The Prize!

 Philipians3: 4b-14v 9 “I no longer count on my own righteousness in obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. “

If others have reason for their own confidence then I , Paul, have more! Paul had the right family genealogy tracing his line back to one of the original tribes that came out of Egypt. He obeyed as a Pharisee all the laws and persecuted the early Church. Now I considered all these things worthless because of what Christ has done. I no longer count on my own righteousness in obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. “I don’t say I have achieved the same suffering as Christ, but I press on, forgetting the past, to reach the end of the race, for the prize that God is calling us for.

Preparing for a family thanksgiving dinner I started to get worried about how to decorate, how to seat everyone and how much could be cooked in advance and what had to be done on the day. Then I remembered the words that my daughter had written on the table “I am thankful for…….” I remembered that stressing over the doing was not what I should be doing and although the stress level had decreased considerably over the years as I trust more in Christ, I am not at the end of the race, there is still things I can learn to do better.  I took a deep breath, put on some music, and enjoyed peeling potatoes, asked for help when I needed it, and for me I had a great time. I hope that my family did too. I still must learn not to stress over the small stuff, and that the prize at the end of the race is still there. I no longer count on me getting it right but go back again and again to God and to Jesus Christ my savior, to give me the right attitude for the work He has for me to do.

Prayer: Heavenly Father help us to continue the race to the end. To allow Jesus Christ into our daily lives to show your love to the world around us. Amen.

Today we pray especially for those in Israel as the war causes more loss of life.

Heavenly Father we pray for peace and for those grieving in all the wars on the earth today, but especially in Israel. Please open the hearts of those in power to your love, to choose talking instead of fighting. Strengthen those who are trying to feed the hungry displaced by conflict. Help those in a position to send resources to be generous to provide shelter for the homeless. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.