"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14
I love this verse, and when I first memorized it - I used a football reference point. 3 points for a field goal, and 14 points for two touchdowns and extra points. Ever since the day I read the verse, I have found it so easy to remember the verse and reference by using the analogy of football scoring points to remember it. I love the verse, because I desire what God wants.
I was watching a television program about a former professional football player named Emmitt Smith, who was a running back. He holds the record for the most rushing yards ever gained by a football player in the National Football League. He had a great career in high school, in college as well as in the NFL.
He shared about the importance of writing down your goals. One of his famous quotes about achieving your desires is, "It's a dream until you write it down. Then it's a goal." He had goals as a high school football player, he had goals as a college student, and professional goals.
When I was entering college I read an article about setting goals, and a couple of weeks later, we had a guest speaker at church who spoke about goals. There was a story told by the speaker about how anyone can shoot an arrow and then draw a target around the spot where the arrow is and make it look like the shot was a bullseye. I have found that writing down what I hope to accomplish is a good thing. It points me toward success and points me toward working at the goal.
This verse in Philippians speaks about pursuing Jesus Christ. I'd like you to think for a moment about setting a spiritual goal for a little season. Here are some ideas.
*Memorize 1 verse a month for the rest of the year and be able to say all 6 at Christmas.
*Read a chapter in the Bible every day for a month
*Spend 10 minutes in prayer every day for a month
*Work at being an encouragement with Scripture verses by sending one each week to 3 people for the next month.
*Intentionally make a decision to give of your time by taking some goodies to your work or neighbors once a month and just say, "I hope your day is great!"
There is accountability in knowing what you desire to achieve. There is accountability to yourself in gaining a picture of what a person wants. Think about taking a special step of pressing on toward the goal. Write down what you are thinking of and work at it. PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL THAT YOU WRITE DOWN. Philippians 3:14
