KEEP PRESSING ON!

Philippians 3:13-14

¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Running a race requires a lot of energy and determination to reach the finishing line. Many athletes and marathon runners get fatigued but because of the reward that they will receive at the finishing line, they persevere to the end. Life is a race against time! You either give up or keep going! At no point in time can you say that you have made a full use of the time or talent given to you. There is always a room for improvement. This calls for forgetting your failures and doubts and pressing on to success. Failures are set backs that can prevent you from achieving your full potentials if you dwell on them. Lessons learned from failures can propel you to greater things ahead. Do not let failure hold you back! Forget what you could not do in the past and focus on the baby steps that you can take to achieve your aim. The Christian journey is just like the race against time in life. You have not yet reached perfection until the day that Christ will come to take us up to heaven. We are all work in progress. Each day, the Lord prunes us and makes us better and holier as we get closer to him in his word and prayer. We may fall some times but we must get up and back on track on the heavenward journey. We may become weak but because of the crown that we will receive at the end, we must press on. Persecutions must not derail us from our connection with Christ. Poverty should not make us give up the race and to fail into the habit of stealing. We have to press on in spite of these challenges. Straining forward requires the full use of all your abilities and mental faculties. Straining forward requires laying aside the sins that so easily beset us. Straining forward requires letting go of anger, unforgiveness, and pride. Giving up the things that weigh us down so that we can run the race with a light weight. What is hindering your progress on your heavenward journey? Identify them and ask God to help you to lay them down before him. Ask Him to carry the load for you and your burden would be lessened. You will then be able to progress in your Christian race.
Press on toward the mark of Glory! Be determined! Be persistent!

MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST

Ephesians 2 New International Version (NIV)

2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved,through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 

When something dies, it rots and stinks. It is awful! Being dead in our transgressions and sin is an awful state of affairs. It is a degrading status in life. Sin makes us stink in the presence of God who is holy and perfect. We appear as darkness before light. When you are living in sin, all your ways are unpleasant to God. Your spirit is at war with the things of God. You begin to see them a foolishness. There is an enmity between you and God. But God is a loving father so he has made a way to remove this enmity through his son Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. His death on the cross led to our forgiveness of sins and transgressions. Today, if you hear his voice and humble yourself before him by acknowledging your sins and ask for forgiveness, he will forgive you and restore you back into fellowship with him. You will be resurrected from death into life and you will no longer stink but you will be a sweet smelling incense to the Lord.  God's love is so wide that you cannot get around it; so low that you cannot get under it; so high that you cannot get over it. Oh, what a wonderful love! Take advantage of His love and grace.

JESUS WILL FORGIVE ALL YOUR SINS

There are people who feel they are so wicked and bad that they do not deserve to come to the presence of the living God. They feel so guilty of their iniquities yet they continue in them because they think they are worthless and nothing can be done about their situation. They constantly condemn themselves. Even though they feel the need to give up they sinful ways they constantly find themselves delving into more and deeper ones. Today, I want to inform you that 1 John 1:9 says that

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (New International Version (NIV)).

It does not matter what your sins look like or the gravity of your sins, all that matters is your willingness to give them up, confess them, and then surrender your life to Jesus. He has promised to forgive you of all, not some, but all your sins. He will purify you completely. To purify means:

a. To be cleared from defilement or imperfections.
b. To free from guilt or moral or ceremonial blemish
c. To free from undesirable elements
d. To free (someone) from guilt or evil thoughts

If Jesus sets you free, you are free indeed.  

John 8:36: So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (New International Version (NIV)) 

You are no more a condemned prisoner to sin. The wages of sin is death but Christ has paid the price for you. You are debt free.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

Confess all your sins today and asked Jesus for forgiveness. He would purify you immediately. There is nothing better than this!