrupted by faith, and who had his religion interrupted by grace. When I listen to Paul, I have a feeling that I need to be interrupted, yet again, by a vision of Jesus. That I need to remember that so much of what I hold dear is pretty much garbage. That gaining Christ isn’t some religious acquisition, but an entrance into a radical, life-changing, soul-charging, eye-opening, heart-filling life with God. If you feel tired, worn out, or weary today… end your time of prayer talking to God about what it means to come to Him, and to learn His ways, and to experience the same knowledge of Christ that Paul himself had.

Music: "All Who Are Thirsty" - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)