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!
Humble Enough to Worship (April 4)
The spirit of worship is selfless wonder at God’s majesty — the smallness of ourselves in His presence. And for sinful beings, it involves repentance. …
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
- Love and . . . Happiness? (February 1)
- On Being a ‘Cheerful Giver’ (February 2)
- Devotion During Difficulty (February 3)
- Peace and Truth (February 4)
- What Do We Hope to Gain? (February 5)
- 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)
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
- 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)
- Determined Not to Miss Out (April 1)
- Invincible Faith (April 2)
- Calm Enough to Consider (April 3)
- Humble Enough to Worship (April 4)
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)