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A beachhead was something used late in WWII to reclaim the Pacific Islands taken by the Japanese. The Allied Forces would bomb the snot out of a section of the island at the shore and move in quickly, taking a small section of the beach. From here, they would relentlessly push and push and push until they expanded their influence to encompass the entire island. They would then move on to the next island and repeat the process.

Getting a strong foothold and never surrendering it back is critical. But a foothold is only a small piece of the island if you don’t keep fighting. I think there are two very important applications to focus on here: one is positive and one is negative.

We’ll address the negative first. Many of us know there are lots of things we do that are contrary to the life Christ has led us to. Some things a lot of Christians do that aren’t right would be gossiping, telling little white lies, cheating, if only a little, to get ahead, listening to trashy music or watching movies that are clearly not good for us, swearing, or angry outbursts. There are also lots of big things we need to try to be free from—substance addictions or even the occasional drinking binge, gluttony, lust or porn, etc. There are all sorts of things that work to build walls between us and God. Most of these things we are aware of and know we need to get rid. However, we hold on to them for very long periods. Most often, I believe, this is because of pride or our unwillingness to make Christ our Lord. If you make a list of negative things you’re doing that you know are not good for a personal progressive relationship with Christ, pick a habit or an activity or whatever and give it up. Surrender this thing to Christ, even if that means a slow and steady advancement to freedom. Once you’ve surrendered it totally, rejoice in that and move on to the next thing until you’ve conquered it. Then move on to the next one. If you feel it’s not too personal, tell a brother or sister in Christ about it so they can celebrate victory with you and possibly help keep you accountable.

The positive is equally important. We all are in a certain place in our relationship with Christ. Some have an acquaintance. Others have a deep meaningful relationship. But either way, we can take more ground if we work at it. Many of us know there are things we can do to enhance our relationship with Christ. A short list of things that would positively impact your spiritual depth would include: daily Bible reading, reading books about spiritual things, listening to Christian/worship music fairly often, dedicated prayer time, tithing, regular church attendance, participation in various meetings/things at church, being part of an accountability group… there’s a lot we can do. What you need to do is pick one—any one of these things—and start doing it. Once it seems you’ve totally surrendered all of it to the Lord, move on to another one. And keep going until your list is exhausted, if it ever gets there. Again, celebrate your victories with another believer.

We’re in process all the time. When we get saved, Christ accepts us as we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay that way. He calls us to a higher standard. But I don’t think He expects us to drop everything in the world and be a perfect being. We’re in process—we’re always working on something. He lets us know He doesn’t like this, so we should stop. He tells us He’d like us to start doing this, so we do it. Once we figure that out, He moves us to the next level and we keep advancing. So pick something negative to stop doing and fill that spot with something positive. Keep moving forward.