Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14, NIV

Thomas Edison was a remarkable man. During his lifetime he produced all sorts of inventions from the phonograph to the movie camera and had applied for and received over 1,000 patents. His most famous invention by far was the long lasting light bulb. He estimated that he tried 10,000 different ideas for a long lasting filament, the secret to the bulb's long life. Finally, he found one that not only worked, but which could be readily and economically sourced. It is no exaggeration to say that his invention changed the world. Since this is true, here is a question that is worth pondering: What if he had given up after 9,999 attempts? What if Thomas Edison had simply quit?

You are now on the 10th day of the 30-day challenge to read through the New Testament. Since the first 12 days consist of four similar accounts of the life of Christ, you may be tempted to just start "skimming" a bit through your readings. You might decide to completely skip over certain familiar passages, and you might even be tempted to give up. This is when we need to remember why we are reading: To find out how God wants us to live so that we might serve Him in the right way and so, someday, serve He and Christ forever in Heaven. It is the greatest offer ever made and our very souls depend on finding out everything we can about this service that He requires.

Imagine if you had a child or grandchild that was deathly ill and you had in your possession the information for how to cure that child. Would you be eager to read that information? Would you be diligent in that reading to make absolutely sure that you were implementing the cure in the right way, even if the information was in some ways repetitive? I think that we would all agree that the more information we could get on that cure, the better we would feel about it. Repetition in an area of such critical importance would be a blessing, not a curse, and we would be grateful for every word of instruction. After all, our precious child's life was at stake. We would do our best to absorb all of the information that we could concerning that cure, and then we would as carefully and precisely as possible, implement that cure. 

Remember as you read that the Bible is a great gift from our loving Father. He wants us to be with Him forever and has therefore given us the exact information we need to ensure that this happens. There is no unnecessary repetition within Scripture - every word is carefully thought out in the perfect mind of God. God has given us just what we need to give us the very best chance to receive the gift of eternal life. Do not grow weary, and do not be tempted take short cuts or to give up.

For, if you succeed, it means Heaven! By God's grace we will succeed, if we do not give up.

Today's reading is from Luke 22-24 and John 1-5. They are packed with the vital information you need to succeed, so read them as carefully as you can, with thanksgiving for the privilege of possessing such wonderful information from our Heavenly Father.