June 5, 2022 REGRETS
1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
We all have regrets from past bad decisions and as well as past sins we committed; and we all wish we had done some things different. Our past, if not dealt with, can ‘haunt’ us and rob us of peace of mind. It is subtle, but it is often our pride that makes it difficult for us to get over our failures; we think ‘How could I have done that?’ The Apostle Paul had a past that he was not proud of and he saw himself as the chief among sinners. As you read the Bible, you find that many of the characters of the Bible were far from perfect. What Paul said in the Philippian verse above is the key to having victory over regrets; “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” To one dealing with regrets and remorse over past sins and bad decisions, it may sound over-simplified or too simplistic, but the best advice is to ‘forget about it!’ It is subtle, but how we view and how we deal with our past is an indicator of whether we are walking according to the Spirit, or according to the flesh. When we walk according to the Spirit, we walk according to the truth of God’s word. As believers, our heart, our spirit, and our mind should be set on the reality that all of our sins are forgiven and that God remembers them no more; we have the favor of God; our inheritance in Him is secure; we have been made new creations with new spirits, new hearts and new minds; we have a destiny with God; we have a hope and a future; we have the Spirit of God living in us to enable us to be overcomers; God goes through the difficult times with us---and the list could go on. On occasion, sometime ‘out of the blue,’ a past sin or failure comes to our remembrance; when it does, let it be a reminder that yes we were guilty, but God has forgiven us. Just as Paul did, let us forget what lies behind. This also applies to past successes; it is a blessing to have good memories of past events, but we are not to live in the past; we are to live in the present, walking with God as salt and light where we are. We are to be ‘pressing on’ to lay hold of all God has for us; we must not be spiritually lazy but must overcome anything that would hinder our fellowship with God. Remember, God came to save sinners-and that includes you and I.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.”
Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is form the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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