This is a congregation of God's people. We have worked very hard and dedicated ourselves to sharing the most important object of value, the Bible. No one person did this, but we as a family accomplished these many things. Spiritual success is growing all around us. This congregation has had difficulties in the past. But we are thankful that this is in the past. The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).
I want you to notice two points from these verses. First, forget everything that has happened last year and before. We cannot change the past or any mistakes. We must understand our ability of forgetting it. Now you might be thinking "I just can't get the thoughts out of my head." Good news! The word "forget" comes from a Greek word that has in its meaning "to no longer care for." So what Paul is telling us is even though the memory might still be there we must no longer care about it. Or another way of looking at it is, to never bring it up. Let it go.
Second, look to those things that are ahead. When we look ahead, we are looking to what is directly ahead. Not at the things around us that might be just in front of us. And this looking ahead is looking all the way down the road to the finish line. Verse 14 tells us that the finish line is our goal the upward (heaven) call of God. No one, not even satan, can take that away from us.
We, as the family of God, will accomplish so much more this coming year if we allow God to work in us. We must not ever give up striving for the goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment