“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Phil 3:10-11 (NIV)
What are you passionate about? What makes you jump out of bed in the morning in excitement? Where is your focus these days? What goals do you pursue? Career goals, fitness goals, financial goals, relationship goals…passionate pursuit of these types of goals often tend to get in the way of our passionate pursuit for a relationship with Christ. Paul, on the other hand, relentlessly pursued a relationship with Christ. He wanted to know Christ as his complete Savior who suffered and died on the cross and rose from the dead. That is what Paul was passionate about. He wasn’t a task master. He wasn’t wrapped up in a routine. He wasn’t robotically obedient to his calling. He was a relentless, passionate follower of Christ.
The truth is, we live in a fallen world where the “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Many ambitions and goals are competing for our attention, luring us away from our first love (Rev 2:4). We are inundated with lies from the media, pop culture, marketing campaigns, and false teaching. I encourage you to assess your own level of pursuit for a relationship with Christ. Take a second look at your goals for 2010. Where does developing your relationship with God fit in? Is it a relentless & passionate pursuit? What is getting in the way of your growth? Where can you cut out that which is hindering your time with God? How can you get to know Christ and the power of his resurrection? Will you return to your first love?
Two ways to grow your relationship with Christ is through prayer and Bible study. I encourage you to take the challenge and join us as we read the entire Bible in a year beginning tomorrow, Monday, January 4. The reading will take about 20 minutes per day. If you tie in a few minutes of prayer and a few minutes of reflection, you will invest about 30 minutes a day of your time to get to know your Savior. I promise you that you won’t regret it! Begin your relentless pursuit! Return to your first love!
Today's post is submitted by Kelly Coxe
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Christianity is dead? They forgot to tell Jesus! Speaking of our relentless pursuit and our Lord answering prayers. My friend was seeking the risen Lord concerning a matter in her life which she had trouble with for years. She really wanted to see God answer her and give her freedom from this problem which she battled with for yesrs. Over the weeks, she started earnestly praying about it. Week in and week out she prayed but nothing happened. No word from God. She was determined though not to give up. She was relentless. She keep praying and asking God to answer her in this area. Finally she said, enough of this,"I need an answer Lord" and Im not going to leave this service until I hear from You. During the service, thay asked people to come up who needed prayer. As she walked up, this person whom she had never met before said to her, "I have something to say to you. Word for word, he repeated what she had been asking God for and then went on to exhort her in the faith and the solution to her problem". He said all of this without her ever speaking a word to him. Yes, our living God showed up and ansewred her prayer and she left that service forever changed. Glory to the One who was, who is and is to come, Jesus Christ!
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