Today was one of those hard days at work that makes you reconsider if you are where God wants you to be in life. The youngest child in the Parable of the Prodigal Son experienced a famine before he came to his senses in Luke 15:14-17. After being desperate enough to work at a pig farm, this rebellious son was so hungry that he longed to eat the slop that he fed the pigs under his care. Whatever crossroad that you’re facing, step out in faith with a purpose to press on.
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you, Philippians 1:6.
The context of the passage above is referring to the Church at Philippi. This young church under the spiritual leadership of Lydia, who opened her home like modern day home churches, was in its infancy stage. Subsequently, Paul writes this letter to cast a positive vision for their future as this body of Christ. Other letters like the one written to a teenage pastor provides direction on how to grow a church, 2 Timothy 1:5-7, by fanning into flame your spiritual gifts and talents for the Lord.
Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward, Philippians 3:12-14.
According to Paul’s letter to the Church at Corinth, churches function their best, like a well-oiled machine, when every believer plays their part, 1 Corinthians 12:1-12. However, in order for this to become a reality, Christians need to first discover and develop their spiritual gift or gifts. As iron sharpens iron, Proverbs 27:17, mature Christians need to turn their attention toward God’s will for their lives, Romans 12:1-2. Pursuing spiritual gifts and God’s will provide a purpose to press on even when your current situation is extremely cloudy or dark. Whatever your circumstance, may Paul’s words above spur you to press on.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 