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It really saddens me to think about the people who are focused more on their past, what they did wrong, who failed them and how they’ve been hurt- so much so that they cannot focus on where they are going and where God wants to take them through it all. Perhaps they believe that facing the future would be too painful because they’ve been disappointed or hurt in the past, they are afraid to face what tomorrow can bring!
I love what the late Pope John XX111 said about this very thing that I’m talking about and he called it; walking backwards into the future! Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but rather with what is still possible for you to do!
Considering my own life, I think about the trials of being born and raised into a dysfunctional family and yes I’m confessing, I guess, my family was a pretty messed up bunch in so many different areas. For myself, I have come to believe it’s more painful for me to walk backwards into the future than to face it. I have learned that an important healing process for me was to face my fears and those hurts and cast them out with God’s help. It’s not that I’m ignoring my wounds. Just the opposite; I am acknowledging my brokenness. Through it, I’ve realized how God wants to use those wounds for redemptive purposes in my life.
We all have experienced disappointments, hurts, and pain. Some of it was out of our control. But what about the pain we’ve experienced that we can control? All of those past sins, the guilt, the hurt, that you just can’t seem to let go of - when you’ve asked for forgiveness but can’t seem to accept it and move forward? Most of what I’ve said here is regret. We need to recognize that regret is not brokenness - It’s simply just another form of PRIDE!And let me tell you I was full of it in many ways. God doesn’t care what you’ve done if you’re only going to live the rest of your life in regret. ?He cares that you let what you’ve done in your life break you. Because until you realize you are broken, you can’t experience redemption.?
There are times when I’ve asked for forgiveness for a sin … but I’ve held on to a little self-loathing about the matter, just for good measure. You know, just in case Christ’s death wasn’t good enough. Just in case His blood didn’t cover all of my sin. But true repentance is not just regretting what I’ve done. Or hating myself for it. And it doesn’t end at having my heart broken with remorse over sin. It requires turning from the sin and handing over my broken heart to Christ. It means turning around, walking forward and looking ahead to where God wants to take me.
But it’s easy to look away. I think about the time the disciples were in the boat with Jesus and how the storm came after He fell asleep. The disciples took their eyes off Christ when the storm began ravaging their boat. Who can blame them with high waves crashing and slamming the boat, lightening bolts striking the water, and dark rolling thunder all around them.
How could Jesus sleep through something like this? I imagine many of us have wondered about this at some point in our lives when we‘ve experienced similar storms. Jesus did not panic, He simply says, Turn and Face Me! Trust in Me and have faith that I will calm the storm and make a way.
For some of us, perhaps living in the past is all we know. It’s like that man in the Bible who was lying next to the Bethesda Pool waiting for healing. He had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus saw him, He asked him, Do you want to get well? Part of me wonders if the man really wanted to reply, Uh … duh. Hello? I’ve been ill for 38 years. Do you think I’m laying next to this pool for the fun of it? Yet, Jesus knew exactly how long the man had been sick. He knew how long he had been waiting to be healed. And still, Jesus asked the man, Do you want to get well? For those of us who are focused on the past and still hurting. Christ is still asking you, Do you want to get well? Turn and face Him. He will begin a healing in you if you pick up your mat and walk toward Him.
When we are so focused on the stormy circumstances of our lives - we miss all that God has for us in the present. Being a Christian isn’t all about getting beamed to heaven. It’s about living, struggling and learning to love God more every day. He wants to show us His redemption and His goodness in the midst of the journey- in the midst of our storms. He wants to give us joy for the present and hope for the future.
The good news is that God can help us turn around. We just need to look where we are going. But that doesn’t mean focusing on our circumstances or putting our hope in our future success. We’ve got to remember that where we’re going is toward Christ. That means putting our hope in the Lord Himself. And that kind of hope does not disappoint!
Asap Rocky.
11 june 2012.
AB Brussels.
photo: Alex Vanhee.
Rakim Mayers (born October 3, 1988), better known by his stage name ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper and music video director. Born and raised in the New York City neighborhood Harlem, he is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker..
Rocky released his debut mixtape LiveLoveA$AP in 2011 to critical acclaim. He plans to release his debut studio album, LongLiveA$AP, in July 2012..
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Asap Rocky.
11 june 2012.
AB Brussels.
photo: Alex Vanhee.
Rakim Mayers (born October 3, 1988), better known by his stage name ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper and music video director. Born and raised in the New York City neighborhood Harlem, he is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker..
Rocky released his debut mixtape LiveLoveA$AP in 2011 to critical acclaim. He plans to release his debut studio album, LongLiveA$AP, in July 2012..
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ASAP Bouncing and Recorvery. Ever need some serious men to protect your establishment or event: contact: T.C. Smith at asapbouncing@yahoo.com
In 1973 Norway had a public referendum deciding whether to join the EU or not. At the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, NHH, this created a bad atmosphere with two groups, pro and con, not being able to solve their differences.
After a while they decided to use this energy on something else, beating another business school in Norway in an annual relay race across Norway, with start at one school and finish at the other, a distance of about 500km.
Since then NHH has won the race 28 times, BI has won 9.
In the start the race kept on night and day with only a few runners, but now 110 runners from each school run only during daytime and are followed by four busses of supporters, all drunk as hell.
This year, with good help from the supporters group ASAP (seen on the photo) NHH won their 8th consecutive race.
Is it always this easy for NHH?
Asap Rocky.
11 june 2012.
AB Brussels.
photo: Alex Vanhee.
Rakim Mayers (born October 3, 1988), better known by his stage name ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper and music video director. Born and raised in the New York City neighborhood Harlem, he is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker..
Rocky released his debut mixtape LiveLoveA$AP in 2011 to critical acclaim. He plans to release his debut studio album, LongLiveA$AP, in July 2012..
.
In 1973 Norway had a public referendum deciding whether to join the EU or not. At the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, NHH, this created a bad atmosphere with two groups, pro and con, not being able to solve their differences.
After a while they decided to use this energy on something else, beating another business school in Norway in an annual relay race across Norway, with start at one school and finish at the other, a distance of about 500km.
Since then NHH has won the race 28 times, BI has won 9.
In the start the race kept on night and day with only a few runners, but now 110 runners from each school run only during daytime and are followed by four busses of supporters, all drunk as hell.
This year, with good help from the supporters group ASAP (seen on the photo) NHH won their 8th consecutive race.
Is it always this easy for NHH?