I love the apostle Paul’s attitude revealed in his words: “I press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:14). Those men and women who refuse to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future.
Read MoreTag Archives: Philippians
Forgetting Your Own Good Deeds
Yesterday, we talked about what it means to “forget” when other people do bad deeds to us. Today, I want to address forgetting when we do good deeds to others. In other words, once our own good deeds are done, they’re done.
Read MoreThe Servant as a Giver
I like the tongue-in-cheek definition of philosophers one of my seminary professors would occasionally use. It’s classic: Philosophers are people who talk about something they don’t understand and make you think it’s your fault!
Read MoreI Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
There once lived a farmer who became jaded about Christmas and all things “Christian.” Late one raw winter night, he sat alone in the house, reading. In the quiet he heard an irregular thumping against the back porch door.
Read MoreThe Antidote to Anxiety
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4–7)
Read MoreFighting Against Self-Focus
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4) Our Father, we who operate in such selfish realms often find ourselves preoccupied with stuff of our own.
Read MoreVulnerability
COULD WE REVISIT those words Paul wrote? “I have not achieved it . . . forgetting the past . . . looking forward to what lies ahead.” Paul’s openness is best described with one word: vulnerability. “I have not achieved/reached it” is a concept Paul mentions no less than three times in Philippians 3:10–14. Read these words again; see if you can find each of the three:
Read MoreDetermination
THOSE WHO REFUSE to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future. People who do this are never petty. They are too involved in getting a job done to be preoccupied with yesterday’s hurts and today’s disappointments. Do you need some fresh encouragement to press on today? Read Paul’s testimony:
Read MoreHow’s Your Attitude?
I LOVE THE STORY OF a sea captain who, while navigating his ship through a storm, found himself on a collision course with what he thought was a large vessel in the distance. He ordered the approaching vessel to alter its course ten degrees south. The reply came back: “Alter your course ten degrees north.” Incensed, the captain shot back, “Alter your course ten degrees south.
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