“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” –Ephesians 3:14
For those who are in college or have been in college at some point, do you remember what professors usually do on the first day of class? They usually introduce the class and explain what the major requirements are, and then they hand out the syllabus (a planned course of action for the entire semester.) When going on vacation or planning a wedding, we often do the same; we print out directions and make plans and usually write them down. The same mentality needs to be applied to our lives even more diligently.
How can we get where God wants us to go if we never stop to get clear directions or map out an action plan? Without goals or direction, there is no way to keep our lives on course. We will end up jumping from one experience to the other with no consistency or coherence. This is not the way God works. He has a plan for our lives (Jer. 29:11), and his plans usually require some degree of growth and commitment on our parts.
In the Christian WALK, as the name implies, we ought to be moving forward. If you don’t feel like you have been moving forward, then you have been slipping backwards, there is usually no such thing as stagnation. God longs for us to, like Paul, continually move forward and press on towards the goal. If we read through the Old Testament, we will see the children on Israel were given goals (the 10 commandments) and they had clear and written directions on how to adhere to these goals; i.e. read through Lamentations.
I want to encourage you brethren to set clear and measurable goals for your life, for your Churches, and whatever other ministries you may be involved with. When we do this, we will have a clearer guide that shows us where we want to go and it gives us accountability. If God’s goal for us is to be more like Christ, then we ought to get to know more about him in order to do this. The way to do this is to become more intentional about finding out more about him through his words and the biography of his life in the Bible….make out a Bible reading plan, set aside time for prayer and meditation, etc. When we write out clear goals for our lives, it helps us feel a stronger sense of commitment. Why don’t you try it today? What is it that you want to accomplish in life? Make plain how you plan on getting there and stick to your plan, but don’t forget not to be so rigid that you don’t allow the Spirit to move.
Stay blessed and spread the word.
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YOUR PLAN FOR ACTION