Tag: the past

A Challenge to Let Go

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“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Philippians 3:12 NIV

Today, I want to challenge you to let go of some stuff and take hold of some stuff:

My friend, let go of trying to earn God’s love.

Take hold tightly to God’s grace.

Let go of your fear of failure.

Take hold of your faith in Jesus.

Let go of perfectionism.

Take hold of the vision Jesus has for your life.

Let go of habits that sabotage your growth.

Take hold of the hope of love’s transformation.

Let go of trying to control everything.

Take hold of trusting Jesus with it all.

Jesus doesn’t give up or let up and loves you so much that He will continually press you to press on.

“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:12 ‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Yesterday is gone, take hold of that which Christ Jesus has taken hold of you today.

Tenderness, Courage and Hope

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“Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:  a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

Luke 2:27-32 The Passion Translation

When Simeon took the babe Jesus into his arms, he was gazing tenderly on the promise of salvation given thousands of years to his people.

As he held the babe, he gazed into the power of the universe in human form, knowing that it was not just a gift for his people but for people – Jesus was given for the salvation of all nations and all nationalities.

Christmas is a thousand stories of revelation, joy, courage and hope when the truth of who Jesus is, is revealed to the soul. He is embodied love, uncontainable light and the majestic glory of God Himself sent from heaven to live vulnerable, speak truth, challenge lies and free the soul from the bondage of sin forever.

Somehow, through the traditions of Christmas in every nation, the gift of love and hope remain. Whether people realize it or not – Christ has not been taken out of Christmas, it is His heart that beats through it all, for all, until all know His eternal love.

Four days till Christmas…..

Press On

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God has a hold of you for a reason you haven’t even begun to know yet. 

Don’t stop going after all God has for you just because you are not where you want to be.

Sometimes the journey seems long when you see how far you still have to go, sometimes the journey seems short when you look at all Jesus has already done in you.

Even Paul the apostle felt this way, so don’t be so hard on yourself when you do.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but 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 towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭NIV

What God has for you has nothing to do with who you think you are or who you think you are not but it has everything to do with who HE is.

Go after Jesus and let Him do the work He wants to do in you.

He is working the past out of you so that you can embrace the future He has for you.

Keep going. Keep pursuing. Press on. 

It Takes the Same Amount of Energy

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“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.”     Philippians 3:13-15 NIV

What does it mean to live by faith and not by sight? It means making decisions on how to live based on where God has called you to go, not where you have been before.

It’s faith because you haven’t seen it yet.

It’s faith because you are hoping for something different than you have had before.

It’s faith because you are becoming someone new in Christ that you haven’t been before.

The direction where you are looking makes a difference in the direction you are going…and it takes the same energy.

You can stay stuck in self- pity or look to Jesus for self-confidence.

Look back and make yourself miserable or look forward in faith. Either way, it takes the same energy. It’s a daily habit, it’s the intention, it’s the determination to keep your eyes on Jesus and what He has for you.

My friend, spend your energy today believing God for impossible things you can’t see yet and leave the past with all its mistakes behind.

Are you looking at your future through eyes of experience or eyes of faith?

What are you trusting God with today?

P.S. God will heal the wounds of your past while giving you His vision for your future.

Grave Tending

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“The life you THINK you want could be stopping the life God MEANT for you to live.”
– Matthew Barnett

“So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There is nothing in it, nothing at all. The best thing to is to give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It is adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, ‘what’s next Papa?”’.

Romans 8:12-15 MSG

Having dreams and goals are vitally important to help us make choices, take the right opportunities and say no to the wrong ones. But even “the dream” can become an idol when we refuse to surrender it to God. We can easily slip into a habit of worshipping the “what if” and “what may be” or “what I want it to be.”

When you are tending regrets and spending all your energy in the cemetery of unmet needs, goals or dreams, it is difficult to participate in a new life in Christ. The verse above is worded in the immediacy of now and is a moment by moment adventure.

When God sends you a vision of your future, it is to get you moving in the right direction. When He lays a burden on your heart it is to pull towards His purpose for you. He does not lift the call, but He will refine and redefine it constantly.

“What’s next Papa?”

I will leave this “dream” in His hands. I will live in anticipation of fulfilling it daily in any way He chooses and in the opportunities before me. I will give the past a decent burial, even the good things that never happened. Those are trickier, I think.

I don’t want anything less. I will get up and walk out of this emotional cemetery and with a skip to my step ask God, “What is next?”.

What grave have you been tending? What is the “dream” that is holding you back from being fully present in the beautiful life Jesus has for you?

 

Forget It.

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The longer you walk with God, the more you realize how much you need Him.

How much you can’t do it by yourself.

How much you still have to learn.

The first time I heard this was just months after I began walking with God. My college pastor described it like how it is when you are walking towards a bright light- the closer you get, the more you see your own flaws.

It was good for me to hear early on in my walk with God that I would never get to a point of “being an expert ” or “being perfect”.

It was good to know that the closer I get to God, the more I will see my imperfections and know more intimately my own flaws.
Your life with God is a journey. 

It isn’t a skill to excel in, it is a relationship to have. Through the good times and bad times, the easy times and the hard times. Through ALL the times.

“Brother 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,” Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ NIV

Why does Paul say “forgetting what is behind”?

I think because we tend to focus on all the things we are not, all the things we haven’t conquered, all the things we haven’t grown in.

All those things take your focus from God and put it on yourself.

So, forget it. 

Forget it all.
God didn’t choose you because someday you would be perfect. He chose you because He loves you and He is perfect enough for the both of you. 

Forget what is behind you even if it happened five minutes ago.

Love God for who He is and let Him love you for who you are- His child. 

Turn the Page

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It is impossible to read the next chapter of a book if you don’t turn the page.

It is hard to see the new thing God wants to do when you keep replaying the past.

When is it time to let go of the past?

When it is all that fills your vision.
When it is all the fills your fears.
When it sabotages your faith.
When it is hindering you from moving forward into who God wants you to be.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18-19‬ NIV)

The verse above says that God makes a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Letting go of the past doesn’t always mean leaving the place you are in physically but it always means leaving the place you are in spiritually, emotionally and even mentally.

How big is your God?

Big enough to make a dry dead wasteland come to life.

Big enough to create a life giving stream where there was only barren land before.

Big enough to use the wilderness you are walking through into a way to transform you (for the better, not worse).

You choose where you dwell, what story you live.

Turn the page, God has some wonderful new things for you to experience.

Forget It

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  The longer you walk with God, the more you realize how much you need Him.

How much you can’t do it by yourself. 

How much you still have to learn.

The first time I heard this was just months after I began walking with God. My college pastor described it like how it is when you  are walking towards a bright light- the closer you get, the more you see your own flaws. 

It was good for me to hear early on in my walk with God that I would never get to a point of “being an expert ” or “being perfect”.

It was good to know that the closer I get to God, the more I will see my imperfections and know more intimately my own flaws. 
Your life with God is a journey. 

It isn’t a skill to excel in, it is a relationship to have. Through the good times and bad times, the easy times and the hard times. Through ALL the times. 

If anyone could be considered an expert, it was Paul the Apostle and he said this: 

“Brother 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,” (‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ NIV)

Why does Paul say “forgetting what is behind”?
I think because we tend to focus on all the things we are not, all the things we haven’t conquered, all the things we haven’t grown in. 
All those things take your focus from God and put it on yourself. 

So, forget it. 

Forget it all. 
God didn’t choose you because some day you would be perfect. He chose you because He loves you and He is perfect enough for the both of you. 

Forget what is behind you even if it was happened five minutes ago. 

Love God for who He is and let Him love you for who you are- His child.