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Devotionals
Preserved by Integrity
Taking a Towel
Raised Up by the Lord
Going Hard After Christ
The Power of the Church
Rekindling a Romance for Jesus Christ
The Wonderful Cross
When is it too late?
Sowing the Gospel
Abiding in Christ
Going Hard After Christ
"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:13-14
We are all committed with resolve to become something and many are willing to go to great lengths in order to attain that goal. Some have placed themselves under the unforgiving academic pressures of undergrad followed by many more years in med school to become a doctor. For others it is countless hours of practice on the court in hopes of winning the tournament and still for others it is striving to fit in as they have made social popularity their goal. Pause for a moment and evaluate your own heart; ask, "What have I set my heart upon to go hard after?" Does your goal have eternal worth or is it something less that will fade in the fire (I Cor 3:13) when you stand before God?
Paul was not a man who lived for the pleasures of this world while at the same time trying to please the Lord. Often times this paradox typifies our life; we act spiritual on Sunday, but Monday through Friday we live secular, worshiping the gods of money, grades, materialism, and pleasure. Unlike us, Paul was a man with a singular desire to press hard after Jesus without making any single day more unique than the other. For Paul, each day was consecrated, set apart to obey and live for the Lord. Paul was committed, focused, and locked onto pursuing the very glory and presence of Christ. Paul’s holy obsession was to be completely emptied of his flesh in order that the life of Christ would fully consume him.
Restlessness fills my heart at times when God flares up my passion to go hard after Him. The one thing that brings me comfort and hope in my pursuit of God is when I realize that it is the Lord who is working in my life to transform my carnal desires into those that bring glory to Him (Phil 2:13). Maybe today this passion is completely foreign to you, or you have lost your first love a great while ago, or discouragement has dominated your life from continual failure. The reality is that it IS possible for you to have this motivation in your life because success does not depend on you, it is dependent upon God. You are not responsible to cultivate a heart for God; He desires to do that work within you. God is saying to you:
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezek 36:26)
God is willing to work in you for His glory, but your responsibility is to surrender your heart to Him. He is simply asking you to take down the idols from within your heart. His love is immaculate and His desire for your life is revival.
Grow in the grace of God,
Kyle Shimazaki |
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