A Charge to PRESS

​Recently I spoke at the retirement ceremony of my good friend Chaplain Bruce Sidebotham.  Rather than focus on what he did in the military the Lord led me to address his future with a charge.  A charge is an exhortation to action to fulfill an intended outcome.  As an example, Paul exhorted Timothy, “I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism” (1 Timothy 5:21).  My charge to Bruce was a message to all of us attending his celebratory event based on the acrostic PRESS.  ​

Pursue God to reap reward!  What are you pursuing? Paul proclaimed in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)  Some great verses on pursuing can be found in Psalm 34:14 and 119:32; Proverbs 15:9 and 21:21; Romans 14:19 and Hebrews 12:14. To effectively pursue God requires a healthy ambition and obedience to His will.

Run the race to the end. Paul wrote the Corinthians to “Run in such a way to win the prize” (1 Co. 9:24b). Isaiah 40:31 and Pro. 18:10 are two more passages about running.  We are to do our best.  To run the race of life well requires desire and discipline.  

Endure trials and suffering. Thomas Carlyle taught, “Endurance is patience concentrated.”  Life is about endurance.  We rarely know what is going to happen as we run the race of life so we must look past pain to the Savior.  This requires persistent effort.  Challenges may seem overwhelming.  We may feel the blast of Satan’s breath.  Keep on moving!  Take to heart Matthew 10:22, 2 Timothy 2:12, Heb. 12:1,2 and James 1:2.  To endure requires patience and faith.  

Sustain yourself in God’s strength.  How long has it been since you set aside your busy schedule to spend time with the Lord and to be refreshed by the Holy Spirit? Oswald Chambers wrote in God’s Workmanship, “Resting in the Lord does not depend upon external circumstances but on the relationship of the life of God in me to God Himself.” Wayne Muller noted in Sabbath, “Rest is an essential enzyme of life, as necessary as air . . . All life requires a rhythm of rest.”  Some great verses on sustaining can be found in Psa. 3:5, 54:4, 55:22 and 119:17.  In order to sustain we need balance and discernment.

Seek God first. This is a matter of making Him our first priority.  What you seek determines your destiny and your legacy. Psalm 9:10, 14:2, 34:10, 105:4 and 119:2; Mat. 6:33; John 7:18 and Heb. 13:14 give us great insight on seeking.  To seek God first requires devotion and vision.   
May God give us all the courage and strength to PRESS! 
 
Inspiration
I will persist until I succeed.  Always will I take another step.  If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.—Og Mandino

©2019 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)