“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NIV)
Every day you make a choice that has an impact on eternity. Do you believe that? Don’t answer too quickly, because it’s easy to either scoff at such an idea or, perhaps even more dangerous, to quickly nod your head without ever stopping to consider this truth. I believe this principle about the gravity of this daily choice is found all through Scripture. Once you see it, it begins to appear everywhere.
Before taking his final breath on earth, Joshua urged the people of Israel with these words:
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15, NIV)
Do you recognize what Joshua is saying? Every day, we choose whom we will serve, how we will live, and what we will prioritize? Will you serve the gods of this world (money, comfort, pleasure, sex, power, control), or will you serve the Lord, the living God who reigns from Heaven?
Is the Lord undesirable to you, or is He your greatest Treasure? To whom or what will you give your life? Each day you make that choice, consciously or unconsciously. But for that choice you will be held accountable.
Let me back up this claim with some Bible:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he/she has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, ESV)
This applies to every believer. Notice, Paul says “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” Salvation is all by grace, but the daily choices and deeds done in the body directly impact rewards received.
Again:
“For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God… So then each of us will give an account of himself/herself to God.” (Romans 14:10-12, emphasis added, ESV)
Are you prepared to “give an account” of yourself to God? Make the commitment today to live in light of the end, when you stand before the Judgment Seat of God and Christ.
Many people tell themselves that the choices they make don’t matter… after all, God is gracious and forgiving. So what’s the big deal?
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7-10, ESV)
Many are deceived. Don’t be counted among them. Live each day knowing that whatever you reap, you will also sow. God will not be mocked. He is not manipulated or cajoled. But He is for you in Christ, which is why He gives these warnings and reminders. Because the world will attempt to cloud our vision and deceive us into thinking what we do each day doesn’t really matter in the end. But it does.
We need to number our days to get a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We need to make the best use of the time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16). One day, our work–our daily choices–will be tested by fire, resulting in reward or loss (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). If you are a Christian, one day, God will call you home to be with Him, and you will have to give an account. Are you ready for that day? If you are not a Christian, you need to stop living for yourself (repent), acknowledge the God who made you, and put your faith in the living Lord, Jesus Christ, who died the death you deserve for all your sins on the cross. Then, begin a life of daily surrender to Him alone.
So number your days. Live each day in light of the end. Embrace the mercy and forgiveness available to you in Christ. Offer up your body as a living sacrifice to Him, because that is true and spiritual worship (Romans 12:1-2).
You get to decide what kind of Christian you will be. Will you be the half-hearted, half-engaged, bored, and drifting Christian, who merely goes with the flow and never takes a stand or boldly steps out in faith to where God is calling you? Or will you be the Spirit-filled, knee-bowing, totally committed, all-in Christian who knows that each day you must “die daily” so that Christ will be manifest in your life?
We are called to live in daily surrender to the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus gave His life for you. Will you give your life each day for Him?
Are you interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and what He’s done for you? I’d love to hear from you!
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be My disciples.(Luke 14:33, ESV)
In the 2001 animated film Shrek, we meet Lord Farquaad, the pompous, proud, and vertically challenged villain. In one of the best lines from the movie, Farquaad sends out his knights on a high-risk mission to rescue a princess from a dragon.
With great feeling, he tells them, “Some of you may die. But that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
The life Jesus Christ calls us to is radically different. Instead of expecting some kind of faux sacrifice akin to Lord Farquaad, Jesus demands a sacrifice that is personal and total. We’re called to surrender ourselves to Him and give our full allegiance to Him as the King who conquered death.
Jesus Himself came to slay the dragon and purchase His bride (the church) with His own blood. Almost every fairytale is just a dim reflection of the greatest story ever told.
Knowing Jesus made that ultimate sacrifice puts His demand on your life in perspective. In a world where you are encouraged to put yourself first, follow your heart, and live your truth, Jesus demands you deny yourself and follow Him. In fact, Jesus even said, “Unless you give up everything you have, you cannot be My disciple.”
Notice that Jesus doesn’t tolerate the easy-believism so prevalent today that thinks of Jesus as a ticket to Heaven, but not as the Lord of our lives. Jesus asked that searching question, “Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, yet don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). As the risen Lord, Jesus calls us to give up everything for Him, to lay it all down at His feet and say, “Okay, Lord. It’s all yours.”
This means that we choose to find our identity in Christ, first and foremost. How you understand your identity is so important, because if you know who you are (or better yet, know whose you are), you can know what you should do. To give up everything for Jesus means that every aspect of your day should fit your identity in Christ. How you view your relationships, your career, your church, your money, and where you turn for rest, should all be shaped by Jesus.
If you’ve never thought of your relationship to Jesus as something that requires sacrifice, that should raise a red flag. Jesus emphasized repeatedly that there is a cost to following Him. Yes, there are rich rewards, both in this life and the next, and we certainly don’t want to minimize that. But if you’ve never felt like you had to give something up for Jesus, then you’ve missed something essential.
When Jesus called four fishermen to follow Him, we’re told that “they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11, ESV). While Jesus won’t necessarily call you to leave your career, He does call you to surrender it over to Him. In the same way, Jesus called Levi (also known as Matthew the tax collector) to follow Him as a disciple. This meant leaving behind his tax booth, which represented his livelihood and opulent lifestyle. But Luke tells us: “And leaving everything, he rose and followed him” (v. 28).
To reiterate the cost of following Him, Jesus gives two examples: a building project and a battlefield.
He says to the crowds:
“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:28-33, ESV)
How foolish, Jesus says, to start constructing something you aren’t committed to finish. And who would engage in a war without considering what it will take to win?
Have you counted the cost? Are you willing to put everything on the line for Jesus–even your own life?
It’s important to ask yourself some honest, gut-level questions:
Is there anything I’m not willing to give up for Jesus?
Is there anything in my life that I’m prizing more than Jesus?
Is there a sin I’m unwilling to repent of?
Am I giving Jesus time for communion with Him?
To live as His follower is to enter into His joy. Following Him will cost you everything, but the reward for following Jesus is beyond compare.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, following You is the greatest joy of my life. It’s an adventure of faith, and it’s exciting to see all the ways You are at work in my life and the lives of those around me. If there is anything in my life standing in the way of deeper intimacy with You or faithfulness to You, please reveal that to me by Your Holy Spirit. In Your Glorious Name. Amen.
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12, ESV)
The Bible regularly calls followers of Jesus to a humble realism—a humble recognition that we have not yet arrived. In Philippians 3:12, the Apostle Paul has the humility to say, “I’m not yet everything that I one day will be.” And this humility itself is a sign of his spiritual maturity.
I remember listening to a radio talk show several years ago (this was an allegedly Christian radio station), and being shocked to hear the host claim to have reached a state of sinlessness. I had a double take, and I remember thinking, Did I hear this guy, right? I played the sequence back a second time and confirmed that I had indeed heard him correctly.
The guest he was talking with seemed equally puzzled. He asked, “So, you’re saying you have no sin?” “That’s right,” he replied confidently. “I have a new nature. Praise the Lord!” Then the guest said, “Well, what about 1 John 1:8?” 1 John 1:8 says: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” The host continued to try to argue for his position, but his arguments seemed weak and unconvincing.
We need the humility to say with Paul, “I haven’t already arrived, but I’m pressing on!” The Christian life is much more akin to a marathon than a 100-meter dash. But let’s not miss something key in Paul’s statement. Paul’s confidence didn’t come from his pursuit of Christ. His confidence was rooted in the fact that “Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). Nothing compels us to pursue Christ more and more like knowing more deeply that He has already taken hold of us.
One Thing
“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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14, ESV)
I love the way Paul boils down for us his great motivation in living the Christian life. He says, “I’ve learned to simplify my whole life by focusing on this one thing that matters most.” This is a word we all need to hear. It’s so easy for us to get caught up in all the clutter of busyness in our lives that we forget to focus on the eternal things.
My older two boys have birthdays coming up. Recently, they each told me the “one thing” they desperately wanted for a present. They were emphatic that this one thing is all they cared about; they didn’t need any ancillary presents. This one thing (in this case, a Lego set) would most assuredly be all they needed. Undoubtedly, they understand that if they narrow down their birthday wish list to only one thing, they are more likely to get it.
Paul understood the beauty of simplifying life to one tremendous pursuit, one glorious ambition. In our digital age, we can let so many distractions pull our attention away from what matters most. The urgent overshadows the essential. Our phone is constantly buzzing, dinging, and chiming. Our watch is telling us we’re running behind. Our calendars are chock full. And after a busy day, it’s so easy to want to just plop down in front of the tube, isn’t it? Paul knew that if you want to be effective in this life for Christ, then you can’t be driven by worthless distractions which are constantly vying for our attention. Instead, we’ve got to lock on to the “one thing” that matters above all.
Selective Amnesia
Notice Paul says, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on” (vv. 13b-14a).
Paul says he’s learned to forget what lies behind him. There were many things Paul could have looked back at that could have slowed him down, or even tripped him up. He could have let the guilt and shame from his past in persecuting the church drag his feet. But he chose not to look back. I’ve heard my dad say, “If you’re always looking in the rearview mirror, you won’t be able to see where you’re going.”
Paul understood the beauty of self-forgetfulness. He wasn’t caught up with all the “what ifs” of life. He was in hot pursuit of Christ. Christ was his goal and his aim. He wanted to know Christ better. That’s the one thing that mattered most to this great man of God.
Believe it or not, God calls us to have “selective amnesia” and forget about our shame in the past so that we won’t lose our stride in the race of life. Keep your eyes looking straight ahead on the goal. Nothing matters more than crossing that finish line with eyes on Christ!
Whether it feels like it or not at this point for you, Paul wants us to understand that there is nothing in all reality that compares with knowing Christ. And yet, millions of people every day consider this idea foolishness. They hardly even think about Christ. But He is the reason we are here. Our life comes from Him, and He is the purpose for our existence (Colossians 1:16-18). It’s all about knowing Jesus.
In 1923, a race took place involving runners from Scotland and France. The best from each nation were there to compete and to win the title. Then came the famous 440-meter race. The gun fired, and all the runners took off. The runners were bunched together, shoulder to shoulder, and then came the first turn, where one runner was shoved to the ground just inside the track.
The crowd gasped and hopes were dashed, as the well-known runner hit the dirt. It looked like it was all over for this young Scotsman. But he had different plans. A moment later, he was flying down the track again. After only a few seconds, he was already catching up to the pack. The leaders continued to sprint hard. But there he was: “the Flying Scotsman!” With knees high and head back—Eric Liddell somehow managed, against all human odds, to cross the finish line first! This astonishing come-from-behind win was memorably captured in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. That race catapulted Liddell on to the international stage as a living legend.
What do you think most runners would have done after falling on the first turn? Shake their fist in anger? Maybe kick the dirt and storm off the track? Not Liddell. Perhaps he was motivated by this very passage. After all, he was a passionate follower of Christ who would later go on not only to win an Olympic medal, but also go on the mission field in China.
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on” (Philippians 4:13-14).
Press On
Paul urges us here to “press on,” even when things look bleak, even when it looks like it is time to throw in the towel. Paul says, “Don’t give up and don’t look back! Press on, because the goal that awaits you is worth every ounce of your sweat!”
In Paul’s mind, success in the Christian life is not about never getting knocked down. It’s about what you do after getting knocked down—with knees skinned and mud splattered across your face.
In 1941, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a famous speech during a perilous time for England. He knew he needed to spur on every British citizen if they were to outlast the Nazis. As he stood before the captive audience, Churchill said, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
In the same way, Paul urges every one of us—wherever we are at in life and no matter what we’re up against—press on! Press on in the strength the Holy Spirit supplies.
I ran in the Cascade Lakes Relay back in 2010. The race covers some 216 miles divided up among 12 runners who run either two or three legs each. In the race, you get a breathtaking view of lakes, mountains, and golden sunrises. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also exhausting because, aside from running a total of 22 miles or so, you also get very little sleep. Runners are given the opportunity to sleep in a school gym filled with cots. So you can imagine that if one guy in the middle is snoring, everybody can hear him.
After getting maybe two hours of sleep, it was my turn to run again. The bracelet was handed to me, and I took off running into the darkness. I had probably gone about a mile down the road when I came to a course ribbon pointing me off the road to a trail that ran through the forest. Before long, I came to another fork in the trail. This time, there was no ribbon. I decided on the trail to the left, which took me up a very steep trail.
Before long, I realized I was completely lost. I later found out that the ribbon actually had a little sign attached to it pointing away from that first trail, but I didn’t see it in the darkness. In case you’re wondering, I don’t have great night vision. You can probably guess that my team teased me for being that lost runner off on a forest trail by myself. As it happens, our team’s name was “Press On,” taking the phrase from Philippians 3.
It’s possible that you are one who has gotten caught in the devil’s trap by only focusing on your failures. Maybe you have a past that is riddled with times when you went off the right path. If that’s you, then you need to know something. If you’ve turned from that sin and come to Christ for forgiveness, then God has already moved on. And it’s time you do, too.
Scripture says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Hear that, Christian. In God’s eyes, the banner over your life says “No Condemnation.” He no longer sees you as guilty, but pardoned. Now stay on the path marked “Forgiven.” Live as one who looks forward to the future with hope. Press on!
Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!
Lamp and Light 