When I was a kid in the 1960’s, this time of year always brought with it anticipation… There was anticipation of outdoor BBQ’s, squirt guns, swimming pools, baseball, hot dogs, etc. Thinking back, the most indelible memory is that of the red & white striped box with caramel popcorn & peanuts with the promise on the outside of the box ”Prize Inside!” … okay, so later it was changed to “surprise inside” as the incentives got to be less and less over the years.
 | But maybe you remember those days of summer, sitting outside with lemonade, munching away on the contents of that box, eagerly anticipating the point at which you could get to that ‘treasure’ – usually it had been strategically planted in the BOTTOM of the box. And possibly, like me, you sometimes raced through eating the stuff just so you could get to that “prize.” And then, opening the little packet, after much anticipation, you suddenly realized that in your haste you hadn’t really enjoyed the popcorn and peanuts in the process. And that’s when it hits you that the “prize inside” wasn’t really worth all that you went through to get it! |
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Philippians, gives this bit of encouragement in chapter 3:
“13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
No matter what you’re going through at the moment, no matter what obstacles you face or what challenges are presented, you can be absolutely certain that the “prize” that awaits you at the end of it all is far greater than anything you can possibly imagine – Eternal Life in Paradise with Christ! The prize won for us, not by our own effort, but by the all-availing sacrifice of the Son of God and bought with His body and blood on the cross.
Consider, as you go through this next month, that you have freedom from the wages of sin, death, and the devil, because of what Christ has already done for you. And continue to press on… making disciples of Jesus along the way. The “Prize” waiting for you is definitely worth it!
Grace, Mercy, and Peace in Christ,
Pastor Jim Kirschenmann
No matter what you’re going through at the moment, no matter what obstacles you face or what challenges are presented, you can be absolutely certain that the “prize” that awaits you at the end of it all is far greater than anything you can possibly imagine – Eternal Life in Paradise with Christ! The prize won for us, not by our own effort, but by the all-availing sacrifice of the Son of God and bought with His body and blood on the cross.
Consider, as you go through this next month, that you have freedom from the wages of sin, death, and the devil, because of what Christ has already done for you. And continue to press on… making disciples of Jesus along the way. The “Prize” waiting for you is definitely worth it!
Grace, Mercy, and Peace in Christ,
Pastor Jim Kirschenmann
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