We Press on...

"If the LORD delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand." Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)

"Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. I hope for Your salvation, O LORD, and do Your commandments. My soul keeps Thy testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. I keep Thy precepts and Thy testimonies, for all my ways are before Thee." Psalm 119:165-1668 (NASB)

"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity." Proverbs 24:16 (NASB)

"I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life." Proverbs 4:11-13 (NIV)

"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:2-11 (ESV)

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained." Philippians 3:7-16 (NIV)

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 (NASB)

Dear Lord, Cause us to read and know Your Word to the point that Your qualities shine forth in our lives. Help us to realize that if our focus is on You, we will become like You, and will no longer walk in darkness but rather in Your light. Teach us to press on even when we don't understand what is happening or why, knowing that You are more than capable and that You order our steps rightly. If we walk in Your ways, we will not stumble. If we stumble, we will not fall, because You are the One who holds us up with Your hand.

Redeeming Love has been My Theme and Shall be 'til I Die

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10 (NASB) The atonement of our sins comes through the precious blood of the Lamb. The debt that we owe fell on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gladly laid down His life for us. He paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.

Feeling like a broken record isn't necessarily a bad thing. God's word says, "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." Deuteronomy 4:9 (NIV) It also says, "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes." Deuteronomy 6:6-8 (ESV) We should be speaking of the great blessings He has poured out on us continually and we should not be ashamed of having the "theme" for our lives be His redeeming love. He wants our lives to be focused on Him. He wants us to focus the lives of others, our children, our families, our neighbors, our friends, our communities, and even those in far off places that we do not know, on Him...

How shall we do this? We must make Him and only Him the center of our lives. We must make His redeeming love the theme of our lives. And we must keep that theme as the very esscence of life for our whole lives. We cannot have Him as the focus and be selfish people. We cannot have Him as the focus and still make unscriptural choices, or be hurtful and mean to others. We cannot have Him as the focus and continue to go out and do things our own way! We have to listen to Him and make things right. We have to ask forgiveness when we make a mistake and live in such a way..."Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16 (NASB) "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Romans 14:8 (NIV) We need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit who convicts our hearts of wrongdoing and we should live so the people around us can see the Lord. "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7 (NIV)

1 Peter 1:17-19 says, "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (NIV)

"Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before Thy face. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted." Psalm 89:14-16 (KJV)

Dear Lord, Make us to walk in the light as You are in the light. Let our theme always be Your redeeming love and let us walk in a manner worthy of the calling You have given us for if You are lifted up, You will draw all men to You.