But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14 ESV). Like an olympic runner stretching for the finish line, the apostle Paul strained forward toward the goal of

“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare (Philippians 2:19-20 ESV). Paul wrote this epistle to the believers in Philippi while imprisoned in Rome (See

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lords

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21 ESV). Writing while imprisoned in Rome, the apostle Paul expressed his readiness to die and be with Christ, while also recognizing the need to remain for the sake of sharing the gospel. In chains or not, living or dying, the apostle

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord (Isaiah 55:6-7 ESV). Isaiah urged his people to seek and call on the Lord with a sense of urgency. For there would

For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard (Isaiah 52:12 ESV). Isaiah had prophesied that Judah would one day be taken captive by Babylon, but now he speaks of a time

“I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God (Isaiah 49:4 ESV). Isaiah penned this as the Israels response to His appointment as Gods Messiah. For it would find its fulfillment some 700 years later in

For building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13 ESV). In the apostle Pauls letter to the Ephesians, he described the church

“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed (Isaiah 45:1 ESV). Nearly 200 years before his birth, Isaiah prophesied the coming of one named Cyrus

Set forth your case, says the Lord; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them (Isaiah 41:21-22 ESV). The idolatry of today is not unlike that of Isaiahs day. Explanations of