Driving Forward, Looking Backward
"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." — Philippians 3:13
Are you living in the past?
With many people, you are trying to move forward while you are looking backward. Do you know what will happen if you are driving forward while looking in the rear-view mirror? You are headed for a wreck!
Many of us don't realize that we should not live in the past. We don't have to condemn ourselves any longer.
I know that many of us have made some bad mistakes in our life. We have done some things that hurt other people, ourselves, and our families. Is anyone like that? If you can't raise your hand, I need to preach a sermon on lying.
Our consciences can condemn us, and satan uses this to keep us from moving forward.
Here's what you need to understand: When God forgives you, He cleanses your conscience. He has made you right, not only with Him, but He will set you free. Jesus is saying to us through His Word that He can cleanse you and make your conscience white.
It is your conscience that condemns you. But God can set you free on the inside of who you are.
You will still remember what you have done, but it does not follow you. God does not look at you based upon anything that you have done, regardless of how bad it was. But rather,
He looks at you through everything Jesus has done.
That is the power of the cross. If we could ever get that through our thick skulls and into our hearts, it would set us free.
Stop driving forward while staring in the rear-view mirror. Glance back if you must—but keep your eyes on the road ahead.
God has a future for you. Stop letting your past steal it.
Are you living in the past?
With many people, you are trying to move forward while you are looking backward. Do you know what will happen if you are driving forward while looking in the rear-view mirror? You are headed for a wreck!
Many of us don't realize that we should not live in the past. We don't have to condemn ourselves any longer.
I know that many of us have made some bad mistakes in our life. We have done some things that hurt other people, ourselves, and our families. Is anyone like that? If you can't raise your hand, I need to preach a sermon on lying.
Our consciences can condemn us, and satan uses this to keep us from moving forward.
Here's what you need to understand: When God forgives you, He cleanses your conscience. He has made you right, not only with Him, but He will set you free. Jesus is saying to us through His Word that He can cleanse you and make your conscience white.
It is your conscience that condemns you. But God can set you free on the inside of who you are.
You will still remember what you have done, but it does not follow you. God does not look at you based upon anything that you have done, regardless of how bad it was. But rather,
He looks at you through everything Jesus has done.
That is the power of the cross. If we could ever get that through our thick skulls and into our hearts, it would set us free.
Stop driving forward while staring in the rear-view mirror. Glance back if you must—but keep your eyes on the road ahead.
God has a future for you. Stop letting your past steal it.
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