“God requires an
account of what is past” — Ecclesiastes 3:15
“Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened
by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our
yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry
of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us
from a very shallow security in the present. […] Our yesterdays hold broken and
irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that
will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a
constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest
in the sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His
hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.” Oswald Chambers, My
Utmost For His Highest
We must be careful that we don’t let our past sins and the
regret that comes with them to become the reason we say “no” to God today. The Bible is full of examples of people that
God used in a mighty way who had done terrible things .. committed great sins …
and yet, they repented, found forgiveness and were given a new start as they
walked with God. There were some things
that they could not do because sins do have consequences. To imagine that we can do anything and it not
affect others is an attempt to justify our sins .. to make an excuse for what
we have done.
Confession – means to agree with God. All of our sins are laid bare before God,
even our secret sins and thought life.
To overcome our past, we must lay all of our excuses aside and
understand that we are no different from anyone else. All have sinned .. there is none righteous ..
only Jesus … and in Him we can be assured of forgiveness. Forgiveness means that we are no longer
facing the penalty for those sins. But, very often we must endure the
consequences.
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to
anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his
anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according
to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is
his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far
has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his
children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we
are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is
gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their
children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his
precepts.” – Psalm 103:8-18
We don’t have to be enslaved by what sins we have committed
in the past, but can be free to live for God by His grace and mercy for
eternity. Now that is something to shout
about. Consider this verse to give you perspective for today and all of your
tomorrows.
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to
have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14
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