My Determined Purpose

With the world the way it is today, with things getting darker and darker and going from bad to worse, it seems to me the only way to live these days is as a completely sold-out Christian—not as a fence-sitter trying to blend in, but as someone who says, "I want to walk with God and live a real Christian life."

Paul said that his determined purpose in life was to know Christ (see Philippians 3:10-14). What is your determined purpose in life? When you get up in the morning, what do you live for? What are your goals? What are your priorities?

If you don’t have a goal, you’re in serious trouble because, as it has been said, if you aim at nothing, you’re bound to hit it. Can you say with Paul, "My determined purpose in life is to know Him"? I hope so.

Think of the way that God used Paul. He had led countless people to faith, established churches out on the frontiers of his world, and wrote letters that we regard today as the very inspired Word of God. Yet Paul realized he had so much to learn and so far to go.

It’s hard for us to think that someone like Paul would face the struggles and temptations we all face. But indeed he did. How much more should we be saying that we need to change radically in this coming year? We need to become more like Christ in this coming year—and don’t let anyone pull the wool over your eyes . . . all of us have a long, long way to go.