"...reaching forward to what lies ahead..."

Paul was a driven individual. He had a sordid past. He discusses at length what he had done and accomplished in the past, but he did not focus on it. He was more interested in the future. This is remarkable considering that Paul was probably less than a decade from his death.

I have found that the older a person gets, the more they tend to focus on the past. But Paul admonishes us not to. Why? There is nothing wrong with remembering the past, but there is a great deal wrong with dwelling on it. Why? Paul states it this way in Philippians, “…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press (pursue) on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:13-14 ESV). You see, Jesus is the prize. God forgives those who start late, but He has a real issue with those who quit early. You must keep pursuing the prize! He reminded the Ephesian church, “…be careful how you walk (live), not as unwise men, but as wise, MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME,, because the days are evil…” (Ephesians 5:15-16 NASB).

I’m sure you recognize these passages. Paul is simply saying, “we are not done.” What we have done in the past is only to build into the future…no matter what our age is!

First Baptist Church of Dublin, has turned a corner in the month of May. Kingdom Kids is now a reality. Olivia, our Kingdom Kids director is the greatest. Our new ministry assistant, Courtney, is already doing a fantastic job. We have just called a young man who is called of God to minister to the younger generation of our community. All of these new workers are in their twenties! God has added several new souls to our church and we need to focus on the future and realize that we are responsible for discipling these new converts into the kingdom. You might say the church is responsible for doing that… Yes… YOU ARE THE CHURCH !!! Will you prepare yourself both spiritually and socially to be involved in this process!

As I just mentioned, we have turned a corner, but we have not arrived! There is still much to do and we need all of you on board so that God can use His church in mighty ways to reach the lost and to heal the souls of those in our community.

Will you join me?