Crossroads Church

DEVOS

WEEK: Jan 1, 2012

PASSAGE: Galatians 4:3-6

Well it’s the end of 2011, and the beginning of 2012. It’s been quite a year hasn’t it? I thought we should look back for a moment at the events that made 2011. In 2011 a powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated the shore of eastern Japan. The “Arab spring” saw several nations revolt for freedom including Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. Apple founder Steve Jobs passed away at the age of 56. Oprah ended her reign of daytime TV after 25 years on the air.

And on the lighter side…The NFL and NBA both were locked out and later unlocked! Prince William and Kate Middleton were married on April 29. Charlie Sheen and his tiger blood gave us the largest melt down since Chernobyl. And of course, the biggest story of the year, Kim Kardashian and Chris Humphries got married… and divorced-all in 72 days! Some of these events from 2011 we’ll remember forever. Some we’d like to forget!

The title for the message is-“Re:Make-Remaking your past.” But what’s wrong with that title? It’s impossible! You can’t do it! We can’t undo the tsunami in Japan. We can’t undo the MN Twins 2011 season. We can’t go back and unwatch the Kardashian wedding! It’s done, it’s over! You can’t do anything about the past. Unfortunately, some of us are stuck in the past.

The past is nowhere to be. God wants more for you than for you to keep living in yesterday. And it doesn’t matter what yesterday looked like, whether failure or success, get unstuck! The Apostle Paul had a past-an amazing past! That is what we read in Philippians 3:5-6. But Paul knew he could not move forward if he was stuck in the past! Look how he continues in Phillipians 3:7-14.

Paul does two things…(1)Paul forgets-Paul chooses to forget what was behind him. He has a short memory. He regards it all as rubbish. His successes, his failures, it’s all behind him. (2) He looks ahead-He looks forward to what lies ahead of him. He quits looking in the rearview mirror and he boldly moves forward.

DEVOTIONAL POINT: So how are you stuck today? What year, what month, what past failure, what past success are you still re-living? Can you, will you, get past the past!? Lets pray for each other this week as we move past the past and pray the congregation would be able to look ahead as well.