Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalm 118:24)

Today we will close out this year reminding ourselves to keep running towards the finish line.

In Philippians 3:12‭-‬15 (ERV) the Apostle Paul said…
I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven. All of us who have grown to be spiritually mature should think this way too. And if there is any of this that you don’t agree with, God will make it clear to you.

Consider…
Tomorrow night many people will celebrate the close of this year and the beginning of another. Regardless of how you celebrate, it’ll be a time of reflection and gratitude, as well as anticipation and hope of bigger and better things to come. One of the first things many people will due in the new year is make resolutions. Today, I would like to offer a resolution from scripture that we should commit to every second of every day of every year. It comes straight from today’s scripture.

Let’s look at what it says…

• Recognize, I am exactly what God wants me to be. God’s stated desire is in Leviticus 20:26 (NLT) where He told His priests, which we are too…You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.
• Understand, I still have a long way to go. I submit we’re like Paul said in Romans 7:19 (ERV)…I don’t do the good that I want to do. I do the evil that I don’t want to do.
• Next, meaning forget what is in the past. Like Jesus said in Luke 9:62 (NLT)…“Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
• Opportunity, try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. Or as Jesus exhorted in Matthew 6:33 (ERV)…What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.
• Now, keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven. It’s what we are exhorted to do in Colossians 3:2 (NLT)…Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

In case you need help remembering this resolution, it is the acronym RUN ON. Resolve to RUN ON for Jesus.

This looks like 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ERV)…
So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Don’t let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.

And 2 Timothy 2:15 (ERV), which exhorts…
Do your best to be the kind of person God will accept, and give yourself to him. Be a worker who has no reason to be ashamed of his work, one who applies the true teaching in the right way.

The good news is according to 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)…
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

So, every day the Lord allows you to see, is another day that He wants you to RUN ON towards Him and the finish line of eternity.

Today’s song is…
I Will Run
https://youtu.be/CtFbo6AGBDo?si=3LrWw7s_7IUCjcNm

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)