FORGETTING!
The Song Writer said, “A fool will lose tomorrow, reaching back for yesterday…” The truth of these words are resounding and penetrating. The future of too many lives are hindered by looking back at ills of the past, and in some cases, even, ‘living’ (or trying to live), in the past. Jesus made it very clear in Luke 9:62, if a person is going to serve God, then he/she must be willing to advance unfettered by the events of yesterday. One drives a car looking through the windshield, not the rear window. In the words of Jesus, a person holding on to events of the past is not even “fit” for the Kingdom of God! But what “can” be done, is to FORGET those things, which are behind! Failure to loose and let go of the past will certainly hinder one’s progress. When a person accepts Christ as their Lord and Saviour, they are at that moment, forgiven for all of their sins of the past. Our past sins are cast as far from us as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). If God doesn’t look back on past transgressions, then who are we? Forget about it!
REACHING!!
Peter tells us to desire the sincere milk of God’s Word so that we may grow
(1 Peter 2:2). The “ONLY” way that a Christian can grow is through God’s Word (Romans 10:17). As Christians, we are ‘called’ by God to learn all that we can of Him! (Psalm 119:11) We are ‘called’ by God to give ourselves wholly to Him (Romans 12:1). We are called by God to break the glass ceiling that prohibits people from reaching higher. We are called by God to go out of our ‘comfort zone’ and the very foundations of our faith, in an effect to reach a more intimate relationship with Him. One cannot realize their full potential unless they are challenged to do so. There is no status quo with God, He always commands more; the only question becomes, how much more are we willing to reach for? If we are not giving the best of our service, we must be willing to reach for more!
PRESSING!!!
PRESSING carries the connotation that “effort” is being exerted. If we are going to attain and apprehend the prize, we are going to have to PRESS! Because it’s not just going to come and fall in our laps! There will be resistance, there will be obstacles, there will be opposition. Nevertheless, if the goal is to be reached, some “effort” is going to have to be made. Going when you don’t feel like going – that’s Pressing! Helping when there is no one left to help – that’s Pressing! Giving, when you were saving it for something else – that’s Pressing! Using your God-given talents, skills, and abilities for the advancement of God’s Church – that’s Pressing! Anyone can love when the sun is shining and everything is happily going their way; but when the dark clouds move in, and the thunder starts to roaring, and the lightning begins to flash, and rain begins to fall… that is the true test of one’s love. That… is Pressing!
Spiritually speaking, our vision is to Forget, Reach, and Press! Each element is contingent upon the previous – We cannot Press until we Reach, we cannot Reach until we Forget!
I Remain In “HIS” Service…
Rev. B.E.Garmon, Sr., M.Div. – Pastor