Reaching Forward
In Philippians 3:13, Paul encouraged Christians to leave the past behind and reach forward to what is ahead in Christ. This book recommends the advantages of a forward-oriented faith: the gospel of Christ is about heaven!
Devotion During Difficulty (February 3)
On difficult days, we must make up our minds to maintain our faith and obedience, knowing that seasons of spiritual dryness and desolation are only …
January
- Alpha and Omega (January 1)
- What the Highest Hope Will Do (January 2)
- Elevating Our Aim, Enlarging Our Desires (January 3)
- The Next Step Is Always Our Most Important (January 4)
- Reaching Forward (January 5)
- Different . . . and Better (January 6)
- Is It God We Desire, or a Particular Path to Him? (January 7)
- Tenacious Joy (January 8)
- Time Wasted? (January 9)
- Making a Commitment to Closeness (January 10)
- A Key That Opens Many Doors (January 11)
- The Road That Leads to Life Is Not Effortless (January 12)
- What’s Ahead Is Worth Reaching For! (January 13)
- Stupidity (January 14)
- Do We Fear to Go Where God Is Not? (January 15)
- Choosing Our Basic Outlook (January 16)
- Where Self-Discipline Comes From (January 17)
- Why Don’t We Take God More Seriously? (January 18)
- The Importance of Goals to Grow Toward (January 19)
- It’s a Serious Sin to Discourage Others (January 20)
- Don’t Despise the Daily Grind! (January 21)
- The Way We Are (January 22)
- If We Don’t Forgive, We’re Paralyzed (January 23)
- The Danger of Looking Back (January 24)
- Change: Our Unwelcome Benefactor (January 25)
- Led by Light to His Dwelling (January 26)
- Child-Like Wonder (January 27)
- Gradual Growth (January 28)
- Both Active and Contemplative (January 29)
- Courageous Reason (January 30)
- Courageous Desire (January 31)
February
- Would We Refuse the Great Invitation? (February 6)
- Are We Willing to Be Weak? (February 7)
- Broken Wings (February 8)
- In This We Groan (February 9)
- Strength from Brokenness (February 10)
- A Heart Will Find Its Home (February 11)
- Praying for Light (February 12)
- God Is Not Neutral Toward Our Needs (February 13)
- The Highest Use of the Human Mind (February 14)
- Desiring the Process (February 15)
- No Other Entrance (February 16)
- Hard Times (February 17)
- Tempted to Switch Goals (February 18)
- No Delight (February 19)
- New Delight (February 20)
- He Can Rebuild a Ruined Heart (February 21)
- Glad When Truth Is Glad (February 22)
- Think Twice Before You Pray for Justice (February 23)
- Mammon Is Our Major Obstacle (February 24)
- Love Transforms Suffering (February 25)
- Love Lets Us Be Free (February 26)
- Wilderness (February 27)
- Seeing Our Hurts as Homesickness (February 28)
- Fighting the Good Fight (February 29)
- Love and . . . Happiness? (February 1)
- On Being a ‘Cheerful Giver’ (February 2)
- Devotion During Difficulty (February 3)
March
- The Pursuit of God . . . or Mere Polemics? (March 1)
- Journey’s End (March 2)
- The Freedom of a Right Focus (March 3)
- Seeking God with Gratitude (March 4)
- The Troubles of a Temporary Home (March 5)
- No Time for Negligence (March 6)
- Established Hearts (March 7)
- Days Well Spent (March 8)
- Hints of Glory (March 9)
- God’s Works: Seen and Unseen (March 10)
- Insatiable (March 11)
- We Need More Than Better Moods (March 12)
- Bearing What We Need to Hear (March 13)
- Your Wreckage Can Be Repaired! (March 14)
- No Need to Know the Territory (March 15)
- Desperate Days (March 16)
- Deep Joy (March 17)
- In a Broken World, We Yearn for Unity (March 18)
- What’s Our Problem? (March 19)
- Seeking the Light of God (March 20)
- A Love Worth Dying For (March 21)
- Poverty and Wealth (March 22)
- Sins of Ignorance, Sins of Weakness (March 23)
- Benefit of the Doubt (March 24)
- The Right Kind of Fear Begets Courage (March 25)
- Don’t Mistake the Means for the End (March 26)
- The Dangers of Having Been Here Longer (March 27)
- On Loving Our Enemies (March 28)
- Respect for the Name of God (March 29)
- Not Content with True Contentment? (March 30)
- God, the Perfectly Faithful (March 31)
April
- Determined Not to Miss Out (April 1)
- Invincible Faith (April 2)
- Calm Enough to Consider (April 3)
- Humble Enough to Worship (April 4)
- Preschool (April 5)
- Grateful for the Work God Gives Us (April 6)
- Sick or Sinful? (April 7)
- Being ‘Human’ Requires No Apology (April 8)
- Putting Pain Into Perspective (April 9)
- Everything Burns Away but the Beauty (April 10)
- When Our Questions Are Not Answered (April 11)
- Bereft (April 12)
- Joyful Longing (April 13)
- The Positive Choice Is Possible! (April 14)
- No Comfortable Cross (April 15)
- Checkmate (April 16)
- Being Lost Takes Persistence Too (April 17)
- Consequences Can’t Be Avoided Forever (April 18)
- Does Your Life Look Desperate? (April 19)
- On Being Glad That God Is Good (April 20)
- When Meaning Makes a Thing Important (April 21)
- Something More Than Ourselves (April 22)
- Professed Beliefs vs. Practical Beliefs (April 23)
- In the Midst of It All (April 24)
- Patience While We Make Progress (April 25)
- God Sees Behind Our Personalities (April 26)
- The Set of Our Sails (April 27)
- Seeking, Searching, Striving (April 28)
- Reaching for the Wrong Things (April 29)
- But What If . . . (April 30)
May
- Aimless Conduct (May 1)
- Nostalgia: Handle with Care (May 2)
- The Tree of Life (May 3)
- Reach for Holiness Before Happiness (May 4)
- Do It Because You Don’t Want To (May 5)
- That Would Be Progress (May 6)
- On Laziness and Leaky Houses (May 7)
- Just a Few More Days (May 8)
- Metamorphosis (May 9)
- Hearts That Don’t Turn Back (May 10)
- The Race Is Not to the Swift (May 11)
- Will Our Desires Be Fulfilled or Frustrated? (May 12)
- Do Our Actions Show Appreciation? (May 13)
- Only Truth Shows the Way to God (May 14)
- Harvest of Joy (May 15)
- Seeking for . . Recognition? (May 16)
- Inevitable Return (May 17)
- When We’re Moved by Love (May 18)
- In Our Hearts, Do We Turn Back to Egypt? (May 19)
- Let Us Run the Race (May 20)
- The Longsuffering of the Lord Is Salvation (May 21)
- Far Above Us (May 22)
- Full Mouths, Empty Souls (May 23)
- Needful to Know (May 24)
- We’re Hindered If We Try to See Ahead (May 25)
- The Most Futile Fight in the World (May 26)
- Anticipating the End (May 27)
- Forgetting What God Has Done (May 28)
- What Hunger Helps Us to See (May 29)
- Learning to Long for God (May 30)
- When Hope Makes Us Strong (May 31)
June
- Ease vs. Effort (June 1)
- If We Pay Attention, We’re Enticed (June 2)
- Too Much Tranquility (June 3)
- We Learn More from Losing Things (June 4)
- Confidence in Grace (June 5)
- The Wrath to Come (June 6)
- If Not Hope, Then Defiance (June 7)
- Letting Ourselves Be Reminded (June 8)
- Flexibility in Reaching the Goal (June 9)
- Whatever Draws Us Closer to God (June 10)
- Whatever Causes God’s People to Give Thanks (June 11)
- Earthly Satisfactions Can Be Misleading (June 12)
- Man Proposes, But God Disposes (June 13)
- Pursuing the Knowledge of God (June 14)
- Would You Go Back? (June 15)
- On Having Hope (June 16)
- On Giving Hope (June 17)
- Submission, Sacrifice, and Strong Joy (June 18)
- There Is No Love Without Sorrow (June 21)
- Finding Our Joy in That Which Is Right (June 22)
- All the Sweeter (June 23)
- We All Live in the Same World (June 24)
- How Much Does Heaven Mean to Us? (June 25)
- Each His Own Burden, His Own Grief (June 26)
- Waiting on the Lord (June 27)
- Does Heaven ‘Frustrate’ You? (June 28)
- Movement Is the Main Thing (June 29)
- The Most Dangerous Place Is In Between (June 30)
July
- Focusing on the Finish (July 1)
- Would You Pray for More Years to Live? (July 2)
- Window of Opportunity (July 3)
- Glad to be Unsatisfied (July 4)
- Eternity (July 5)
- Evergreen (July 6)
- The Challenge of Abundance (July 7)
- You’ll Have to Let Go (July 8)
- We Don’t Change Until We Have To (July 9)
- A Wrong Kind of Determination (July 10)
- Under the Tree (July 11)
- The Worst Time to Decide (July 12)
- Turning From, Turning To (July 13)
- Disqualifying Ourselves by Default (July 14)
- We Promised We’d Reach Forward (July 15)
- Here Be Dragons (July 16)
- Expect the Unexpected (July 17)
- The Next Step Can Always Be Taken (July 18)
- Why a Good Name Matters So Much (July 19)
- The Day of Our Death Is Coming (July 20)
- The Wealth of God’s Wisdom (July 21)
- On Being Battle-Ready (July 22)
- Jeremiah (July 23)
- Independent Faith (July 24)
- Much More Than Mere Safety (July 25)
- No Day Ever Comes Back (July 26)
- As the Days Go By (July 27)
- Faith, Hope, and Patience (July 28)
- The Indispensable Fact (July 29)
- The Very Worst Kind of Weariness (July 30)
- Taking Time to Think (July 31)
August
- Don’t Be Impeded by the Impossible (August 1)
- On Happiness: Big and Little (August 2)
- Which Shall We Choose? (August 3)
- Slowly But Surely (August 4)
- God Writes the Story (August 5)
- Resting in God’s Sovereignty (August 6)
- Fully Embracing God’s Will (August 7)
- The Encourager Is Encouraged (August 8)
- Anticipation (August 9)
- Are We Happy? Yes, But Are We Helpful? (August 10)
- When Willingness Becomes Work (August 11)
- No Little Jobs, Only Little People (August 12)
- The Pain Is a Part of the Happiness (August 13)
- Alone with God (August 14)
- Above and Beyond (August 15)
- Learning to Trust the God We Believe In (August 16)
- When We Think All Is Lost (August 17)
- Truth for the Time to Come (August 18)
- Yesterday and Today (August 19)
- Today and Tomorrow (August 20)
- Thoughts on Being ‘Next’ (August 21)
- Real Life Is Waiting (August 22)
- Enjoyment and Relinquishment (August 23)
- Is There Not a Greater Victory to Be Won? (August 24)
- Earthly Advantages Will Disappear (August 25)
- Only One Thing About You Will Last (August 26)
- Opportunity and Opposition (August 27)
- What Would Be On Your Reading List? (August 28)
- Ready and Waiting (August 29)
- Awake! (August 30)
- Perfection? (August 31)
September
- What the Tempest Can Teach Us (September 1)
- God Will Help, But . . . (September 2)
- Lost (September 3)
- Better Off Not Knowing (September 4)
- When Moonlight Falls Across the Floor (September 5)
- Responding Rightly to the Past (September 6)
- After the Drama: An Interview (September 7)
- The Blessed Are Those Who Endure (September 8)
- Bearing Burdens for a Long Time (September 9)
- Paul, the Aged (September 10)
- A Better Country (September 11)
- A Foretaste of Hell (September 12)
- Let Us Go On (September 13)
- Rather Be Absent from the Body? (September 14)
- Promises Made in Distress (September 15)
- Faith and Hope (September 16)
- Hope and Perseverance (September 17)
- Our Present Understanding Is Limited (September 18)
- Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters (September 19)
- God, the Eternal ‘I AM’ (September 20)
- Don’t Miss This Moment’s Grace (September 21)
- Pleasure, the Least of the Enjoyments (September 22)
- Stillness and Joy (September 23)
- The Greatest Joy (September 24)
- Are the Faithful Never in Darkness? (September 25)
- Happiness Is Nice But Unnecessary (September 26)
- A Higher Definition of Happiness (September 27)
- Suffering, Jesus Cried Loudly (September 28)
- Zacchaeus (September 29)
- What Can You See? (September 30)
October
- Do We Expect God’s Help Too Soon? (October 1)
- Giving the Greater Thanks (October 2)
- Christian Pessimism (October 3)
- Between Promise and Performance: A Gap? (October 4)
- Fighting the Undertow (October 5)
- Why Do We Dread Our Greatest Day? (October 6)
- When to Celebrate (October 7)
- Questions, Questions, Questions (October 8)
- You Hoped for It, But It Didn’t Happen (October 9)
- The Result of Refusing God (October 10)
- Imagine a Final, Ultimate Loss of Hope (October 11)
- The Kingdom of Self (October 12)
- Too Late to Obey (October 13)
- Forward! (October 14)
- What Our Creator Has in Mind (October 15)
- The Idea of ‘Spending’ (October 16)
- Disappointment Need Not Defeat Us (October 17)
- God Knows We Need Some Storms (October 18)
- What Did You Expect? (October 19)
- To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain (October 20)
- What Is the Biggest Problem You Have? (October 21)
- The Dead of the Night (October 22)
- Endure Hardship (October 23)
- Sheer Determination (October 24)
- Faith and Love Give Hope (October 25)
- After We Have Suffered a While (October 26)
- Count It All Joy (October 27)
- Difficulty Increases the Satisfaction (October 28)
- Love Suffers Long (October 29)
- What Will Happen? (October 30)
- Our Part Is to Try . . . and to Trust (October 31)
November
- Not Only a Possibility But a Reality (November 1)
- When Our Love for Christ Grows Weak (November 2)
- When the Dream Comes True (November 3)
- We Can’t Grow If We Can’t Let Go (November 4)
- What Is That to You? (November 5)
- Godly Joy (November 6)
- In the Heart of God, We Are Individuals (November 7)
- It Does Good to Do Good (November 8)
- Taking Pleasure in the Happiness of Others (November 9)
- Learning to Be Glad When God Is Glad (November 10)
- Order Out of Chaos (November 11)
- Disappointed? (November 12)
- Humility About Tomorrow (November 13)
- Future Plans (November 14)
- The Way Is Not Easy (November 15)
- When Strength Is a Disadvantage (November 16)
- When You’ve Gotten It, Can You Enjoy It? (November 17)
- Hunger Is the Best Sauce (November 18)
- Where God’s Glory Dwells (November 19)
- Faces Turned to God Grow Brighter (November 20)
- All That We Long for Is Known to God (November 21)
- What Is Our Hope? Who Is Our Hope? (November 22)
- A Greater Good Than Life (November 23)
- Unto the Hills! (November 24)
- The Watchman Waits for the Morning (November 25)
- Seeking and Losing (November 26)
- All Is Vanity (November 27)
- Will What You’re ‘Reaching For’ Last? (November 28)
- With Every Decision, You Pick Your Pain (November 29)
- Increasing in Strength (November 30)
December
- Jesus, the Exemplar (December 1)
- The Crown of Righteousness (December 2)
- We Long for What We Need (December 3)
- Contradictory Concepts? (December 4)
- Beyond Our Ability (December 5)
- 110% (December 6)
- Every Tongue Shall Confess (December 7)
- Each One Shall Give Account (December 8)
- Toil and Tears: Now Is the Time (December 9)
- What a Servant Wants Above All (December 10)
- Birth Pangs (December 11)
- The Dawn Is Breaking (December 12)
- Reaching Forward Requires Letting Go (December 13)
- Joy Is Worth the Sorrow of Loss (December 14)
- Giving the Lord That Which Costs Us (December 15)
- The Highest Desire of Love (December 16)
- Where Is the Promise of His Coming? (December 17)
- The End of the Earth and the Heavens (December 18)
- Hastening the Coming (December 19)
- Not Only New But Different (December 20)
- Don’t Devalue What You Purchased (December 21)
- The Work of Just One Link (December 22)
- Eternity in Our Hearts (December 23)
- All in Good Time (December 24)
- The Beauty of the Lord (December 25)
- What Did Christ Want with Me? (December 26)
- Ready (December 27)
- The Best Is Yet to Be (December 28)
- The World That Once Was . . . and Will Be (December 29)
- Tears (December 30)
- Something More (December 31)