Make or Break?

Do you have “a past?” Guess that’s a silly question because well, of course you do! All of God’s children have a past! We have all done things for which we’re not very proud. For “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) But, did your past “make you or break you?” Are you using the past to justify you putting off until tomorrow – what needs to be done today? Just as a caterpillar can only become a beautiful butterfly after it has struggled to get out of the cocoon, our past struggles can make us strong and beautiful in God’s eyes.

Paul considered himself to be “the chief of sinners.” (II Timothy 1:16) He had led the persecution against Christians, and consented to Stephen’s death by watching over the coats of those who stoned Stephen. But once he literally, “saw the light,” he spent the rest of his life making up for it. The secret was “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” (Philippians 3:13)

If your past sins are weighing you down, first and foremost, you must repent and be baptized to “wash away your sins” ( Acts 22:16). If you already are a baptized believer whose “heart is not right with God”, then as Simon the Sorcerer was told, you must “repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray to God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” (Acts 8:21-22) We know that when God forgives, He forgets. (Hebrews 8:12) But, God can take our pasts and use it to make us “fit for the kingdom of heaven.” (Luke 9:62)

We can give in and let the devil win, or we can use our past experiences to make us strong and show others how God can use us in His kingdom. God Bless, Courtney