Cisco Baez

Words from the Pastor
Have you ever looked back on your life and thought about how extremely different you thought it would be when you were younger? I have a tendency to “what if” things. You know, “What if I had joined the military? What if I had done…?” You get the picture. Naomi and I were talking about this the other day. We were wondering “what if?” What if we had taken different paths, would we have ever met each other? Were we “destined” to be together? Would God have another one out there that would have put up with me for 40 years like she has? Then it dawned on us that maybe we’d been watching to many Hallmark movies (I only watch them by default! Please, understand!) and that God indeed can use everything in our lives for His glory and His good no matter what our past has been. Oscar Wilde said, “The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” So instead of looking at our past, lets look at our present and see what happens in our future!
Paul writes to the church at Philippi this, “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 3:13 & 14).” Even though Paul was an Apostle and had done more to help get the early church started than anyone besides Jesus, he said he had not taken hold of the resurrection that was promised to us in the hope of Jesus Christ! So, even Paul had to forget what was behind and press forward to win that prize. And consider this; no matter what your past looks like, I doubt very strongly that it could equal that of the Apostle Paul. He was going into cities and towns and having Christians arrested, thrown into jail and even killed for their faith! And now that Paul was a Christian himself, I am sure that his actions would haunt him if he allowed them to. He was present when they stoned Stephen and Paul watched and heard as Stephen died: “Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:60).” Can you imagine the torment that Paul had to endure because of his past? I believe that that is why he said that we need to forget the things in our past and press on toward the goal. Press on! As an athlete wanting to get stronger and do their best to win that prize.
And the really great thing to realize is that we don’t have to do this alone. Remember what Paul writes in Philippians 1:6? “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” He is doing a work in you and that work starts right now, today, right this minute! Please don’t waste time in the past! Press on, hold on and watch God show up and show off!
Please let me know if you need anything. You pray for me and I’ll pray for you. Naomi and I love you all. -Pastor Steve

Author: Cisco Baez

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