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Last night I went to see the latest Rocky movie. I've been a fan of these films for years, and I was so excited to see a new chapter. The movie was excellent, albeit a little slow at times. The ending was not what I expected, but it was a fitting ending for the character. But the purpose of my writing this is not a review of the movie, but rather some thoughts on our lives here at the end of another year, triggered by the movie's storyline. In the latest movie, Rocky finds himself in a totally different life than the one he knew before. He owns a restaurant and he spends his time there telling stories about his glory days. He is older, most of the people he loved are gone, and he seems to spend a lot of time looking back. In fact, Paulie tells him that he is "living backward". That one line really stuck with me, and it really hit home with me. I can't help but wonder how many of us look back and think about the way things used to be. How many of us may feel that the glory days are behind them, that they are now just biding time until the end? Maybe we don't have a special person in our life, and we're lonely. We may remember a time when it wasn't that way, and "live backward" in those memories. Maybe we aren't as successful as we thought we would be, and we "live backward" to a time when we made more money or had nicer things. The apostle Paul wrote "forgetting those things which are behind, I press forward to the mark." As we move into the new year, let's prayerfully consider living forward, rather than backward. I think it is so easy to get caught up in the trap of living in our memories that we fail to see what is available now. Think about it this way: in a few years, are you going to be looking back at this time, wishing you could relive the memories from now?
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| One of my favorite stories concerns a bishop who was traveling by ship to visit a church across the ocean. While en route, the ship stopped at an island for a day. He went for a walk on a beach. He came upon three fishermen mending their nets. Curious about their trade he asked them some questions. Curious about his ecclesiastical robes, they asked him some questions. When they found out he was a Christian leader, they got excited. “We Christians!” they said, proudly pointing to one another. The bishop was impressed but cautious. Did they know the Lord’s Prayer? They had never heard of it. “What do you say, then, when you pray?” “We pray, ‘We are three, you are three, have mercy on us.’ ” The bishop was appalled at the primitive nature of the prayer. “That will not do.” So he spent the day teaching them the Lord’s Prayer. The fishermen were poor but willing learners. And before the bishop sailed away the next day, they could recite the prayer with no mistakes.  The bishop was proud.
On the return trip the bishop’s ship drew near the island again. When the island came into view the bishop came to the deck and recalled with pleasure the men he had taught and resolved to go see them again. As he was thinking a light appeared on the horizon near the island. It seemed to be getting nearer. As the bishop gazed in wonder he realized the three fishermen were walking toward him on the water. Soon all the passengers and crew were on the deck to see the sight. When they were within speaking distance, the fisherman cried out, “Bishop, we come hurry to meet you.” “What is it you want?” asked the stunned bishop. “We are so sorry. We forget lovely prayer. We say, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name …’ and then we forget. Please tell us prayer again.” The bishop was humbled. “Go back to your homes, my friends, and when you pray say, ‘We are three, you are three, have mercy on us.’ ”
From And the Angels Were Silent
Copyright 1992, Max Lucado
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As I look at current world events, I can't help but think back to the past and all the times I have heard preachers use different world events in time to prove that we are living in the last days. Yet, when you think about it, we don't really need the proof that we are living in the last days; Peter told us that the day of Pentecost was "that which was spoken by the prophet Joel", going on to quote Joel: "In the last days I shall pour out my Spirit upon all flesh". That is proof enough. So when will the Rapture happen? I don't know, other than when God's scheduled time arrives, I know that it will happen. The events occurring in the world today speak to me of "setting up" things for the rapture to occur. For example: - The alliances that are forming in the Middle East and beyond
- The events occurring in the Middle East and beyond
- The continuing increase in anti-Israeli sentiment
All of these things point to an original design, a to-do list if you will, that points to the last day events. What do you think? 
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