Happy New Year | Strain for the prize

I started out somewhere in this blog with a New Year message,and here i am making antoher one.

Taken from a book called the Daily Bread, December 31st. It was 12:00 a.m. Dad and i sat down to pray, thank God for what He had given us. Interestingly, we were wiser, suddenly open to reality in a different way, a much nicer way.

"In his painting 'An Allegory of Prudence,' 16th century Venetian artist Titian portrayed Prudence with three heads. One head was of a youth facing the future, another was of a mature man eyeing the present, and the third was of 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 he present acts prudently so as no to imperil the future.'

We need that kind of wisdom to overcome the anxiety created by our past failures and fear of repeating them in the future - an anxiety that keeps us from living to the fullest now. Paul was able to 'forget' his past and anticipate his future (Phil 3:13-14).

This doesn't mean his memory was erased; it means that Paul was free of any guilt or pride he may have felt from his past actions, becasue God had forgiven him. This attitude enabled him to live in the present and 'press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus' (v.14). So he had one driving passion - to know Christ better.

As we close the chapter of this year, let's rededicate ourselves to Christ. Jesus will enable us to live fully in he present as we gain wisdom from the past and face the future with courage."

- Dennis De Haan | Daily Bread | RBC Ministries

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And so to prudence, i raise my toast. To our ability to stand the test of what is set before us and to make of it a better understanding and better tomorrow.

- that's me by the way.

Happy New Year, all of ya!