OUR CALLING
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Philippians 3:14 |
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I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. KJV |
I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. NIV |
Once we are in Christ, we have a lifetime to develop in Christian maturity. We will find in our walk with the Saviour that it is far from easy because we live in a world obsessed with things and ruled by a technology which no one fully controls. Man speaks with a hundred voices ranging from agnostic and permissive to authoritarian and legalistic standpoints. The turning point in anyone’s life is coming to Christ and it is the most critical step of faith a person can take. Maturing in Christ is an altogether different phase of growing in knowledge and it is extremely difficult involving daily steps in the midst of uncertainty, changing values and often hostile belief systems which are so common these days.
Daily reading and meditation on the Word of God is the only way a person will mature. God’s Word is unchanging! It is the same today as it was yesterday, and it is an anchor upon which we can stake our lives.
- The world does not offer stability. God does.
- The world does not offer peace. God does.
- The world instead, offers illusions, fantasies and trickery around every corner because it is headed by the god of delusions and deception.
Believers need to realise that Satan never bothered with them until they showed an interest in Jesus Christ, and this is because they were his, hook, line and sinker. If, however, he lost them to the Saviour he will do his utmost to make them as ineffective as possible, and what better way than to introduce doubt, fear and duplicity in the lives of Christians so that they are ineffective, insignificant and at best nominal in their witness.
Is it any wonder then that the Apostle Paul urges us to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus? The words used here in the Greek language signify a single-minded concentration and determination to follow after the prize which is nothing less than God’s crown of righteousness. His use of the words press toward is interesting, because it really is a press, it is a struggle, it is a fight, it is a battle.
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Ephesians 6:12 |
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For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. KJV |
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. NIV |
It is with constant discipline in our daily lives to read and study God’s Word, that we strive for the prize. It is His Word that washes us, that feeds us and enables us to grow in Grace and Knowledge of Him.