Wednesday, June 7, 2017

PRESSING ON.

Often as I go through a day people will ask me "what are you doing today?"
My most usual answer I give is "Pressing On". One man said once to me "You always say that". I responded by saying "Well you asked me what Im doing and thats what Im above all doing."

Sometimes I say that I have a whole catalogue of activities Im proceeding with but basically Im pressing on to the higher calling of the Lord. Which I believe is the most important pursuit of our lives. Pursuing money, success, achievements, fitness, etc may all have a valid part in the overall jigsaw puzzle of life but ultimately the only pursuit that really counts for all Eternity is Pressing on in Jesus Christ for the Prize of the upward call of God in His Will. Read what St Paul below said to early Christians.

Phillipians 3:12  ASV Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may [e]lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself [f]yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, 14 I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the [g]high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Oftentimes "Pressing On" can be difficult just like running a race in a powerful headwind on a rocky road or hiking a steep mountain and just progressing step by step or inch by inch. Sometimes we slip and slide down the face of the mountain and even suffer abrasions, wounds and discouragement but this only makes it more important to press on regardless of our circumstances.
Bob Dylan wrote a great song called Pressing On in the late 1970s during his Gospel/Christian period when he released a series of Biblical albums. In the song he emphasized the paramount goal of pressing toward the Higher Call of God. In another song, he sang, "I dont care how rough the road is , show me where it starts". He sang also of a young lady who warned him that, "You could die down here and be just another accident statistic" (He also said she was a backwoods girl but she sure was realistic) Thank God that He used this girl to get Bobs attention.

I once heard someone say that very few folks on their death bed wish they had spent more time at the office. How true, we must make pressing on in Gods plan and purpose our bottom line goal. After all this is all that counts when eternity looms into the picture. In the final analysis life is very short, even if we live 100 years. I am now 62 years old and it only seems like just the other day I was 15 years old just embarking on lifes journey. Now it shocks me to realize that in a few more short years I will be 70. I remember when 30 seemed like way over the hill. I recall reading in a magazine in about 1970 that Mick Jagger said he would stop singing rock and roll when he reached 30. The Stones are in about their mid 70s now and they will all still probably be singing live on walkers or wheelchairs in the end. Hopefully they will all have a revelation of Jesus Grace and change the lyrics to the song Satisfaction to "I can get satisfaction now"

Anyway this is just a short reminder of the importance of Pressing On in Jesus as He is the Way the Truth and the Life, no man can come to the Father but through Him. Once lifes short day is over and the endlessness of Eternity starts we will all be eternally grateful if we Press On in Him who is the Power of an Endless Life. He is Alpha and Omega and Omniscient Love Personified.

I pray that all who read this article will be filled with a the same Spirit of Love, Life and Grace that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Nothing fulfills the human heart like the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.