I Press Toward the Mark

Philippians 3:14 (KJV)
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
September 8, 2009

We dismissed services Sunday night due to Labor Day Weekend and Jackie and I took the opportunity to jump on the Gold wing and head for Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was a beautiful drive. God's creation is absolutely breath-taking. We didn't leave till around 4pm and had no real plans, but as we got down the road we began to talk about "The Great Passion Play". We thought if we made it in time, we would attend, as we hadn't seen it in years.

By the time we arrived in Eureka, it was after 8pm and we didn't know if they even had the play on Sunday. As it turns out, they don' normally have the play on Sunday night, but they had a special showing for Labor Day. We pulled into the parking lot about 5 minutes before the show was to start and had just parked our bike when another couple on a bike came walking up, stated they were tired from riding all day, and they were going to the motel. They proceeded to hand us their tickets and said "enjoy the show". I tried to pay them for the tickets but they insisted on making them a gift.

As it had gotten dark that evening, we rode right by the motel that we had chosen to stay in. It would have been easy to just pull in and call it a night. After we received the gift from two strangers, I thought about Philippians 3:14. Had we not pressed toward the mark, we wouldn’t have received the prize. We were blessed because we persevered.

In the same way, you and I may get tired at times on our Christian journey. Church may not be nearly as "fun" as it used to, or we may get tired of "always serving". But I want to encourage you that we run to receive a prize. We can't quit before the finish line. We must press toward the mark.

It always makes the journey easier if you have someone to "run" with you. Invite a friend to church this Sunday and pray for God to touch their heart. Then, teach them to run the race. Who knows, You may have a "running partner" for life!

Be blessed.


Pastor Scott