Who Are We Living For?
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
(Philippians 2: 5-8 NASB)
who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”
Some dreams need to be let go, and some need to be held onto with all our might. Thus, the question may become: How can we know? PLEASE GOD, TELL US: WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR OUR LIVES, FOR OUR DAYS, FOR OUR TIME YOU HAVE GIVEN US TO WALK THIS EARTH?
Now, we may wonder: Why all the capital letters?
To which we are reminded of the answer:
- Life is Short.
- Life is Precious.
- Life Must Be Lived With 100% Focus Upon God’s Purpose for Our Days HE Gives Us to Live.
- Life must be spent meditating on how glorious our Father God really is to send His only Son to die for each one of us!
March 11, 1999.
That was the final day my earthly dad was given to live.
Today marks the twenty-fourth anniversary of that day.
Dad was 57.
When he passed away without warning, I was a young thirty-two-year-old, and today I remember my thoughts from that season of my life.
“Dad lived a good life, a long life,” I said back then.
Today, I am fifty-six, walking forward within the calendar of time toward my fifty-seventh birthday, and with this perspective in mind, I clearly see the err of my thirty-two-year-old thinking!
So, in the remembrance of my earthly dad, &
More importantly, in honor of Christ Jesus, my Savior and Lord, I ask the question:
Who Are We Living For?
PLEASE GOD, TELL US: WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR OUR LIVES, FOR OUR DAYS, FOR OUR TIME YOU HAVE GIVEN US TO WALK THIS EARTH?
SPEAK TO US.
WE ARE LISTENING.
& MORE IMPORTANTLY,
WE WILL OBEY!
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, . . . ”
May we strive to be more like Jesus today than we were yesterday.
“who, as He already existed in the form of God, . . . “
[Jesus] “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but [Jesus] emptied Himself . . . “
[Jesus, the Savior chose to humble Himself!] “by taking the form of a bond-servant . . . “
[Jesus, our Redeemer came to earth!] “and being born in the likeness of men. . . . “
[Jesus, the KING of Kings, God in the flesh did this for one solitary reason!]
“And being found in appearance as a man, . . .” [Jesus appeared to mankind, just as a man, & just as the son of Mary & Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth!]
[Jesus Christ] ”He humbled Himself . . .”
[Jesus, the Son of God obediently came to earth to do His Father’s will!] ”by becoming obedient to the point of death: . . .”
JESUS DID!
OUR SAVIOR DID!
May we pause today to consider exactly why Jesus came to earth.
- JESUS OBEDIENTLY STRETCHED OUT HIS ARMS AND LEGS!
- JESUS OBEDIENTLY ALLOWED THE ROMAN SOLDIERS TO DRIVE THE SPIKES INTO HIS FLESH!
- JESUS LAID DOWN HIS LIFE!
- JESUS CHRIST—THE MESSIAH—GAVE HIS LIFE! “death on a cross.” (Philippians 2: 5-8 NASB)
- JESUS DID ALL THIS—FOR YOU & FOR ME!
Jeremy Camp sings a melody “Dead Man Walking.”
Pause & Listen today.
Be reminded.
Yes, we who believe, may we be reminded of who we were (before we knew Jesus as Savior).
&
May we who have believed & who have received Christ Jesus into our hearts—Whose we are—NOW!
Be reminded, today.
&
Even more importantly—
- May we stop walking as dead men.
- May we stop walking in selfish ambition.
- May we not be filled with conceit.
- May we allow God to empty us and fill us with more of HIM!
- May we walk with humility within this life that God has given us to live.
- May we walk—and live every day, walking only within His will.
- May we walk with Jesus—through the rest of our days, living out the hours, seizing the moments, and even breathing in the years God grants to live.
CHRISTIANS ARE FOREVER ALIVE & WE ARE TO LIVE TO PLEASE—ONLY CHRIST JESUS—OUR SAVIOR, OUR LORD, & OUR KING!
So, in closing, some may ask: How can we do this?
HOW CAN WE LIVE ONLY FOR CHRIST JESUS?
God’s Word (of course) provides us the answers we continually seek (to all life questions).
Read with me in the verses preceding verse 5 within the Apostle Paul’s letter to the believers living in Philippi.
The Holy Spirit of God gave His servant Apostle Paul these words:
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;
(Philippians 2: 3-8 NASB)
do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”
- Because Life is Short. &
- Because Life is Precious.
We Must
- Live Our Earthly Life—100% Focused Upon God’s Purpose for Our Days HE Has Given Us to Live.
- Spend our Earthly Life—Meditating on how glorious our Father God really is to send His only Son to die for each one of us!
- Worship the KING of Kings Every Day!
- Not Seek Personal Pleasures, but Live for Him!
- Strive to Create Relationships with Others So We Can Share Our Testimony with them!
- Fill Our Calendars With God-Tasks!
- Walk in God’s Plan for Each One of Our Days!
- Spend the Time He Has Granted Us to Walk—Aligning Our Lives to God’s Purposes!
BECAUSE IT IS GOD—ALONE—WHO WE ARE TO LIVE FOR EACH DAY!