Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
FRIDAY, September 9
Philippians 3:1-16. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Apostle Paul had good reasons to boast of his accomplishments and complain about his misfortunes. He had many of both.
Paul’s imprisonment would end with his execution. He had every right to spend his last days recalling the things he had done for God before and after he met the risen Christ. He recalls his whole pedigree. He could have added, “Because of who I am and what I’ve done, I don’t deserve this.”
He could also have counted all the hardships he had endured as a witness to the gospel. There are passages in his writings where he does list the worst of these hardships, but he never concludes, “I’ve been through enough. I don’t deserve this.”
Instead, he spent his last days confident in God, busy in his work. Then, forgetting all that was past, he pressed on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
What a way to go!
What might it not mean for others, if all of us who are seeking after a country of our own, a better Country, that is, a heavenly Country, lived more like pilgrims here?
--Amy Carmichael
PRAY for the Diocese of Shyogwe (Rwanda)
Ps 40, 54 * 51; 1 Kings 18:20-40; Matthew 3:1-12
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