The Apostle Paul tell us: "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the price of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3: 13-14.

This is a very powerful little verse, often used in New Year's sermons. I would like to briefly point to two thoughts in this verse.

"Forgetting what lies behind." This is not humanly possible. We all memories and histories. In fact much of the meaning we feel today is because of the backdrop of history that we carry inside. It gives us depth, understanding, and patience. In many ways our history makes us the person we are. So what did Paul mean?

He is telling us to not "live" in the past. Some of us live in old memories and are not present to life. Some of us carry regrets and guilt and are not present to life. The past is a guiding post, not a hitching post. As we move into 2009, do what you have to do to deal with the past, detach from it, and move forward.

"Straining forward" Don't be passive and half hearted about moving into the future. "Strain" to move forward. Take your growth and your goals seriously.

As some of you know, our grandson Hunter, age 10, had emergency surgery the Sunday before Thanksgiving for a burst appendix. He was very sick...infection, gangrene, adhesions and the removal of 3 inches of his colon. His wonderfully caring and skillful surgeon told him to be very careful and said that he could resume normal activities after the first of the year. He healed well and was with us on New Year's Eve. After the ball dropped, he turned to me with excited
enthusiasm. "Grandad, I can resume normal acitivities."

Believe me, he was "straining forward", ready to forget the past, and immerse himself in life. I hope that we can face the future, whatever comes, with that kind of positive enthusiasm.