Just A Smile...

James 5:18 English Standard Version (ESV)

18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

...because it's been hotter than what than expected here in this corner of the country.  I'm not complaining because I know the rains will come.  But I'll pray now for those who are fighting fires in my state and for those who have suffered losses.  The work of fighting fires is much appreciated.

We Won't Be Shaken - Building 429  

Press On

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

Just prior to this verse,  Paul admitted that he wasn’t perfect. What a relief!
If Paul couldn’t do it, how can we?

The problem, though, in using Paul as a model (which he says to do in v.17) is that he says he presses on anyway. He puts forth effort to grow spiritually. Effort is, well, effort, work, energy. Rats.

Growth along spiritual lines isn’t something our society uses as a yardstick for success. And I suspect we believers all too often borrow the world’s yardstick as our measuring unit for our daily grind. How often do we say “Well, I didn’t complete my to-do list today, but God did build something into my life that was more than I had when the day began”? I fear my response is to focus on the unfinished list.

When we do take stock of our spiritual lives, we find our own stumbling. As Richard Foster says in Streams of Living Water we learn that by “starting again and again and again something firm and lasting is being built in us.” And so we are to press on.

by beanscot's husband

Mandisa - Press On (Audio)