Steve’s Blog

Audio message: Dealing with the Past, The Present and the Future
by Steve Highlander
(3rd message down in the archive.)

There are times in every person’s life where they seem to get bogged down or, in other terms, stuck!  They are still doing all the stuff: going to church, reading their Bible, praying, serving; often with more fever than before.  Meanwhile, well intentioned people tell them, (depending on their particular brand of church), you need to pray more; worship more; read more; serve more; forgive more!  DO SOMETHING MORE THAN YOU ARE DOING NOW!  This is the church’s solution to just about everything: DO MORE!  Usually it has nothing to do with doing more.  Most often there is another reason for the “stuckedness,” especially when you’ve been an active Christian

Every Christian must learn how to successfully deal with the past, the present and the future if they want to maintain a steadily increasing Christian journey.  Failure to  deal with these three areas, in a Biblical manner, will bring your spiritual life to a grinding halt.  Dealing with them successfully on the other hand often propels you to the next level of spiritual growth.

Paul gave us his personal strategy for spiritual growth in Philippians 3:10-16.  He says, “this ONE thing I do….”  But then he goes on to mention three things.  I believe Paul was telling us he treated these three matters as a single issue, because failing to deal with one area would hinder spiritual growth.  The ONE issue was dealing with the past, the present and the future.

The gist of the message is in verses 13 and 14

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, [past] and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [future] I press toward the mark [present] for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

In a nut shell Paul said, I do not let the past chain me down so I can not go forward.  I have a vision for my future that is propelling me forward with purpose and direction and every day I press towards the purpose of God in my life regardless of distractions, temptations or problems.

At the end of his life Paul was able to say, “I have run the race, I have finished my course, I am ready to sacrifice my life for God as the final act of love.”  This is a guy that I want to listen to.

Rather than repeat all of the message here I have an (free) audio version online and would recommend you take time to listen to it.  This practical message will give you some ideas and tools for the challenge of dealing with your past, present and future.

May 2010 be your best year yet in the Kingdom of God.  I pray with the apostle John,

“May you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.”

Steve and Brooke