When I was a boy, I learned to brush my teeth.  The advice in those days was to brush from side to side, so I worked at it until I could do fairly well.  After I became a grown man, dentists began to say that the best way to brush is up and down.  So I tried to change the way I brush.  It wasn't easy to change the habit pattern, but I finally did it.  Then they began to tell me I ought to brush from side to side!

     My reason for telling you this is to emphasize that life is filled with change.  New situations constantly call for new approaches.  We discover that although we overcame in a certain area at one time, yesterday's victories are not enough.

     They were enough for yesterday, of course, but they are not enough for today.  We are different.  Our circumstances are different.  And our responses should be different also.  We can continue doing things as we always have, and accomplish a little.  But we must change attitudes and approaches if we really want success.

     Even the most recent victories can trip us up if we think that now we have it made, so we don't have to work at it any more.  I read a news item about some firemen who rescued a kitten from a tree.  Bystanders applauded.  The firemen bowed to the crowd, jumped in their truck, and roared away...over the kitten!

     Yesterday's victories were good for yesterday, but this is a new day calling for new victories.  Paul said, "Forgetting what is behind me and reaching out for what is ahead of me, I am pressing onward toward the goal."  Philippians 3:13-14 (Williams).

     Let's join him.