" 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." (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT)

In ancient Rome people had a god named "Janus." This was their god of beginnings. The first month of the Roman calendar was named for "Janus." We know this month as "January." The Roman people thought "Janus" was able to look forward at the future and backward at the past at the same time.

As the year 2008 passes into history forever, and a new 2009 is here, people tend to remember and think about the past and wonder what will happen in the future. There seems to be two opposite views in Scripture. Paul reminds us to forget the things that are past and to continue toward the future. But then, God commanded Moses to remember what God had done for the people of Israel in the desert after leading them from captivity in Egypt.

God is saying to remember the blessings and to learn a lesson from the bad things so in all ways He will get the glory. We can become focused on our guilt and failures so much that so much that we forget the good work God is doing in us. We should not let the guilt of the past block us from doing God's work in the future. Athletes work through bad times and become stronger after the bad times pass.

Remember that God sees and knows everything. With God at our side, we can face our unknown future with faith. God is already in 2009 and beyond. God already knows what will happen and is now preparing us for His service in the New Year. We should learn from the mistakes of last year and the past. We should focus on God and His plan. If God could bring us through last year, we should trust Him more for this coming year.