Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Philippians 3
‘The Fellowship of His Sufferings’

‘The Fellowship of His Sufferings’

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‘The Fellowship of His Sufferings’

‘…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…’

Philippians 3:10

For us to know Christ thoroughly, we must enter into His experiences. We cannot know anyone with whom we do not identify. If we are to identify with someone thoroughly the best way to do so is through commonly shared experiences. Paul, desiring to know Christ as thoroughly as possible, understood that in order to do so, he would have to experience, ‘the fellowship of His sufferings.’ As we view the life experiences of Paul, his beatings, imprisonments, contradictions and oppositions, we understand that these are the means whereby he entered, into ‘the fellowship of His sufferings.’ If we desire to ‘know Him’ ourselves, we should expect that God will bring into our lives the sorts of experiences that will enable us to identify with Christ. If we see these experiences as the means whereby God is enabling us to know Christ, it will accomplish several things. It will help us to make more sense out of some of these experiences. It will also assist us in enduring those experiences. Without the knowledge that these things are the means whereby God is bringing us to know Christ, we would be most inclined to become frustrated or perhaps even bitter. God answers our desires to know Christ, but He will do so by causing us to enter into, ‘the fellowship of His sufferings.’

Our most Holy and Wise God,
we praise You, that You order and arrange all of our experiences,
with the grand and sweeping purpose of enabling us to know Christ.
We rejoice, that each day brings us closer to that glorious hour
when we shall see Him face to face.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
‘The Power Of His Resurrection’

‘The Power Of His Resurrection’

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‘The Power Of His Resurrection’

‘…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…’

Philippians 3:10

The Apostle Paul was a very focused individual. The passage before us reveals that he was willing to forsake every earthly ‘advantage’ in his pursuit of being in Christ and of knowing Christ. He declares in our text today that he desired that his knowledge of Christ be much more than casual. He wanted to ‘know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.’  When he says ‘the power of His resurrection,’ what does he mean? What does it mean for Paul, or any of us, to know ‘the power of His resurrection?’ The ‘power’ of Christ’s resurrection was first, power over sin. He was ‘delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification.’ More than this, the ‘power’ of Christ’s resurrection was power over death. Writing upon the subject of the resurrection Paul asks, ‘O, Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory?’ Beyond this, the ‘power’ of Christ’s resurrection is victory over hell. Christ’s being raised from the dead, is the guarantee that not one of His redeemed people shall ever be in hell. Moreover, the ‘power’ of Christ’s resurrection is ‘the power of an endless life.’ Because Christ, being raised from the dead, has an endless life, so also shall all His people have an endless life.  ‘And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish…’ Today, let us dwell upon what it means for our knowing of Christ, to experience, as He reveals it to us, ‘the power of His resurrection.’

Our Great God, and our Living Savior,
we praise You that there is power in the resurrection of Christ.
We rejoice that because He lives, we shall live also.
Evermore enable us to know the power of His resurrection.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
‘That I May Know Him’

‘That I May Know Him’

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‘That I May Know Him’

‘…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…’

Philippians 3:10

Have you ever met someone casually, perhaps at work, or at some social gathering and thought, ‘I want to get to know that person better?’ To that end, you may arrange to have coffee with them or to meet with them in some other context which will serve your purpose. Christ is the Person, Who above all other people, we should get to know. For the Apostle Paul, knowing Christ became a lifelong passion and pursuit. His writing reflects that in the context of our text for today. It was in the pursuit of knowing Christ that Paul had discounted all his pedigree, social status, educational advantage, and cultural standing. Paul’s great goal in life was to know Christ as thoroughly and intimately as possible. What is interesting, for our edification, is that Paul was clearly certain that such a deep knowledge of Christ was, indeed, possible. So what of us? There is almost an entire year ahead of us full of possible Christ encounters. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. Whatever other hopes or desires we have for the year which lies before us, let us hold fast this hope and desire above all the others, that we will come to know Christ. If we desire Him, He will not reject us. With His Word before us, and His promises to us, let us seek Christ today with the purpose, ‘that we may know Him.’

Our most Gracious and Loving Christ,
we rejoice that You draw our hearts out after You.
We know You now and ever desire to know You more;
so, fulfill our every desire.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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