Walkin' In Your Good News Shoes

My Utmost For His Highest

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God “in this your day”? […] Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.  CHAMBERS

Have you ever thought of your past in this way?  More often than not, when I remember sins from times past, I feel guilty and want to suppress it … not embrace it.  It is a way that God reminds us of our old nature, that which we have been saved from and the new nature that He has given us through His Son which is enabled by His Spirit.  I just had a conversation about this very thing.

The Spirit convicts us of sin … Nevertheless I [Jesus] tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (John 16:7-8) Through Jesus we are forgiven of our sin.  But God does not remove the memory of that sin from us.  Is that so we will feel guilty again when we remember it?  No.  Chambers is saying it is so we will remember what a great God we serve and what a wonderful gift we have been given through Jesus.  That is forgiveness.  Does that mean that it doesn’t matter if we sin because something good will come from the memory?  Paul asks this rhetorical question in Romans 6 …

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Romans 6:1-7)

Don’t let your past failures rule your life and steal your joy in Jesus!  You have been given a new life in Christ (Galatians 2:20) (2 Corinthians 5:17)  So put on your Good News shoes and start walking!

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)