Press On – Reach Forward

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it (resurrection) 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. Philippians 3:13-14  

Press on—only two more days left in 2013. Are you becoming more like Jesus every day? To be like Jesus, we need to treat others the way that He would. What a challenge this has been! More than thirty years ago I learned a valuable lesson to treat everyone as if they were Jesus. (I shared this last January 15^th when looking at the trait of obedience.) As a young wife I resented having to iron a shirt every morning for my husband—or even just to have to starch and iron five shirts a week. But then one day in a Bible study that I was attending we studied Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. So I was convicted that I should be ironing my husband’s shirts as if I were ironing those shirts for Jesus Himself. That changed my whole attitude…and it went beyond ironing shirts to cleaning the house, fixing meals, and when we had children, even raising our kids. Although sometimes, OK often, I will admit that I lost sight of that vision…and of my obedience to the Lord! I am only human. I still need reminders that I need to treat everyone as if they were Jesus. In fact, I needed that reminder today! How can I possibly reach the goal for the prize of the upward call of God if I have a bad attitude? How about you? 

Training Tip – There is a song written by William D. Longstaff in 1882 that still applies to today. Recommending that we apply this to our lives makes me preach to myself. I need to do this, too. Verse two tells us that by looking to Jesus, we become like Him. That’s been my goal for me and you all this year. Become more like Jesus every day. He was Holy—He is Holy. Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. Leviticus 19:2.  

Take Time to Be Holy

1.      Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

2.      Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

3.      Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

4.      Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

Lord Jesus, Holy are You Lord. Worthy of our praise and adoration. Guide us in the way we live—that we would be like You, holy, obedient and loving.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

© 2013 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.