Philippians 3:17-21

 

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. ¹⁸ For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, ¹⁹ whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. ²⁰ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; ²¹ who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

 This is a beautiful set of verses that describes so accurately the difference that takes place in our priorities once we accept Salvation from Christ and begin to focus on living for Him instead of focusing on the world. When I read this, the words "whose god is their appetite" jumped out at me, as someone who has had a lifelong struggle with over-eating, or gluttony, due to severe trauma early on and growing up in a love devoid environment. I have never found much relief from this problem except through exercising it off; that got rid of the excess weight but didn't touch the compulsion itself. This has changed in the last few months when I started doing religious fasting. 

Fasting has given me a sense of myself as someone outside of my problems with over-eating. It has introduced me to a person I didn't know existed, and showed me the meaning of Jesus's saying that 'man doesn't live by bread alone'. So far I have only been able to fast for one day at a time, but even that has changed my outlook on my struggles with food completely. Now that I know I can abstain, it has taken away the feeling of powerlessness over food.

More to the point of this blog, which is eschatology, these verses point to the difference between people who live for comfort and glory in the word, and followers of Christ. It talks about how we wait for the return of Christ, and because we have committed our lives to Him, we know that we are no longer in the world, but belong to Him in heaven, and our desires are for his words and his standards. Even though we may fall short, we keep striving to follow his commandments of obedience and refine our behavior to be worthy of a Christ follower. These verses shine a light on the stark contrast between the world and it's temporary comforts and pleasures, and the eternal world that is promised in the Bible and that Christ will bring about on his return. 

 

If you want to accept Salvation from Christ here are some resources:

 

Prayer for Salvation from Christ:

Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer.

 
A more detailed step by step process:

https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life