Friends College Ministry

Friends Church - Yorba Linda, CA

Pastor Kevin Livermore

Have you ever felt like you were just going through the motions in life?

Have you ever felt like life is going by too fast and it is so hard to just be present?

Many times in life we are either regretting the past or anxious about the future but we are rarely ever just present. We are rarely ever aware of the present moment which in itself is a gift.

Past

Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland

Future

Matthew 6:34 …do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Present

Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Sometimes you have to go back in order to go forward.

When we remember God’s faithfulness, we make much progress.

Taking that time of silence to remember is not wasted time - it reminds us of who we are and what we are doing here.

Periodically throughout the day, it’s important to be present and remember who we are and who God is.

We need to remind ourselves of who we are and what we are doing here on earth.

Being present in this day…and only reflecting on the past when it comes to reflecting on God’s faithfulness. We grieve the things we couldn’t control or change in our past, but we praise God for being with us in the midst of it.

One of the ways I have found it easy to rejoice and be glad in today is to remember who I am, and who my God is.

I am a victor and not a victim, I am the head and not the tail, I am enough, I have what it takes, and I am more than a conqueror through Christ who lives in me.

God is inviting you to let go of…

regret and put on self-compassion,

to let go of despair and put on hope,

to let go of what’s wrong and remember what’s right,

to believe in a better future. To Create the future we want! To create a better world!

Don’t tell God how big the mountain is, tell the mountain how big your God is.

To remember who I am and what God is doing in my life, who God is inviting me to become, and how he is reminding me of how great he truly is.

Deut. 8:2

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way

So as this year comes to a close we remember….

I remember how good God has been to me:

Psalms 77:11

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

To remember evil doesn’t have the last laugh because Jesus is coming back and will reward and punish accordingly:

Revelation 22:12-14

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

To remember I am God’s chosen, holy, and dearly beloved child:

Colossians 3:12

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

1 Thessalonians 1:4

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you…

Eph. 2:4-10

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

To remember how faithful, redeeming, righteous, holy, patient, kind, generous, and great our God truly is.

Amen.