Anyway, continuing on with Philippians 3....
Next I would like to talk about verse 13-14, because its always been a favorite of mine:
...forgetting what lies behind and striving forward to what lives ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
I personally really liked the "Basic English Version" of this too:
..one thing I do, letting go those things which are past, and stretching out to the things which are before..
I like the word choice of "letting go" there because we all know that we usually don't actually forget our past, but I think we can all get a little something from the idea of letting go. How hard it is at times to let go of the past, the things hanging over us, whether
guilt, shame, fear, even sadness and grief. They often hang there and do not let me move forward to a closer relationship with Jesus....but I love this verse! A reminder that the only way to truly press forward and "win the prize" ( as stated in verse 14) is to look ahead! I guess its encouraging to know that that's what JESUS actually wants me to do! He wants me to stop dwelling on what is already done and move forward!
I liked what I read in Barnes commentary:
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So, I am going to look over my day to day thoughts and see if I am holding on a little too tightly to anything from the past and if so, I'm going to try to sort those things out...
5 comments:
Oh my word- J-Dub is the first to actually complete this assignment? What? And, yes, I know it is not an actual assignment, but it makes me feel better.
I am with you, sis, on the idea of "letting go." I love what this says. Letting go and not forgetting. That is such a mature concept. It is also, like most of this stuff, hard to implement. I have so much trouble "letting go." I don't hold grudges for long because I rarely remember the details of why I was angry in the first place. I do, however, have a hard time letting go. I let the "what ifs" eat me alive. I am not sure if they will ever stop. I like the idea of pressing on to what lies ahead. I like thinking that even though half of my heart is gone that the other half is going forward and it won't look back, but it also won't ever forget.
I also like the verse that mentions "only let us hold true to what we have attained." I spend so much time being frustrated with braggarts or fakes. I wish I could put this on a bumper sticker. Heck, maybe I will put it on a t-shirt?? Read this!! It does hold true. There is so much beauty in knowing oneself and you couldn't do so being untrue about things you have done or have not done. This idea goes back to the letting go thing and what you said about the past, Abigail. All of our experiences, choices, decisions, our pasts, etc have made us who we are TODAY. If we don't like it- change it.
I will end my thoughts with the verse that cautions us to be aware of the "bad." These people whose God is their belly. Interesting thought. I love this. Feeding the greed, focusing on oneself, yada yada yada- God is their belly. I WILL be using this phrase in the near future.
XOXO
http://thebook2008.blogspot.com/2011/10/philippians-chapter-3-week-4.html
Here are my belated comments!
~RMB
And here is my response, also belated!
http://lindsayoconnor.blogspot.com/2011/10/philippians-chapter-3.html
Well, it's about stinking time, but here's my post. :)
http://osfl.shutterfly.com/blog/171
It's not always easy to put into words what Scripture means to you, but hopefully I've relayed how encouraged I am!
http://brightyellowdaydreams.blogspot.com/2011/11/philippians-3.html
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