SCRIPTURE:
 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself, what are the things Paul is telling the Philippians?
1. Not that I have already obtained all this (rf. v.3:7-11)
2. Not that I have already been made perfect.
3. But, I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
4. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
5. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
6. I press on towards the goal to win the prize.
7. To win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I asked myself what does Paul focus on?
Paul focuses on the prize that comes from following Christ rather than living in the past.

Interpretations:
I asked myself why would Paul mention ‘forgetting what is behind?’
I was reminded of the time that the Apostle Paul was involved in the persecution of Christians including the martyrdom of Stephen as Pastor Bucknell, a missionary speaker of Oakland International Fellowship reminded the congregation Sunday morning.

The apostle could have allowed the past to haunt him and dwell on the mistakes he did but he decides to move on rather than living in the past, by making up his mind to strain toward what is ahead.

I asked myself what could ‘to strain ahead’ mean?
I was reminded of Paul’s emphasis on the present and future. In the present, he does not look back but looks to the future. It is not effortless though because he strains to look ahead which means it is possible that the memories of the past are fighting with him. But he does not give up! He depends on Jesus to work in him and through him. All the effort on his own without the pardon, purpose, power, promises,  and peace of the Lord would have been fruitless.

I asked myself why does he not give up?
He intends to press on toward the goal to win the prize. It is not any prize but the prize that God has called him heavenward in Christ Jesus. This in itself is so awesome to know because no matter what Paul had done in the past, he is joyful now because of God personally calling him heavenward in Christ Jesus! He is working on putting the past behind. That is exciting to know especially since he is still in prison but does not lose hope!

IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life. Studying this passage has been really, really helpful to me as an application reminding me not to dwell in the past but strain ahead to win the prize for which God calls me heavenward in Christ Jesus!

HOW THE GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING P.A.S.T:
There are a lot of things that happened to me in the past that have been wounds. But, I am so thankful through it all, the Lord Jesus has called me to be His child, precious and special in His sight. Oh I wish I could turn back the hands of time and right every wrong but that cannot always happen.  The Good News for me is that I know Jesus loves me so much and wants me to look ahead forgetting the past. This does not mean I don’t learn any lessons from my past.

Years ago, I was removed from a ministry I loved doing because of different circumstances. I was so focused on the past that I let it rule over me to the point that every blessing the Lord Jesus gave me was not good enough for me compared to what I had lost. I was living in the past and could not let go which cost me leadership positions in different areas in the present.

Now, I could have said to myself, 'Woe is me, look I have messed up again' but with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ who has mostly used my mommy, Pastor Hugo Cheng, Edwin & Marie, continuing to use them in my life, I decided to finish a book called, "Lord change my attitude before it's too late".

In it, I have learned how to replace a COMPLAINING ATTITUDE with a THANKFUL ATTITUDE, to replace a COVETOUSNESS ATTITUDE with a CONTENTMENT ATTITUDE, to replace a CRITICAL ATTITUDE with a LOVING ATTITUDE, to replace a DOUBTING ATTITUDE with a TRUSTING ATTITUDE, and to replace a REBELLIOUS ATTITUDE with a SUBMISSIVE ATTITUDE.

Not that I am there yet but as I surrender my life over to Christ, KNOWING JESUS, GAINING JESUS, and being FOUND IN JESUS, He will help me.

It has not been easy for me when I think about the things I have lost but with the Apostle Paul, I can say,  “Not that I have already obtained all this [Ref: Philippians 2:7-11}, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV)

I can do it because of Christ's agape love for me who has not abandoned me in my past but has picked me up when I was drowning and laid me on solid rock. He has become the Rock of my Salvation. I still wish I can do ministry in two different areas but I wait on the Lord. If He chooses me praise be to the Lord and if He does not choose me, praise be to the Lord for He is worthy of my praise for all He has already done in my life. Thank you Jesus.

Jesus has given me a wonderful community to be part of in Oakland International Fellowship using Pastor Hugo to mentor me every two weeks and Edwin to mentor  me and disciple me each week. Even though I meet with Pastor Hugo every two weeks, I can still talk to him anytime. Yesterday, I needed directions to accomplish something that I had forgotten to do, and the Lord used Pastor Hugo to guide me. Pastor Hugo has encouraged me so much not to give up on ministry but to use my life as service to others whether in a leadership position or not.

Edwin reminds me even if I have lost certain things, the Lord Jesus has been using me to be the leader of Pittsburgh Standard to accomplish His purposes with His power and promises.

 I won't say that at times I don't suffer in silence or the memories don't become a knife of fire, but I can say through it all, though the scars have been deep at times, I can move on and say, "It is well with my soul" not because of anything I can do but all because of what Jesus has done for me and will do for me as I yield to Him and Him alone.

It is amazing how the Lord Jesus has used specifically Kristen, Josh, Bryan, Edwin, Marie, and Steve from Living Acts to address a particular issue in my life instead of having the attitude: "Woe is me, I have messed up and there is no turning back".  Instead, they have provided opportunities for me to serve whether it is being a care person, snack person, a mentor, a librarian, etc.

That just shows me even when I have messed up and am not where I wanted to be, what matters most is how the Lord Jesus decides to use us in our weaknesses. It is very possible that in His timing, He can open the doors that He has closed for me earlier or just use me where He has placed me for His honor and glory.

I need the Lord's help because I want my goal to be to focus on pressing toward the prize that God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. I know the Lord wants me to live in the present and look to the future as I depend on Him  to receive the prize on that day!

He will bring inner healing in my life to deal with the wounds and scars of my life because He loves me so much and as the song my Wayne Watson goes, "He is the friend of the Wounded Heart" Praise the Lord.

I know whatever you are going through, Jesus will help you through it too. I shared only one example but there are others too, some much more painful, such as not being able to help my dad through his cardiac arrest because I was in another room until few minutes had passed up on Oct 7, 2007. Even in this situation, the Lord Jesus worked through the pain that our family went through. He gave us months to spend with our dad afterward until Jesus took him to be with Him on Dec 17, 2007. We saw miracles after miracles instead of dwelling in the past. Even now, as I put my faith and trust in Jesus, Jesus does not let my past rule me. Jesus loves you so much and will not let that happen to you too as you depend on Him and look to Him.

Living in the past hurt my relationships, my own time with the Lord Jesus, and so many other areas until I surrendered everything over to Jesus and decided to serve Him in where He has placed me remembering, "But life is worth nothing unless I use it to do the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus, the work of telling others about God's mighty goodness and love." (Acts 20:24, TLB)

One of my favorite movies is 'Sin Eater' which is reviewed at http://www.pittsburghstandard.com in the ENTERTAINMENT Archives. It is basically about Jesus who eats the sin away of a girl who cannot seem to live her life anymore because she feels guilty of causing her brother's death. We all face different skeletons of the past but the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He will be there for us.

If Jesus could help me overcome so many things of my past to PARDON me and help me rest in Him in the present to have PURPOSE and help me to look to the future holding on to His PROMISES in His POWER, I know I can have His PEACE in the present.

I ask you now dear friends, what has your P.A.S.T done to you in life?
Dear friends, our past can have such a hold on us that sometimes we can just get paralyzed and not move on. The pain and mistakes of the past can be lingering in our minds and the infamous ‘only-if’ starts to rule in us. ‘Only if’ will not change what has happened for me or for you.

There are things that happened in our lives we had no control of, yet it could be eating us alive as we relive those moments in flashbacks! Other times we were responsible for what happened and that can eat us alive too! The pain can be too much to bear. The Apostle Paul understood that because he had the blood of Stephen on his hands.

What can be worse than having a hand in murdering someone except being removed from ministry?
Paul was not removed from the ministry but was guilty of having a hand in the murder of Stephen when he was known as Saul of Tarsus! Yet in Christ, He was able to come to the point to put the past behind him.

I was removed from ministry twice in different areas of my life. Jesus alone has brought healing into my life! Sometimes it is good to share the past not to dwell in it but so we can finally put it behind us and move on! Other times to deal with it to bring us back to the place where we messed up if restoration can be possible. This is what happened to Joseph's brothers. They were able to relive their past of what they did to Joseph and be reconciled to him when he became governor as told in the Book of Genesis.

Friend, I don’t know what you are facing and what the past has done to you. I do not know the scars and wounds of the past that you carry. But this I do know, the Lord Jesus Christ knows the pain you have been through and the pain that some things still cause you. He sees your scars and wounds and wants to bring healing in your life. As long as you hold on to the past and dwell in it, you have not opened the door for Jesus to come and be your Healer. He wants to be your Healer whether you were responsible for what happened to you or others were responsible. Oh yes, He wants to heal you where you are at.

You won’t be able to turn back the hands of time but in Christ you can move on. Yes, you can! Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking that you messed up so much that there is no hope for you. That is a lie from the pit of hell itself.

No matter what has went wrong whether it is in a relationship, academics, career, ministry, etc, Jesus knows about it and wants to help you. When you depend on Him and seek Him, He will open better doors. Things that cannot be changed, the Lord will give you the peace and endurance to get through and enjoy the present He has given you. So that you could look to the future and one day receive the prize the Lord Jesus has for you as you come to Him face to face.

Every time the past comes up, make a conscious decision to focus on Christ and what He has called you to do remembering how much He loves you and 'no good thing will He withhold from those He loves'. Of course, when we think about good things, it is in His terms and not ours. 

No matter what you go through, you can get help from our Lord to strengthen you, guide you, and lead you for His Name's sake! He will be the Lord of Your Past! You can go out in faith and do what you believe the Lord Jesus put you here for! Our Lord Jesus has a plan for you  no matter where you have been or what has been done! Yes, He does! Rest in His Arms of Love.

In closing, I want to share with you all a true-story that happened few years ago:

I witnessed the Pittsburgh Panthers give up a crucial touchdown to the Boston College Eagles with 7:41 remaining in the 4th quarter, trailing now 16-13. It was a close game from the start. The defense let the Eagles go 86 yards in 7 plays to score. Now the Panthers were down in front of the home crowd by 3 points.

The Eagles got the ball back with 5:50 remaining and still holding a 3 point lead. The Panther defense could have just focused on only if we did not give that touchdown, what if we had made that play, and all only/what ifs. If they just focused on the ‘what ifs’ and the fear of messing up again, their defense would have been paralyzed.

Instead, they strained to look ahead to give the ball back to their offense. They stopped the Eagles with 3:40 remaining and gave the ball back to their offense. The defense looked ahead!!

Now the Panther offense got the ball back with 3:29 remaining after the punt. After going 4 downs they still could not get a 1st down and gave the ball back to the Eagles at the 50 yard line with only 2:12 remaining in the game.

By this time some saddened fans were exiting Heinz Field accepting a defeat for the Panthers thinking ‘what if’. In their minds they knew that the Eagles were going to try to run the clock down. Even if the Eagles wanted to score, all they needed to do was advance 20 yards and try for a field goal.

The Panther defense had to make sure that they didn't advance and strained to look ahead to give the offense the ball back again. They did not live in the past but took the opportunity of the present to make a difference. What a difference they made!

When some gave up on the Panthers, the many loyal fans remained in their seats hoping for a glimpse of hope. These fans too were looking ahead rather than focusing on what would have been if they got the 4th down. The defense came up big and stuffed the Eagles and received the ball back with only 1:19 remaining in the game when my brother in Christ, Shaun Robinson returned the punt 10 yards in 9 seconds. The defense had done its part.

They could have dwelled in the past of the moment when they had the ball with 3:29 remaining but rather than doing that, they focused on the present they received and the opportunity they had. They strained to look ahead to score that field goal to tie the game. What an exciting 70 seconds they were. They did not give up and throw the towel, neither did the faithful fans!

What ensured was a thrilling 61 seconds, giving David Abdul the opportunity to tie the game. That’s exactly what he did and he tied the game 16-16 with only 5 seconds. Eventually, Pitt won it in OT.

I believe the difference was not living in the past but focusing on the present and straining toward the goal of winning.

I wonder if many of those players had Philippians 3:12-14 in mind when they were playing the last few minutes. I say that because I personally have met many of them and talked to them about Christ and heard them talk about Christ. I guess I will have to wait until I see many of them one day again!

Freedom From Your Past
by Ramesh C. Reddy

Having trouble with your past?
Don't know how long it will last?
It's eating you up like a bomb's blast?

Cause missed opportunities coming to you to haunt,
Making you hurt and daunt?
No way to keep count?
ANSWER AWAITS, you can in life mount. (Matt 11:28-30)

You cant look back (Philippians 3:13-14)
Cause your self-esteem will lack. (John 14:1)
Life ain't over, though you are under attack (Ephesians 6:11)
And on the wrong track. (Isaiah 30:21)

You think though it is too late (Matt 19:26)
Because you have messed up each Date( day )? (Psalm 50:15)
May make you, yourself hate? (Isaiah 43:1-4)
That is not your fate. (Romans 8:28)
Christ is the Gate! (John 10:9)
Will deliver you from your broken state. (Luke 4:18-19)
Gotta walk by Faith (Hebrews 11:1)
And upon him wait. (Isaiah 40:31)

Jesus has your best interests in mind. (Romans 8:28)
Depending on Him and His Word, will us remind. (Col 3:16)

Loves you so much, for you He died on the pole ( Cross ) (1 Cor 15:3)
Please give him your heart and lets do our role. (Psalm 37:4)
Wonderful to know, each day his Blessings and Mercies are New.
How many situations in the past we blew. (Psa 103:17 & Gal 2:20)
AMEN!

May you rest in the Arms of Love of our Savior who will be the Lord of your past as you accept past, Savior trusting!

"Past Accept, Savior Trusting! (P.A.S.T)"/"What has your P.A.S.T done to you in life?"

MAKE THIS YOUR PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE PAST!
Thank you Lord Jesus for your amazing love. I love you very much Lord. Oh Lord please help me. When I think life is too late for me because of the mess that has been made, remind me to hold on to you so you can deliver me. There have been times I feel like I am in a haunted house where bad memories are in control, and each room has its own devilish ghosts. I keep being hurt and getting discouraged. Oh Lord, God of the armies of Heaven please deliver me. Please put me back on the right track. Thank you Lord you will deliver me whatever situation I am facing regardless. Thank you Lord, the past is not my fate. You created me for a special purpose. Thank you  Lord with your Spirit in me, I can and will be able to take control of the haunted  past. Jesus I yield myself and my past, present, and future to you. I surrender my life in your control. I don't want Satan to rule me and make me a prisoner of the past. I want you to be my Master and be Lord of my past! Please Lord whatever your decision is for me, though I may not understand, give me the strength to endure. Thank you Lord, your blessings and mercies are new each day. You speak to me from Isaiah 43:1-3 by saying ___, this is the Lord speaking, " ___ you have been called by Name. ____ you belong to me. ____ you are precious in my sight."( Isaiah 43:1-3)  Thanks Lord Jesus I am called by Name. I am precious in your sight. I belong to you. You will never leave me nor forsake me. IN YOUR NAME I PRAY LORD, THANKING YOU FOR EVERYTHING, AMEN.

You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)

You don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and give you peace to LIVE out your actions.

How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?

One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this example one Sunday at the RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:

If you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no peace.

But  as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.

Yes, friend God is aLIVE and wants to bring a transformation in your life through the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and LIVE with us.

Yes, friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE & LIVING GRACE.

When we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.

^"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)

Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.

"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!