"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Our text is taken from the latter part of verse 13: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." The proposition is that we put what happened last year behind us, and reach forth for greater victory in the coming year. In order for us to really forget and get over the past, we need to review the good and bad of the year and make the changes that need to be made. We need to review the things that we regret. We probably won't move forward until we resolve some of these things. We could review the words that we spoke and regret that we spoke. Words cannot be called back once they are spoken. Resolve to be more careful about what you say in the coming year. We could review the things that we did that we should not have done. I'm sure that all of us can identify with this fact. We need to learn from the past how badly we felt when we did those things and resolve not to do them again. We could also review those things that we did not do that we should have done. Perhaps we passed up opportunities to minister for Christ because we were too busy with our own things. Resolve to listen closely to what the Lord is calling you to do in the coming year and do it. It will not be too late in the coming year to make up for those things by doing them. We cannot undo the past, but we can learn from it. That is why we need to review those things that we regret, so that we will not make the same mistakes again in the coming year. We need to review the things about which we can rejoice. After all, we did do some good things this year that we can rejoice about. We can rejoice about the fellowship that we have with each other. It is great to be in good fellowship with fellow Christians, especially those with whom we worship each Sunday. Pause as you review and thank God for your fellow Christians. We can rejoice about the fact that we have been forgiven. It is a fact that all of us sinned this year. Hopefully, we took those things to the Lord seeking His forgiveness - which He will surely give if we come to Him in the right spirit. We can rejoice in the fact that, in Christ, heaven is our home. If heaven is not your home at the present time it surely can be if you will accept Christ into your life by faith. We just need to look back and rejoice about all of the blessings that the Lord brought our way during this year. When we do this, we need to really thank Him and resolve to improve on even the things that we rejoice about. We need to review things that we should always remember. As we "reach forth" to the coming year, we need to remember that we are witnesses for Jesus Christ. We witness, first, with our lives then with words. As the old saying goes: "We can't talk the talk if we don't walk the walk." We can grow in our faith in the coming year and be more effective witnesses for Him. We need to remember that we might be the only "Bible," or the only "Jesus" some people will see until they know Jesus for themselves and read the Bible from the viewpoint of a saved person. This is one reason it will be important for us to review our conduct this year. We can also remember that we are never alone when we have Christ as our Savior. As the old hymn reminded us: "No, never alone, no never alone, He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone." You can probably add to this list of things to review, but I think that these things that I have listed can give you a good start. I hope that you have a great year in 2016. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Margaret M Jones
12/28/2015 09:06:04 am
A good New Year's devotion. Happy New Year!
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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