Are you feeling overwhelmed?

Today's blog was graciously contributed by Denise Friedman:

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

If you ask many people today would say they feel overwhelmed.  Merriam – Webster defines overwhelmed as “to cause (someone) to have too many things to deal with.”  Often times, this definition fits too many of our days.  Demands of finances, work, schedules, sometimes even family can easily cause us to feel overwhelmed.  This is definitely not a good place to be because we can miss the beauty and wonder that surrounds us.

 

If you read another definition, however, you will see an entirely different definition of the word overwhelmed – “to affect (someone) very strongly.”  In worship this week, we were asked to consider all that God has done and is doing in our lives and the word used was “overwhelmed.”  When God overwhelms us, He indeed affects us very strongly.  This is the exact opposite of the previous definition – what a wonderful place to be!  How interesting that by adjusting our perspective, we can turn a typically negative feeling into something incredible.  Being overwhelmed by God’s presence is so freeing!  It allows us to experience the beauty and wonder God created especially for us.

 

I encourage you today to take a few minutes and ask God to be overwhelmed . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6oxXwRWFTo

“They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty – and I will meditate on your wonderful works.” Psalm 145:5

 

A Violent Love

Today's blog is contributed by David Trotta. I hope it is as much a blessing to you as it was to me!

And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize—a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].
(Matthew 11:12 Amplified Bible)

The word “violent” conjures up negative images, and rightfully so.  Violence is all around us.  We hear and read about physical abuse, sexual assault, and murder occurring every day in our streets, neighborhoods and the world at large.  But, that kind of violence is bred from hatred.

What about violence motivated by love?  What might that look like?  The above verse compares “violent men seizing the kingdom heaven” to a “precious prize….sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion.”  Is Jesus calling us to be violent in our pursuit of Him and His Kingdom, and if yes, what would that look like?  Well, it might look something like this….

Violent pursuit (with most ardent zeal and intense exertion) – A pursuit that says “Lord, I will abandon all to pursue you regardless of the cost.  I will act swiftly to your beckoning and follow you with great intensity and faithfulness.”

Violent love (with most ardent zeal and intense exertion) – A love that says “I will swiftly and intensely demonstrate sacrificial love to others, even at the expense of my own needs and wants.”

Violent forgiveness (with most ardent zeal and intense exertion) – A lifestyle of forgiveness that says “I will choose to swiftly forgive others, regardless of the wrong, and I will do so lavishly.” (See the 70x7 rule in Matthew 18:21-23.)

Violent repentance (with most ardent zeal and intense exertion) – A lifestyle of repentance that says “With great intensity and swift action, I will regularly examine my heart and actions and turn from anything that is not pleasing to God.”

When it comes to pursuing God and the Kingdom of Heaven, let’s do so with violence – a most ardent zeal and intense exertion!

Preparation

“So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in

prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”

Daniel 9:3

 

 

I don’t know about you but there are certain professions that I really expect to be prepared with the skills and abilities necessary to expertly deliver on what they are licensed to practice.

I likely wouldn’t board a plane if I knew the pilot’s license was earned through a mail order service. I probably would leave the hospital in a dead run if moments before my surgery the doctor confided that he was really a veterinarian but then said:

“Hey, isn’t all the same once I open you up!”

Preparation and training are necessary to do a job well.

Some people might say “All you need is the anointing, preparation and training is not necessary!”

I wonder what they would do with II Timothy 2:15 (among many others)

“Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.”

Wow – that sounds like preparation and training to me!

You could even argue that David the shepherd was in training for Goliath when he killed the lion and the bear to protect his sheep.

In our verse today Daniel is preparing himself spiritually as he prayed for God’s people.

What about you?

How are you preparing for the things God has called you to do?

What steps are you taking to see the words spoken to you fulfilled?

I find an interesting verse in Hebrews that reinforces this thought -

“Hence, when He [Christ] entered into the world, He said, Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead You have made ready a body for Me [to offer];”

Hebrews 10:5

The Father knew what the Son must do when He came to the earth so part of the preparation was to prepare a body for Jesus.

Have you sought God about those prophetic words?

How might you prepare as an individual?

How might a church prepare as God calls them to fulfill His purposes in their generation?

Don’t run off unprepared.

Seek God’s direction to tailor the preparation to the calling.

He is faithful who has called you…

He prepares us best because He knows our future!

And Who Knows…

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14

 

Are you strategically placed at your job, in your ministry, with your family?

Have you ever considered that perhaps God has you right where He wants you?

Mordecai was Esther’s uncle.

He had the wisdom to understand that Esther, as beautiful as she may have been, was not in the King’s court just because she was beautiful.

She was there by divine appointment.

She was where she was because God had set her in place for His purposes.

Has God set you in place?

Is there a turn of events that God has set up with you being the ‘hinge’ on which those events must turn?

Think about it.

There are no mistakes, happenstances or accidents in the Kingdom of God.

If you are fully surrendered to Him, He can use you as He used Esther.

Maybe it’s not to turn a nation but to turn a person.

Is that any less important?

Of course not!

I don’t know who is waiting on your “Yes” to God.

I suspect someone is.

Perhaps multitudes.

Can God use someone else?

Of course He can and He will.

But is that what you want?

Here was Esther’s response:

“Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.

Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.

I and my attendants will fast as you do.

When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.

And if I perish, I perish.”

What will your response be?

You Go First!

“The Lord had said to Abram,

“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”

Genesis 12:1

 

 

Let’s be honest.

How long would your list of questions be if God commanded you as He commanded Abram?

Leave your country.

Leave your people.

Leave your Father’s house.

Let’s start with the question “Why?”

Sure, if you read on in the chapter you find that God made some pretty significant promises to Abram.

But they were still conditioned on the “Go!” command from God.

This ‘adventure’ walk we take with God begins and continues by faith.

It is a walk much like the walk Peter had to take when He got out of the boat.

More questions than answers.

That’s where trust steps in.

That’s where faith makes its’ mark.

The man or woman who will walk with God can only walk by faith.

Reason and facts and our own understanding just don’t travel the same path.

That is not to say that God is unreasonable, opposed to facts or won’t open our understanding.

He’s just waiting for you to take those first few faith steps that follow His command of “Go!”

As Abram set out, each step became clearer.

As Peter exited the boat He found supernatural “buoyancy” on the water.

As Saul, struck down on the road to Damascus, called out: “Who are you, Lord?” the revelation came to Him.

Each stepped out.

Almost like the childhood challenge we all uttered or we all received – “You go first!”

God invites us on this journey, this adventure, but then He says to us –

“Go!”

Faith and trust must take the first steps on this journey.

Will you go?

 

How Shall We Respond?

“And I heard the altar respond:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,

    true and just are your judgments.”

Revelation 16:7

 

 

 

What is to be our response when God declares that He is about to do something?

Do we respond at all?

Should we respond or do we wait for God to do it all?

Do we hear the Word of the Lord and then sit down and wait for it to come to pass?

What is our part in preparing for what God wants to do in our lives?

These are all valid questions to ask - not once – but many times as we walk with God.

Gods’ Word is not happenstance.

It is not a series of coincidences.

His Word is supernatural and it is supernaturally fulfilled in our lives as we partner with Him.

In other words – we do have a response.

We do have a part to play.

God has chosen to work through each of us as we submit and surrender to Him.

Do you realize that He is working in your midst?

Perhaps that is step one – ask Him to open the eyes of your heart to see His work in your life and in the life of the church at His Place or your local church.

This week we will search out what a right response is to the move of God in our church and in our lives.

In doing that we can also learn what not to do!

The U.S. Navy once had a recruiting campaign which took as it slogan:

It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.

Let’s discover together the adventure of walking with God!

Is Your Appearance Changing?

Today's blog is contributed by David Trotta:

No, I’m not talking about putting on a few extra pounds or getting some more wrinkles or grey hair (although, if you’re like me, those may be occurring too).

If you are a Christ follower, I’m referring to the transfiguration the bible says is happening in your life.  Here’s what the bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 - “And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.”

That’s right!  Your spiritual appearance is changing.  You are becoming more and more like Jesus.  However, you play a big part in how quickly (or slowly) that transformation will occur.  It is directly related to what you choose to behold or look upon with your inner and outer eyes. 

If you choose to direct your thoughts, affections, and desires towards Jesus, you will begin to look, think, and act more like Him.  However, if you choose to set your thoughts on the things of this world, you will begin to walk, talk, and think like the world.  And the bible specifically warns us not to be conformed to the patter of this world (Romans 12:2).

Is your appearance changing?  When you look in the spiritual mirror do you see more of Jesus? If not, evaluate your life to see what you are “beholding” with the affections of your heart.  After all, what you see in the mirror is also what others will see, and we want to reflect the image of our Lord to a hurting world.

Replaced, Taken Away and Exchanged...

Today, Denise Friedman follows up on yesterday's blog with specific actions we can take -

Yesterday we learned that we should renew our mindset once we come to Christ.

How do we renew our mindset? 

To do this, we need to replace, to take away, and to exchange the inaccurate worldly systems of thought with the infallible  logic and truth of God’s word.

We can’t change our patterns of behavior without renewing our mindset!  

 Is there anything in your life that needs to be replaced, taken away and exchanged with the truth of God’s word? 

Think about the music you listen to, the books you read, the television shows you watch, the video games you play, the language you use, who you spend time with, how you spend your time. 

And all of us, as with unveiled face, because we continued to behold in the word of God, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. – 2 Cor 3:18

The good news is if we ask God what is the mindset He is trying to change, he will hold the mirror in front of us and show us what needs to be renewed. 

 It takes courage to ask this question, but we serve a gracious God who loves us immeasurably more than we can ever imagine. 

  While it might be painful to see what is reflected in the mirror, take comfort in this -  He wants us to reflect his glory! 

 He does not hold the mirror in front of us to condemn us.

Each of us is constantly being changed into God’s image, not one of us has arrived yet! 

  The only way to be transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another is to ask God to help you – he is waiting . . .

 

 

What's Your Mindset?

It is such a blessing to have others contribute to this blog from time to time. As I shared yesterday, there are some changes to my work schedule that I am adjusting to so today and tomorrow's blogs have been contributed by Denise Friedman. I know you will be blessed, strengthened and encouraged in your daily walk as you read and apply the truths from the Word she will share with you!
Pastor Stephen

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. – Col 1:21

 

 

Does this scripture really mean we were enemies with God? 

 That seems a bit harsh, doesn’t it?

  Let’s take a closer look at the verse above, there is a lot in these few words. 

Notice the very first word – once. 

Merriam-Webster defines once as “at some point in the past.” 

That makes us feel a little better, right? 

At some point in the past we were alienated from God and were enemies with Him in our minds because of our evil behavior. 

 I am sure we didn’t consider ourselves enemies of God before we were saved, but that is exactly what this verse tells us.   

When we consider the word once, that would mean before we renewed our mindset. 

 At the moment we are saved, our minds should be renewed to think more like Christ. 

 When this happens, our behavior should change so what used to be acceptable for us, no longer is acceptable. 

 Any evil behavior will not be appealing to us the way that it once might have been. 

Once our behavior is not evil, we are no longer alienated from God! 

 This may not happen overnight. 

 Our behavior is shaped by a lifetime of experiences in the “old man” so be patient as you are working to renew your mindset, ask God to help you. 

 Be mindful of your mindset  if you expect to see a change in your behavior and draw closer to God.

 

No Longer an Alien

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”

 

How do so many fairy tales start off?

They often go something like this:

“Once upon a time in a land far, far away…”

Maybe it’s because the opening word is the same but that is what I thought of when reading this verse today.

You see, it’s true, once upon a time you were indeed alienated from God.

Why?

Because we were enemies in our minds against God and it was clearly seen in our evil behavior.

So maybe now you’re thinking “I wasn’t such a bad person. It’s not like I murdered anyone or did something awful like that.”

When we think like that we are, in fact, reinforcing what the scripture is telling us.

We tend to think a “little” sin does not really offend God.

When we think like that we reveal a mind that has not been renewed.

We reveal a mind which misunderstands the holiness of God.

What do you think of when you hear the word alien?

I think of someone from another planet.

The mind which is not renewed is like a person from another planet.

We are not a part of His Kingdom.

Our thoughts are foreign to His Kingdom.

Do you live in a “…Once upon a time…” land of the unrenewed mind –

Or

Are you allowing the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to renew your mind?

Is His Kingdom thinking replacing the old patterns of the old man?

Where’s the Blog?

Here it is!

Yes it’s little late due to a schedule change in my life.

I know, I know, I said that word we all dread – C-H-A-N-G-E!

But you know that old saying:

“Like death and taxes – change is inevitable!”

Everyone faces it without exception.

Sometimes we know it’s coming, other times it takes us by surprise.

Job confidently said:

“Yet man is born to as surely as sparks fly upward.”

Job 5:7

Trouble in the life of man is not unusual.

Add change to that list.

So “Come on” you say – “Encourage me, don’t discourage me.”

Here it is:

God promises:

“…I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

What a wonderful reassurance in the midst of change.

Aren’t you glad He didn’t say –

“As long as life is smooth sailing, I’m along for the ride.”

Nope, He is always with you.

I don’t know what changes or what trouble you may be facing but I do know this:

You are not alone.

If you have surrendered your life to Him, the very Spirit of God is inside you and is with you through the change, through the trouble, through “…the valley of the shadow of death…” as David wrote in Psalm 23.

You are not alone!

The One True King

Todays blog was contributed by David Trotta:

 

Although I have never seen it, there is a TV show airing about multiple wannabee kings vying for the highest throne in the land.  The occupier of the throne has the authority to rule and reign over the entire kingdom.  Unrest, chaos, and war rages in the land as the characters fight, scheme, backstab, manipulate, and betray one other to get possession of this throne so they can rule over all the kingdoms of the land.

When I heard about the plot of this show, it reminded me of what often takes place in our hearts.  At the center of our heart, there is a throne room of sorts, and the bible says only one king or master can reign there.  Matthew 6:24 says “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

However, there are often multiple self-proclaimed kings who want to try and rule over our hearts.  They go by the name of the love of self, love of money, love of things, and the list goes on.  But there is only one true King - King Jesus - who has earned the right to sit on the throne of our hearts and govern our lives.  All others are counterfeits.

As long as we allow anyone or anything but Jesus to take preeminence in our hearts, there will be discontentment and unrest in the kingdom of our lives.  But, when we ask Jesus to ascend those stairs to the throne of our hearts and take his rightful place, order is restored.  Things immediately become clearer, internal striving ceases, and peace is established.

Be on guard for other things that will try to usurp Jesus’ authority and steal the throne of your heart.  Instead, determine to regularly reaffirm His kingship by trumpeting from the streets of your heart “Jesus is King and Lord of this land.”

WORK

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”

Colossians 3:23

 

 

Imagine a conversation at work with your boss going something like this –

“Hi Bob, what are you going to complete today?”

“Well boss, I thought I would begin and end my shift just visiting with co-workers so that I can make some social contacts for when I am not at work.

Then, I figure I will spend most of my day watching maintenance work and hope it is entertaining for me. After all, I don’t come to work to actually WORK, I am here to be entertained.”

How long do you think you would be employed by that company?

Did you hear the sound of the slamming door as you are escorted out?

And yet are we sometimes guilty of doing just that when we gather together as the church?

Some go to make social contacts.

Some go to be entertained.

Do you go to work?

Yes, I just used that dirty four letter word that should never be used for church:

W-O-R-K!

Let me change the word to soften it.

Do you go to minister?

Am I saying ministry isn’t a joy? No!

Am I saying ministry is void of anointing? Of course not!

Am I saying we work to earn our salvation? You know better than that!

But Jesus said: “Go ye into all the world…and make…”

“Go”, “Make”, “Do”

Those sound like working words to me.

The next time an opportunity to come together with fellow believers presents itself take time to ask the Lord to use you to accomplish His purposes.

Not simply to use others to minister to you.

Not that’s a stretching we all can use!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking and Giving

“Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,

will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 6:38

 

 

Who do you take from and who do you give too?

Takers and givers – the answer to that question can make all the difference.

Do people avoid you because any interaction with you always wears them out?

Never mind answering that because most people who are always taking seldom recognize it.

Do people seek you out because you are a giving person?

Of course, I am speaking of giving in a much greater sense than material things.

The person who has learned to sit in God’s presence and receive from Him (yes, it’s o.k. to be a ‘taker’ there!) is then positioned, out of that abundance, to pour into others.

Imagine if we all took that time!

How different might it be when we come together for fellowship?

How different might it be when the person who does not know Christ is brought into your life that God might use you to pour His love into them?

Do you approach any, or even all, interactions with others by asking – God, how can you enrich this person through my life and my words?

What can I do to be a blessing to them today?

How can I give to them?

Here’s a wonderful secret:

As you do, the biblical principal of sowing and reaping is applied and what you give comes back to you in so many wonderful ways.

The blog today opened with this question – Who do you take from and who do you give too?

Learn to take from God in order to give to others.

Take all that He wants to pour into you.

It never diminishes Him!

Those around you will be blessed for it.

 

Getting Much Done!

“I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet];

 but one thing I do

 [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”

Philippians 3:13-14

 

Do you want to accomplish all God has for you to do?

Then let’s review the 7 things we learned from Pauls’ admonition above –

1.      Choose to keep it real.

“I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet];…”

2.      Choose what is most important.

“…but one thing I do…”

3.      Choose to let go of your past.

“…forgetting what lies behind…”

4.      Choose tasks that stretch you.

“…straining forward…”

5.      Choose to know where you are going.

“…I know what lies ahead…”

6.      Choose to keep moving forward.

“…I press on toward the goal…”

7.      Choose the best.

“…to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize…”

These are goals worth pursuing!

God, through His Holy Spirit, is by your side to help you achieve them!

A Destination in Mind!

“I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet];

 but one thing I do

 [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”

Philippians 3:13-14

 

I don’t know who said it but an oft quoted statement goes something like this:

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

Paul, in the verses penned above, was not moving blindly through life.

He had direction and he had a goal that he was straining forward and pressing on to.

Paul was not traveling down bunny trails.

His time on earth was not spent on aimless wandering down paths that lead to nowhere.

Nor should ours!

God has a plan for your life.

I know that may not be news to many of you but do you know His plan?

Are you pressing on toward that goal?

‘Any’ road won’t take you there.

Some will be in an opposite direction.

In may be time to recalibrate the heavenly GPS!

Ask God each day how you can press on toward the goal set for you.

Paul says: “I press on…” but that singular “I” becomes a plural “us” later in the verse.

“…Jesus is calling us upward…”

Are you listening for His upward call to your life?

Be still, ask Him and then listen

He is calling you upward…

He is bringing direction…

He is making clear the path laid out for you!

 

Keep Moving Forward

Today's blog was contributed by David Trotta:

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. (Philippians 3:13,14)

I remember a very scary situation that occurred a number of years ago while watching my son’s high school football game.  One of the running backs on my son’s team took the handoff from the quarter back and ran forward, but instead of lowering his shoulder to meet the oncoming tackler bearing down on him, he slowed down and stood upright.  What happened next is something I will never forget.  The oncoming tackler saw the hesitation and vulnerability of the running back, so he proceeded to lower his helmet and hit the running back so violently that the noise of the impact could be heard across the field.  Everyone held their breath while the player was tended to on the field.  He was eventually helped off the field with a concussion, and I imagine, a super-sized headache.

Paul exhorts us to “press on” in the above verse.  The words “press on” mean to continue moving forward.  Think of it this way - the opposing players on the football field represent all the things in this world designed to keep us from our goal line - fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for our lives, and if we stop lowering our shoulder and pushing towards the goal, we will be knocked backwards, or worse - knocked out of the game.  That’s why Paul used the words “straining” and “pressing on” when describing how to attain the prize.

One of the traps as Christians is to think we have arrived.  We sit back and think “I know my bible pretty well; I pray often; I give regularly to the church,” but that mindset causes us to relax and let up in our pursuit of the goal, which makes us vulnerable and a prime target to be knocked down by the enemy.  Even Paul, a great scholar and church leader of his day, and the one who wrote the majority of the New Testament, said “I do not consider myself to yet to have taken hold of it.”  I’m sure that attitude kept him hungry and motivated him to keep pressing on no matter what.

A football player is never looking behind, but always moving forward with one thing in mind…crossing the goal line.  Let’s have that same determination, so at the end of our life, we can declare as Paul did - “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Rubber Believers

“I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet];

 but one thing I do

 [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”

Philippians 3:13-14

 

 

Have you ever tried to reach for something just beyond your grasp?

Sure you have.

So how do you get it?

You have to stretch!

Are there some things God has for you that seem just a bit out of your reach?

Do you think that might be on purpose?

Is God requiring you to stretch?

We might call it – stepping out of your comfort zone.

You say you don’t have comfort zones?

Look again more closely at your life.

Ask God to show you the areas where you need to be stretched.

 When you and I are stretched spiritually we grow.

It is much easier to remain where we are.

We seldom like to step beyond the familiar.

It’s safe and there is little risk of failure.

We can depend upon what we know and can do.

God is not needed to walk a path we always walk.

We know the route, we know the routine.

But then God says something like this to us: This is the way – walk in it!

At that point we can choose to say yes or no.

Say yes and there is growth ahead for you.

Say no and it is same old – same old comfortable path of least resistance.

The Bible is a collection of stories about ‘rubber people’.

People who said yes to God when saying “No!” would have been so much easier.

Are you a ‘rubber believer’?

Are you willing to be stretched by God today in ways that allow Him to get the glory as you grow?

Say it with me:

S---T---R---E---T---C---H

Letting Go!

“I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet];

 but one thing I do

 [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”

Philippians 3:13-14

 

 

Do you carry your own bags?

When Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States in the mid-1970’s I remember a point being made of the fact that he carried his own ‘bag’ on and off Air Force 1. The expectation, the ‘norm’ was that was what the President had aides for, and they should do the work for him.

Very often we carry baggage we should not be carrying.

We are weighed down in burdensome and cumbersome ways by our past.

When we come to Christ we are made a new creation and what once was – the old man, with all of the baggage the old man carried – is now a new creation in Christ.

But sometimes we don’t let go.

We carry the tattered, travel worn, baggage of the past into the present.

In today’s verse Paul talks about ‘…straining forward to what lies ahead…’

If I am holding on firmly to the baggage of the past it might be likened to someone trying to grasp their future while both hands are already holding onto something.

“My hands are full, can you get the door?”

Get the picture?

Perhaps God has shown you the door you must pass through but you are unable to open it because your hands are full of the baggage of the past.

It is not a door others can walk through for you.

Lay your past down.

The hurts, the heartaches, the failures and the successes – lay all of it down!

Before you can fully step into the future God has for you it will require some -

Letting go!

Choose What is Most Important

“I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet];

 but one thing I do

 [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”

Philippians 3:13-14

 

 

“…but one thing I do…”

What has God put you on the earth to do?

You might say that God has put you and me on the earth to do one thing.

As the question goes – “How’s that working out for you?”

Are there things you may need to lay aside in order to accomplish the ‘one thing’?

Likewise, are there things you may need to pick up in order to complete

the race laid out for you?

Think about it.

There are things you are doing that you should not be doing and there are things you are not doing that you should be doing in the pursuit of the course God has planned for your life.

That begs a question – Do you know what Gods’ plans are for you?

Have you spent time in His presence getting your marching orders?

Paul knew. That is why he could declare: “…I have finished the race…”.

Jesus certainly knew and some of His last words made that evident as

He declared – “It is finished.”

I may have written this before in the blog but it is worth repeating –

I once – in prayer – said to the Lord – “Father – I want to hear those words ‘Well done, good and faithful servant…’ as I enter into my reward”

Without missing a beat I heard the Spirit of the Lord say to me (I sensed His love in these words and not condemnation or anger) “There are some words I need to hear from you for that to happen”.

Of course I asked what they were and He simply said: “It is finished.”

God has a work for me to do on the earth.

God has a work for you to do on the earth.

What are you doing today that brings you closer to being

able to make your words to Him – it is finished?

Are you choosing today what is most important?

Choosing to Keep it Real

“I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”

Philippians 3:13-14

 

 

 

Are you perfect?

Most would answer no!

Some might answer no, but pretend otherwise.

Paul didn’t pretend otherwise.

In various places in the Epistles he was quick to admit his shortcomings and in today’s verses Paul readily admitted there were some things he did not yet grasp or apprehend.

Perhaps there is no barrier greater for an unbeliever to get around in order to accept Christ as the one who presents him or herself as the ‘perfect’ Christian.

We all miss the mark, we all have shortcomings, we all sin.

To pretend otherwise is to deny what is so often painfully obvious to others.

We recognize that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that when we do sin we can confess our sin, repent and be forgiven.

Keeping it real is just another way of recognizing that Jesus is the only one who was, and is, without sin but that you and me are a work in progress.  

Do you keep it real with family, friends and co-workers who may not know Christ?

Of course I am not talking about intentionally sinning to make them somehw feel ‘comfortable’.

That would be foolish.

That would dilute the message.

Paul kept it real.

In so doing, he strengthened the message of the cross.

We are, all of us, sinners in need of the grace of God.

Our ‘pedigree’, our education, our bank account will not help.

Are you keeping it real before others?