Philippians 3:7-8 “Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them, and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embracing him as Lord in all his greatness.” Today's episode reminds us that there is a difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. It explains how we must give up our past if we want to truly know Jesus. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Letting Go Of Our Past
Philippians 3:7-8 “Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them, and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embracing him as Lord in all of his greatness.”
This verse stood out to me this morning. The words, “To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past,” really stuck with me. I got to thinking about how great it is when we discover Jesus. At first, I thought that it must be so great for people who don’t know Jesus at first and then come to discover Him later in life. There must be such a stark contrast in their lives. I wonder if it is easy to tell what moment Jesus came on the scene in their life. I wonder if it was as if one day they were one person, and the next day they were completely changed? Or, maybe it was more gradual, and they slowly changed their lives as they got to know Jesus more and more. I am sure this journey is different for everyone.
I was a bit envious of people who didn’t just grow up knowing Jesus because they seemed to be more on fire for Him. It's like when you enter into a new relationship, whether a friendship or a romantic one. Everything is new and exciting; you can’t wait to learn more about the other person. You make time for that person and you ask questions, you get to know them and what they like, what they don’t like.
Those of us that have know Jesus our whole lives don’t seem to have that same awe and excitement about it. I know that is a generalization and I know plenty of people who have know Jesus their whole life and still have amazing awe and wonder about Him. They still spend time with Him daily and they learn more and more each day through conversations with Him and through reading His written Word. But that’s the thing, they are putting in the times. They are working at their relationship with Him. Are we?
I had a colonoscopy at the end of July. I work up during the procedure and the medical staff were talking about the difference between Catholics and other Protestants. I heard one of them say that the difference is that Catholics don’t read the Bible and Protestants do. I spoke up and let them know that wasn’t true, but then they put me back to sleep as I was not supposed to be awake. However, as much as I wanted to complain that they thought this, this is not an uncommon belief. When I first joined the Catholic Woman’s groups on the military bases we moved to, there were not a lot of Catholic Bible Studies. Sometimes we would join up with a study the Protestants were doing.
As Catholic’s we get to hear the Bible every week at church. Every three years, the Church has covered almost the whole Bible. So, to say Catholics don’t know the Bible is not true at all. However, I think Catholic Bible studies is fairly new, at least in my experience. However, this is a great way to get to know the Lord. To develop a deeper relationship with the Lord. If you want to get to know someone, you learn all you can about that person. The Bible is a great way to get to know who God is and what He is all about. You get to see all the various parts of His personality and the many ways He loves us and has saved us over the years. This is important because if He did it then, He will do it now.
I said earlier that I was envious of people who newly discovered Jesus because they seemed more on fire for Him. Then, one day, I realized we all had that turning point. Whether we have been going to Church our whole lives or we have just learned about Jesus today at the grocery store, we all have a point where our relationship with Him changes. There comes a time when we realize we need more Jesus in our life. There comes a time when we don’t just know about Jesus, but we know Jesus. We enter into a relationship with Him. This is where the fire comes from.
Those who just learned about Jesus aren’t on fire because Jesus is new to them, they are on fire because they have been personally touched by Jesus and they know what it is to be with Jesus. They know Him on a personal level and that makes you hungry for more. You want to read scripture because you want to know and understand Jesus more. You want to know what makes Him happy. You want to see how He has helped others so you can see how He can help you too!
Whether you have know Jesus your whole life and now have discovered a personal relationship with Him, or you have just found him, the verse above is the same. “Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them, and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embracing him as Lord in all of his greatness.” Once you know Jesus on a personal level, you no longer care about all you have done.
If we want to truly know Jesus we need to let go of all that is in our past that is holding us back. This means our past beliefs of who we thought Jesus was and what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. This means all of our past hurts. This means anything in our past that might get in the way of our future. When we first start to grow closer to the Lord, the enemy is going to attack us. He will tell us that we are not good enough to have a relationship with Jesus. He will remind us of all the bad things we have done in the past that make us unworthy. It is important that we don’t listen to Him. Jesus took our past sins to the cross with Him so that they would no longer have hold over us. Don’t let the enemy drag them back up again.
The person writing this verse was St. Paul. His name used to be Saul, and he used to persecute Christians. He would lock them up in jail or, worse, have them stoned. He had a past that would have been easy for the enemy to use against him. However, he didn’t allow it. He threw his past on the garbage heap. All he had done before was nothing compared to the reality of knowing Jesus. You can do this too. No matter where you are in your relationship with the Lord, you can grow closer to Him. It’s straightforward: read His word and spend time with Him. I know that may seem too simple, but think of all those you spend time with, whether you want to be with them or not. You will inevitably learn more about them when you spend time with them. Jesus is no different. If you want to know the Lord truly, give up your past and focus on Him. He is your future.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening. Lord, we love you and we want to put you first. We want to have a more intimate relationship with you. We want to know you more and more with each passing day. Help us make time for you. Help us to make time to read Your Word. Help us to let go of our past so we can focus on our future with you. You are amazing Lord. You are so powerful and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to encourage all of you to check out the website for the upcoming retreat. I know many of us think retreats are for holy people. This retreat is for you and me. It is a time to get away from life and focus on Jesus for a bit. There were several people who had never been on a retreat before who came last year and they loved it. It will be laid back and fun and you will leave so refreshed and ready to get to know Jesus more. I hope you will consider joining us! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! May the peace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you. Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I will always work in and through my children. I will never abandon you, not for one minute ever. You are my flock, and I love my flock.”