CHRISTIAN... PRESS ON!!!

Paul writes in Philippians 3:13c-14,"... forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Paul, literally, turned his back on his past life to actively "press toward the mark". The "mark" was unknown territory, yet he pursued and desired to attain the "prize"... the award/reward offered in this life, but will be given in a public presentation at the Judgment Seat of Christ. His purpose, cause, reason, or motive was to reach an intended goal to bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Christians, we often allow our past lives to hinder our Christian walk and service for Christ... this is a great tool of the devil to discourage and defeat us, as believers. Discouragement causes us to lose our confidence in Christ and what He wants to do in, with, and through us... it causes our enthusiasm in our Christian service to dwindle, thus leading to a casualty or near casualty in life's battle. Our past is time gone by that cannot or never will be recaptured... no changes can be made in it... it is recorded, as/in history, whether good or bad.

We are instructed by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 5:7-8, "Casting (throw) all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary (enemy or rival) the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (consume with intense hunger):" Our care can be viewed as garbage... we bag the garbage and throw it away... it's out of sight; therefore, out of mind. We do not continually rummage through it, as though some prized possession is hidden there, neither should we allow it to stay around too long because it becomes stinky - it breeds worms, flies, bacteria, and can cause diseases... it becomes a cesspool of corruption. This should give us a vivid picture of how our dwelling on our past hinders our present/future Christian life and growth. It should open our "spiritual" eyes to how the devil wants to deceive and hinder us in our Christian walk. We must take assurance from what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." This is a very definite and present fact of the Christ-life, so Christian... WE MUST PRESS ON!!!

TIME IS PASSING QUICKLY... WHAT AM I DOING?

Wow... just realized it has been almost two years since sharing anything here. Where did the time go? The busy-ness of everyday life grasps my thoughts and intentions... yet am I too busy to stop or at least, slow down to reflect upon what is happening around me, but more important, to what is happening within me? In all honesty, I have allowed too many outside influences to affect me... I've gotten bogged down with things and circumstances that have taken me far from where I should be or where I want to be. If there is a place of limbo, sometimes I think, I'm there and I do NOT like it and definitely do not want to remain there.

I think of how the Bible describes "... the serpent..." in Genesis 3:1, as "... more subtil (clever, crafty) than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made..." and I realize how satan used it in the deception of mankind, so I should be able to recognize that satan would use the same influences upon me. I'm not exempt of his tactics and trickery... neither is any other human being. I am so thankful for how the Apostle Paul explained his dilema in Romans 7:15-25, "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that I do. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

As time moves on, I find this struggle to be even more prevalent in my life... diverting my purpose and distracting my attention from the things of eternal value. The questions I must ask myself are "what am I doing or what am I going to do about this in my life?" and "when?" The "how" is with GOD... I do not know how to perform what HIS plan for me is or will be, but I must yield... HE ALWAYS KNOW BEST!!! HE can and will do in, with, and through me to accomplish HIS will to HIS glory - if and/or when I allow HIM!!!