1Now then, brothers
and sisters, be joyful in the Lord. It's no trouble for me to write the same
things to you, and it's for your safety. 2Beware of dogs!
Beware of those who do evil things. Beware of those who insist on circumcision.
3We are the [true]
circumcised people [of God] because we serve God's Spirit and take pride in
Christ Jesus. We don't place any confidence in physical things, 4although I could
have confidence in my physical qualifications. If anyone else thinks that he can
trust in something physical, I can claim even more. 5I was circumcised
on the eighth day. I'm a descendant of Israel. I'm from the tribe of Benjamin.
I'm a pure-blooded Hebrew. When it comes to living up to standards, I was a
Pharisee. 6When it comes to
being enthusiastic, I was a persecutor of the church. When it comes to winning
God's approval by keeping Jewish laws, I was perfect. 7These things that
I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. 8It's far more than
that! I consider everything else worthless because I'm much better off knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord. It's because of him that I think of everything as
worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ 9and to have a
relationship with him. This means that I didn't receive God's approval by
obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God's approval through faith in
Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith 10that knows
Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it
means to share his suffering. In this way I'm becoming like him in his death,
11with the
confidence that I'll come back to life from the dead. 12It's not that
I've already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to
win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me. 13Brothers and
sisters, I can't consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don't look
back, I lengthen my stride, and 14I run straight
toward the goal to win the prize that God's heavenly call offers in Christ
Jesus. 15Whoever has a
mature faith should think this way. And if you think differently, God will show
you how to think. 16However, we
should be guided by what we have learned so far. 17Brothers and
sisters, imitate me, and pay attention to those who live by the example we have
given you. 18I have often
told you, and now tell you with tears in my eyes, that many live as the enemies
of the cross of Christ. 19In the end they
will be destroyed. Their own emotions are their god, and they take pride in the
shameful things they do. Their minds are set on worldly things. 20We, however, are
citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ coming from heaven
as our Savior. 21Through his
power to bring everything under his authority, he will change our humble bodies
and make them like his glorified body.
It is so plain that I don't even have to elaborate. You can also click on each verse to go to the Bible site. Praise God.
I love you, God bless you.
Angela R. Ingram
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