Pressing on the Upward Way

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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Thong. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-9-4653-8103-9 (eBook)

ISBN 978-7-8445-6754-8 (Hardback)

ISBN 978-1-7061-1357-7 (Paperback)

First published in 2019 by Entrata Communications Ltd, Australia.

This devotional book is dedicated to

My precious husband Cheno, the love of my life and

My beautiful children Mischa, Joel and Annabel.

You are the best gift I could have from God.

You inspire me every day with your love and grace.

You fill me with great joy.

You help me pursue God to live my fullest for His glory.

My home church, CityLife Church, Melbourne

You have helped me continue to grow in faith and Christ.

Higher Ground

The words of this beautiful hymn that I learned as a child have continued to ring in my soul and is the inspiration for the title of this devotional.

I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

Chorus:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand;

By faith on Heaven’s tableland.

A higher plane than I have found,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Though some may dwell where these abound,

My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,

Though satan’s darts at me are hurl’d;

For Faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height

And catch a gleam of Glory bright;

But still, I’ll pray ‘til rest I’ve found,

Lord, lead me on to higher ground.

— written by Johnson Oatman Jr

In this 52 week devotional, Liz inspires and encourages us through scriptural wisdom and reflection to go deeper in God. In a world with so much competing for our attention, it is easy to neglect or lose sight of the importance of the spiritual journey we have been called into. Here presented in the pages of this book are wonderful gems to keep us focused on the power and blessings of a life committed to a God who loves us.

Daljit and Gurmit Gill

Associate Minister and Teaching Team Member

CityLife Church, Melbourne

This insightful devotional provides a year of reflections that will encourage you in your daily walk. Liz has delved into the Word and uncovered timeless truths, drawing fresh meaning from familiar Bible passages. Meditating on these nuggets will enrich your life, enabling you to go deeper with God. I encourage you to allow His Spirit to use these weekly readings to transform your day, your week and your year.

Kate Rodwell

CEO, Dignity Freedom Network

Australia and New Zealand

The Bible is a transforming book that speaks to us in every situation. A key to unlocking its depth comes from being able to approach it with a breadth of perspective. In these pages, Liz shares from a heart that longs for a deeper relationship with the living God and invites us to join this quest from her unique perspective and give the opportunity for the Bible to speak to our situation today.

Peter Leigh

Executive Minister

CityLife Church, Melbourne

This devotional book calls us to intimacy with God, invites people to enter a place where their hearts are open to his words of encouragement, comfort, hope and peace. I was truly impacted and challenged by reading Pressing on the Upward Way.

Praba Nagaratnam

Network Pastor

CityLife Church, Melbourne

Contents

Foreword – Rhythms of Reading the Word

Prologue

Week 1

Never Been This Way Before…

Week 2

Pursuing your Destiny with Passion and Perseverance!

Week 3

Hearing, Seeing and Doing

Week 4

This is How I Fight my Battles!

Week 5

Facing the Giants…

Week 6

He is All We Need

Week 7

Desire…

Week 8

Obedience – Fuel for Our Faith!

Week 9

Break Up the Fallow Ground

Week 10

Are You Ready for the Bridegroom?

Week 11

United We Stand

Week 12

Positioning for Breakthroughs!

Week 13

You Will Sing Again!

Week 14

God’s Masterpiece

Week 15

Living with Constancy Around Shifting Shadows

Week 16

Taming the Tongue

Week 17

Purpose in the Storm

Week 18

Self-Control

Week 19

Appreciation of Life

Week 20

Overcoming a Critical Spirit

Week 21

So Near Yet So Far

Week 22

I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Week 23

Our Image of God

Week 24

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Week 25

Guarding Our Minds

Week 26

Silence of the Lamb

Week 27

Broken and Poured Out – Wasteful or Beautiful?

Week 28

The Race of Life

Week 29

Down the Via Dolorosa

Week 30

Poverty – God’s Cry for Justice

Week 31

You Have Got Mail!

Week 32

Easy to Get Along With

Week 33

When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do?

Week 34

Rock of Ages, Cleft For Me

Week 35

Food for Thought?!

Week 36

Little Things Matter

Week 37

Directions for Life

Week 38

Be Passionate and Not Lukewarm!

Week 39

The Potter’s Hand

Week 40

Be a Clear Reflection of Christ

Week 41

When the Music Fades

Week 42

Dare To Be Different

Week 43

On An Exciting Adventurous Journey…

Week 44

Make a Choice for Commitment

Week 45

A Heart for the Lost

Week 46

Trading Your Sorrows

Week 47

Evergreen Romance

Week 48

Keep on Going…

Week 49

Jehovah Jireh

Week 50

Prepare Him Room

Week 51

Follow the Star!

Week 52

Abundant Full Life

Salvation Prayer

Acknowledgements

Notes

Foreword – Rhythms of Reading the Word

A regular rhythm of reading and reflecting on God’s word is a pathway to spiritual growth and transformation. However, that pathway is not always easy. Like physical exercise it can require some life-style changes. It can mean getting up early in the morning when your brain is barely awake, or squeezing in a quiet lunch-time with God in a busy work life, or going to bed that little bit later to give you time to read, think and pray. Starting that new pattern of spiritual living can be difficult. Even when you make the time, you can sit there wondering, So what do I do now? as your mind races back to the concerns and responsibilities that crowd your day. I know, because I have been there and more than once! 

So, to kick start a regular rhythm of reading God’s word, it’s great to have a coach or a guide who can help you marshal your thoughts and focus your reflections. For years now I have used regular daily or weekly devotional reflections on the Bible to help me develop a rhythm of the word. I find doing my spiritual exercises with a series of devotional reflections helps focus my distracted thoughts and stimulate my work-numbed mind. The conversations I have had with those guides along the way have often led me into even deeper conversations with God. Some of them have been literally life transforming.

Elizabeth Thong’s book Pressing On the Upward Way, is just such a devotional guide or coach. Out of her own life journey of walking with God and reading his word, Elizabeth has written 52 devotional reflections that lead us in an upward path to God. Each devotion provides some fresh thoughts to stimulate our imagination, some scripture readings to ground us in God’s ancient paths, and some reflections to help us follow God more faithfully in our everyday world. Using a different word picture, the devotions are not something you rush through as if you are in a fast food restaurant. Each one is a quality set of weekly meals that you can savour in a quiet time of your choosing right through the week. They are food for our soul.

My hope is that you will make these devotions a part of your daily spiritual life in the coming year. As you engage with these devotions, my prayer is that they will be a guide that leads you upward into your own life-changing conversations with God.

Andrew Chisholm

Senior Minister, CityLife Church

Melbourne, Australia.

Prologue

I did not set out wanting to write a devotional book! In the midst of the busyness of life, while serving God, raising a family and working, I set aside time to write devotionals as a way to reflect, meditate on God’s word and to challenge myself to pursue and obey Him! Over a number of years, I accumulated a small collection and thought, why not publish 52 of them as a devotional book?

Reading and reflecting on God’s word has shaped me and inspired me to live with His vision and His calling. God’s word has challenged my thinking and broadened my horizons. It has helped me discover my worth, value and significance. Through the reading of His word, I realise that His purpose and vision for my life is far bigger and better than I could ever imagine for myself, and it has helped me set sail into His calling propelled by the Holy Spirit. In the midst of storms, it has comforted me, strengthened me, and guided me. It has challenged and encouraged me to choose love, grace, service and forgiveness as I interact with fellow sojourners. God’s word has enabled me to see things from the perspective of what is eternal and enduring while dealing with the things I need to cast off for the journey heavenward.

If you, like me, want to press in on the upward way and live to the fullest potential of what God has placed in you, I invite you to not only meditate on God’s word through these devotions but allow yourself to be shaped and moulded by the One who made you and knows the best for you.

As the saying goes, "Only God can turn a mess into a Message, a test into a Testimony, a trial into Triumph and a victim into Victory!"

Week 1

Never Been This Way Before…

It’s the start of the New Year — new beginnings, new opportunities, new possibilities — so much to look forward to and expect! However, it is a year we have not walked before and if we are honest, we possibly have questions of how the year will turn out.  Some of us may have fear, trepidation, anxiety of how to conquer the challenges ahead of us and wonder how the road not travelled before is going to turn out?

Joshua was in a similar position — He had to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land after the death of Moses.

Joshua 3:1-4 

Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittimand went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it."

So, how did Joshua go about traveling a road he had never been on before? The Bible records three things that Joshua specifically did, and these can serve as guideposts in