“Organizations that challenge the status quo win. Whatever the status quo is, changing it gives you the opportunity to be remarkable.” (Quote by Seth Godin)
Good morning! In this “Monday Short” Meditation, I want to share one point about standing and staying at status quo. Flashing back to one of the old hymns of the church, written by Russell Kelso Clark in 1886, I remember singing in the assembly of the saints, “Standing On the Promises of God.” The word standing might wrongly be understood to imply immobility, that is if we think of it in the normal meaning of what it means to stand. However, the lyrics point to praising eternally, depending on the living word even when the storms of life are upon us, overcoming daily, and listening to the Holy Spirit for leading, and resting in the Savior, not to be construed as being immovable, but rather being steadfast and always depending on Jesus’ words, standing on His promises throughout our continuous days on earth. Standing does not equate to stagnation or staying at status quo. We stand on the promises of God as we actively, enthusiastically endeavor to make progress from day to day on the Christian journey. Action, moving, pressing upward is required.
That’s the thought my flashback gave me. “Short” is about to be thrown out the window. Smile! Let’s go further. Let’s move from a flashback to a fact, a fact that was shared by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, “Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it was built on solid rock, and so it did not fall.” We can stand on God’s word, but just standing on the promise of salvation as it relates to being saved from the penalty of sin is not where we stop. For all us us who have come to Jesus by faith, once again, we don’t stop there. We must challenge our status quo daily and strive for better! Coming to Christ, that’s just the start of building a Christian life that pleases God, and it does not in any way suggest or imply immobility. As the pages of life continue to turn, regardless of what will be recorded on each page, detailing the events in our individual lives, we must actively do what is necessary to take the sunshine and the rain, endure heartache and pain, persevere through sickness and good health, as we depend continuously on the power of God to save us from the power of sin when we are tested, tempted, and tried. Action, moving, pressing upward, on an ongoing basis is required. Keep moving, keep walking, by faith, a faith revealed in action, my friend. There is no place for status quo. Challenge it vigorously to get victory after victory.
Our thinking, as shared with you this far, has included a flashback and a fact. Let’s conclude with a forwarded finding. You can read it below in the closing verses. These verses seem to be connected with the flashback and the fact I just shared. Listen! We cannot become frozen fixtures of faith in our places of worship at the beginning of the week. No sir! No ma’am! We must keep moving with out eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. That’s not from our closing verses, but it is from the word in The Book of Hebrews. Therefore, read the forwarded finding below and have a great start to the week this Monday morning. Keep moving upward! Keep pressing on! Be remarkable! Be blessed!
“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 past 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.”
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King