After surrendering ownership of your life to Jesus, may the fruit of His spirit fill your heart and your mind with the joy of your salvation!

The Apostle Paul gives us some wonderful advice and encouragement to follow, in Philippians 3:10-14 when he said:

“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Unfortunately, we’re living through a cultural time in which we’re oftentimes told by a counselor, therapist, or pop psychology in general … to focus on recalling and reliving past hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We wrongly think that it will help to heal our present set of circumstances, and ultimately bring us the peace of mind we all so desperately desire.

Rather than going along with someone’s opinion (even if they are a ‘professional’) about how we should move forward in our closest relationships with family and/or friends … we would be wise to weigh their counsel against God’s word.

Hebrews 13:7-9 says, “Remember your leaders who brought you the word of God; and consider the result of their conduct [the outcome of their godly lives], and imitate their faith [their conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider of eternal salvation through Christ, and imitate their reliance on God with absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established and strengthened by grace and not by foods, which bring no benefit or spiritual growth to those who observe them.”

Paul’s words, along with how he chose to live out his faith in Christ, are trustworthy examples for all of us to follow … especially when he said we should forget our past and press on to what’s ahead!