<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Philippians 3;17-21<div><br></div><div><b>17. &nbsp;Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so love as you have an example in us.</b></div><div><b>18. &nbsp;For many, of who I have often&nbsp;told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ.</b></div><div><b>19. &nbsp;Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.</b></div><div><b>20. &nbsp;But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,</b></div><div><b>21. &nbsp;who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious, by the power which enables him even</b><b>&nbsp;to subject all things to himself.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><span>Our outward lives and behaviors add nothing to the finished work of Jesus.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;His sacrificial suffering and&nbsp;death alone, and his resurrection, has won for us forgiveness of all&nbsp;sin, cleansing of our souls, eternal life, and the&nbsp;gift of the Holy Spirit,&nbsp;Christ’s own indwelling presence in us his Bride the Church.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Our outward lives add nothing to our salvation, BUT, our outward lives give a witness to this world of Christ indwelling his Church. &nbsp;Our outward lives are to be ones of sacrificial, self-denying, self-control, for the sake of loving and serving&nbsp;our neighbor, doing the good works the Father has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. &nbsp;</span><span>(see, Ephesians 2;10)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>We are exhorted by Paul to look for examples in others of such living, and imitate them. &nbsp;In the beginning of our lives of&nbsp;faith we learn to discipline and control our outward behaviors. &nbsp;It is like creating a form or a mold&nbsp;which God uses to pour himself into. &nbsp;Over a lifetime, those outward imitations become inward certainties. &nbsp;The tender&nbsp;and&nbsp;fragile sapling of the new-man,&nbsp;becomes a solid&nbsp;mighty oak who subdues and controls&nbsp;the old.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>In this life, the flesh will&nbsp;never change, the belly continually&nbsp;craves and the flesh continues to&nbsp;lust, until the day our Savior returns and we receive new glorified bodies, which are purified and cleansed of all of Satan’s&nbsp;rebellion.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Note how Paul weeps over those who yield themselves to the flesh and live as enemies of the cross of Jesus. &nbsp;Although they for a time believed, they, with their old&nbsp;hardened hearts and throttled souls opposed the work of God within themselves. &nbsp;They allowed the tender life of the new-man to be blocked,&nbsp;choked,&nbsp;tangled, and smothered by their desire for the things. &nbsp;The new life given them in Christ never bore fruit. &nbsp;They were branches broken from the Vine, dried up and gathered for the fire.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>It is not our sin which damns us, but our devotion to sin. &nbsp;God puts a new desire within us, the&nbsp;Calling in Christ to deny ourselves and walk in the way of righteousness. This must not be ignored.</span></div><div><br></div><div>Our hope is before us, our treasure is kept in heaven, we must not allow ourselves to be conformed to the image of this world. &nbsp;We have a better, higher Calling, we follow a different Light.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, deliver us from being comfortable with ourselves or this world. &nbsp;Bless us to remain faithful to our Husband Christ Jesus, knowing who and whose You have made us. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Philippians 3;17-21
17.  Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so love as you have an example in us.18.  For many, of who I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ.19.  Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.20.  But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,21.  who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Our outward lives and behaviors add nothing to the finished work of Jesus.
  His sacrificial suffering and death alone, and his resurrection, has won for us forgiveness of all sin, cleansing of our souls, eternal life, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s own indwelling presence in us his Bride the Church.
Our outward lives add nothing to our salvation, BUT, our outward lives give a witness to this world of Christ indwelling his Church.  Our outward lives are to be ones of sacrificial, self-denying, self-control, for the sake of loving and serving our neighbor, doing the good works the Father has prepared beforehand for us to walk in.  (see, Ephesians 2;10)
We are exhorted by Paul to look for examples in others of such living, and imitate them.  In the beginning of our lives of faith we learn to discipline and control our outward behaviors.  It is like creating a form or a mold which God uses to pour himself into.  Over a lifetime, those outward imitations become inward certainties.  The tender and fragile sapling of the new-man, becomes a solid mighty oak who subdues and controls the old.
In this life, the flesh will never change, the belly continually craves and the flesh continues to lust, until the day our Savior returns and we receive new glorified bodies, which are purified and cleansed of all of Satan’s rebellion.
Note how Paul weeps over those who yield themselves to the flesh and live as enemies of the cross of Jesus.  Although they for a time believed, they, with their old hardened hearts and throttled souls opposed the work of God within themselves.  They allowed the tender life of the new-man to be blocked, choked, tangled, and smothered by their desire for the things.  The new life given them in Christ never bore fruit.  They were branches broken from the Vine, dried up and gathered for the fire.
It is not our sin which damns us, but our devotion to sin.  God puts a new desire within us, the Calling in Christ to deny ourselves and walk in the way of righteousness. This must not be ignored.
Our hope is before us, our treasure is kept in heaven, we must not allow ourselves to be conformed to the image of this world.  We have a better, higher Calling, we follow a different Light.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, deliver us from being comfortable with ourselves or this world.  Bless us to remain faithful to our Husband Christ Jesus, knowing who and whose You have made us.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”

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