Philippians 3:10 That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.
Read Philippians 3:1-21.
Do you really have divine power in your life? Or are you just talking about the Christian life? Believe me, power is needed—and neither you nor I can produce it. Only God’s power will suffice. A young man whom I approached after a meeting in Los Angeles told me frankly, “You couldn’t do a thing for me, Preacher.” “Well,” I told him, “I know that as well as you do. But Jesus can do something for you. Do you want to talk to me about Him, or not?” “Yeah,” he said, “I’ll talk to you.” So he did. This was his story: Then a boy of sixteen, he had already been mixed up with car theft, liquor, drugs, and sex. What do you do with a boy like that? Give him John 3:16… Romans 10:13… Acts 16:31. I have news for you. That boy had just won the privilege of two weeks at a camp for having learned, letter-perfect, 500 Bible verses. His mind was full of Scripture. But his heart was full of sin. Thankfully, we were able to get him in touch with the all-powerful Savior, and He made a difference in that boy’s life. Christ turned him completely around.
Power with Christ is a by-product of knowing Him. Another evidence of that relationship is compassion. Suffering souls are longing for love, for intelligent caring. It is not enough to say, “Let the Red Cross do it; let the police do it; let the pastor do it.” Compassion is not just feeling bad. It is sympathizing enough to act.
Small thought here. Power, compassion, resemblance to Christ—these are the marks of the yielded believer who is being “conformed to the image of His [God’s] Son.”
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free email articles at Walk With The King Today and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages. Used with written permission.
