Straining Toward the Goal

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14 ESV

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are not where God wants you to be in Christ. You have some growing up to do yet. There are flaws in your character that the Lord needs to change. There are problems yet with the way you think about things. But guess what, the same thing is true of me and every other child of God. We will always come up short while we are living in the flesh. There is coming a day in which we will no longer need to grow and change, but now is not that time. Our response to this truth is to not give up trying. We must determine in our hearts to press on with all the effort we can muster to be better than we are today, with a clear vision of Christ before us.

Strain to grow. It is not an easy process. Growing in Christ takes much persistence, perseverance, and patience. It doesn’t happen overnight. The journey has many twists and turns, ups and downs. There are many victories along the way as well as battle scars. If it were easy, everyone who professes to be a child of God would become mature and be easy to get along with.

Forget the past and all that is there; press on. As long as you are looking behind you, you are not moving forward. You can’t press on when you are strapped down with your past. You cannot keep your eyes fixed on what lies before you when they are fixed on what is behind you. What is under the blood stays there. When Christ forgives us of our past and lets it go, we must do the same.

There is a wonderful day ahead of us in which we will be with our Lord. Keep your eyes focused on that day and live for it with all the energy and determination you can muster. The Lord is ahead of you, waiting for you. He’s got your back covered so give Him all you’ve got.

The First Two Commandments

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:37-39 ESV

Today as we spoke James taught me that “Mitemo” is shona for “Rule” or in this case we joked about it being The Lord’s commandments so I suppose these are our first two mitemos from God.

Pedzai & John From Zimbabwe – The Land Of The Living

I met Pedzai and John while riding my bike they work as gardeners in Harare Zimbabwe and are looking for sponsorship for their music.

Their song which is in shona is about how you shouldn’t judge people based on class because God doesn’t, He looks at what is in one’s heart…

You can contact Pedzai or John on +263 773 578 693 or +263 771 898 617

Thanks be to God

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Luke 1 New International Version (NIV)

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

For no word from God will ever fail. Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail. Luke 1:37

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.