July 4 – Forgetting and Pressing On

“Brothers, I do not count myself yet to have laid hold. But one thing (I do) forgetting what lies behind (me) and eagerly straining forward to what lies ahead I am pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14*

Mentioned before, the Apostle Paul was very good at loading much into long complex sentences. This larger passage is another example. Paul continues sharing how deeply moved he was because he knows the pressures on the fellowship of Christians in the church at Philippi. There were those in the congregation who professed perfection. So Paul describes his thoughts. “As a believer in Christ alone, I for one am still far removed from the goal of spiritual perfection. Whatever anyone else may claim, I have not yet laid hold on it.” Paul, not despairing, instead is running in a race, while pushing himself to the limit to reach the goal. To be successful in this he has to do one thing; focus his concentration on completing the race to reaching the goal. Forget the past, strain forward for the future promises. What promises? The prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The Christian running the race stays the course with full commitment forgetting all past failures and past successes to reach the goal and the prize. The goal is heaven. The prize is awarded only where it is truly a prize, with Christ in heaven. 

*(Translation from: William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of Philippians, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 5: 174.)

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December 31 – The Last and First

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Philippians 3:12 (ESV)

The last day of the year is here. It is a time for looking back over the past. We are flooded with all kinds of retrospectives about what has happened in our world – especially the lives of celebrities.  But this is also a time for looking forward to our future. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior it makes a good time In our Christian lives to remember that we are not living by ourselves. It is not the accomplishments of our life or of the lives of others. It is the accomplishments that God has done for us. Our Lord has goals for us to achieve in each of our lives and we achieve those goals only through trusting and following Him. We press on each day with these goals in mind so at the beginning of another year we can commit ourselves again to our Lord and ask Him to continue revealing to us His glorious purpose for each of our lives and provide for us the grace, strength and wisdom we need.  As we put ourselves into his hands we can be sure that He will show us how He loves us.  The promise we have is that Christ Jesus has made us His own, let's remember that and press on each day in the coming year. 

March 3 – Press On Daily

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 (NIV)

Yesterday we read a part of the Apostle Paul’s testimony about how God stood beside him and helped him in a difficult situation in his life. Today’s verse is another part of his testimony and in this verse Paul is thinking of what God had promised for the future. God had a goal in mind for Paul and that goal was in heaven. God has the exact same goal in mind for each of his children today, to win the prize. Just as he had called Paul heavenward, he has called you and I, each of us heavenward too. Paul reminds us that when God calls us heavenward He promises to reward us there. so we can press on toward the goal looking forward as Paul did eager to enter God’s presence in heaven someday. It is there that we will enjoy forever what He has prepared for us there. Let us press on today with the work He has given to us.