What Is The Next Step?
Good Morning Friends,
Periodically in life it is ok to briefly look back to get perspective and to see if one has gotten off track or veered off the planned course. And if one has made a mistake then it is proper to immediately alter one’s course. But what I have found is that for this to be successful in this, one must also commit to moving forward with a stronger walk with Christ. And as with all plans seeking true joy, one should ask today’s question. What Is The Next Step?
Scripture: Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. When we truly see and know Jesus, nothing else matters except trusting Him for salvation, and serving Him to bring Him glory and to show our gratitude.
Philippians 3:7-21 (NRSV)
Message: Life is a series of steps and if one must backtrack it is most discouraging. That is why we need to view mistakes as the best way of learning. Anything that may hinder or hold us back we must leave behind. We need to forget somethings and not let them hold us back, for we are not at our destination. We must let go and not let the past define us. Even the stuff that makes us proud may have to be set aside, for the goal is Christ in us and lots of things can get in the way of that happening. Friends, ambition that is not accompanied by dedication to God is ultimate futility. However, what we give up, by no longer focusing on human achievement, can free us up to embrace something better and longer lasting. So, if you are living with one foot in the past and the other in the future you are missing the best part of life. Paul’s conversion brings clarity to the message. Before his conversion Paul had many friends, who admired his zeal and his power. All those things were valuable to Paul and he could and did profit from them. But when Paul evaluated those things of value against what Jesus Christ had to offer, he realized that all he held dear was really nothing but rubbish compared to what he could have in Christ. Therefore, Paul counted those old things as a loss, and gave them up to follow Christ. Before Paul was trying to achieve righteousness through force and works but after his conversion Paul accepts the righteousness of faith through grace which birthed a more loving approach to life in him. So, friends, the next step is always to be in the fellowship of Christ and the power of the resurrection. Walk in the footsteps of Christ. The goal is not station, rank and wealth for the body but for the soul. The rule is not one of iron but Take the next step in faith and for love.
Pray we keep on moving toward the goal. Pray we not hold back. Pray we embrace the promise of an abundant life and not let doubts bind and blind us. Pray we not be held captive by the goals of human achievement. Pray we not be afraid to do good works but realize their limits. Pray we get to know Christ more each day. Pray we are more like Christ each day. Pray that we become all that God would have us to be. Pray we not put our faith in works that ultimately are of no value. Pray we discover a faith righteousness that honors God. Pray we realize that we must give up something to gain something better. Pray we lose our lives to gain them. Pray we gain a love that lasts. Pray our goal is the prize of Christ. Pray our next step is on a joyous walk with Jesus to the glory of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 