Do you keep thinking about the mistakes and bad decisions you made in the past? Are there things that you keep thinking about, wishing you had done differently? Are there sins in your past that you remember with shame? We all remember the errors of our past occasionally and think about what we should have done differently, not realizing the negative impact it is having on our lives.
At Easter, we are reminded of the price Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. Before that, we lived by the law. Mankind was constantly coming before God with animal sacrifices, seeking His forgiveness. But at the cross, Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins. He shed His blood as the ultimate blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin once and for all.
Because of his blood, our sins are covered. “the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
“In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace..” (Ephesians 1:7).
“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
When we ask His forgiveness, He will forgive us and never remember our past sins again. They are covered by His blood forever.
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34) (Hebrews 8:12)
Because we are human we cannot live without sin, but because of God’s amazing grace, we can remain pure in His sight. God’s grace is not a one-time whitewash of our sins. It is never-ending. We are going to make mistakes. We are going to fail. However, grace is an ongoing cleansing process, as we daily surrender ourselves to Christ.
We are washed as white as snow (Psalms 51:7) (Isaiah 1:18).
If God has forgiven and forgotten our past, why can’t we? Satan will use our past against us. It is not just the past sin in our lives; Satan will use any mistakes, bad decisions, relations, etc, that we have made. Anything in our past that we regret is fair game for him to use against us to drag us down with guilt, shame, or regret. If Satan can keep us dwelling on our past, then he is also keeping us from looking to our future and focusing on today and tomorrow. Dwelling on our past robs us of our joy for today and our vision for the future.
The past is over and done with. It is time to forgive ourselves and others. Ask for forgiveness if that is needed, then move on.
When we keep dwelling on our past, we are denying the power of the blood Christ shed on the cross at Calvary. In essence, we are saying His crucifixion was in vain. There is absolutely nothing we can do to change the past. It is over, done with, it is best by far to move on.
With Jesus, our past is past, only our future matters. He loves us and wants us to be joy-filled and happy. He only wants what is best for us, and that is in our future, not our past.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Hope Shack 