"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the p
ast and looking forward
to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive
the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you
disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we
must hold on to the progress we have already made." Philippians 3:12-16
NLT
Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
One of the challenges in our walk with Christ and in our recovery is not get to a point where we are too comfortable and stop growing. Some of us hear that we will never be perfect so we no longer see the need to progress. A favorite saying in recovery is, "It's my process." The phrase is often used to justify why we still haven't grown in a particular area or why we are still acting out on a particular behavior. The problem is the definition of process requires progression. If we aren't getting better then its not a process. We're just stuck. Step 7 talks about removing our shortcomings, those things that cause us pain and keep us bound up, so that we can develop more of God's character.
In the scriptural text, the Apostle Paul tells us while we will never reach perfection in Christ, it is our responsibility to continue to get better, to continue to grow spiritually. Verse 14 in the King James Version reads, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." This means that regardless of the situation or our circumstances or how far we've come the race isn't over yet. There is still more work on ourselves to do. Lets embrace the work. Lets finish the race. Lets get better a day at a time. Lets let our character continue to be more like God's. Let's keep pressing.
Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
One of the challenges in our walk with Christ and in our recovery is not get to a point where we are too comfortable and stop growing. Some of us hear that we will never be perfect so we no longer see the need to progress. A favorite saying in recovery is, "It's my process." The phrase is often used to justify why we still haven't grown in a particular area or why we are still acting out on a particular behavior. The problem is the definition of process requires progression. If we aren't getting better then its not a process. We're just stuck. Step 7 talks about removing our shortcomings, those things that cause us pain and keep us bound up, so that we can develop more of God's character.
In the scriptural text, the Apostle Paul tells us while we will never reach perfection in Christ, it is our responsibility to continue to get better, to continue to grow spiritually. Verse 14 in the King James Version reads, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." This means that regardless of the situation or our circumstances or how far we've come the race isn't over yet. There is still more work on ourselves to do. Lets embrace the work. Lets finish the race. Lets get better a day at a time. Lets let our character continue to be more like God's. Let's keep pressing.
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