Message
In today’s Bible reading, Paul recounted some of his great achievements. He stated that he was of the stock of Israel, a descendant of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, circumcised on the eighth day, and a Pharisee. After listing his achievements and attributes, he went on to say that he counted them all as loss and dung for Christ.
Paul was clearly one of the most knowledgeable apostles in the Bible. He was a lawyer and a Pharisee who had studied under a renowned teacher, Gamaliel (). For comparison, we can say that he attended the best university and studied under the most distinguished professor there. He had everything to boast of in terms of knowledge. However, when he gave his life to Jesus, he laid all his accomplishments at the Master’s feet and allowed the Lord to use them for the advancement of His Kingdom. He humbled himself and submitted to Ananias, a disciple of Christ in Damascus and went on missionary trips with Barnabas, a Levite. Paul didn’t allow his past achievements to stop him from pursuing the Lord wholeheartedly.
The secret to Paul’s achievements in his walk with God can be found in :
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Paul was always ready to learn more. He never allowed what he had learnt previously to rob him of the things that God wanted to show and teach him. This must be your disposition if you want to walk closely with God and achieve great things in His kingdom. says that God’s mercies are new every morning. If you keep holding on to yesterday’s mercies, how will you be able to receive today’s portion? There is always more beyond what you have, and God can always give you more than what you have received from Him already. However, it is only as you humble yourself to receive from the Lord that you can get more from Him. One of the greatest enemies of growth is an ‘arrival’ mentality. The moment people think that they have ‘arrived’ (gotten to the peak of success), they stop growing immediately.
Beloved, ask God to help you cultivate a heart that is ever hungry for Him and that constantly seeks to achieve greater exploits in His Kingdom. He will supply you with His grace in abundance so that you will keep soaring in Him.