For the last 50 years God had reminded me that He is the God of new beginnings. He made that very evident when He reached down from heaven, forgave me of my sin and made me one of His kids. That indeed was a new beginning. However, I think a new beginning suggests we must put the past behind us. The Apostle Paul gave us some great insight on this theme in Philippians 3. There he outlined things from his past that he was no longer proud of. He stated he had been a Pharisee, one of the Jewish religious sects, and a leader in that group of elites. He states he was a persecutor of Christians and was zealous to harm and even put to death the followers of Jesus. He went on to say that everything that had been a profit to him was later seen as loss, and that when he recognized the error of his past ways. He sums up this section by writing:
Phil 3:13-14 But 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. NIV
I’m absolutely convinced we ALL have things in our past that hinder our spiritual growth; things which we ought to forget. Perhaps it’s some awful way you were treated by another person. Perhaps it was an-just firing from a job. Perhaps someone ridiculed or bullied you and perhaps a spouse hurt you deeply. How does one put these things behind them? It’s called forgiveness. Forgiveness is an absolute necessity before we can move on. You have heard me say it before but forgiving someone does not mean you have to welcome them as your best friend and you don’t have to invite them to dinner every week, but forgiveness has two essential ingredients that are required for it to be true.
Forgiveness means I have absolutely given up any right to carry a grudge AND Forgiveness means I have absolutely given up any desire to get even.
Before we begin a New Year we need to put the old year behind us and only then can we truly experience a ‘‘Happy New Year.''
I invite you to come join us on Sunday in the fellowship of loving and caring people! God bless. I love being the pastor of the Journey church!
Phil 3:13-14 But 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. NIV
I’m absolutely convinced we ALL have things in our past that hinder our spiritual growth; things which we ought to forget. Perhaps it’s some awful way you were treated by another person. Perhaps it was an-just firing from a job. Perhaps someone ridiculed or bullied you and perhaps a spouse hurt you deeply. How does one put these things behind them? It’s called forgiveness. Forgiveness is an absolute necessity before we can move on. You have heard me say it before but forgiving someone does not mean you have to welcome them as your best friend and you don’t have to invite them to dinner every week, but forgiveness has two essential ingredients that are required for it to be true.
Forgiveness means I have absolutely given up any right to carry a grudge AND Forgiveness means I have absolutely given up any desire to get even.
Before we begin a New Year we need to put the old year behind us and only then can we truly experience a ‘‘Happy New Year.''
I invite you to come join us on Sunday in the fellowship of loving and caring people! God bless. I love being the pastor of the Journey church!