STRIVING TO THE GOAL AND DON'T LOOK BACK!!
Joy in believing
PHILLIPIANS 3:12-14
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.13Brothers and sisters, 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.
Do we as Chrisitians have the tendency to keep looking back on our past?? I know i do at times, I will look back at my time in prison and wonder how many people hold that against me?? Or some of the things i did when i was so wrapped up in sin and the world that we live in and feel ashamed of the many things i did. BUT then I hear JESUS voice saying you are forgiven, I PAID THE PRICE!!! And Gods love surrounds me and the knowledge that I am looking for the day when i am Home with my SAVIOR to live a life of JOY,HAPPINESS, and PEACE fills my mind and I continue to go on STRIVING to that GOAL!
3: 12-14 Paul said that his goal was to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ intended for him. This goal absorbed all of Paul’s energy. This is a helpful example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal— knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from living like Christ. What is holding you back?
3: 12 Sometimes trying to live a perfect Christian life can be so difficult that it leaves us drained and discouraged. We may feel so far from perfect that we think we can never please God with our lives. Paul used the terminology of perfection to convey the idea of being mature or complete, not flawless in every detail. Those who are mature should press on in the Holy Spirit’s power, knowing that Christ will reveal and fill in any discrepancy between what we are and what we should be. Christ’s provision is no excuse for lagging devotion, but it provides relief and assurance for those who feel driven and overwhelmed.
3: 13-14 Paul had reason to forget what was behind— he had held the coats of those who had stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7: 57-58; note that Paul is called Saul here). We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we hope to become. Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of past guilt and look forward to what God will help us become. Don’t dwell on your past. Instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with him now. Realize that you are forgiven, and then move on to a life of faith and obedience. Look forward to the prize of heaven later and a fuller and more meaningful life now because of your hope in Christ.Tyndale. NIV Life Application Study Bible
ON THE WAY HOME WALK WITH JESUS and strive for the day of our goal which is to be in Heaven with our Savior JESUS CHRIST!!!!
onthewayhomeministries.org by RICHARD DEAN BROOKS