Designations

 Philippians 3:10-12  

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal,

 but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

What I have discovered on any journey is that you need to have some sort of idea of where it is you want to go. Even when I don’t have a particular designation in mind I go with the idea of discovering something new and in so doing I am never disappointed.

It happens however that sometimes I don’t start a journey with the end in mind and I have wasted many days and many miles just going. What I need is a plan or a focus or call it what you want, to give guidance to my path.

I remember receiving a Schwinn Bicycle for Christmas one year from my parents, however because my father worked strange hours he was not around when we opened our presents. There it was just waiting for someone to put it together so I could enjoy the thrill of new adventures…but there was a problem, a big sign, “SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED”.  I knew what it should look like, I had dreamed of riding all over town, I could see myself with hair blowing in the wind, but I did not know how to assemble the required parts.

This is so true in Spiritual growth, sometimes we dream about being a follower of Jesus, we try and look like Jesus, but the only way to be LIKE Jesus is to follow the assembly instructions.

So here is focus pathway number one: Agree with me to read through all four Gospels between now and the first of September. This will require that you read only about three to four chapters every day. Look for insights for your life, something new that you can share and then let me know what that is.

Blessings,

Pastor Rip