Paul wrote in Philippians 3: 12-14
"I press on to take hold of
that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters,
I do not consider myself
yet to have taken hold of it.
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."
Leif Hetland from
Global Mission Awareness writes:
"Some people learn from the past,
and some live in the past.
Let me remind you,
failure is not final or fatal.
I can sit in my car,
look in the rear view mirror
and I can have a glimpse
of where I came from.
It is important
to be able to just have
some historical markers,
to have some memory stones,
and to remember
the faithfulness of God.
But my encouragement is;
Make sure you keep your eyes
on your goal.
Keep your vision
towards the right direction.
Make sure to keep a single focus.
The Bible says that Jesus
endured the cross
because of the joy
that was set before Him."
~ Leif Hetland
Leif's words reminded me
of my dream which found me
sitting in a car...
when I looked out the rear view mirror...
everything around me was clear.
But when I looked
out the windshield in front of me...
everything was clouded over and blurry.
The past presented familiarity...
much more safety & clarity
than the unknown facing me.
I was reluctant to move forward.
I was then reminded
of the dream
that a fellow Christian shared with me...
which found her driving backwards
through the history of her entire life...
Using the rear view mirror.
Physically crossing intersections,
passing buildings and houses
that wove through the fabric of her life....
viewing them from a forward position...
but with eyes wide open to the past.
Her eyesight was focused
and therefore restricted
to only what she could see
in the rear view mirror.
Because she did not specifically
solicit my interpretation,
I gave her permission
to believe what she wanted
and needed to believe for her...
at the time.
I've known her for 20 some years.
She was not prepared
to go deeper.
But for me...
because I could lean
on my own life
for deeper understanding....
I saw her dream
as a marvelous example
of one living their life in reverse...
Not moving forward...
facing the right direction ....
but focused on the past.
Refusing
to approach the path
set before us
forces us to stand still
or move in another direction.
Our vision of tomorrow
becomes an endangered thing...
a mere path in the midst of confusion....
eventually usurped by our today.
Living today...
strictly focused on the past....
is not living.
It is a slow death.
We become the state
of our focused mind.
"When people do not accept
divine guidance,
they run wild.
But whoever obeys
the law is joyful."
Proverbs 29:18
I admit...
I can often get derailed
by focusing on the past.
Sometimes, it is a real struggle
to make that mind choice...
to live in today...
with the hope of tomorrow...
but not let tomorrow rob me
of the pleasure
and opportunity
of this day...
which God has set before me.
"Trust in the LORD
with all your heart;
and lean not
to your own understanding.
In all your ways
acknowledge him,
and he shall direct
your paths. "
Proverbs 3: 5-6
I'm choosing
to LIVE in TODAY
I'm going to move
FORWARD
one step at a time.
The past is what shaped us...
The present is actively powerful...
It walks us into eternity...
We can't serve from our past..
but how we choose to live our life today..
can speak into tomorrow...
even after we are gone.
Our witness doesn't have to end
in our physical absence from this earth.
I write longhand in paper journals....
more than I write online...
in the digital world.
Why?
Because God called me to it!
There is revelation in obedience.
As I allow the Holy Spirit
to speak through me....
things appear in written form
that I could never speak on my own.
My longhand journals....
will outlast the digital world.
Long after the destruction
or the silence of
the free world wide web
of communication....
My journals will still speak -
long after I'm gone..
but more importantly...
they will still have voice
even after...
Jesus returns for His church.
As a fellow blogger shared...
"Jesus will not muddy His Bride"
I'm with her, and many others
who believe Jesus will return
for His faithful followers
before the 7 year Tribulation.
I'd rather be prepared
than wrong!
If I'm wrong...
and we do go through
all or part
of the Tribulation,
The Lord will empower
us to endure to the end,
if we keep our eyes
focused on the prize.
"Therefore,
since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything
that hinders and the sin
that so easily entangles.
And let us run
with perseverance
the race marked out for us"
Heb 12:1
"He will also keep you
firm to the end,
so that you will be blameless
on the day
of our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Corinthians 1:8
It will be a hard road
for those unbelievers
who find themselves
'left behind'.
Therefore...
Whatever we leave behind...
as faithful believers
to help light the way...
for those left behind ...
is priceless in helping
even one person
to see the light of Jesus.
I feel an urgency today.
He has enlarged my vision...
to those 'left behind'.
There will be a given time
for those who still walk the earth...
to CHOOSE -
to walk in the right direction.
One last 'appointed' chance...
to change direction...
and walk the provided path
to eternal life with the Father,
His Son, and all those
who have gone before...
those who were asleep in Christ.
or 'taken up' ...
before the 'Second Coming' of Christ.
Some of us only have today.
Tomorrow may find us in eternity.
Heaven is real...
Hell is real.
Choose this day,
while you still can.
Whom will YOU serve?
Life everlasting
with Jesus Christ...
the King of all kings ...
is eternal joy.
Make a run for God...
you won't regret it!
Hell is lasting damnation
with the father of lies...
Satan and his evil cohorts...
and all who refused
to live their life
in the forward motion
of eternity with Christ!
Fact is often stranger than fiction.
Time is of the essence...
are you headed
in the forward direction?
Are you focused
on the path before you?
Does the path
in front of you
seem narrow and straight
or wide and un-level?
"The path
of the righteous
is level;
you, the Upright One,
make the way
of the righteous smooth."
Isaiah 26:7
Let him who has ears to hear...
LISTEN
This is what the Lord says...
I will lead the blind
by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths
I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness
into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things
I will do;
I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:16
(The Parable of the Sower)
And some fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew up,
and choked it,
and it yielded no fruit.
And other fell on good ground,
and did yield fruit
that sprang up and increased;
and brought forth,
some thirty,
and some sixty,
and some an hundred.
And he said to them,
He that has ears to hear,
let him hear.
Mark 4:7-9
Whoever has ears,
let them hear
what the Spirit says
to the churches.
To the one who is victorious,
I will give the right
to eat from the tree of life,
which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
RELATED SCRIPTURES...
Luke 1:78-79
...because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven....to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."
Luke 3:5
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
Acts 26:18
...to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
Matthew 13:14
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
Isaiah 29:18
In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Isaiah 30:18
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Isaiah 32:3
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.