Yesterday’s Sins: Yesterday’s News
By Samantha W.
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 NIV
I don’t find it easy to forget,
especially when it comes to past mistakes. I think I’m over the guilt, when
bam! The reminder of what I did three days, three months, or even three years
ago surfaces to my mind.
Most Christians can learn to forgive
others, but it’s a different case to forgive their own sins. We like
to beat ourselves up, rehash the scene and lament why we didn’t react in a
better way.
We promise ourselves we’ll make up
for it in some way as if God’s love and acceptance were something to earn. And
some of us feel trapped in the past, too afraid to move forward in fear that
we’ll blow it again.
When the guilt presses against us, we like to cry out to God. “I’m sorry, sorry that I stole my brother’s lollipop nine years ago. It was a horrible thing to do. I was always jealous of him.”
Of course, the confession might be more serious but the answer is always the same.
“This is about the fifth time you’ve apologized. Do you not believe me when I say I forgive you? I don’t even remember what this is about.”
You don’t think that’s what God would say? Look at these Scriptures.
God is love, (1 John 4:8) and love keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:5)
He has removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12)
He blots out transgressions and remembers our sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)
If God has taken our dark past and chucked it to the winds, why do we try to snatch it back up?
When the guilt presses against us, we like to cry out to God. “I’m sorry, sorry that I stole my brother’s lollipop nine years ago. It was a horrible thing to do. I was always jealous of him.”
Of course, the confession might be more serious but the answer is always the same.
“This is about the fifth time you’ve apologized. Do you not believe me when I say I forgive you? I don’t even remember what this is about.”
You don’t think that’s what God would say? Look at these Scriptures.
God is love, (1 John 4:8) and love keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:5)
He has removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12)
He blots out transgressions and remembers our sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)
If God has taken our dark past and chucked it to the winds, why do we try to snatch it back up?
We need to learn to:
1.
Confess our sins.
2. Accept the gift of forgiveness.
3. Forget about it!
We haven't time for regrets when God
gives us a new start every day.
God bless,
Samantha W.
1 comments :
God cannot lie for He is Truth! So, if He says your forgiven then you are forgiven! There is no if's, and's, or but's in His vocabulary! We just need to accept His amazing grace:) Samantha, thanks to you for reminding us of these truths!
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