Philippians 3:13-14 ‘but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’
DAILY READING – – Hebrews 4:14-6:12; Genesis 49:1-50; Psalm 39
Madalyn Murray O’Hair is known as ‘The Most Hated Woman In America’. This was because of the pivotal role she played in the removal of prayers and Bible reading from public schools in America. In 1960 she filed a lawsuit challenging the practice of compulsory prayer and Bible reading in public schools as unconstitutional. She gained national attention following the landmark Supreme court ruling that banned prayer in public schools. She later founded the American Atheists organization and from that platform, fought viciously to have everything that represented God to be removed from the American government and public places.
Yet despite her battle against the Church, she had a son named William that secretly believed in God. And in 1980 William publicly proclaimed his conversion to Christianity and would eventually go on to become a Baptist minister. His conversion so infuriated his mother that she said of him ‘I repudiate him entirely and completely for now and all times. He is beyond human forgiveness.”
William’s decision to separate himself from his atheist family may have saved his life. In 1995, his mother, daughter and younger brother who had all remained atheists were kidnapped and gruesomely murdered by an embittered former business manager of his mother. Today, William is an active Christian who tries to undo the harm his mother has done to Christianity in America. He serves as the chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. that lobbies Congress on issues related to aiding Christians. Despite the negative legacy his mother left behind, he is towing a different line and has become a blessing to his generation.
The truth is that though you may have been raised around dysfunction, that does not have to stop you. Though you may have come from a negative background it is not who you are. Though the circumstances of your birth may seem to have put you at a disadvantage, that still has not thwarted God’s plan for you. Out of the ashes, God is still able to bring forth beauty.
You may have been born into what seems an unfair situation where you didn’t have a choice. And you may have a 1,000 reasons to be bitter and ask “why me?’ But even in the midst what looks impossible, God is able to make a way for you. In Joshua chapter 5, the Israelites had come to Jericho, which was the last obstacle between them and their Promised Land. These new generation of Israelites were those whose parents had wandered in the desert for 40 years and died there. Part of their parent’s disobedience was refusal to circumcise their children on the 8th day as God had commanded. Now this new generation were in their 20s and 30s and before they could enter the promised land, God commanded Joshua to circumcise them.
They would have to suffer the pain of circumcision in their adulthood, because their fathers failed to do what should have been done in their childhood. It seemed they had to suffer for what was not their fault. But then despite their parents’ dysfunction and failure it did not stop God’s plan to bring them into the promised land. Because they stayed in covenant with God, they were able to enjoy the promises of God in the new land.
Sometimes we can feel like these Israelites, having to suffer the consequence of a situation that that was not our own making. Perhaps you find yourself disadvantaged today, because of what someone did wrong in the past, or you are being treated wrongfully for what was utterly someone else’s fault. Perhaps you may think that if you had better parents or relatives, or born under better circumstances, your life would have been better. But none of that matters, when Christ is in control of your life. In Christ Jesus old things are passed away and all things are become new. Just as the new generation of Israelites still entered the promised land, despite their parents’ misdeeds, the same way when we remain in covenant with God there is no height He cannot take us to. You can still get to where God has ordained for you. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance. If you will forget those things that are behind and keep reaching forward to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, God will open for you doors no man can shut. Indeed it doesn’t take time, it takes God. As you stay in God’s will, He can compress time for you. And in these last few weeks before the end of the year, God can accelerate your speed to bring you into the glory He has destined for you. .
PRAYER: Father, I thank You for turning around every negative situation in my life, and establishing Your perfect will and plan for me. Indeed with You, my God, nothing shall be impossible in Jesus Name.
Quote :
For you to enjoy victory in The Kingdom of God, you need to develop a kingdom mind, that thinks in line with The Word of God. – WORDBITE 222.