Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

This past Sunday, my wife and I went to the Salvation Army in a nearby town and the Scripture the Captain (Pastor) read was from Philippians 3. He spoke about New Year’s resolutions, which most of us make either consciously and outloud or somewhere in our heart, yearning for something to change in our daily lives. One of the important things to remember here is the fact that Satan would love nothing more than for us to wallow in past failures and take on a “what’s the use?” attitude. Recall Paul’s words above in the 13th verse: “forgetting what is behind…” God calls us to move forward and not be held back by past failures and the shame and fear they can bring to the table.

By the way: I love their simple mission statement: preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?