LEADERS LEARN HOW TO “LET IT GO”:  Philippians 3:13 “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  How many times has someone told you to “let it go?”  Or, how many times have you told someone else to simply “let it go.”  It often happens in the home with our wife and children and we often don’t want to simply let it go or get aggravated when we have let an issue go, but the other person has not and keeps bringing it up.  We often find it hard to forget in both circumstances.  I even have to remember this on the golf course after hitting a bad shot.  My buddies remind me, “Dean, let it go and move on.  It’s over and forget it.”

As Paul tells us in our Scripture this week, the same is true in our daily life and spiritual walk.  Paul had a lot of things in his past that could have pulled him down.  He knew that he had been forgiven and had an upward call of God; therefore, he “let it go” and pressed on toward what was in the present and future. The enemy is who tries to drag us down by our past and our inability to “let it go.”  Hebrews 10:17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember NO MORE.”  This is a powerful promise which we need to be reminded often. Once we have confessed a sin, we do not need to confess it over and over.  It is the enemy who keeps bringing it up to make us feel guilty and to focus on the past and what lies behind.  This promise is simple: “Our sins are forgiven and forgotten.”  So, the bottom line for the Christian is freedom and to “let it go!” and move forward.  It is like punching the DELETE button on your computer and the picture or words disappear into the trash bin.  Don’t open it,  just empty it permanently.