Name Tags: You Are… Works In Progress
God, Who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished, on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)
As a young Child, Jesus grew in wisdom. As a Preacher, He became perfected and learned obedience through suffering.* Yes, Jesus the Man was sinlessly clean, but He was also a work in progress.
What does that mean to you and me today? Most certainly, we’re works in progress, too.
We mustn't brag on our accomplishments: 'We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty' (Luke 17:10). Paul, with a distinguished education, a Pharisee and Roman citizen, a rising, multi-lingual Jewish star… counted his achievements as rubbish.**
But on the other hand (the damning one), let's not condemn ourselves and get depressed!
'Do not fret--it only causes harm' (Psalm 37:8). God forgives and restores all contrite hearts.
Actors, models, and talent for Christ:
This nametag is undoubtedly honest! No sensible person can deny it.
When you put it on, unashamedly,
When you confess it, unabashedly…
What you say next… will be heard more closely.
The far-reaching effect of this nametag? As God says, the haughty will be humbled, and humble Christians will be exalted.
Name Tags: You Are… Works In Progress (Part 97)
* 'For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings' (Hebrews 2:10, NKJV).
* 'Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered' (Hebrews 5:8, NKJV).
* Short article: What is the meaning of perfection in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org
** 'I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ' (Philippians 3:8-9, NASB).
NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players.’ Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.