Press toward the goal

Good Morning to all. I pray we have a productive day for the Lord today! Here is the scripture for today:

Philippians 3:13-16

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Well Paul starts out here saying I may be in prison(apprehended) but I don't see it that way and I am working towards heaven(goal)! What an attitude. Positive in all things was Paul. When Paul mentions forgetting those things that are behind in verse 13 there are two things to think about.

1. Forget spiritual and moral success's. If we continually dwell on our success's two things happen. The first is we start to become lazy as we think about how good we have done. The second is pride will start to build. We think look at what I have done. In reality we have done nothing God has blessed us by using us as his tool! So forget and move on and keep working for the Lord if there is any reward to have we will receive it in heaven!

2. Forget failures. We are gonna have failures in our lives both spiritual and moral. When we do get up dust yourself off and confess your sins if needed and get back to work. In our spiritual lives if we aren't failing from time to time it probably means we aren't doing anything great for God! Think about that for a bit.

The Paul says reach for what is ahead in verse13. What he is talking about here is working towards sanctification. Which means training yourself for godliness. This is not easy!!! How do you do that? Three simple things....scripture(read your Bible), prayer, discipline. All three are required. If your aren't doing these I can promise you that you are not growing in godliness. Make a plan today and stick to it!

Then in verse 16 Paul closes with let us be of the same mind in the degree we have already obtained and by the same rule. What is this degree and rule? I believe it to be the Word of God. We need to live by the same rules(commandments) and have the same mind in degree(value and meaning) which we have obtained from God. When we try to make the Word fit into our lives the way we think it should that is when we get ourselves into trouble. God has revealed everything we need to know. So let's stick to that!

So keep pressing toward that goal my friends I can promise you it will be worth it!

Tom