“That I may know Him…” (Philippians 3:10). 

The deepest cry of the human heart is in the direction of its Maker and Provider. There is a deep yearning to know the Source from which it came. The ability to want and have provided a fulfillment that makes all of life meaningful is a gift given to all from God. It is the desire left unfulfilled that leaves one searching for reasons and understanding only to discover that what appeared to have significance was merely a phantom or a pipe dream. It is the god that is imagined that stands in the way of an authentic search. It leads to a manufactured religion that gives temporary relief but wears off as quickly as it came. Paul’s prayer is earnest having tasted and seen the real thing. Because he had experienced Christ to a degree, he wanted more of the same. “…that I may know Him!” He had the satisfaction in being on the right path but anxiously anticipating the arrival in reaching the destination. He was knowledgeable, but daily the whole of his life was absorbed in the pursuit. It is the experience that he sought after, not just a casual introduction. He, like us, must continue to seek the experience in knowing Christ. Then our lives can be totally absorbed into His purpose and fulfill the deepest desires of the heart. 

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). 

One of God’s greatest gifts is being a true and loving friend and a brother. He is there when others may have abandoned you and moved on. The love of a friend is not always soft and easy. There are occasions when tough love is necessary. An honest friend is not the person that agrees with our wrongdoings. He insists that his brother follow a course of righteousness. He is neither a fatalist nor an eternal optimist. He is acquainted with human frailties, but helps to seek a path for recovery and restoration. 

The adversity may be external or internal. The troubled soul is in need of someone who will help him take an objective look at what path he should take. There are many who fall off the cliff without warning. Their companions were too afraid to say anything, thinking that they may cease walking together. While there are others who do not care enough to speak the truth in love. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” But there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. 

“But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48). 

God’s requirements are commensurate with the measure of His grace. He gives to one a portion and to another a different portion. He does not expect the same from each but expects both to use what they have been given for His glory. When His boundaries are tested, whether it be from one who has full knowledge of the law or not, both must pay the penalty for their transgression. Yet again, what has been made known to them will determine the severity of their punishment. His gifts are freely given to empower us to freely respond to His initiatives. Knowing to do what is good must be from the heart and not just the head if His grace is effectively working within us. We are then doing what we will to do, not just for the sake of avoiding punishment, but because it has been made known to us what is best for us. But if the knowledge is lacking or the willingness is not in place to do what is right, then God will judge on the merits of His investment. 

“To whom He said, “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest” (Isaiah 28:12). 

God speaks to the weary. His words of encouragement are directed towards them to raise up their spirits. It is a rest that continues in the midst of work. Too many busy themselves with efforts to achieve their dreams yet ruin the possibility of reaching the heights which lie beyond their own imaginations. What a high price many pay in order to obtain what they consider to be their ultimate goals? Yet the best goal ever envisioned is like standing before an anthill in contrast to Mount Everest. God speaks to those who tire themselves in trying to do great things yet do not know Him or the power that He alone possesses. They flex their muscles as weak as they are, but cannot find the strength to even live long enough to participate in their dreams. God’s objective is for each of us to become what He has in mind. Only when our Creator is pleased will we find true and lasting pleasure. All else will keep one in an endless pursuit of wanting more than he has, wanting to do more than he is capable of, and wearied by his efforts to achieve what is not possible. There is rest for the weary. There is peace for the soul. The unrest within remains as long as other things are pursued. 

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). 

God has dispensed from Heaven an abundance of His grace. Where sin and spiritual blindness abounded, only what one had grown accustomed to was known. Grace came to teach us that our old nature must be denied. How could one ever be freed from what he once defended because it defined him? It is the grace that has appeared in order to show us that a new life was possible. When it came on the scene, it opened our eyes to know that heaven’s order should become earth’s greatest dream. The slave can at least see freedom in order for freedom to be desired. That desire for something beyond our current patterns of living is responded to and then we are empowered to aim higher, above the level of ungodly and worldly lusts. Each day we will embrace all the more God’s standard of righteousness thus rising above our own. It is the grace that has appeared that produces the salvation that we so desperately need. 

We see that life in Jesus Christ. He modeled perfect humanity before us teaching us what it really means to be human. Then He shows us that grace is not cheap. He paid the penalty for our sin with His life. It was not cheap grace but very costly for it cost the life of our Lord and Savior. The entrance of the grace of God as a gift to us appeared through the person of Jesus Christ over two thousand years in order to provide the way to salvation. First the question was raised by humanity in relation to his lost condition. The Law made us aware that a need remained unmet because God’s demand was not clearly known. Now that we know what the Lord requires and our inadequacy in fulfilling those requirements, we now have the mind to look beyond ourselves. What the world so desperately needed has appeared to all men. Salvation has come through the One who leads us to the place and the provision of God. In this new place we have a love for the truth which empowers us to resist the passions working against our relationship with God. Even if we are tempted by the devil we love Jesus Christ more than whatever evil alternatives may be offered. In contrast to what we would by our old nature succumb to, we live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. As we look to Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, we maintain our focus and do not lose hope. Not only will we be saved spiritually, but our souls and bodies will ultimately be redeemed. 

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). 

There is a higher and a greater level of understanding that comes as result of faith. It is not blind and misguided but rather, sure and applicable to all aspects of life. The theories that surface from time to time require faith in speculations. More effort is required to disprove what is made evident than what a person of faith in God is convinced of. All that he believes is anchored on the truth that God is. There is first cause, something that came forth from out of nothing. How many philosophers and secular scientists have wrestled against this most important truth merely to end up with nothing but a sea of questions? One does not have to force himself to believe that God is. The evidence of His existence is all around us. It is those who are wise in their own eyes who would allow their minds to imagine a godless world. The worlds were in fact framed by the word of God. That which emanated from God created all things. God spoke the worlds into existence. Therefore, the more significant element of life is God’s Word to us. He has spoken and continues to speak, creating newness of life where void and deadness once occupied. When we trust in His Word, we are able to comprehend by faith mysteries hidden in God for those who are born of Him. 

”These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1Corinthians 2:13-14). 

All that is called wisdom may be lacking the potency to change one’s life for the better. There is practical wisdom that may assist in one coping or even managing what is already there. But for a permanent change to occur there has to be the instructions in wisdom that comes from above. Wisdom that comes from above has no earthly references. Nothing can be compared to the depth and wealth of spiritual things. These are the intangibles that affect all that is seen, heard, or experienced. The teacher is the Holy Spirit Himself. He instructs the heart so that it embraces what would otherwise be foolishness to those who think they already have the answers. He first must raise new questions and spiritual inquiries must be made. Without the hunger and thirst for righteousness, God’s standard for living, even His Word will be reduced to what is manageable by man. Because the Holy Spirit has dealt deeply within the heart, there is the pursuit for wisdom that God will never ignore. He gives it liberally and does not reprimand the individual making the request. He walks in the wisdom of God and is over time, transformed into a living expression of it. 

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4). 

There is a position in Christ where His love, and the benefits of His love, are made known. The greatest of these is for what is from Him to be given expression through us without any fleshly interference. The competition between the flesh and the spirit remains while we live our lives daily. There are many things vying for our attention. A steady diet of the Word of God is required to purge us of the thoughts and passions that would otherwise mislead us. To be raised with Christ is the prerequisite of the soul’s condition. 

Only those who are born again are enabled to see that there is a Sovereign God to rule the soul who has positioned them in a different place. They seek those things which are from on high because they have obtained wisdom from Him who rules the heavens and the earth. Through Him we attain wisdom and a discipline to pursue righteousness, rather than selfish endeavors. Only those who are delivered from self are able to understand this. True understanding is veiled to unbelievers since wisdom is hidden from those who think themselves to be too wise and prudent to open their eyes, minds, and hearts and believe. Yet, Christ will provide the evidence of true wisdom and His enduring treasures in the fullness of time. 

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isaiah 28:16). 

With all that the Church and the believers must suffer in these last days, doubt may enter into the minds of many. Evil appears to triumph over good and support for what is wrong outweighs the support of the truth. Yet God has made a promise to His people. His foundation is sure for He knows His own. The foundation stone or touchstone of the Lord has been laid in Zion which represents the Church. It is the support of all that God is erecting. He will hold His Church together to weather the storms of adversity because His very life is invested in her. This is the hope of the believer, not to be a reactionary to the sudden storms that may arise from time to time, for our lives are anchored in the hope of His promises. God will have the final word, but we must endure to the end. The time will come when what in the past has been ignored will be greatly treasured. People will flock to hear the Word of the Lord when all that they have heard in their past has failed them. Not only will they hear but also see the glory of the Lord rising upon His people.