Hello friends,
It is time again, for another news brief and devotional thought. There is not much news from our place. We managed to get out for some groceries and for Milrae to get a haircut. She came out of retirement to give me a trim, but she needed a professional (didn’t really trust me to do it). It was good to just get out for a drive, and see the country. One thing more; Grandson Alex has graduated from Mitchell Technical Institute with honors. There was no graduation ceremony, the school will mail diplomas, along with a gift package. Congratulations to him for hanging in there.
Reality came to visit this week. It came in the form of a request for information on something from my far distant past. It is sobering to realize you are one of a few individuals with firsthand knowledge of times past. I’m thankful for being able to recall some long forgotten memories. The question had to do with the country school I attended some 70 years ago.
Scripture tells us to live our life as a long distance race. Paul reminds us that we should not live in the past, but to focus on what lies ahead as we live for Christ. He also tells us to remember our past, because we need to know where we came from.
I’m glad that things don’t stay the same. My education began in a one-room school with no electricity, no running water and no restrooms. Now we have on-line classes all the way to the college level. No one could have imagined such a change in 1949. I am thankful for the memories, but in no way would I want to go back.
Here is the application for the Christian: When we trust Jesus for our salvation, we become new creations. The old is gone and the new has come. Why would anyone want to return to that lost state? Remember the past, but don’t try to live there. We have new life and eternity is before us. The writer of Hebrews says to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1). Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:4).
In His precious name,
Pastor Jerry
sandhillspastor 