Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 32nd. Edition.
Dear Citizens of Heaven,
Yesterday we saw in Philippians 3:8-11, how Paul gave up everything that was of earthly merit, in order to gain the righteousness of Christ, given as a gift and received by faith. That does not mean that he rests on his laurels and does nothing. In today’s passage (verses 12-16), he encourages us to strive to the limits. We pick three things from this passage:
Forget what is Gone (verses 12-13). Here, Paul acknowledges the fact that he is a long way from the perfection God expects of him. In his journey there have been successes and failures – he puts them both behind him. Preoccupation with the past always has a negative effect on the future. If one is preoccupied with one’s past failures, one gets discouraged and most likely, gives up. If, on the other hand, one is preoccupied with one’s past successes, one is often satisfied with that and fails to make further effort. Forget the past. The future beckons.
Focus on the Goal (verse 14). Don’t expect things to happen by themselves. Whoever said, “When you aim at nothing, you can’t miss,”really meant that you will hit nothing. Where do you want to be in your quest after holiness next month, next year? Set goals and pursue them. Excellence is born of pursuit, pursuit of goals. *Follow* after
Godliness (verses 15-16). We are all at different stages of progress and maturity. The important thing is not how far behind or ahead, one is, compared to others. No comparison is the enemy of spiritual growth. The important thing is for one to make steady progress, from whatever point one is at. A person who has been struggling with sexual sin will have made progress, if he/she spends a day without yielding to sexual temptation, but he is struggling. A person who is further along in sexual discipline will have made progress, if he/she resists lustful thoughts, in the face of provocation. He/she cannot entertain lustful thoughts, with the excuse that the other person has yielded to temptation and committed adultery or fornication. Progress means different things at different levels, but we each must be progressing.
Your loving Pastor Chris.