Your Mistakes Do Not Define You

" Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." -Isaiah 43:18

     At least a couple of times a day I think about the choices I have made in the past. Things I have done and things I have said. Once I start entertaining these thoughts I begin to be consumed by them. I feel awful, guilty, condemned. I'm like, "How am I ever going to make it to my heavenly home with all of the things I have done?" My greatest desire is be pleasing to God, and when I remember/reminded of my past (could be as early as yesterday) I am sad because I feel as if I am a disappointment to Him. It serves no purpose other than to hinder me in my walk with Christ. You know the Bible says that I am not saved by my works but by the grace of God. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). It is a gift. If the salvation of God was determined by good works I would never obtain it. What people do not seem to understand is that there is no good in us. The only good that we have is what Jesus has freely given to us through His grace. That's my whole point. We sin every single day because that is our human nature, but it is because of Jesus that we can be righteous. Some people will accept this and others will not because they want to hold on to their own ideas, but it doesn't make it any less true. It's reality you can't sugar coat it (I say this in love). So, how can we move past this?

     The only way we can forget the past and not allow it to be a hindrance any more is if we stop reasoning within ourselves and just accept the gift of God. That’s it. There is no step by step instruction on how to receive forgiveness as some others may tell you. If you and I have repented of our mistakes already then it's like they never even happened. Let me prove it to you. In Hebrews 8:12 it says, " For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."  There are several scriptures that say how God forgives and remembers our mistakes no more, or blots them out completely. Again in Isaiah 44: 22, " I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins; return unto me; for I have redeemed thee."  If we believe in Jesus as our Savior then we should believe His Word. We have been redeemed! This is all the proof we need, He said it so we should accept it and move on. I heard this illustration one time from a minister. He was explaining how the devil is the accuser (Revelation 12:10). He is the one to throw our past in our face, reminding us of all the bad we have done. Then he goes to God and says, "look what they have done. They have sinned against you. They lied, cheated, cursed, etc." And God will say, " Where is your proof?" and the devil as slick as he is has a long sheet written containing our every fault of ours and hands it to God, but what the devil doesn’t realize is that there is a fountain of blood that those accusations have to go through when he hands the sheet over. Once it passes through that blood God will look at that sheet of condemnation and see that it is blank. Again this illustration is from a minister so this is not my own. Whose blood does it go through? Jesus Christ. We have to remember that God doesn’t see us, He sees the blood of Jesus that was shed on Calvary. So when we repent He can look at the cross and remember that Jesus said "Father forgive them." Here is another scripture that cannot be argued, Colossians 2: 14-15:

" Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

     So where are your accusers? Jesus defeated them at Calvary. Where is the charges against you? Jesus nailed them to His cross and paid the debt that we could not pay. Let us NEVER make the death of Jesus Christ be done in vain. We should accept what He did and believe we are in fact forgiven of ALL of our sins. Now this is not an invitation to live however we want. I know and have heard people explain to me that it doesn't make a difference what I do, God looks at the heart. Yes, He looks at the heart and He can see that those people are not genuine in their love for Christ. His sacrifice is being taken in vain with an attitude like that. When people do things knowing that it is wrong but have that attitude that it doesn’t matter because God is merciful then this is what happens, "… they crucify the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:6). Another minister one time illustrated that every time we sin it is equivalent to punching God in the face. I do not say this to be mean or harsh I just live in reality and this is the life we tend to live if we are not careful. I will not tell you that I have not been guilty of this because I'm sure I have. I'm not perfect, no one is. The difference is that I have had a genuine experience with God and He is changing me more and more everyday to be like Him and not like this world. I do not want to be guilty of crucifying Him afresh everyday. Yes, God is merciful but He is also just. If He wasn't just He wouldn’t be God, we would have no respect for Him. He is not a push over. That is why it's good to stay in the attitude of repentance. Repenting can be hard and emotional but it humbles us. More than that it blots out all of our sins. Blotting out means that something is completely destroyed, annihilated. Your mistakes will never define you. God's grace does. Let us not be guilty of condemning ourselves when God is the one to justify us. We are free from sin so let us move on and "…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). God Bless You! BE FREE TODAY!