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Onward and upward in the new decade From Paul’s letter to the Philippians Chapter 3 verses 12 through 15 reads as follows in the New King James version of the Bible: 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. A lot of people are facing the future holding on to regrets and disappointments while also feeling that they are unable to let go and march forward and onward to something new, life affirming and positive. But these verses are saying to forget and press forward, keeping the eye of the prize which is there right away because the upward path mentioned here will be good all the way through. You don’t have to stay stuck an example might be a job, under which you might be passing the days under the real or the threat of dark clouds. The Lord will provide and upward slope, a path away from those dark clouds into his awesome brightness which does exist, he does have it for you and that path will come forth the speed of angels. When the Lord is saying you can forget the past he is talking about that and that there will be the provisions of upward and onward in some fashion of His doing. The ways of the Lord are always upward and this is why you can press to them. I can press on prayer and meditation, I can press onward and upward on fellowship in a Spirit filled church, I can press upward and onward in my personal ministry, I can press upward and onward in the goodness of the Lord for me as he reveals it and has already revealed it. I can press on good Christian fellowship and outreach to the needy. I can press on loving the Lord will all my heart, mind and soul. This I do know. These verses are very powerful in the press mark is always onward and upward and there are mystical proportions to this, things will be upward spiritually, socially, financially, health wise, hope wise, thought wise and in every possible area you can think of as you press into the word of the Lord and his ways for you. You will not find yourself on the opposite side of the equation as you press into matters of the Lord, it will be upwards and onward. This is only logical that the pathway to eternal glory would be upward. The is a second major aspect to understand in relation to these verses in that there is enough that we know to press forward on despite the haze and real limitations we might be facing in the moment in terms of our spiritual growth and understanding. The bible says clearly to seek the Lord in prayer, with fasting and pondering or meditating upon Him and his words, The invitation is clear and we can press forward full throttle on this without having an always greater understanding on things that can be cleared up by the Lord as we go along. This is also good psychology for anything you are dealing with, that does have known elements that are obvious and you can press on what is obvious and proceed with less aplomb on what is not so obvious. But it is obvious that we can bring full determination and full approach to many of the things we do know from the word such as direct consultation with the Lord through the means of prayer, and thanksgiving and the giving also of intercessions as the Bible as clearly brings that to the forefront. If you want to run a marathon or a good race, it is clear you can go ahead and run, or practice running for longer amounts of time and longer distances and maybe greater speeds. How the details on that will fill in exactly aren’t quite clear necessarily and you can hire a coach to help you with the details and clear them up but you do know you have to get going and run, you don’t just show up for a marathon without doing the proper leg work beforehand. There will be an upward path; you will be running better and more easily as you train further for the marathon. When someone starts to read a novel of a favorite author or topic, they don’t know clearly where the plot will lead but they know it will be good and exciting and they can press forward on reading and enjoying the book, which will be a good ride all the way through and present an upward slope to the exciting finish of the story. As the new decade begins, these heartfelt and heartening verses give hope and ways to proceed, as we can in the presence of the Lord trust in the upward path that is from his provisions for us, that we can forget what is behind, reach for the upward path which will not lead us over a cliff but to eventual glory and riches in heaven but also the presence of the heavenly realms with us now in the earthly realms, and as He said, I will never leave you or forsake you, and the journey will be as we press forward, upward and onward into glory.
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