December 8, 2022
Every Day Counts
Beloved one you are called for a purpose and only you can pursue God to find out what it is! Saul of Tarsus began his journey of discovering who he was and what his purpose was on the road to Damascus he became the Apostle Paul. Even though he was the greatest murderer of Christians God knew Saul was perfectly suited for the job of being a disciple. First, Paul was a Hebrew and a Pharisee, No one could accuse him of indifference or failure to set a standard. He studied under Gamaliel, so no Jew would consider him ignorant of the Scriptures. He grew up in Tarsus, which gave him his Roman citizenship and acquainted him with the ways of the world. He was an articulate communicator, which made him perfect to write nearly two-thirds of the New Testament. He hotly pursued righteousness; a passion that helped him reach Asia Minor. God appoints specific leaders to fulfill a mission; He doesn’t hold a popular vote. If he had, no ancient believer would have voted for Saul. Instead, God saw Saul’s qualities and called him to both follow Jesus and lead men. (Acts 9:1-20)
God wants you to know He has a plan and a purpose, and He sees you. In the middle of all the messes, you have gotten yourself into during your life God picks you! Paul compared life to a race. He threw off any weight that would entangle him or slow him down. He made the most of his pursuit of the prize. Are you in pursuit of the prize? You ask, what is the prize? The prize is eternal life with rewards when you enter the pearly gates – one being the soul winners prize, ‘a crown’ to lay at King Jesus’ feet.
Paul said, ‘Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So, I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadow boxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I might be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Shadowboxing is a mixture of cardio and strength training. When you shadow-box, you engage different muscle groups in your body at the same time. As you swing your arms, move your arms and shoulders, and practice proper footwork, you are increasing your upper-body strength and given increased alertness. We all know that runners don’t wander. They head straight for the finish line.
Paul said, I once thought these earthly things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. 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, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 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. 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, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Run the race with me!
