Forgetting (1950) (epilanthanomai from epà = in or upon - intensifies meaning of following verb + lantháno = lie hidden or concealed) conveys 2 basic nuances in the NT, to forget (not recall information concerning something) or to neglect (give little attention to, to omit by carelessness or design). The epi- preposition intensifies the meaning as noted and thus the idea is not just forgetting but "completely forgetting." The present tense indicates that this is to be the Spirit filled believer's continual exercise - forget and forget completely! Paul makes a conscious (Spirit empowered) choice to not recall information concerning things in his past that would only encumber his running with endurance. Paul uses an illustration of a Greek runner completely forgetting his opponents he is leading in a race (see Related Resource - Athletic Metaphor). Paul knew if the runner began to think of the men behind him, the pounding of their pace, his speed might slacken. So Paul presses home the lesson that when a child of God remembers his past failures, the things he should have done and failed to do, the things he did which he should not have done -- all of these have the potential to impede or hinder our forward progress in the Christian life. When a Christian has confessed and sought the gift of repentance and made things "right" with God and his fellow-man, the next step is to completely forget them. As Wuest explains if we focus backward as those who are marching onward to Zion our... onward progress is hindered should he dwell on the past full of failures and sins, full of heartaches and discouragements, full of disappointments and thwarted hopes and plans. As long as a Christian has made things right with God and man, he should completely forget the past. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos) Epilanthanomai is used 8 times in the NT and about 98 in the Septuagint (LXX) (Sept - note especially the uses in the Psalms which makes an interesting and sad study to see who and what was forgotten. Gen. 27:45; 40:23; 41:30, 51; Deut. 4:9, 23, 31; 6:12; 8:11, 14, 19; 9:7; 24:19; 25:19; 26:13; 31:21; 32:18; Jdg. 3:7; 1 Sam. 12:9; 2Ki. 17:38; Job 8:13; 9:27; 11:16; 19:14; 28:4; 39:15; Ps. 9:12, 17, 18; 10:11, 12; 13:1; 31:12; 42:9; 44:17, 20, 24; 45:10; 50:22; 59:11; 74:19, 23; 77:9; 78:7, 11; 88:12; 102:4; 103:2; 106:13, 21; 119:16, 30, 61, 83, 93, 109, 139, 141, 153, 176; 137:5; Pr. 2:17; 3:1; 4:5; 31:5, 7; Eccl. 2:16; 9:5; Isa. 23:16; 44:21; 49:14f; 51:13; 54:4; 65:11, 16; Jer. 2:32; 3:21; 13:25; 14:9; 18:15; 20:11; 23:27, 40; 30:14; 44:9; 50:5f; Lam. 2:6; 3:17; 5:20; Ezek. 22:12; 23:35; Hos. 2:13; 4:6; 8:14; 13:6; Amos 8:7) Here are the 8 NT uses of epilanthanomai... Matthew 16:5 And the disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread. Mark 8:14 And they had forgotten to take bread; and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. Luke 12:6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, Hebrews 6:10 (note) For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. Hebrews 13:2 (note) Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:16 (note) And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased. James 1:24 (note) for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. We may need to renew our minds and refresh our thinking on the nature of God's "memory" regarding our past confessed sins, failures, rebellious acts, etc. Take a moment and meditate prayerfully and thankfully on the truth in the following glorious Scriptures (and then beloved...press on): "Who is a God like Thee, Who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant (refers to Jews who believe in Messiah - click for more on "the remnant") ) of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love (His motive for His unchanging forgiveness). He will again have compassion on us (the literal interpretation refers to the Jews who place their faith in Messiah, but the principle is applicable to all believers who confess and repent as are the other OT passages quoted below). He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, Thou wilt cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19 ) (And all God's people shouted "Hallelujah!" As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12) (King Hezekiah speaking in the days when he had become mortally ill and sought Jehovah) "Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness. It is Thou Who hast kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, for Thou hast cast all (how many?) my sins behind Thy back. (Isaiah 38:17) "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25) "If we walk in the light (which will expose darkness or unconfessed sins) as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1John 1:7) (See also the booklet The Forgiveness of God) Forgetting is in the present tense indicating that he was continually forgetting. This was his pattern. Not perfection but direction is the idea! Forgetting is also in the middle voice which means that the "runner" initiates & participates in benefits thereof. Paul is saying in essence that to keep one's focus "Don't look back." How many times we've watched in dismay as a lead runner looks back over their shoulder only to get passed on the other side or to slow them just enough to allow the opponent to pass them by. Don't look back dear saint. Make a break with the past. Nothing is happening back there is relevant. Yes it's fine and biblical to make memorial stones of remembrance but avoid making the stumbling stones of past memories. To grow toward Christlikeness, face up to your failures, then focus on Christ for the future. Expositor's Bible Commentary notes that... Forgetting did not mean obliterating the memory of the past (Paul has just recalled some of these things in Php 3:5, 6, 7), but a conscious refusal to let them absorb his attention and impede his progress. He never allowed his Jewish heritage (Php 3:5, 6, 7) nor his previous Christian attainments (Php 3:9, 10, 11, 12) to obstruct his running of the race. No present attainment could lull him into thinking he already possessed all Christ desired for him. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing) Albert Barnes has a lengthy comment writing that... There is an allusion here undoubtedly to the Grecian races. One running to secure the prize would not stop to look behind him to see how much ground he had run over, or who of his competitors had fallen or lingered in the way. He would keep his eye steadily on the prize, and strain every nerve that he might obtain it. If his attention was diverted for a moment from that, it would hinder his flight, and might be the means of his losing the crown. So the apostle says it was with him. He looked onward to the prize. He fixed the eye intently on that. It was the single object in his view, and he did not allow his mind to be diverted from that by anything--not even by the contemplation of the past. He did not stop to think of the difficulties which he had overcome, or the troubles which he had met, but he thought of what was yet to be accomplished. This does not mean that he would not have regarded a proper contemplation of the past life as useful and profitable for a Christian, (Ep 2:11-note) but that he would not allow any reference to the past to interfere with the one great effort to win the prize. It may be, and is, profitable for a Christian to look over the past mercies of God to his soul, in order to awaken emotions of gratitude in the heart, and to think of his shortcomings and errors, to produce penitence and humility. But none of these things should be allowed, for one moment, to divert the mind from the purpose to win the incorruptible crown. And it may be remarked in general, that a Christian will make more rapid advances in piety by looking forward than by looking backward. Forward, we see everything to cheer and animate us--the crown of victory, the joys of heaven, the society of the blessed-- the Saviour beckoning to us, and encouraging us. Backward, we see everything to dishearten and to humble. Our own unfaithfulness; our coldness, deadness, and dullness; the little zeal and ardour which we have, all are fitted to humble and discourage. He is the most cheerful Christian who looks onward, and who keeps heaven always in view. He who is accustomed much to dwell on fine past, though he may be a true Christian, will be likely to be melancholy and dispirited, to be a recluse rather than a warm-hearted and active friend of the Saviour. Or if he looks backward to contemplate what he has done--the space that he has run over --the difficulties which he has surmounted--and his own rapidity in the race, he will be likely to become self-complacent and self-satisfied. He will trust in his past endeavours, and feel that the prize is now secure, and will relax his future efforts. Let us, then, look onward. Let us not spend our time either in pondering the gloomy past, and our own unfaithfulness, or in thinking of what we have done, and thus becoming puffed up with self-complacency; but let us keep the eye steadily on the prize, and run the race as though we had just commenced it. (Albert Barnes. Barnes NT Commentary) Illustration - Those inventive people, the Italians, have a custom. As midnight on New Year’s Eve approaches, the streets are dear. There is no traffic; there are no pedestrians; even the policemen take cover. Then, at the stroke of 12, the windows of the houses fly open. To the sound of laughter, music and fireworks, each member of the family pitches out old crockery, detested ornaments, hated furniture and a whole catalogue of personal possessions which remind them of something in the past year they are determined to wipe out of their minds” (Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations). Illustration - The Oriental shepherd was always ahead of his sheep. He was in front. Any attempt upon them had to take him into account. Now God is down in front. He is in the tomorrows. It is tomorrow that fills men with dread. But God is there already, and all tomorrows of our life have to pass Him before they can get to us (F B. Meyer, from 1000 New Illustrations by Al Bryant, Zondervan). F W Robertson has an interesting thought on "forgetting" writing that... It is not by regretting what is irreparable that true work is to be done, but by making the best of what we are. It is not by complaining that we have not the right tools, but by using well the tools we have. What we are, and where we are is God's providential arrange-ment—God's doing, though it may be man's misdoing. Life is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best Christian who makes the fewest false steps. He is the best who wins the most splendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes. Stephen Olford writes that... When Sir Winston Churchill visited the United States during World War II he was heard to say that “if the present quarrels with the past there can be no future.” The point he was making was that we have to accept the past as unalterable and move on from there. To stay and quarrel with it, or be preoccupied with it, is to ruin the future... In one of his earlier diaries, David Livingstone penned these words: “I have found that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but I this day resolved that I would be an uncommon Christian” (adapted from Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations)... One of the subtle devices the Enemy uses to slow us up in our Christian life, is to keep us preoccupied with past failures or successes. If we are going to live lives of holiness and victory, we must forget all that is past; we must leave it behind. Paul had a stunning and, at the same time, deplorable past, but he realized that if he were preoccupied with his past, he would not be able to give his full energy to his present calling. (Olford, S. F. Vol. 2: Institutes of Biblical preaching) Dwight Pentecost comments on forgetting writing that... Paul has left behind him across the Roman world a string of established churches shining as lights in the darkness. The Roman world has the light of the Gospel through these believers, who stretch from Jerusalem all the way westward to Spain. Paul could become complacent, feeling his work is done because of the churches that have been established. Paul could look at that which he has suffered and conclude that he has suffered enough. The saints would agree with him. Over and over again companies of saints waited upon the Apostle Paul as he journeyed toward Jerusalem and urged him not to go to Jerusalem because they knew it would involve physical suffering. But Paul pressed on. Paul could look back on everything he has experienced and say, “It is enough. I will withdraw from the race.” But Paul says, “I must forget the things that are behind.” Sometimes the blessing of God could lull us into complacency and indifference. We feel that we have earned our right to take our ease and to turn over to others the running of the race. We view ourselves as competitors in a mile relay, in which we are called upon to run a part of the distance and then turn the baton over to someone else and let him continue. Paul’s concept is that he is in the race until the Lord Jesus Christ brings him to Himself. Then and only then will the goal be reached. We must beware lest accomplishments and blessings cause us to withdraw from the race. It is also true that, if we are to reach the goal, we must forget failures that may be in the past. Failures can discourage. We start out to run and then trip and fall, and so we give up. We conclude we are not cut out for the race and are content to let someone else run. Failures can bring preoccupation with self just as much as blessings or attainments can. Preoccupation with self can bring discouragement that would cause us to retire before the race is finished. The apostle says, “I must forget those things that are behind.” (Pentecost, J. D. . The joy of living : A study of Philippians. Page 149. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications) C H Spurgeon (in the Biblical Illustrator) explains that by saying forgetting Paul... 1. Does not mean — (a) That He forgot the mercy of God he had enjoyed. (b) That he forgot the sins he had committed. 2. We must follow out his figure. If a racer were to pass most of his fellows, and then look round and rejoice over the distance covered he must lose the race. His only hope is to forget all behind. (a) So must it be with past sins overcome. Perhaps at this moment you can honestly say, “I have overcome a fierce temper,” “I have bestirred a naturally indolent spirit.” Stop long enough to say, “Thank God for that”; but do not pause to congratulate yourselves, or it may be soon undone. The easiest way to give resurrection to old corruptions is to erect a trophy over their graves. Yonder friend is very humble, but if he were to boast of it there would be an end of it. (b) So with all the work we have done. Some people have good memories as to their performances. They used to serve God wonderfully when they were young. In middle life they wrought marvels, but now they rest on their oars. As long as you are in the world forget what you have done, and go forward — individuals, churches, denominations. (Bolding added) In his painting "An Allegory of Prudence," the 16th-century Venetian artist Titian portrayed Prudence as a man with three heads. One head was of a youth facing the future, another of a mature man eyeing the present, and the third, a wise old man gazing at the past. Over their heads Titian wrote a Latin phrase that means, "From the example of the past, the man of the present acts prudently so as not to imperil the future." We need that kind of wisdom to overcome the anxiety created by our past failures and the fear of repeating them in the future--an anxiety that can keep us from enjoying life to the fullest right now. Never let a bleak past cloud our bright future which is grounded in Christ Jesus. (adapted from Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) The well-known preacher Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) speaking of the beginning of a new year declared: "We have passed through one more year. One more long stage in the journey of life, with its ascents and descents and dust and mud and rocks and thorns and burdens that wear the shoulders, is done. The old year is dead. Roll it away. Let it go. God, in His providence, has brought us out of it. It is gone; . . . its evil is gone; its good remains. The evil has perished, and the good survives." Alexander Maclaren has an interesting view of what to "forget" writing that... You find some certain type of Christian character, or exercise of Christian grace, that is easy and natural to you, and you come to know how to do it. It becomes your special habit, which is all right, but it also tends to become your limit, which is wrong. Habits are like fences, very good to guard the soul from sudden incursions of trespassers, but very bad when the trunk has grown up and presses against their stubborn rings. And many of us simply keep on doing the narrow round of things that we fancy we can do well, or have always been in the way of doing, like barrel organs, grinding our poor little set of tunes, without any notion of the great sea of music that stretches all round about us, and which is not pegged out upon our cylinders at all. This is what Paul is saying believers are to do. Those who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior can let go of the past and move ahead with assurance because Jesus provides forgiveness and hope. Having confessed our sins, we can confidently press on into the future. Remembering God's faithfulness and forgetting past mistakes can make pressing on a time of joyous anticipation. Look not back on yesterday So full of failure and regret; Look ahead and seek God's way— All sin confessed you must forget. —DJD Never let a dark past cloud a bright future. Behind (3694) (opiso from opis = a looking back) means backwards and can apply to place and time. What are “the things which are behind”? What is Paul referring to? In short, everything that is passing away, everything that when "struck" lacks to ring of eternity, the "good" things, the great human achievements (eg those "religious" achievements Paul described earlier in this chapter), the virtuous deeds, etc. In short all those things the world seeks after and so futilely cling to as if these things give their lives temporal and eternal meaning, purpose and significance. What is it that is in your grip and God has been gently "prying" your fingers so that you might release it? What else? Forget the bad things too - the sins, the failures, the disasters. Why? Because it has nothing to do with our glorious future. Now Paul is not saying that if we have unresolved conflicts, broken relationships, unconfessed sins, etc, that we should not deal with them! That is not his point. In fact take a moment and pray Psalm 139:23,24 (noting carefully there are six commands!) and then do business with God... Search (a command - yes, God is inviting us and privileging us to "command" Him!) me, O God, and know (also a command) my heart (the secret place of my life). Try (a command) me and know (also a command) my anxious (word study) thoughts; and see (a command) if there be any hurtful (wicked) way in me, and lead (a command) me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:23-24) (See Spurgeon's note v23; Verse 24) Paul's point is that on one hand the saint cannot live on past victories. On the other hand, he or she should never be debilitated by past (confessed) sins. And yet so many believers are so distracted by the past that they are weighed down and encumbered to the point that they can barely run for the future (see note on lay aside every encumbrance Hebrews 12:1). Paul is saying that the saint who would run to win must completely forget those things which encumber. Picture for a moment , a runner moving forward and at the same time looking backward! It is not an effective way to run for the goal ("gold") beloved! Let us all run that when we break the tape we hear the Judge say "Well, done." Why "well done"? Because we have been faithful (in the "big and small" things). The runner who takes his eyes off the goal is in danger of losing direction and motivation. He or she must not be distracted by the crowds cheers or their jeers and must not let other runners distract them from the course and the focus...one thing. And so...When the devil brings up your past, remind yourself of your future! W P Insley (The Biblical Illustrator) sums up Christian progress: I. THE THINGS BEHIND WHICH ARE TO BE FORGOTTEN. 1. Past sinful pleasures. 2. Past evil acquaintances. 3. Past good works. II. THE THINGS BEFORE. 1. Increased holiness. 2. The prize of eternal glory. ><>><>><> The Illinois Medical Journal Article - Why We Must Learn to Forget the Past: There are two days in every week about which we should not worry—two days which should be kept from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone. The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds—but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn. That leaves only one day—Today. Any man, by the grace of God, can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities—Yesterday and Tomorrow—that we break down. It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad—it is remorse or bitterness for something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring. Let us, therefore, journey but one day at a time. (John Lawrence, Life’s Choices, Multnomah Press, Portland, 1982, pp. 111-112) ><>><>><> Grantland Rice gives an interesting illustration of forgetting (in The Tumult and the Shouting) writing that... Because golf expresses the flaws of the human swing—a basically simple maneuver—it causes more self-torture than any game short of Russian roulette. The quicker the average golfer can forget the shot he has dubbed or knocked off line—and concentrate on the next shot—the sooner he begins to improve and enjoy golf. Little good comes from brooding about the mistakes we've made. The next shot, in golf or in life, is the big one. Paul is giving essentially the same advice in this verse, emphasizing that the key to forward movement in the Christian race is to set our eyes on the goal and keep looking ahead, because when we look back to our past sin, we open the door to discouragement. What do you do when the past begins to "slow you down"? When past sin gets you down, when you find yourself brooding about it, or when you become discouraged because of a specific failure, if you've not yet done so, then confess it to God (He already knows and is waiting to hear you humble yourself and accept responsibility), claim His complete, "no strings attached" forgiveness, and put it behind. In our race toward the goal of every increasing Christlikeness, as in golf, the next shot is the big one. And as a corollary, it's always too soon to quit. Hampton Keathley has this advice on forgetting... We Cannot Do Anything About Last Year’s Harvest. Whatever we did last year, last month, last week, even yesterday is over and past. There are no time machines to take us back so we can change what we did yesterday. Nothing we do today can in any way change the record of what was sown and what was or will be reaped as a consequence. It is either a harvest that will be worthy of praise or burning—or perhaps portions of both—but whatever was produced stands as the record of the lives we live on this earth. The problem with all too many Christians is that they are not forgetting the past and reaching on to what is before (Php 3:13, 14). If we failed to produce a crop worthy of the Lord’s praise last year our brooding and wallowing in self-pity for having wasted this time will only cause us to fail to produce anything glorifying to the Lord this year. If we did use the opportunities the Lord gave us and produced a harvest of good things, we cannot rest on our laurels. This is another year; and just because the Holy Spirit led and blessed last year, as we were obedient to Him and the Word, does not mean that we automatically will produce anything good this year. We Must Learn to Live With the Consequences of Our Failures. When people believe they are failures or that their failures (evil sowing) forever ruin their chances for success and marks them for life, it neutralizes them and wipes out their ability to use their life and the gifts God has given them. But how do we avoid this? By the following: By confessing our failures to God (1Jn 1:9; Ps 32:5-note). This wipes the slate clean. By knowing and resting in the fact we are forgiven through Christ and can move ahead for the Lord and in life regardless of the past (Ps 32:1-8-note; Ps 51:1-13-note). By learning from our failures: use them as back doors to success (Ps 119:59, 67, 71-note). The principle is we need to learn from our failures (He 5:8-note). By forgetting the past (triumphs and failures) so we can press on for the future with renewed commitment to God’s will (Php 3:13,14; Lk 9:62). By seeing and using the trials caused by our failures as character builders. “The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man’s business but build up his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing to the inner man.”10 Again consider Ps. 119:67-note, Ps 119:71-note with Jas 1:2-note, Jas 1:3, 4-note; 1Pe 1:6, 7-note. As Lawrence mentioned (see his book John Lawrence, Life’s Choices, Multnomah Press, Portland, 1982, pp. 22-23), brooding and wallowing in self-pity for having wasted some part of one’s life will only cause us to fail to produce anything glorifying to the Lord in the year ahead. Therefore: We Must Commit Ourselves to This Year’s Harvest. We must press on in our lives by sowing for the future and for the Lord. Whether we did or did not produce effectively in last year’s harvest, we must neither sit around in self-pity or guilt, or sit on our laurels. We must press on toward the upward call of God in Christ. The following passages illustrate what we need to do by way of pressing on whether we have experienced victory and growth, or failure, or a lack of growth. (The Seven Laws of the Harvest- Recommended Read) Steven Cole says that in regard to our attitude toward past events, sins, failures, etc, we should just "Leave them where they are "In the past." Pastor Cole notes that the picture is of a runner who does not make the mistake of looking over his shoulder. His eyes are fixed on the goal. If he made mistakes earlier in the race, he doesn’t kick himself by replaying them in his mind. If he did well, he doesn’t gloat about it. He leaves the past behind and keeps moving on toward the finish line. Many Christians today are being told that to experience healing from their difficult pasts, they need to delve into their pasts and relive the hurtful things that happened to them. This approach has come into the church from the world, not from the Word. It would be wrong to say that verse 13 is all that the Bible says about the past. Even earlier in the chapter, Paul has mentioned his own past life in Judaism. It can be helpful to reflect on what happened to us in the past in order to understand where we’re at in the present and where we need to grow. There is a biblical case for self examination, which means evaluating things that have happened in the past, both good and bad, as a means of growing now. But our text shows that there needs to be a balance. Paul means here that we should not be controlled by the past. Someone has used the analogy of a car’s rear view mirror. You don’t drive by looking in the mirror. You drive by looking ahead out of the windshield. But it’s helpful to take occasional glances in your mirror and use the information to make decisions about how to drive safely in the present and future. But if you spend too much time looking in your mirror, you’ll probably crash because you’re not paying attention to the present. In the same way, we need to take periodic glances backward, but we also need to put the past (good and bad) behind us, accept God’s grace and enabling for the present, and move on with what He is calling us to do now. (Philippians 3:12-16 Christian Growth Process) Theodore Epp writes the following advice on Dealing With Your Past... We can do nothing about the past except make necessary confession. And when confession is made, the Bible promises: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). By confession, sin is placed under the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and when it is under the blood, it does not condemn any longer. Unless the past is dealt with, one is not prepared to live in the present nor to go on into the future. Unless the past is dealt with, it becomes a haunting memory that saps the strength of the believer so he is unable to honor Christ in his daily life. What God does with sin when it is confessed is explained in various passages. Isaiah 44:22 says, I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud, and your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you (NASB). Hebrews 8:12 (note) says FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE" (NASB) Someone has said, The present must forget the past by correction, or else the past will become a moral and spiritual liability for the future. Consider some items that need to be forgotten: failures--they keep our faith from advancing; successes--they create pride (see Pr 16:18); losses--they drag us down so we cannot serve the Lord the way we should; grievances--they produce false attitudes (see 1Cor 13:6); sorrows--God can heal all heartaches; discouragements--we need to remember Christ, not disappointments, thwarted hopes and plans. And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (He 10:17-note) (Back to the Bible) (Copyright Back to the Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved) ><>><>><> Seeing Or Remembering - There's a story about a man who was slowly losing his memory. After an examination, the doctor said that an operation on his brain might reverse his condition and restore his memory. However, the surgery would be so delicate that a nerve might be severed, causing total blindness. "What would you rather have," asked the surgeon, "your sight or your memory?" The man pondered the question for a few moments and then replied, "My sight, because I would rather see where I am going than remember where I have been." In Philippians 3 the apostle Paul made the same choice spiritually. His past, with its success and its shame, he chose to forget. What mattered to him most was keeping his eyes on the goal of gaining Christ's approval. That kind of mindset is one sure mark of Christian maturity. It's what God is working to develop in our lives (Phil. 3:13-15). We can't forget our past, of course, but we don't have to live in it. Any good we may have done is from God, so we can only be thankful. When we confess our sins, they are buried in the deepest sea. Let's not keep dredging them up. What do you choose? To see or to remember? --D J De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Onward and upward your course plan today, Seeking new heights as you walk Jesus' way; Heed not past failures, but strive for the prize, Aiming for goals fit for His holy eyes. --Brandt If you keep looking back, you can't make spiritual progress. ><>><>><> A Time To Forget - The end of one year and the dawning of a new one provides an excellent opportunity to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start. The well-known preacher Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) said: "We have passed through one more year. One more long stage in the journey of life, with its ascents and descents and dust and mud and rocks and thorns and burdens that wear the shoulders, is done. The old year is dead. Roll it away. Let it go. God, in His providence, has brought us out of it. It is gone; . . . its evil is gone; its good remains. The evil has perished, and the good survives." Those who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior can let go of the past and move ahead with assurance because Jesus provides forgiveness and hope. Having confessed their sin, "forgetting those things which are behind," they can confidently face the future, "reaching forward to those things which are ahead" (Phil. 3:13). Remembering God's faithfulness and forgetting past mistakes will make entering the new year a time of joyous anticipation. Yes, we can leave the sins and failures of this past year behind us, accept His forgiveness, and press on to higher ground. As far as our shortcomings are concerned, we can make the beginning of the new year a time to forget. — Richard De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Look not back on yesterday So full of failure and regret; Look ahead and seek God's way— All sin confessed you must forget. —DJD Never let a dark past cloud a bright future. ><>><>><> Look Back Or Ahead? - The great American baseball player Satchel Paige once said in jest, "Don't look back—something may be gaining on you." In contrast, George Santayana, a Spanish thinker and writer, noted in 1905, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." So which is it? Do we move on, never looking back, or do we dwell on our past errors to avoid making them again? Scripture seems to indicate that we should do a little of both. We do need to think back on our lives and learn from our mistakes. That's part of the process when we confess our sins and ask God for forgiveness. We need to think about our disobedience long enough to seek God's mercy and then choose to "go and sin no more" (John 8:11). Forgiveness is God's way of clearing the slate, but it's our responsibility to depend on the strength of the Holy Spirit who lives within us to avoid repeating the errors of the past. The apostle Paul, for example, acknowledged his past mistakes, drew upon God's mercy, and then focused on becoming more like Christ (Philippians 3:13,14). So, is it best for us to look back or to look ahead? We would be wise to do a little of both: We need to look back for forgiveness, then look ahead to make progress. — Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) More like the Master I would live and grow, More of His love to others I would show; More self-denial like His in Galilee, More like the Master I long to ever be. —Gabriel To grow spiritually, face up to your failures, then focus on Christ for the future.