“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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”–Phil. 3:13-14

Kenneth Langley said, “Film maker Walt Disney was ruthless in cutting anything that got in the way of a story’s pacing. Ward Kimball, one of the animators for Snow White, recalls working 240 days on a 4 1/2 minute sequence in which the dwarfs made soup for Snow White and almost destroyed the kitchen in the process. Disney thought it was funny, but he decided the scene stopped the flow of the picture, so out it went. When the film of our lives is shown, will it be as great as it might be? A lot will depend on the multitude of “good” things we need to eliminate to make way for the great things God wants to do through us.”

That reminds me of something my mother repeated over and over as I was growing up– “Good, better, best. Never let them rest, till you good is your better and your better is your best”. That’s good advice. The greatest enemy of the best isn’t the worst, but the good. Many people who have enough sense to know better than to choose the bad, but not enough wisdom to know that when the good crowds out the best it is bad. Even sinless things can become sinful. Remember the old saying, “A jack of all trades and a master of none”? I fear that’s the mistake a lot of folks make. Successful people avoid that mistake.

Luciano Pavarotti said, “When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song,He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, ‘Shall I be a teacher or a singer?’  “‘Luciano,’ my father replied, ‘if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.’ I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book–whatever we choose–we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.”

Paul likewise chose “one chair”– “For to me to live is Christ..”(Phil. 1:21). As we think about this we need to remember that God’s will for us is the greatest thing that can happen through us!. It might not be deemed great in the sight of others, it might not win us any awards, or even a pat on the back, but it is great if it is of God’s choosing. Like the old song says, “Little is much if God is in it”. He who does the will of God, whatever it is, will hit the “mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus“. Don’t waste your time doing anything else! Keep your eyes on the prize!

It is common to see Christians get out of balance. Some seem to have forgotten that we are to be both students and servants. We are to learn and then live it out– put it in “shoe-leather” as we often say. All the learning in the world is of no benefit if we don’t put it to use. Learning is for the living. It should enable us to become what we ought to be so we can do what we ought to do. And what we do should always be according to the will of God.

I recently read, “Angry cynical people die young. Men who score high for hostility on standard tests are four times more likely to die prematurely than men whose scores are low.” If that’s true, and I suspect it is, we would be wise listen to what Coach Joe Gibbs wrote about anger management. He said….

“Whether at work or at home or in some other setting, you know what it’s like when someone gets mad, gets their feelings hurt, and accuses you of something you didn’t do. Instead of coming to find out what really happened or to talk it out calmly, they start right in with the accusations.

First reaction is what? “If they’ve got the nerve to come in here blaming me for things they don’t even know about, they’d better have the guts to hear what I think of it . . . and of them.”

Same thing happened to an Old Testament hero named Gideon, who famously took 300 men on a nighttime raid of a huge enemy encampment, armed with nothing more than trumpets, torches, and a bunch of empty jars. When God gave this tiny band an unlikely victory, some of the other fighting men of Israel swooped over to get into the action. But they were steamed that Gideon hadn’t seen them fit to be part of the initial attack. “They criticized him sharply,” the Bible says at the beginning of Judges 8. Still, instead of getting into a shouting match, he calmly told them he wasn’t half the fighting man they were. Cooler heads carried the day. “At this, their resentment against him subsided.”

Remember this:  “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1). Next time someone wants to start something, let your low-key response put an end to it.” Think about it—you might live longer!

Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven– Matthew 18:21-22

If we are honest with ourselves, Peter’s question is one we all would have wanted to ask. Exactly how many times is it necessary to forgive the same person? To Peter, and to our natural reasoning, seven times seems fairly generous.

But Jesus counters with a grudge-shattering, jaw-dropping figure that is in itself clearly intended to end all our attempts to mark and number each other’s offenses. Turn the pencil around and erase all the wrongs you have carefully been taking note of. Complete and immediate forgiveness, Jesus says, is still in order.

Sometimes it is not so much the number of wounds as the magnitude of one great injury that makes it difficult to forgive. A spouse that was unfaithful, a rumor that was started, or a gaping need that went unnoticed. As C.S. Lewis observes, in such cases it is necessary to forgive, not just 490 times for 490 offenses, but 490 times for one great and terrible injustice — every time the sting of it is felt again in your heart.

As He does in every place the issue arises, Jesus puts to death any hope of a righteous grudge. If, as Jesus reminds Peter in the parable immediately following this admonition, God has forgiven us so much, how can we refuse to forgive those who insult or injure us?–Baptist Bible Hour

Peter asked, “ Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.“ Then Jesus answered…” Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.” John 13:37-38

These verses show us how much self-ignorance there may be in the heart of a true believer. We see Peter declaring that he was ready to lay down his life for his Master. We see his Master telling Peter that he would deny Him three times. And we all know how the matter ended. The Master was right–and Peter was wrong.

Let it be a settled principle in our religion, that there is an amount of weakness in all our hearts of which we have no adequate conception, and that we never know how far we might fall if we were tempted. We imagine sometimes, like Peter, that there are some wicked things which we could not possibly do. We look pitifully upon others who fall, and please ourselves in the thought that we would not have done so.

We know nothing at all. The seeds of every sin are latent in our hearts, even when renewed, and they only need occasion, or carelessness and the withdrawal of God’s grace for a season–to put forth an abundant crop. Like Peter, we may think we can do wonders for Christ–and like Peter, we may learn by bitter experience that we have no power and strength at all.

The servant of Christ will do wisely to remember these things. “Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12.) A humble sense of our own innate weakness, a constant dependence on the Strong for strength, a daily prayer to be preserved, because we cannot preserve ourselves–these are the true secrets of safety!

Let us watch jealously over our hearts, and beware of giving way to the beginnings of sin. Happy is he who fears always, and walks humbly with his God. The strongest Christian is the one who feels his weakness most, and cries most frequently, “Hold me up–and I shall be safe!” (Psalm 119:117.)—J. C. Ryle