Press On

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already obtained at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil. 3:12).

 

When you and I see the future, we can face anything in the present. The outward form of religion is but a husk, and we must resolve to feed upon the kernel. Oh to have substance, not its shadows.

 

We are a people stuck on doing things that draw us away from God. We draw from pleasure, prosperity, power, and prominence. And yet these things do not satisfy nor give life. In and of themselves they are nothing without Christ!
We will not find what we need in this world or even what is inside of us. There is nothing outside of Jesus that truly satisfies with perpetuity. If you and I decided to retire, and could, we would find greater dissatisfaction if all we do is live for self. We can run up and down the east coast, east to west, jump on any and every airplane, and you will find the same conclusion:  what we are searching for is God and God alone. Just doing things to fill the day and to fill the soul, finding something new under the sun, just will not work.
There is an emptiness that only God can fill. God made us for Himself. For those who are saved from sin, self, Satan, and the selfish things of this world, we find that ONLY God fills and satisfies. One can be poor in this world and be rich in the world. One can have many sorrows in this world and yet have great joy inside.
Ask any movie star, any affluent person out there, any who has this world by the tail, and if they are honest, they will tell you they are not content. “Friends all around me are trying to find, what the heart yearns for, by sin undermined; I have the secret, I know where ’tis found, only true pleasures in Jesus abound.”
Take fast hold upon Christ. Take hold of that which is invisible. Have this clear conviction and devout reverence. Let criticism rattle your armor like a hailstone, stand fast and defile it all.

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