”that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.“
Philippians 3:10-14 NKJV
I have a theory; I believe that no one has ever resolved to lose weight when they are hungry. In fact, I believe that most declarations about losing weight are made in the context of a feeding frenzy. However, when that bloated, uncomfortable belly deflates a bit, and hunger (or boredom, or stress) kicks in, that “resolve” to lose weight evaporates into a bag of Oreos (or myriad other old food “friends”).
Now, as you might suspect, I am not trying to get you to resolve to lose weight. I am making the point to you that it’s easy to say that we have resolve concerning something; but the test, the proof of that resolve, is whether it will endure testing.
We have begun this year at Ararat Church by examining our need for resolve. If we are to continue to prepare ourselves for the soon coming of our Lord—part of which is bringing in the last harvest of souls—we must have resolve concerning our own Christian walk.
Indeed, we must have an inner determination to fulfill all of our purposes in God, to pursue all that to which God has given us access, as well as to decouple ourselves from all forms of attachment to the world’s way of being and doing.
Perhaps the old song says it best: “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” But of course, as seen in our opening scripture, Paul expressed that sentiment millennia ago.
Friend, 2024 is going to be a rough ride for the world. Now, I say, “for the world,” because we have access to the “mobile home” of the Kingdom of God in which to make the journey.
You see, as we, through faith, dwell in the Presence, Peace, and Power of God in Jesus Christ, we can keep the atmosphere of Heaven with us even as the hoards of Hell attempt a final coup against the Rule of Christ.
But, make no mistake, if we waver in our faith, waver in our resolve to fully follow Christ, waver in our trust in Him, we’ll share that gut-wrenching ride with the world.
Over the course of this year we will be offering instruction, prayer and encouragement to stay the course toward the High Call of God in Jesus Christ.
By God’s grace, we will become more attuned to the Holy Spirit, more conscious of God’s Presence, more obedient to Christ’s rule and more ready and willing to speak the will of God into our daily lives, no matter what we are facing.
We know that we are living in the Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ. As such, there is much work to do and many hindrances to be overcome. But remember, we are THE BODY OF CHRIST! He is with us to help us endure what we must, while doing what we must.
Are you in? Will you join us in our RESOLVE to finish well?
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!