Did your parents have a speech that they always left you with before you left the house? Many parents stick with the classic, "Remember who you are and whose you are." I like that. It carries the implication that you are known. It's the idea that you're not walking into the world as a shadow, but you have an identity. You belong to a family.
The Apostle Paul once wrote a similar thing to his friends in the city of Philippi, in Philippians 1:27-28.
Read MoreYou know that moment in a movie or a T.V. show when you hear the record scratch noise and the video stops? There’s usually a freeze-frame and the main character looks confused. You're supposed to ask the question, "What is going on?"
If the Bible had a soundtrack, there's a moment in the book of Philippians where this would have totally happened. If you read through the book of Philippians, you'll read about Paul's experience as a prisoner for the Gospel. He encourages his friends to really care for one another. And then, you get to Philippians 3.
Read MoreAs we read the Bible, it can be easy to forget that there were people involved. It can feel like we’re opening up a confusing, sometimes mysterious, holy book, and we forget that there were real people involved.
Philippians was a letter written by Paul. For us, Paul has become a sort of larger-than-life missionary that we attribute most of the New Testament to. We have to remember that Paul was just a man. He was a kid once. He experienced a lot of the same things we do. He wrote Philippians in the midst of some interesting circumstances.