Know the Worth of Christ

I know the first day back to school after a two week break can be a little tough, so I’m going to go easy on y’all tonight! We’re going to get into the Word for 15 minutes or so, sing praises, and then go to the gym.

We are leaving for Strength to Stand in a little over a week and they have been sending stuff to me. One of the things they send are some devotions that go along with the theme. I was planning on taking Grace Ann’s suggestion to study in Genesis tonight, but then I read this devotion that STS send out and I liked it a lot, so that’s where I’m coming from tonight! I think it’s a good lesson for us to hear and hopefully learn on January 3 as we’re staring down a new year!

A lot of people like to ask themselves what their goals will be at the beginning of a new year, what they want to accomplish. Another way of saying that might be “what do I see as valuable this year” or “what is worth the most to me this year”.

I want to tell you that Scripture tells us something to go after that far surpasses the worth of anything else. Who can guess what it is? Yea, it’s Jesus!

read Phil 3:1-10 and pray

Knowing Jesus is worth more than anything else we could possibly pursue!

There’s more going on in the context that Paul is writing to than we are going to get into tonight, but basically Paul is arguing against a group of people saying that there is great value in seeking our own righteousness in addition to faith in Jesus. So I want y’all to picture a balance. Everyone know what that is?

explain a balance

Some of you may call it a scale, but I learned today that it isn’t technically. A scale just shows you a number.

Coach Estes, the football coach at the HS, not the cheer coach at the MS, told me the other day about his scale over Christmas break. He weighed on December 17 and then didn’t hop back on the smart scale until I think Monday. When he got on Monday the scale asked if he was sure he wanted to log the weight because it was a significant increase.

A scale gives you a number, but a balance shows which side has more weight. And Paul is loading up a balance here. On one side he’s putting all his religious accomplishments before he came to know Jesus. He loads it up in verses 4-6…

Then in verses 7-11 he talks about the one thing he put on the other side of the balance and what happened to the balance…

In verse 10 he talks about what he gains in knowing Jesus and none of the self righteous religious works he did before Jesus can gain him those things, and worst of all he doesn’t get Jesus through those things!

You can only receive these gifts through Jesus, through faith in Him. Your sin prevents you from receiving them on your own, but in God’s grace you can be forgiven through Jesus! If you need to know more about what that means or how to do that then please talk to me or another adult tonight!

So what did he do? What were his life goals every year of his life? The same thing yours should be this year and every year.

What are your goals for 2024? (and all the other ones after)

read 12-14

That doesn’t mean you don’t have goals for anything else. You still have academic goals and social goals and career goals and athletic goals. But in all of those goals you are seeking to know Christ and make Him known through them!