Daily Bread 2010 - Philippians 3
Pressing on Toward the Goal
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ
As Paul continues to encourage the church at Philippi, he urges them to keep the end in mind. One of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is to “Begin with an end in mind.” As Paul has suffered much for the sake of the gospel what helped him to persevere was knowing what his goal was. He calls this the “prize for God has called him heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Importantly, Paul says that we should forget what is behind us and strain forward to what is ahead. In Paul’s case he needed to forget that he had actually persecuted and killed Christians. He could have wallowed in this past, but instead kept his gaze on the calling Jesus had given him personally on the road to Damascus.
Paul was humble enough to say he had yet taken hold of it, yet it was his single minded laser like vision for all he did with his life. When we see all that Paul accomplished, including the starting of many NT churches, we see how his focus kept him from being distracted. This is just like a runner who stretches forward to cross the tape at the finish line.
What is your focus? What is your most important goal in life? Paul says let us live up to what we have already attained in Christ. Even though Paul had a storied past, he realized the riches he had in Christ, and invested them for an eternal impact. What is your past? Have you forgotten about it, so you can focus on making a difference as you reach for the prize that Jesus has called you for? Runners train to win an earthly crown, but we run to receive a crown that will never perish or fade away. Let us run the race with the grace of God as our fuel, and the encouragement of brothers and sisters to help us through quitting points. Then we celebrate at the finish line together some day!!
Jesus thank you that you finished the race and kept the course. Give us your perseverance and endurance so we too can finish well. Come Holy Spirit and fill us up so we can run on your energy and strength and not our own. In Your name, Amen.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ
As Paul continues to encourage the church at Philippi, he urges them to keep the end in mind. One of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is to “Begin with an end in mind.” As Paul has suffered much for the sake of the gospel what helped him to persevere was knowing what his goal was. He calls this the “prize for God has called him heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Importantly, Paul says that we should forget what is behind us and strain forward to what is ahead. In Paul’s case he needed to forget that he had actually persecuted and killed Christians. He could have wallowed in this past, but instead kept his gaze on the calling Jesus had given him personally on the road to Damascus.
Paul was humble enough to say he had yet taken hold of it, yet it was his single minded laser like vision for all he did with his life. When we see all that Paul accomplished, including the starting of many NT churches, we see how his focus kept him from being distracted. This is just like a runner who stretches forward to cross the tape at the finish line.
What is your focus? What is your most important goal in life? Paul says let us live up to what we have already attained in Christ. Even though Paul had a storied past, he realized the riches he had in Christ, and invested them for an eternal impact. What is your past? Have you forgotten about it, so you can focus on making a difference as you reach for the prize that Jesus has called you for? Runners train to win an earthly crown, but we run to receive a crown that will never perish or fade away. Let us run the race with the grace of God as our fuel, and the encouragement of brothers and sisters to help us through quitting points. Then we celebrate at the finish line together some day!!
Jesus thank you that you finished the race and kept the course. Give us your perseverance and endurance so we too can finish well. Come Holy Spirit and fill us up so we can run on your energy and strength and not our own. In Your name, Amen.
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