Background Story: Paul wrote the book of Philippians as a letter to the church of Philippi. The major theme of the letter is joy or χάρα, which he mentions 16 times within these chapters. This word’s meaning is “gladness, joy, cheerfulness and rejoicing,” which is remarkable because Paul wrote this letter during his first imprisonment in Rome.

Read Philippians 3:8-14

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Big Idea: We cannot straddle the fence and follow Christ.

All of us desire acceptance. And in this pursuit of acceptance, it can be easy to be a different person depending on your location or who you are with. This split personality can feel like you’re straddling a fence balancing between two lives.

Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

From His words, we learn that a disciple or Christ-follower:

• Denies Themself: In this me-centered society, it’s all about satisfying my dreams, my desires, and my happiness. One of my favorite theologians, A.W. Tozer said that all sins can be traced back to the word self. He said “the self-sins are these: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and a host of others like them” (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine). In contrast to self, Jesus instructs His disciples to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
• Takes Up Their Cross Daily: All of us have personal struggles we bear in life. The Christian life is not lived in self-sufficiency where we work hard to do better. It is lived in daily surrender. Every worry, fear, decision, temptation, and trial – we surrender to the One who is able (Matthew 11:28-30).
• Follows: Each day in our pursuit of Christ, we surrender self and pray for ears to listen and respond in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25).
• Loses Their Life: As we respond in obedience, our heart’s desire shift from exalting self to God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:10).

The call of a disciple is a life of radical heart surrender, not of fence balancing between two lives. We surrender control and forgo the acceptance of others for the joy of knowing and serving Him. This is Lordship- the elevation of Jesus as ruler over all aspects of our life.

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Dig Deeper: 2 Corinthians 5:15, Matthew 13:44-45, Mark 10:13-31, John 3:22-30, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 1 Peter 2:9-12, John 15:18-21

Similar Devotions: The Sin of Self, Undivided Heart, Irrevocable, Swimming Upstream, The Undertow, My Identity, Both Can’t Remain, Stale Air, Responsive Heart, Suffering Savior, Who I Am, Looking For Water, His Kingdom

Devotions4Teens Video: Sneaky Sin, Thirsting For God, Salvation in Jesus, The Gospel- 3 Minute Presentation