Hilton Head '09

Hilton Head '09

"But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead, I press toward the
goal to win the prize for which God has called me."

With only one day left on our family vacation in Hilton Head South Carolina, the scene of some great senior trips over the years, the choices for writing a devotion seem almost endless. There are the incredibly scenic beaches with the ever-changing tides to enjoy or the quality time spent with family laughing together, sharing memories and creating new ones. The challenging design and splendor of the golf courses we played is one other option but someone might ask my scores so I ruled that out. From the power of the ocean's waves to lessons on getting sunburned, this vacation has provided so many lessons including one learned from playing solitaire.

Solitaire, as the name indicates, is the card game you can play by yourself, seven piles of cards, turn over three at a time, and try to move the cards up top by their suits-a game we all know. Nancy was playing solitaire the other night as we were sitting around the condo and asked if I wanted to try a hand. From accepting her offer till now, I am 0 for 19, having lost every game so far. But the nice thing is it isn't at all discouraging because as soon as I'm done with this I can start a new game with as good a chance to win as ever.

The same is true in each of our lives in a much broader sense. Each day is a new day in the Lord; we can forget yesterday's disappointments and failures and start the morning with expectancy and hope. Paul, realizing this, wrote to the Philippian believers about his exercised habit of forgetting what was in the past, all his yesterdays including both successes and failures, and reaching toward the future opportunities offered by the Lord to each of us.

Francis Chan wrote "the scriptures demonstrate clearly that there is room for failure in our pursuit of the Lord". David wrote about God's mercy being new every morning, not from teachings he had learned but from the experiences of his life. Despite failure in his personal life, he walked in the forgiveness God offers and in the hope represented by each new day in the Lord.

Like the next game of solitaire I'm about to deal myself, your tomorrow is a fresh opportunity to accomplish God's will with your life, a truly new day to get it right in the choices and decisions you make, in the attitudes you carry, and in the impact you have in the lives of others. Let's take advantage of God's new day!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church