<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Philippians 3;13-15<div><br></div><div><b>13. &nbsp;Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,</b></div><div><b>14. &nbsp;I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.</b></div><div><b>15. &nbsp;Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in&nbsp;anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.</b></div><div><b>16. &nbsp;Only let us hold true to what we have attained.</b></div><div><br></div><div>Intentionally forgetting our past failures is a necessary faith-skill for growth and change. &nbsp;We must&nbsp;not try to&nbsp;run the race of faith weighed down with evil,&nbsp;haunting, condemning, depressing&nbsp;memories of past&nbsp;sin. &nbsp;These were&nbsp;the&nbsp;burdens which were laid upon Christ on the cross.&nbsp; &nbsp;<i>“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” &nbsp;</i></div><div>(Isaiah 53;6) &nbsp;They have been removed, separated from us, they are no longer ours to continue to bear. &nbsp;<span>Let Christ’s work for us be finished concerning payment for sin.</span></div><div><br></div><div>Now, God tells us to ‘forget them.’ &nbsp;To do so, is to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. &nbsp;It is not God pleasing to remain in a state of sorrow or depression over past sins. &nbsp;A heavy heart cannot sing God’s praises…and that is now our calling in Christ Jesus.</div><div><br></div><div><i>“‘Behold, the dwelling of God is <u>with</u>&nbsp;men. &nbsp;He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; &nbsp;he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.’</i></div><div><i>And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ &nbsp;</i>(Revelations 21;3-5)</div><div><i><br></i></div><div>We do not deny our past sins, we confess them, receive God’s absolution, and move forward in Christ into lives of love and good works. &nbsp;Let what God in Christ has done for you define you, not your past. &nbsp;Believers look ahead with excitement and joy to ever increasing light. &nbsp;Satan seeks to misdirect our steps by tempting us to look behind at our dark past. &nbsp;Looking backward never helps our&nbsp;going forward. &nbsp;We must discipline ourselves to look ahead. &nbsp;It is the God pleasing thing to do. Faith allows us to not look back.</div><div><br></div><div>Death itself will be swallowed up in victory. (see 1 Corinthians 15;54)</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;O most merciful Father, we praise you that your grace allows us freedom from the power of our past&nbsp;sins and&nbsp;failures to debilitate us. &nbsp;Bless us to walk in&nbsp;the&nbsp;newness of life given to us in our baptism into<span>&nbsp;Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Philippians 3;13-15
13.  Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,14.  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.15.  Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.16.  Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Intentionally forgetting our past failures is a necessary faith-skill for growth and change.  We must not try to run the race of faith weighed down with evil, haunting, condemning, depressing memories of past sin.  These were the burdens which were laid upon Christ on the cross.   “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53;6)  They have been removed, separated from us, they are no longer ours to continue to bear.  Let Christ’s work for us be finished concerning payment for sin.
Now, God tells us to ‘forget them.’  To do so, is to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is not God pleasing to remain in a state of sorrow or depression over past sins.  A heavy heart cannot sing God’s praises…and that is now our calling in Christ Jesus.
“‘Behold, the dwelling of God is with men.  He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them;  he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.’And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’  (Revelations 21;3-5)
We do not deny our past sins, we confess them, receive God’s absolution, and move forward in Christ into lives of love and good works.  Let what God in Christ has done for you define you, not your past.  Believers look ahead with excitement and joy to ever increasing light.  Satan seeks to misdirect our steps by tempting us to look behind at our dark past.  Looking backward never helps our going forward.  We must discipline ourselves to look ahead.  It is the God pleasing thing to do. Faith allows us to not look back.
Death itself will be swallowed up in victory. (see 1 Corinthians 15;54)
Prayer:  O most merciful Father, we praise you that your grace allows us freedom from the power of our past sins and failures to debilitate us.  Bless us to walk in the newness of life given to us in our baptism into Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”

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