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The Apostle Paul is writing to one of his favourite churches about the beauty of life in Jesus.  Paul wants this church to join him in a passionate pursuit of Jesus and so he comments:
 
12 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. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14
 
We are experiencing a wonderful season with Jesus.  Over the last few months we have seen God move in miraculous and powerful ways bringing freedom, hope, and delight to our hearts.  God is giving us a new momentum and strength.  It is so exciting to be serving Him here in this time. 
 
As I consider Paul’s words, I am reminded of all the powerful things that God did through his life, of the wonderful changes that he was able to experience in his own walk with Jesus and in the lives of others.  But, after all of this he is saying that he still has not arrived.  There is still so much more.  He keeps straining towards more and more of Jesus because He knows that Jesus is just so good and he wants more and more.
 
We are in a similar place.  God has done great things, but we have not arrived.  There is still so much more of Jesus that I want to experience and that I want us to experience.  This passage challenges us to keep going, to not settle for where we are, but to keep straining forward – doing all that we possibly can to get closer to Jesus. 
 
What is the next step that you need to take to grow closer to Jesus?  What would it look like for you to strain – to give everything in a relentless pursuit of Christ?