Daily devotion – its just the beginning
Salvation is just the beginning!
Philippians 3:12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Behind every conversion there is a double objective; we are not saved to simply to secure Heaven or avoid hell. We are not saved only to be His instruments to bring the Word of God to others.
Primarily, like Paul, we are saved so we can , Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death.
Yes, we are saved to become like Jesus Christ – to live with Him every day, to learn to know Him as a husband learns to know his wife, to be aware of Christ’s life formed in us.
We are saved to share His reproach in all the world, to live by the principles of the cross, dying daily to all but His will and glory; this is the dynamic motive for which God called you.
We are saved to be a blessing to the world, yes, but the impact of my life upon the world depends entirely upon the impact the Holy Spirit makes on me.
In other words, we can have no apostleship – being sent out – without discipleship.
Until we learn to live WITH Christ, we cannot effectively live FOR Him!
Is this the prize that you are running to, the summit toward which you are aiming, the outcome you are passionately striving for?
Having made a start, what is your next step?
“As experience after experience comes and goes, falling behind the past, I stretch out and on to whatever lies before me. Like an eager runner – head thrown forward, body bent toward the finish tape – I seek for more and still more in the power of our dear Lord as I press toward the goal.”