I Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
Philippians 3:13-14 “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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Acts 2:14 “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words”
Acts 4:19-20 “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Trevor Moawad has been named the “Sports World’s Best Brain Trainer” by Sports Illustrated. In his book, “It Takes What It Takes,” he states the following:
“The most dangerous bias when discussing performance is our innate privileging of the past. We elevate the past. We give it too much importance. We serve the past when we should be giving it wide berth … We can all look back at certain moments in our lives and say the same thing: I could have done more. I could have made better choices. The idea is to minimize those regrets by being honest with yourself about what your God-given abilities are, choosing to be on a path that jibes with whatever your life’s purpose is, and then making decisions with that higher goal in mind. Those who can do that will succeed consistently and those who can’t will get sidetracked and demoralized and will struggle.”
As individual Christians, and as collective Christians in America, we have made mistakes. We could have done more. We could have made better choices. May we all minimize those regrets by giving the past wide berth and by making decisions going forward with a commitment to a higher goal. May we forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before. May we press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Peter and Paul did!
Paul acknowledged his past as a persecutor of Christians. Yet, he didn’t allow that to sap his effectiveness for God going forward. As a result, his potency as a missionary was characterized by consistent success for the cause of Christ. Peter acknowledged his stumbles as a denier of Christ. Yet, he didn’t allow that to sap his effectiveness for God going forward. As a result, his boldness as a preacher was characterized by consistent success for the cause of Christ.
PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO SET ASIDE OUR STUMBLES OF THE PAST AND PRESS TOWARDS THE MARK FOR CHRIST. As a result, may our lives, our testimonies, and our influence be characterized by consistent success for the cause of Christ.
