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Wednesday, January
2, 2008
Leaving
the Past Behind Us
Philippians 3:12-15 Not as
though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow
after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many
as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded,
God shall reveal even this unto you. (KJV)
Paul didn’t claim to be
perfect but he was mature in Christ and was able to grow up into Him in all
things. Paul had quite a past, one that included his involvement in
persecuting the Church and wasting it. We all have our own past and for
every different believer there is a different one. But as we clearly see, Paul
found that his answer was before him, the path in front of him this day,
right now. How much easier would your path be if you only dealt with the
things God has for you this day, at this moment; not thinking on things
behind, neither getting caught up with things to far down the road ahead of
you. Are you open to change and willing to walk a new path of life the Lord
has for you, or are still trying to get results by doing things the same
old way? Does your life seem stagnant at times; like on a treadmill, you
keep exerting energy but don’t get anywhere and always end up at the same
place you started from? If you keep doing the same thing trying to get to
your spiritual destination by old watered down doctrines you will find
yourself coming up short and missing the mark. If you desire new results it
will require a new mindset and a willingness to walk in it as well.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry
of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. (KJV)
The reason Paul was able to
forget the past is because the old things were passed away and he wasn’t
reliving them over and over again. The reason many Christians have a hard
time forgetting their past and moving forward is because they are not
willing to let go of the old so that they too can walk a new path in
Christ. Similar to a movie that came out years ago called Groundhog Day; the
character in the movie kept living the same day over and over again and
getting the same results. When something is passed away it should be buried
and left there. So if there is someone or something reminding you of your
past get out of the cemetery and move on to a new life the Lord has for
you. Is every day a new experience for you? One of joy and peace with a
confidence and trust in the Lord that builds you up more and more on a
daily basis, or are you being let down again because you expected to get
new results from your old ways? A new life means you will need to walk a
new path, one that draws you closer to the Lord not further away.
Romans 7:4-6 Wherefore, my
brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye
should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that
we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the
motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring
forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being
dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and
not in the oldness of the letter. (KJV)
Paul was well versed in the
Old Testament and the things of the old law. It was his zeal in holding to
the law that caused him to be at odds with the early Church. It was his
willingness to let go of the old ways that set him free to walk in the
newness of the Spirit and in the end he went from being one of the Church’s
worst enemies to one of its best assets. Is there something you are hanging
onto from the past that keeps you from walking in the new instead of being
a new creation in Christ, walking in the victory afforded you? Are you
hanging onto something from your past and because of this you can’t get
past the hindrance in your walk that keeps you buried in defeat?
2 Kings 5:9-12 So Naaman came
with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of
Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan
seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be
clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He
will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his
God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not
Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in
a rage. (KJV)
Naaman was a great captain of
Syria and had leprosy. He was instructed to go to Elisha a man of God to
find a cure. Naaman was angry at the answer he received because he had his
own preconceived ideas and notions on how God should provide the answer.
Sound familiar? Ever wonder how in reading the Old Testament our own lives
correlate with these situations and how similar our old way of thinking is
at times? How we at times have been trapped in our own spiritual leprosy
and are unable to be set free because we were not willing to follow through
with the spiritual prescription God had for us. If you desire something
new, then you have to let go of the old; otherwise, instead of leaving the
past behind we end up left behind and falling short of the mark of the
prize.
2 Kings 5:13-14 And his
servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet
had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much
rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down,
and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the
man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean. (KJV)
If the Lord sends someone to
give you sound advice, will you give heed to it or throw a hissy fit and
keep trying your old stagnant ways? Will you walk in a newness of life
today, walking by faith and not by sight, a faith in that which the Lord
has promised? He is more than able to deliver, but only on His terms and
conditions which are at times so much different than our way of thinking.
You have a Bible, the word of God full of first-hand accounts of what the
Lord is ready, willing and able to provide for any that are willing to
leave the past behind and partake of the river of life that will make them
clean and renewed.
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