25 Woods Lake Road, Building 8, Greenville, SC
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Salvation is the point where you die, in your life, and Christ begins to live, in your life. Are you attempting to live the Christian life by making your life match the principles he teaches, or are you letting go of your life and allowing Him to live His life through you? A Christian is a new creation, born again. The process is similar to that of a butterfly; unless the caterpillar dies, you will not find a butterfly.
Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ”. Is Paul speaking in code, or is he speaking clear truth? The questions that revolve around this are at the heart of the gospel. What took place on the cross, and what effect does it have on the life I am living today?
Failure to see our past through God’s eyes can be crippling to our future. Sins and hurts from years gone by often continue to haunt us, making us doubt whether God has really forgiven us. But what we must understand is that God sees our past differently than we do because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. It is vitally important that we learn to see our past as God does, or it will keep us from a life of effectiveness for Him.
It’s easy for discouragement to set in after we have failed the Lord in some way. Peter understood this all too well after denying Jesus, and he was ready to quit and return to his fishing business. But he learned that, despite his sin, Jesus was not finished with him… in fact, Jesus had an important mission for him to help lead the early church. Whatever you may have done to get off track, you need to know one thing: No failure is final with God! He is waiting to restore you right now.
Have you ever felt disappointed in yourself because you let someone down? Even worse, have you ever felt the bitter sting of knowing that you let Jesus down? Peter experienced this when he denied Jesus three times… but thankfully that was not the end of the story. Jesus restored Peter and assured him that no failure is final with God! Whatever failures you have experienced, Jesus is waiting to help you rise from the ashes and find hope in Him once again.
Is there anything in your past that is holding you back from becoming all that God wants you to be? No matter who you are, no matter where you’ve been, no matter what you’ve done, God can take your past and turn it into something beautiful for Him. Because of what Christ did on the cross, you can get past your past!
