Philippians 3:12-14 12 "Not that I have already attained,[a] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [b]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus".
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu, Melech Ha Olam/Blessed are you O Adonai our G-D, King of the Universe. Shabbat Shalom Mishcopa/Happy Shabbat family
First, let me start off saying this month is the month of ELUL, this means "I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me," is the Hebrew acronym of the word Elul. These beautiful words from the Song of Songs, (6:3) describe Israel's love for G-d and G-d's love for Israel. Likewise describes the intimate atmosphere which enters with the month of Elul and envelopes us all as we prepare our hearts and souls for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, which await us at Elul's conclusion in four weeks.
As a Messianic believer in Yeshua Hamashiach, I celebrate the opportunity to see myself as His Beloved. These weeks to come are our ability to repent, take stock, mend our ways, and return, closer than ever before, to G-d. I pondered on what this means to me as a believer. I recalled a situation last week, where I felt like my past was haunting me. Many times, we want to move on, we want to repent for our past sins and draw closer to G-D. However, for some, this is hard to do because our past mistakes haunt us. How can we move forward in G-D when we are carrying guilt and shame from our past behaviors. Either the people in our lives keep bringing up, or we continue to punish ourselves. A scripture that comes to mind is Philippians 3:12-14 12 "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus".
Think about how the Apostle Paul had to forget how he murdered the early believers in Yeshua. Let us imagine how difficult it might have been for him not to be haunted by his past. The other Apostles did not believe him at first when he claimed to be reborn. They were quick to remind him of his past. However, as he mentioned in Phil.3:12-14 willing to forgot his past, forgetting those things that were behind him and decided to press forward. In Philippians 3 Paul speaks of his personal life before Yeshua. Probably carry around the guilt and shame of things that he was once proud of, but coming to the knowledge of Yeshua now happy to let them go. When reminded of my past, the Lord gave me this quote " someone who brings up your past is not worthy to live in your future." It sad to say, but some people will only see you as past your sins and refused to see where you are head in G-D.
In Closing, I encourage you to live guilt and shame-free. Suppose you repented and made a conscious decision to leave your old life behind. Well, by all means, continue to press forward in Yeshua Hamashiach. While at work, I discussed with my clients about letting go of the past and self-forgiveness. I used the metaphor if they were driving forward on the highway and got stuck in traffic. They could not go forward or backward. Sometimes we lived like we are stuck in traffic. We tried to go back, wishing we could change what we did in the past, which keeps us from moving forward. Move forward Him, and He has a plan for you. Your past is your past used to help others and not to stay stuck.
Shabbat Shalom
Your Achoti/Sister
References:
Smith, C. (1 May, 2005). Sermon Notes for Philippians 3:14 by Chuck Smith. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/smith_chuck/SermonNotes_Phl/Phl_8.cfm
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