I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:14 NKJV.  

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. – Matthew 6:33 NKJV. 

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:15 NKJV. 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV.

Tom Currie in New Zealand is on a mission, a Pokémon Go mission to become the best Pokémon Go hunter in the world. Tom is 24-years-old, and before becoming a full-time Pokémon Go hunter he worked at the Hibiscus Coast restaurant in Auckland. Tom has tendered his resignation to the Hibiscus Coast café to dedicate the next two months to Pokémon hunting. He plans to travel by bus all over the country to capture these Pokémons. So far Tom has captured 90 of the 151 Pokémon creatures that are possible to be caught. Currie says, “I wanted to have an adventure. I have been working for six years and I was desperate for a break. And Pokémon gave me the chance to live that dream.” (Newshub 07.15.16; The Guardian 07.15.16) 

Are you living the dream? Are you the best that you can be? You have to admire anyone who gives everything they have to be the best they can be at something. Do you have a dream? Are you the best that you can be? Those I think are good questions to ask ourselves, but as Christians we should always include God in the equation. Does our dream include God, is it something that will bring honor and glory to God? If we are the very best at something, is that something God will be pleased to see demonstrated in our lives? 

A starting point for any God honoring dream should include Matthew 6:33 because we can never really be the best that we can be if we leave God out of our lives. In Philippians 3, we have a statement which is helpful in understanding this: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death (Philippians 3:7-10 NKJV).” 

If we leave God out of our quest to become the best we can be all we will have accomplished will just be a pile of garbage. Without God, a dream is worthless. Let us “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Let us fight the good fight while keeping the faith and redeeming the time; being diligent workers not ashamed who are approved by God. May we truly be the best that we can be finishing the race, not giving up, even to the very end of our walk here upon this world.