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Viewpoint from Colin Wooden 25/10/2024
 Colin Wooden
Mount Pleasant Gospel Hall, Lowestoft
and
volunteer at the Great Yarmouth Seafarers Centre
Notable quotes
They can be flippant or profound, sometimes wise and penetrating, and generally remembered because of the person who said it. Here's one from Aldous Huxley; "I wanted to change the world, but I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself". This one from G. K. Chesterton; "One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak"
 The author of this one is unknown; "The richest man is not he who has the most, but he who needs the least", and it reminds me of the words of Paul, written to the church in Philippi from his prison cell in Rome. "What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ…for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ". When you think of what Paul achieved in his life, and what was of great gain to him before becoming a Christian; his knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament scriptures; his rise and authority as a Pharisee in the religious sphere; you begin to understand what he meant by "what things were gain to me". Not that they were worthless, but that in themselves they had no value in elevating him in his status and standing with God. They were of huge benefit though in his preaching and teaching about the greatness of the Lord Jesus
Another one I like is that of the American Olympic track and field athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She said in an interview on American television "It's better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret". To prepare for a career, for marriage and married life, for retirement and then old age, are some of the things that we can make preparation for. And then eternity; now that's a thought!! Have we looked forward and prepared for that?
Paul probably had that in mind when he wrote in that same letter; "…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus". Having made preparation in the past, he was now looking forward to the future with the Lord Jesus in heaven
Do we know where we are going, and what preparation have we made?
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