PRESSING ON

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Not 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. Brothers 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us, then, 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. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Philippians 3:12-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The best is yet to come.

This should be the rallying cry for all Christians, those who have placed their belief in Jesus and gained God’s promised salvation through His Son. At the moment a believer places their hope in Christ, they gain the ultimate victory over death and sin with the guaranteed assurance of eternal life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Now, note that this assurance doesn’t include that life will be easy up to that point where death comes and everlasting life ensues after. There’s nothing in the scriptures that promises us that. Jesus’ life certainly wasn’t and we, sharing in His life experiences, won’t have it easy either. In fact, like our Savior, we may endure great suffering until we reach our sure victory.

The Apostle Paul was totally aware of this as he wrote to the Christians in Philippi. He knew that a heavenward glory awaited him after taking in his final breath while living in the world. It was a place he yearned for but not at the expense of laboring for the cause of Jesus with every moment he had before the Lord called him home, even while incarcerated.

Indeed, Paul pressed on and did so with passion and diligence, no matter his life circumstances. Nothing mattered more to him than helping people gain the same salvation and victory that he had through Jesus. Until he arrived at his goal of eternal life and gained the prize that God promised, there was much work to be done and he would do it in any way possible, even writing letters from prison like this one to the Philippian believers, believers he encouraged to follow his lead and live up to the salvation they had already attained.

Friends, God’s word is speaking powerfully to us today as twenty-first century Christians, a people who have also gained the assurance of eternal life and victory through Jesus. As it was for the Apostle, life isn’t easy for us but we must continue to pressing on and carry out the calling of our Savior to make disciples of all nations until we reach our goal, the place where this life ends and we head for heaven having gained the prize of everlasting life

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com