day no. 16,558: excelsior!

“The Christian life is not a beginning only in the ways of God, but also a continuance in the same as long as life lasts. It is with a Christian as it was with the great Napoleon: he said, ‘Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me.’ So, under God, dear brother in the Lord, conquest has made you what you are, and conquest must sustain you. Your motto must be, ‘Excelsior.’ He only is a true conqueror, and shall be crowned at the last, who continueth till war's trumpet is blown no more.” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

A Christianity that goes kaput is no Christianity at all. The saints cannot stop because God never ceases. Sanctification does not stall because it is never content with the presence of sin, no matter how small. Holiness never feels at home alongside even a hint of unrighteousness. So, the Christian continues to be renewed daily and reformed to maturity in Christ, and Christendom marches on like leaven through the lump in you and in the world around you. It will not cease until the whole lump is leavened. The Spirit of God will not stop working in you until you are glorified completely in Him. The Spirit of God will not stop working through you until His world is glorified completely by Him. We are occupied territory. God has established His beachhead and won't stop advancing until every street of every city, including the capital, is converted and every inch of ever acre is fruitful for His purposes. This is true of us and of our world. We will be conquered completely for Christ and this world will be entirely obedient to His rule.

Until then, with respect to His Kingdom come within and without, we shout, "Excelsior!"