25 Woods Lake Road, Building 8, Greenville, SC
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.
Far too many people who get married and have children, try to build their family on the shaky, cracked foundations of their past. But just as no building can stand tall and strong if built on a broken foundation, so no marriage will ever stand strong if problems from your past are not first dealt with. The Bible says if we hide our sins we will not prosper, but if we confess and forsake them, we will find mercy. Are there any areas of “rust” in your past that you have chosen to just paint over instead of dealing with? Rust will always eventually show through the paint! God calls us to deal with our past so that we can build a strong family on a clean, solid foundation.
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!
Paul reminds the believers in Ephesus of what they used to be before Jesus came — without hope and without God in the world. Since they were all lost without Jesus, he warns them not to discriminate against others who are lost or who are different from them. This is a healthy reminder for our churches today!
From a very dark time in history when corruption was rampant and every man did what was right in his own eyes, there emerges a story of grace and hope. A young woman named Ruth makes a choice to follow God, and her life is forever changed. Regardless of how dark or hopeless your surroundings may be, you can be that one person who chooses to rise above it all, follow God, and make a difference!
