"Sight on the Prize!"

 "Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 6:9 KJV)

  "I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:23-27 NLT)

 It might be harder than you think, trying to not fulfill the desires of the flesh; especially is those things that you desire are the things you truly like to enjoy! I'm not saying that they are bad, because I really don't believe that they are. But when you feel that the Lord is telling you to stop, for whatever reason, then it is bad for you to continue, as if it is your right to do so. 

 Okay, I want to be perfectly clear: if we are not faithful in the little things, that might not seem to matter, then the Lord may not give us the bigger and better things, which would end up blessing our lives. Always do everything as if He is right there with you; because He is always, right there with you! We fail to remember that sometimes, as if He leaves us unattended. 

 I have so much I want to say, but it is hard for me to put much of it into words. The most important thing I believe we need to do, is to keep our eyes on the prize; and when I say our eyes, it doesn't mean our sight! We know what we must do, because the Lord has spoken, most likely more than once; He has given us a vision of what we must be and where it is that He wants us.

 If you don't know what I mean, and He hasn't shown you yet what to do, then you need to ask Him: 'Lord, what would you have me do?' He is always ready to tell us what we could be and how He can use us; we just need to be willing to receive it and do what He tells us to do.

 The main point of my message this coming Sunday will be the entirety of Isaiah 55; meaning that it is all thirteen verses together that will bring about the outcome of verses 12 & 13. We must believe and fully understand that God is always in control! Even when we are off course and might lose our way, He is always correcting us, moving us, and shaping us, into that which we will become. 

 I know it might not seem as though He is working, but He never stops working! Even when you might be lost, you are never outside of His reach; and He will, most assuredly, get you safely to the other side...

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them." (Romans 15:13-14 NLT)