DONE REWINDING!
Not too long ago, I happened to have been driving in car and was about to put on the radio when I saw something on the car’s panel that I had not seen in years. It was the opening for a cassette tape. And did the memories come flooding back! I thought of the days in the mid 80’s when walk-mans were the hottest thing around. Remember that one button that came in handy when you were trying to go back to find that one spot in a song? That’s right, you could hit REWIND. But there was always a problem, sometimes you could end up going too far back or not far enough. I don’t know about you but I recall getting very frustrated many times after failing to find exactly where you wanted. Eventually you just gave up and let the cassette play to the end. But the decade of the 80’s came and went and with it the walk-man craze has given way to the digital era. Today nobody has any reason to REWIND when you’re listening to I-tunes or the latest CD. Times have certainly changed so that today we can finally say that we’re DONE REWINDING. That’s today’s FF – DONE REWINDING!
Now even though there’s no need to be REWINDING because cassette days are over, is it fair to say that sometimes in our lives we still feel as if we’re living in the REWIND mode? It’s as if instead of moving forward with our lives and grabbing hold of all of the new opportunities that God places before us that instead we have a preference for going backward. Why? Maybe because it is a place that we’re familiar with. To live in REWIND is to revert back to the safety of the known rather than move forward to unknown that is also unpredictable. But what if REWIND sends you back to a place where what is familiar may not necessarily be comfortable, joyful or peaceful? What if instead it’s a familiar pain, familiar disappointment or familiar trouble? And even though we know that REWINDING is not in our best interest and we tell ourselves that it’s time to release the REWIND button somehow our fingers still end up pressing it. See this FF as an alarm clock that is screaming out to us – hey it’s time to be DONE REWINDING!
Sometimes we continue REWINDING because we donÂ’t want to face up to the truth. So you happen to have a family member whoÂ’s struggling with drugs or have an alcohol problem who always has to be rescued. And every time itÂ’s the same story and you go back to being sorry for them and spending money you donÂ’t have on them. Next time they come let them know that youÂ’re DONE REWINDING. What about the spouse whoÂ’s betrayed his/her spouse trust repeatedly and seem not to be able to hold to the sacred covenant that ties two in marriage? How many times must there be a request for forgiveness while there is no repentance? Guess what? Next time just say that youÂ’re DONE REWINDING. Have a friend who only knows you or calls you when in need and you feel as though you are only being used and not appreciated? Well with the next phone call be quick to say that youÂ’re DONE REWINDING. There can be so many situations that I can think of but IÂ’m sure you get the picture.
Now to take an attitude of DONE REWINDING is not to be lacking in compassion. It is not to be merciless. If anything when we say either to ourselves or to others that we’re DONE REWINDING it’s really celebrating the grace of God that is presently at work in our lives. It is only by God’s grace that instead of constantly REWINDING that we can instead say like the Apostle Paul, I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Phil. 3: 12 – 14). So stop living in the walk-man era. Time, like God is moving forward. So celebrate all that God has given you today to enjoy and keep living with the hope tomorrow brings. And when others come wanting to take you backward in time, find the courage and the resolve to let them know that God’s been so good to you now that you’re DONE REWINDING!
Mikie Roberts (Rev)
HereÂ’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus
Sometimes we continue REWINDING because we donÂ’t want to face up to the truth. So you happen to have a family member whoÂ’s struggling with drugs or have an alcohol problem who always has to be rescued. And every time itÂ’s the same story and you go back to being sorry for them and spending money you donÂ’t have on them. Next time they come let them know that youÂ’re DONE REWINDING. What about the spouse whoÂ’s betrayed his/her spouse trust repeatedly and seem not to be able to hold to the sacred covenant that ties two in marriage? How many times must there be a request for forgiveness while there is no repentance? Guess what? Next time just say that youÂ’re DONE REWINDING. Have a friend who only knows you or calls you when in need and you feel as though you are only being used and not appreciated? Well with the next phone call be quick to say that youÂ’re DONE REWINDING. There can be so many situations that I can think of but IÂ’m sure you get the picture.
Now to take an attitude of DONE REWINDING is not to be lacking in compassion. It is not to be merciless. If anything when we say either to ourselves or to others that we’re DONE REWINDING it’s really celebrating the grace of God that is presently at work in our lives. It is only by God’s grace that instead of constantly REWINDING that we can instead say like the Apostle Paul, I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Phil. 3: 12 – 14). So stop living in the walk-man era. Time, like God is moving forward. So celebrate all that God has given you today to enjoy and keep living with the hope tomorrow brings. And when others come wanting to take you backward in time, find the courage and the resolve to let them know that God’s been so good to you now that you’re DONE REWINDING!
Mikie Roberts (Rev)
HereÂ’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus
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