Philippians 3:8

"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" - Philippians 3:8

Our world has this very completely backwards.  If our culture wrote this verse, it would say, "I consider Christ garbage, so that I may gain 'stuff.'"  What is "stuff"? Stuff is the new iPad, the best TV, the next hook-up, the next grasp of power, the next million dollars, the next rise in popularity, the next whatever.  It is putting all the thing of the world before Christ.

But as Christians, we strive hard for what Paul has said.  We want to run after Christ and leave everything else behind.  But what the world has been filling our mind with, what their "scriptures" have been lying to us about, has taken over and made it sound so much better than what Christ has to offer.  So the question needs to be asked - what are you putting before God?  What are you saying is more important than knowing Christ as your Lord and Savior?

It is a tough question to answer.  Because in truth - we all know what it is.  We all know what is stopping us or what gets in the way every single time we try to follow what Paul has to say.  But I feel like we become unwilling to remove it from our lives, because it has a power over us - this desire to not miss an important show on TV, the desire to not miss a single status update from a friend on facebook, the desire to make sure  that next relationship happens, the desire to get the happy feelings from the drugs one's taking, the desire to do your own will above God's.

But I don't want this to be discouraging - I want it to be encouraging.  If you are struggling with something, know that you are not alone.  We all as Christians struggle.  We all make mistakes.  Some people look and think we have it all together, but it is not true.  We need to help each other out, and encourage each other to move forward in our faith.  I write these not as a person who has my life all together perfectly.  Most of what I write is a continued wake up call to myself to get moving and stop making excuses.  And I want others to know they are not alone in their struggles.  And if one person reads something I wrote and gives God honor and praise because of it, and turns their life around, then that is all that matters.