March 23 | Your Resume

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Paul has every reason to have confidence in his religious credentials. He calls himself a “Hebrew of Hebrews” and lists his accomplishments. He was circumcised on the eighth day, as every traditional Jewish boy. He gives his tribal lineage and says he was zealous for the law and Jewish customs. For all intents and purposes, he was faultless. But after meeting Christ (see Acts 9:1-6), he realized none of his credentials mattered. Paul saw the only thing to matter was salvation through Christ and the righteousness given to him through that. As a result, Paul has particularly strong words for those attempting to complicate the Gospel and say the cross isn’t sufficient.

It doesn’t take much to think our salvation is based on what we do or who we are. If we’re not careful, we may be tempted to rest on our accomplishments. We might start listing all the religious things we’ve done that contribute to our resume and use that as justification for ourselves. Maybe we’ll look at our talent, our athletic abilities, and the business we built from scratch to believe those things bring us ultimate meaning and purpose. But our source of value comes from Christ alone. Nothing that we bring to the table can make us more loveable or saveable—only Christ’s righteousness is enough. Christ makes us valuable. Watch this video clip as Pastor Aaron Buer explains more.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Make a list of the things you’ve accomplished in your life including your gifts and abilities. Reflect on this question, “If these were taken from me, where would my value be?”

2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.

March is FASTING. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.