Forget What is Behind

By the time you read this, I will be on my way to Haiti. As we close out 2019 and move into 2020, I wonder what is going through your mind? I asked myself this morning, so what did I accomplish in 2019? The bigger question might be, what did I accomplish during the past decade? Often I say, we have to manage life, or life will manage us. God expects us to take charge of life and not let life dictate to us what we are going to experience, what we are feeling, or what happens to us. Now I know we are to let God be in charge, so don’t email me just yet. God has a plan for my/your life. That is for sure. But he wants me to be in sync with his plan and not to let the world, people, or circumstances dictate how and what I am doing.

We live by faith. So by faith, I ask God for my direction and then I begin to plan out that course. I examine my habits and see which ones are bringing blessing to the table and which ones bring anxiety and strife. I am trusting God to lead me; thus I check my motives and make sure they are God’s motives and not fleshly or lustful desires. In other words, I take stock of my life and compare it, not to the standards of this world, my neighbors and friends, or even the family desires, but to the standard of God’s word and his will for my life. This was the Apostle Paul’s view. “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.”(Philippians 3:13-15)

As we approach a new era, why not make it something special. Forget (meaning let it go) past mistakes and plunders. Seek God and make a goal. Then take charge of your life and see what Faith and Action can do. Remember your best days are ahead.

Jim Reimer, Pastor

January 2, 2020