I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14 (NIV)
Goal
Canada’s Connor Bedard became the youngest player to score four goals in a single world junior men’s hockey championship game on December 28 last year. The 16-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., propelled Canada to an 11-2 win over Austria with his quadruple. Bedard joined Mario Lemieux (1983), Simon Gagne (1999), Brayden Schenn (2010), Taylor Raddysh (2016) and Maxime Comtois (2018) in the Canadian junior men’s record books for the most goals scored in a single game.
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Everyone has goals. They might be simple ones – like getting up in the morning and getting through the day with sanity intact. They might be loftier goals – like completing your education or having a healthy marriage. The apostle Paul had a goal, and every follower of Jesus ought to have the same goal. Paul writes about it in Philippians 3:14: “I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” Jesus died to save us from sin and hell. He offers eternal life as a free gift. We can’t earn it and we certainly don’t deserve it. That’s called grace. And we are saved for a purpose – God has a calling on each one who has become a follower of Jesus. Paul understood that he was called to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. He was fully committed to this calling. God has a purpose for your life in Christ as well. Your task is to discover what that is and be totally committed to doing whatever that is. It was Paul’s goal in life and it must be yours as well. What has Jesus established as the goal for your life? Press on towards that goal within everything in you.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley