January 28, 2010

Living In The Now. In working with people as a pastor for over 3 decades, I have discovereda number of similarities in human behavior. One of these is our failureto grasp the power of the present. All too often people live inanything but "the now." There are a lot of folks who are stuck in the past. They are alwayslooking back. Their reminiscence may be filled with regrets overfailures in their yesterdays. They are haunted by what they did or feelthey should have done in years gone by. Other people focus on the perceived glory of the past. These are thefolks who are enamored with how great they used to be, what amazingthings they once did, or how wonderful the "good old days" were! While recognizing and reconciling the mistakes, appreciating thesuccesses and learning the lessons of the past are all important andvaluable, that's where "rear view living" should end. There is another equally destructive tendency. Many people are livingin the future. They are preoccupied with what I call "one dayscenarios." The single person is tortured by the dream of "one day" whenthey will be married. Sadly, at the very sad time, a whole lot ofmarried people are dreaming about the "one day" they hope to be singleagain! Think about all the "one day" scenarios that cause people tomiss their "now" moment. What does the wisdom of Scripture teach us about "now?" While the Biblehelps us understand how to process our past and have positiveexpectation for our future, its emphasis is clear on our "today." Godcalls us to pay close attention to now - live in the present!Interestingly, the English word "now" is found 365 times in the NIVtranslation of the New Testament! Why is now important? N = You have no other time but now promised and given to you. Yesterdayis gone, and tomorrow has not arrived. O = Opportunities for growth, learning, serving, giving and lovingalways happen in the now! Opportunities always happen in a presentmoment! W = What you do with your now will determine what happens in yourtomorrows. Your choices now are determining your future destiny. Let's all make a decision to make the most of our NOW! Pastor Dale