December 22, 2016 ONE THING I DO
Philippians 3:12-14: “Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Obviously, the Apostle Paul had a lot going on in His life to say the least. Paul was highly educated in the best schools of his day and was on his way to success in the religion of the Jewish people. However, God had other plans for Paul, plans to use him in a major way in proclaiming the New Covenant that God was making with His people. God used Paul to establish churches, to write numerous letters to believers and personally visit believers scattered throughout the world to encourage and to teach the gospel of Christ, to mentor young men, to boldly identify and protect believers from teachings that were contrary to the gospel, and to present the gospel to those in high-places who rejected Jesus. If anyone had a right to brag about what he had done or what he was doing, it was the Apostle Paul. In spite of all that Paul had accomplished, it is amazing to hear him say that his entire life revolved around doing ONE thing-forgetting what lies behind and pressing on to what lies ahead. All that really mattered to Paul was the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Like us, Paul had some things in his past that he was not proud of; before he was converted to faith in Christ, he was zealous in persecuting believers. To Paul, the call of God was so powerful and magnificent that he gave little attention to past successes and failures. Sadly, many allow their past to defeat and discourage them to the point that they do not pursue the call of God for their life. Dwelling on our mistakes, bad choices, our failures, and what might have been, robs us of the opportunities of the moment, it causes us not to undertake any new action, and it is a ‘dream-killer.’ The antidote for looking back, is having something that draws our attention and focus to the future. Sure! We have all sinned and fallen short and have made bad choices, but so what? In spite of our past, God has a purpose for each of us to fulfill, and His purposes for us are much higher and greater than our past. Paul said that he was ‘pressing’ on, denoting that the pursuit of God is not without challenge; sometimes, pressing on means saying no to some things and it means making the hard decision concerning the choices we make. At the same time, when we see the prize that awaits us, making the hard decisions and saying no to some things is not as difficult as we might think. If you are a believer, you have been “laid hold of by Christ Jesus” for a purpose. May we refuse to look back, and may we us be focused on attaining the prize of the knowledge of God and His purposes for our lives.
Philippians 3:8: “Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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