From the Archive: Living Up To What We Have Attained
Last week was a very significant time for our church. The three days of fasting and prayer prior to Thanksgiving were very substantial in attendance and in the display of your hunger and desire for God’s presence and power.
Now that the prayer and fasting emphasis is over and we are moving into the demands of the holiday season, we need to especially heed the words of the Apostle Paul to “live up to what we have already attained.” (Philippians 3.6) There is the invariable human tendency to go back to our former level of spiritual effort or desire. To do so means that we lose the ground that was gained — the discipleship that was deepened, the intimacy that was developed, the changes we made in our usual habits and patterns. Remember the words from Hosea 6.3 —
“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
If you were here in prayer more than usual, then live up to what you attained last week. Make changes in your schedule — join an afternoon or evening prayer time; join with others in fasting on Fridays for specific needs; join the Wednesday Bible Study as we seek God together.
Let’s press on for breakthroughs!
From the Bulletin Article Archives, circa 2005.