Par Excellence

Title: Par Excellence
Text: Philippians 3:12-14
“12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, 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, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

“Par Excellence” means “to a degree of excellence.

What it means to be in a “Par Excellence”?
1. Not settling in mediocrity (v.12) To be a par excellence, we should not settle in mediocrity. Mediocrity is a state of our thinking that we have already achieves the highest level where the truth is we still have a way to go. It is where we thought that we are already good and have nothing to do anymore.
Mediocrity and contentment are two different things. Mediocrity is “ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding. It is more on settling on a second rate ability or value where we can obviously get better and the highest level of our ability.
On the other hand, contentment is being happy on one’s situation in life. This means that we are still happy and satisfied in whatever situation we are in. Even if we have problems or failed the exam, we can still smile to the world and accept its reality.
Sometimes though, we only feel contented in good situations, like winning in a contest or when we are well provided. True contentment is being happy in whatever situation.

2. Continuously striving (v.12-13) Not only that we did not settle in mediocrity, we should be continuously striving. If mediocrity is a state of thinking, this is now the practical application of not settling in mediocrity. Just like Paul, he do not consider to have attained all the things that he had attained, instead, he continuously pursue the prize that is ahead.
In addition, this is exactly what it means to be a par excellence. It is not settling on second rate ability or value but continuously pursuing excellence or the highest level that we can attain. It is continuously going for an extra mile. It is like extracting extra energy from our inner being to continue another mile.
No matter how many times we fail, it is pursuing to be the best. I still remember famous stories of many scientists. Despite of all failures they have experienced, they continue to move on until they have discovered what they have been looking for.
Alexander Graham Bell tried and tried how in the world a person can transmit a voice through a wire until one day at last, he found out how. Thomas Alba Edison tried hundreds of different materials in order to produce a good light using the electricity that was just newly discovered, until one day he found tungsten to be the best material that’s why we have the incandescent bulb. The Wright brothers, tried their best to fly and experimented different materials and models of wings to enable people to fly, until one day, they have created the first aircraft that marked the birth of Aerial Navigation.
We can name hundreds of scientists who continuously pursued for the best and have achieved excellence. But how about us as people who just started to step on the reality of life. Are you going to continue to pursue excellence?

3. His aim is always for the highest (v.14)
Being par excellence is to aim only for the highest. There is nothing wrong to always aim for the highest as long as it is accompanied with contentment. You don’t have to compete in order to attain for the highest nor you don’t have to hurt anyone just to attain excellence. Aiming for the highest is a matter of attitude and self-discipline.
No athlete wins by not following the rules. This is the same in the race of Christian life. We can never attain par excellence if we do not follow the rules, the standards that was set in the Bible. We cannot attain excellence without God. Mark 8:36 “36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” There is no good of achieving the highest award without God.
Just like Paul, we have to aim for the goal. Not just to finish a lap, but to finish the whole race. There are many students now who just want to finish a lap, some are even contented to finish half a lap. While our parents labor for us to finish our studies, some of us labor so hard to have the highest score and upgrades in online games. It is so sad to see many students who are no longer studying at school and mastering how to use every single character in Flyff, Ragnarok, Tantra, and Khan. Is this the kind of excellence that we want to achieve? Can we earn and live in the future and become better citizens by having a degree of MOG (Masters in Online Games), MHSL (Masters High School Level) and MCD (Masters of College Degree)?
Let us look ourselves if we are really aiming for the highest. Some of us will be going to college, while some for high school. But how are we seeing things ahead of us? Are we aiming for the best and the highest level of our educational attainment? Or how about after finishing college, are looking forward to become CEO’s of top companies?

4. He presses on for a purpose (v.14)
As we strive towards the goal, we have to presses forward with a purpose. We have to ask ourselves if we know the purpose of why we are striving for the highest. Paul in our passage strives on towards the goal to win the prize, which God called him heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Paul is very confident in his statement because he know the purpose of his striving. His purpose to reach the goal to win the prize, and the prize he is after is in Christ Jesus. Here we see the highest purpose that we can ever have, that is to be striving in Christ Jesus.
How about us, do we strive for ourselves? Do strive hard for someone else? There is nothing wrong in striving for someone or for ourselves. But inline with this I think it is still best prioritize our spiritual lives with this purpose. God wants us to offer our very best to Him and not to someone else, not even ourselves. He presses the goal in Christ Jesus, this is why no doubt, he was able to be one of the best apostles par excellence.

New Squidoo Lense

Hey guys, please check my new lense in squidoo concerning OBS....

If you can apply for the membership in Squidoo, the better. It's free don't worry. This is for us to have interactions about Outreach Bible Study.:))

Hope to hear from you guys...

Here's the Link: www.squidoo.com/outreachbiblestudy

Business Opportunity That Even Students Can Do

5 Easy Ways to Ramp Up Your E-Book Sales

Once you've written your E-Book, got your Website up and integrated your shopping cart, you can sit back and start waiting for the money to come rolling in, right?

WRONG!

These days it's getting harder than ever before to be able to get people to notice you – and just because "you build it" doesn't mean they're going to come.

So what's an author to do?

Actually, thanks to all the tools that are available to you – including Web 2.0 – marketing your book – and ramping up your sales – is not as hard as you might think.

In fact, here are a few ideas to get your juices flowing. Add them to your sales plan, and use them as a jumping off place to help you make even more sales.

Create a long-term plan before you write even one word of your first book. The truth of the matter is that you're probably never going to get rich from writing one E-book. So before you start writing your first book, start thinking about your second book. And the first product that will tie into your first book. And the second. And then the third.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Come up with as many different income streams as you can and plan to build them into your plan. For example, can you create a workbook from your E-book? What about recording some audio files that go into further details or give more information. What about doing a joint venture with other experts in your industry?

Sell more books at one time. If your book covers any one of a number of popular subjects – self-help or development, home improvement, business, religion – there are probably corporations, organizations or niche markets that are always on the look-out for inexpensive gifts or bonuses for their employees, clients or associates. Your book could be just the ticket. Although you might have to go down in price – what do you think sounds better? Selling one or two books at a time or selling box loads of them?

Once you've built up your credibility as a published author, it's time to take things to the next level. Have you ever dreamed of attending seminars or workshops as a presenter? What about having a speaking career and being flown all over the world speaking to people in your niche market? If you don't like traveling or crowds, consider putting together teleseminars or holding intimate bootcamps.

Create joint ventures. This is the fastest and easiest way to leverage your expertise and start raking in the cash. Find people who are in similar – but not competing industries as yours. Explore ways for you to provide value to both of your customers while you're cross-selling or upselling. For example, if you own a restaurant, what about creating a special Valentine's Day promotion with the local florist. Offer free drinks or desserts to any of the florist's customers who bring in a special card (that you've provided to them) when they come to your restaurant. And your joint venture partner (the florist) gives you roses or carnations that can be given out to any women when their companion gives you the special dessert card. See how simple that is? Real value that makes your customers happy, and builds loyalty and trust – and positions both of you as the first people your customers think of when they need flowers or want a romantic restaurant or a place to eat during a special occasion.

Special Gift From Vincent Olaer Thanks For Subscribing! Free $197 Value Membership To Viral Ebook Explosion Quickly Make Your Own Branded Ebooks Filled with Your Money Making Affiliate Links Click Here To Claim Your Free Membership

When I Say I am A Christian

When I say ... "I am a Christian"

I am not shouting "I am saved;"

I am whispering "I get lost"

"That is why I choose this way."

When I say ... "I am a Christian"

I do not speak of this with pride.

I am confessing that I stumble

and need someone to be my guide.

When I say ... "I am a Christian"

I am not trying to be strong.

I am professing that I am weak

and pray for strength to carry on.

When I say ... "I am a Christian"

I am not bragging of success.

I am admitting I have failed

and cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say ... "I am a Christian"

I am not claiming to be perfect.

My flaws are too visible

but God believes I am worth it.

When I say ... "I am a Christian"

I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches

which is why I seek His hame.

When I say ... "I am a Christian"

I do not wish to judge.

I have no authority

I only know I am loved.