I like The Passion Translation (TPT) for Philippians 3:8, which reads, “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 embrace Him as Lord in all of His greatness.”
I like the first part of this verse where Paul says, “To truly know Him [Jesus] meant letting go of everything from my past…” If I truly want to get to know Jesus, I need to let go of any hold my past has on me.
I don’t want to be fueled by my past; that will only lead me down a road of destruction. Instead, I want to be propelled by the future and the life God has for me through Christ Jesus. To do that, I need to know Jesus not only as my personal Savior but also as my friend, mentor, and confidant by spending time in the Word (which is Jesus: John 1:1).
At the beginning of this year, our church was challenged to pray and asked to fall deeper and deeper in love with Jesus. That has been my prayer, and boy, has that prayer been answered! I, in turn, challenge you to the same prayer!
It is this simple, “Lord, I want to fall deeper in love with You. Take me by the hand and guide me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Take the challenge. I guarantee you will not regret it!