One of the things I love about college football is the Bowl Season. It is unique in sports to college football. It allows many teams, even some with 6-6 records to finish their year with an opportunity for a special “championship” moment. Other sports have a playoff system that ultimately has many losers and only one winner. But, in college football, many teams will end the year with a special moment in a College Bowl Game.
But I also love that, every year, every team starts the new year with the same record – 0 wins and 0 losses. Even an undefeated National Champion starts the year in the fall with the same record as a team that didn’t win even one game the previous year. And coaches of National Championships often have the hardest time. They have to constantly remind their players that this is a new season and they need to forget the past and win again this season if they want to be champions again. Teams that “rest on their laurels” will have a hard time making it back to the playoffs again. In college football, teams have to start each new season by “forgetting what lies behind.”
In Philippians 3:13-14, the Apostle Paul tells us his strategy: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have arrived. But this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
As you look back on the past year, what is your strategy for the new year? For some, there have been many losses and failures. What should you do? Let them go and press forward to the goal of living for Christ this year! For others, there have been great accomplishments – let them go and press on to live this coming year only for the Lord and His glory. Some have lost jobs, other have finally found their dream job – either way, commit yourself to pressing on for Christ this year. Last year, we saw dear ones lose their battles to cancer and other physical diseases. How can we go on? Press forward toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. What is true in college football is even more true spiritually. Don’t spend your time focusing what might have been – Press on! Don’t sit back and rest in your victories – Press on!
Many start each new year with New Year’s resolutions that they fully intend to keep. Some are helpful; some are not. Most will be forgotten in a couple of months. But most important as we start each New Year is to let go of the past and look forward to what God is going to do in your life as you walk fully committed to Him! Forget what lies behind (good and bad) and press on to follow the Lord more fully in this new year.
My Health …
This year has been a very difficult one for me physically. My health began to seriously deteriorate in August with some colon and stomach issues that made me very weak and gave diarrhea pretty regularly. That not only weakened me, but made teaching very difficult. We were able to get most of the stomach issues under control by December but then I had a heart attack and needed an angioplasty and stents (I had a bent artery). I came home from the hospital a few days before Christmas but my condition worsened daily after the procedure. The day after Christmas, I was back in the hospital with what appears to be an acute Pericarditis. I returned home the day before New Year’s and I’m taking medicines and recovering at home. I’m still struggling with strength. I can walk around for about an hour or two before I have to lay down and sleep for a few hours again. But my blood gas numbers are coming down and I seem to be a bit better. The cardiologist said it can take 2-4 weeks to recover. I am so grateful for all the prayers for me and for Katya and the girls during this time. Hopefully I will be feeling much better by our next month’s update!
Teaching …
This year was a full year of teaching – in fact I actually had one more class than normal. I taught a variety of theology sections (Christology, Anthropology, and Hamartiology), Church History, Theology of Prayer and Worship (taught twice), the Theology and Practice of Evangelism, and Research and Critical Thinking. And I had some unusually large classes – a couple classes had 58 students! That’s a lot of papers to grade! In all, I taught over 200 students this year! I’m deciding about classes for next year. Because I was feeling so poorly, I had to turn down teaching a class in January. At the time, I did not know I would be having a heart attack (the Lord did), but I just felt so tired from my other issues that I decided I needed to rest this January.
Family …
In spite of all the physical difficulties, we still had a very blessed time together for Christmas. The girls have been taking dance lessons and they were able to have their first performance during Christmas (I was in the hospital 🙁). They also enjoyed making and decorating Christmas cookies and putting together puzzles.
I was fortunate to be able to come home from the hospital a couple of days before Christmas so I could spend time with family for Christmas before going right back into the hospital the day after Christmas. We did not have Christmas dinner (because I was too tired and sick) but we had a delicious Christmas breakfast with waffles and fruit! We also enjoyed doing the Advent wreath every day during the last month so the girls were able to keep their focus on the birth of Jesus. Then I was able to return home from the hospital again the day before New Year’s so I could have New Year’s dinner with family.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers for us. We pray that this year will be one of “forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus for all of us! Happy New Year!
Jim and Katya, Kristina and Nadia
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