This Could Be the Start of Something Big:
Looking Back
I Peter 1:3-16
1 Peter 1:3-16
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you,
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
7 These have come so that your faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,
11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
(NIV)
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.
The rear-view mirror’s earliest known use and mention is by Dorothy Levitt in her 1906 book The Woman and the Car which noted that women should "carry a little hand-mirror in a convenient place when driving" so they may "hold the mirror aloft from time to time in order to see behind while driving in traffic", thereby inventing the rear view mirror before it was introduced by manufacturers in 1914. The earliest known rear-view mirror mounted on a motor vehicle appeared in Ray Harroun’s Marmon racecar at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 race in 1911. Although Harroun’s is the first known use of such a mirror on a motor vehicle, Harroun himself claimed he got the idea from seeing a mirror used for the same purpose on a horse-drawn vehicle in 1904.
In the United States and Canada, passenger-side mirrors have this text written on the lower part of the mirror:
Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
This is because passenger-side mirrors are convex to allow the drivers to get a wide-angle view of the road—behind them, and to the sides — but at the same time, they cause objects to appear more distant. Since smaller objects appear farther away, the objects seen in the mirror look further away than they really are. If the driver does not consider this, they might make a maneuver (such as a lane change) assuming another vehicle was a safe distance behind, when in fact it was quite a bit closer. The warning is there to remind the driver of this potential problem.
The flat mirror used on driver’s-side mirrors, on the other hand, would not cause the same distortion.
As we embark on this new year, we need to take into account what is behind us because Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.
The past impacts the present.
There once was a parakeet named Chippie. Chippie was like most parakeets: happy, singing, bringing a smile to everyone who came to Chippie’s cage. One day, the woman who owned Chippie decided to clean up the seeds and loose feathers at the bottom of his cage. Since she didn’t really have much time, she thought her vacuum cleaner would make fast work of the cleaning task. She turned the vacuum on, opened Chippie’s cage door, and shoved the hose into the cage. Just then, the phone rang. The owner turned to answer it and with a thud and a swoosh, Chippie was gone!
The owner quickly turned off the vacuum and unzipped the bag. There was Chippie, covered with dust, stunned but breathing.
The owner then rushed Chippie to the bathtub to clean him up. She turned the faucet on full blast and held the bird under the icy water.
At that point she realized that she’d done even more damage with the cold water so she cranked up her blow dryer and gave the wet, shivering little parakeet a blast!
Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore!
Life’s events will take our song away, but only if we let them!
Rules for Being Human
#1 You will learn lessons
#2 There are no mistakes - only lessons
#3 A lesson is repeated until it is learned
#4 If you don’t learn the easy lessons, they get harder. Pain is one way the universe gets our attention.
#5 You’ll know you’ve learned at lesson when your actions change.
The problems of our past impact us in one of two ways: Breakdown or breakthrough.
The Chik-fil-A sandwich was invented while Truett Cathey was unable to go to work. Wolfgang Mozart was told that his opera the marriage of figaro had "too many notes" and was "far too noisy". Artist Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime. Harry S. Truman was 38 years old, in debt, and out of work in 1922; 23 years later, he was the most powerful leader in the free world, occupying the highest office in the land!
I came across a story the other day that says speaks of what happens to us and in us when we choose to let the past break us down. The story is called “The City of Regret”:
I really had not planned to take a trip this year, yet I found myself packing anyway. And off I went, dreading it. I was on another guilt trip.
I booked my reservation on Wish I Had airlines. I didn’t check my bags – everyone carries their baggage on this airline – and I had to drag it for what seemed like miles in the Regret City airport. I could see that people from all over the world were there with me, limping along under the weight of the bags they had packed themselves.
I caught a cab to the Last Resort Hotel, the driver taking the whole trip backward, looking over his shoulder. There I found the ballroom wher my event would be held: The Annual Pity Party. As I checked in, I saw that all my old colleagues were on the guest list:
The Done Family – Woulda, Coulda, and Shoulda
Both of the Opportunities – Missed and Last
All the Yesterdays _ there were too many to count, but all would have sad stories to tell
Shattered Dreams and Broken Promises would be there, too, along with their friends, Don’t Blame Me and Couldn’t Help It.
Hours and hours of entertainment would be provided by that renowned storyteller, It’s Their Fault.
As I prepared to settle in for a really long night, I realized that one person had the power to send all those people home and break up the party:
ME!
All I had to do was return to the present and welcome a new day!
Every major difficulty you face in life is a fork in the road.
You choose which track you will head down, toward breakdown or breakthrough! If you have found yourself getting on a flight to the City of Regret, recognized that it is a trip that you book yourself, and you can cancel it at any time – without penalty of fees. But you are the only one who can!
As Lewis Carroll once said, "It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backward."
Life isn’t lived in reverse!
Although Peter had been with Jesus, hearing Him speak, see miracles with his own eyes, he knew how easily the past can push us toward the City of Regret! When Peter first encounters Jesus, Peter recognizes his own sinfulness and begs Jesus to leave. But you can’t get rid of Jesus just by telling Him how bad things are or how bad you are! Jesus told Peter, “From now on, you’ll fish for men!”
Later on, Peter tries to stop Jesus from heading to the cross. Jesus’ response is “Get behind me, Satan!” In 2010, the translation would be, “Boy, you talk like the Devil!” Then Jesus takes Peter up the Mountain of Transfiguration where He sees Jesus conversing with Moses and Elijah.
Wouldn’t you think that all these great things would make Peter more godly and less jerky? When they arrest Jesus a few days later, you know what Peter is doing? Cussing and saying that he does not know Jesus at all! Even after the resurrection, when Peter nearly dives headlong into the tomb where Jesus was, still doesn’t believe it, even though the stroud is ripped apart and the headcloth is folded neatly to the side. Talk about a doubter! It isn’t until Peter runs off to go fishing, that Jesus appears to Peter like the first time and restores Him.
What must happen to you to get you turned around?
Just studying the Bible won’t do it: The Prophets tried that:
I Peter 1:10-12
10 … the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,
11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
(NIV)
Even the angels long to see what God wants to do for you!
1 Peter 1:12
Even angels long to look into these things.
(NIV)
Most people don’t lead their lives;
they accept their lives.
If you’ve been badly hurt, then start by acknowledging the pain and grieving the loss you may have experienced, But refuse to stay there!
Forgive the people involved, including yourself.
Forgiveness does not change the past,
but it does enlarge the future.
I will forgive myself for last year. Because we take ourselves so seriously, it is easy to pile on guilt for the things we failed to do or did wrong. But God chose to live His life through me, knowing that I’m a broken vessel. I will spend time now consciously determining what I need to learn from my mistakes, and then I will join God in casting them into the Sea of Forgetfulness.
The first person you will have to lead is you!
1 Peter 1:13-16
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
(NIV)
