But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

Philipians 3:7-11

Whatever the obstacles, let’s keep pressing on in the upward call of God, trusting in Him and not ourselves. At life’s end, may it be said of us, "When last seen, they were heating toward the summit!"

Our Daily Bread – Thursday, September 13, 2001