December 30, 2002 Monday
"Unto you it is given..."

"....in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for his sake." - Philippians 1:29

When you think of the greatest blessings you have received from God do you treasure the sufferings that He allows in your life? The Apostle Paul discovered something in his walk with Christ that very few are ever able to come to grips with....."the fellowship of his sufferings". (Philippians 3:10) Most people are looking for quick relief from their sufferings, but identification with Christ is always clearly marked through the path of suffering. Jesus once said of Himself, "it was necessary for the Christ to suffer". (Luke 24:46) The sufferings that Christ endured are beyond comparison to anything we could imagine and yet still we have been given the opportunity to endure many sufferings so that we can be made "conformable unto his death". (Philippians 3:10) We can praise God that through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection all of mankind has been given a pathway to come into the presence of the Almighty Himself. Don't be deceived however, for the pathway is one upon which we must take up our own cross and draw closer to Him through "the fellowship of his sufferings"....are you willing to walk this path?