Grace to do One Thing

This New Year 2010 there is a grace for you to do one thing. What is that one thing? Grace is God’s supernatural ability given to us through faith. In Christ Jesus the provision of God was manifested. The kind of life that was demonstrated in Christ and his early disciples is not attainable by will power. We need Grace. Paul, the apostle, stating his singleness of purpose said “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” (Phil. 3:13,14). If we want to reach our goals, we have to be supernaturally empowered to forget those things that are behind us. Paul, the apostle, had to forget his painful past that in one occasion he held Stephen’s coasts as he was getting stoned (Acts 7:57,58). After his conversion I am sure Paul’s memories came to haunt him. In fact, in his letters to his spiritual son Timothy, Paul said “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Paul was truly converted. We all have done things that we are ashamed off; nevertheless, dwelling in the past and simply regretting things can only make matters worse. Christian life is a life of freedom not a guilt-ridden life. It is crucial that we repent and be refreshed by God’s love and forgiveness. Our past mistakes should not be our future misery. There is grace to forget our past. It is time to be free from the grip of our past and the enemy that desires to use our pain to keep us bound. Once and for all, the principle that is found in these verses can set us free. As a Christian, we are in a race toward our eternal prize, Jesus Christ. There is always a height which has not yet been attained. As long as we are on earth our task is not done. It is too early to celebrate on any of our success. There is a weight of sin that we need to shake off and an enemy to resist. “… let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Heb. 12:1). To run the race that God has set for us, we should concentrate on finishing the track. Every faculty in us must be concentrated on doing one thing that is to press on toward the prize. Though we face similar trials, adversities, and temptations as the people in the Bible; the same grace that was available for them to finish the race victoriously is available to us. The one thing that Paul did was to disregard intentionally the unpleasant memories of his past. As we forget what lies behind and press forward, we can live the kind of life God wants us to live. Paul aspired to reach what lies ahead of him because he was freed from his past mistakes. His drive was the eternal prize – Jesus Christ. We should not stop at our success or failures. The old is gone. God will do a new thing. What we have been waiting for is on the verge. The glory of the Lord will manifest. As the man of God, Leonard Ravenhill, said “The opportunity of a life time must be ceased, during the life time the opportunity.” Let us not waste our present opportunities dwelling in the past. Let us go after God with full force wholeheartedly. May God’s grace be with you all.