Putting Your Past Behind You

Forgetting the past…. Getting past the past …. Overcoming Your Past. Marching Forward.

No one can change their past, yet we can and are instructed to forget it!

Concerning our faithfulness to God, one writer penned this:

“The secret of being ‘faithful until death’ is to be faithful one day at a time. You can only live one day at a time; you can only be faithful one day at a time. So don’t worry about whether you were faithful yesterday or not, or whether you’re going to be faithful tomorrow. Just do your best to be faithful today. The Bible tells us to forget the past (Philippians 3:13), and tomorrow will take care of itself (Matthew 6:34)-or the Lord will take care of it. Just be faithful today. Don’t worry about your whole life! Don’t keep asking yourself, ‘Am I going to be faithful until the day I die, so I can be sure to get a crown of life?'”

“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” Isaiah 44:22

AT THIS POINT, TODAY, RIGHT THIS MOMENT, it simply doesn’t matter who you were nor what you did in your past. If the LORD has saved you, you are a new creature in Christ and when you asked Him to forgive your sins, as you confessed them in true repentance, He did. They’re gone (Hebrews 8:12; 1 John 1:9). Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Jesus reigns supreme!

You simply cannot look back beloved of God. He’s taking you forward, into Him. You are no longer who you used to be. You have God’s Word on this (Philippians 3:13-14).

Not 1 person alive right now has a sinless past – before or after Jesus saved them.

Just keep “forgetting those things which are behind” and “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

“… let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 

The following is from Modern Day Ruth:

“I’m not turning back. I’m moving forward in the promises and blessings God has prepared for me. What I lost is behind me. I look over my shoulder only to remind myself of how far the Lord has brought me thru. That which I lost I will not return to because everything I have is entrusted in the hands of the Almighty. He restores and creates brand new blessings. The rubble of broken dreams are just a memorial of His Grace and Mercy that has brought me thru this far. As I continue to trust Him and follow His lead He reveals more of His presence and Glory. I am being transformed day by day. Though what I am praying for, standing for, dreaming and reaching for tarries- I will wait for it because it will come to pass. My tears, struggles and pains may not make sense now but I know the master Planner knows what He’s doing. I hear His voice; Listen intently to His instruction, “This is the way that you should go- Walk in it.” I savor and marvel at depth and layers of His beauty I see along the way of my journey. Here I find treasures in hidden places that have been laid up for the righteous. I glean wisdom in nearby fields. I see smiling faces of my Sisters and Brothers in Christ as they too are walking towards the horizon. God has truly been good to me. He is always faithful. Just when I think I can’t go on He sustains me and refreshes me and gives me His waters to drink and His bread to eat. He is taking me to my promise land. Written by Jenny Williams, A Modern Day Ruth, © 2013

✝️Isaiah 43:18 (KJV)
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”

We need only to concern ourselves with our relationship with the LORD today, living in the now, the present – not the past or future.

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34

Heavenly, Father, we now ask You to settle our spirits, help us to truly, wholly seek and trust You dear LORD – living in the present and not suspended in the past or future. In the name of Jesus, amen.

RECENTLY, during the night hours, it seems the Holy Spirit was impressing upon this heart how important it is for His people to abide in Christ, today, living unto Him in the moment, forgetting the things that are behind them, and pressing toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus our LORD. Is this the biblical perspective? Yes. Matthew 6:33-34; John 15:1-6; Philippians 3:13-14. Your past has passed – good or bad, it’s over! Done. Praise Jesus that today is the first day of the rest of our lives and Jesus forgives all the sins of His abiding (therefore repentant) saints!

Today, someone is in need of declaring the divinely inspired words of Philippians 3:13-14 aloud before the LORD, yourself, and the devil. Do it. Severance, a cutting off awaits.

As he anticipated going to be with the LORD, Christ’s apostle Paul declared the following:

“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8

The late Charles Pray writes: “It’s not so much what we didn’t do in the past, the past is gone. Now, it’s what are we doing now with our LORD Jesus that really counts.”

ANYBODY praising God today for being ABLE to FORGET some things you did? Hello somebody! God will enable you to FORGET! He does!

“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:10-12 

God forgives the sins of His people – beginning with the moment He initially saves us. He intends to keep us cleansed and will do so as we confess any sin! (1 John 1:9)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 – reveals 2 promises to those  in Christ who confess any sin we committed. When we confess, God is faithful to:

1. “forgive us our sins, and…
2. “to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12

Not only sin but also past accomplishments can hinder us from presently abiding in Christ, right?

If we think about it for a moment, even the good things of our past can hinder us, due to the pride they may foster in us, leading to a lax, a lazy posture.

When he faced Goliath, David rehearsed past victories as he encouraged himself in the LORD as he called into remembrance the bear and lion he’d been empowered by God to slay (1 Samuel 17:34-37). Yet, this was at least in part, due to the ridicule of Saul. Yet, if we give undue accolades to ourselves for past victories, might we be prone to foster an undue pride in our hearts?

The accuser of the brethren is Satan and he seeks to harass and to badger the people of God, haunting them about things God already forgave (Revelation 12:10). They must learn how to biblically navigate, to overcome by the blood of the LAMB, who washes us white as snow!

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:10-12

Biblical deliverance prescription: Speak out loud the divinely inspired words of Philippians 3:13-14. Declare them as if they are true for your life – because they are! Drive a stake in the ground!

Brother Joseph Blunk writes:

“Just because you were a sinner yesterday, doesn’t mean you have to continue to be a sinner today. Repent of who you were yesterday, and be who God has commanded you to be today! Yesterday is in the past and today is here. God’s mercies are new every morning, so seek Him while it is still called today! No one knows when their life will be over, and they’ll find themselves in front of God’s throne, so get right and STAY right with Him!”

You cannot change the past. You cannot undo what you did in the evil sense when you sinned against God and hurt others in doing so. But you can today realize that this is the first day of the rest of your life and forget those things which are behind, reaching forth unto those things which are before you and press toward the mark for the prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus. Not only can you do this, this is actually the command of God for you to do. Prayerfully pore over and declare Philippians 3:13-14 till it becomes part of your life.

Do we not “give place to the devil” when we sulk in a sin God forgave the instant we confessed it?

“Neither give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:27

Make no mistake: When we sin it is against a Holy, unchanging God and “the wages of sin is (still) death.” (Romans 6:23)

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1

Overcoming All Sin

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

While there is divine mercy to forgive our sins and grace to divinely enable us to overcome them, the consequences of sin are lasting. This is clear in the life of Moses and David and others throughout biblical history. David reaped horrid consequences on himself and his household after he committed adultery and had Uriah murdered. Staying in the Spirit and not the flesh, will prevent future sinning.

The only way to stay out of the flesh is to stay in the Spirit. Fighting the good fight of faith consists of diligently laboring daily in seeking God (Ephesians 6:12).

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Proverbs 24:16

True disciples who walk with God, like beloved David, know what it means to fall, to sin, to repent, to return to the LORD, and to be restored by the LORD. They therefore help you, they encourage, they admonish, and warn you to hasten to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace!

IF you choose to sin, it’s going to cost you (Romans 6:23). We must all reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8). Yet, the transgressor should run TO God, not AWAY from Him.

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” 1 John 2:1

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain MERCY, and find GRACE to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Saints, may our LORD help us to HELP other disciples who are in the same fight as we are in and help them in the LORD’s process of sanctification. Galatians 6:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:24-26

In some cases, there will be those who do not want to forgive your past. They live with a heart of hatred due to their own refusal to repent and seek the LORD continually.

THOSE who still think you are the same person you were in the past, prove that THEY are the same person they were in the past. They prove they are not growing in God’s grace themselves and are still the unrepentant person they were in the past! (Romans 2:1-3) Their projection of this darkness emanates from their own darkened heart.

The Drawings of God

When God convicts us it is to draw us to Himself (John 16:8; 12:32). He loves us and wants His glory reigning in our lives and this is always for our own good.

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3

When our LORD draws us back to Himself, we are to return to Him in true repentance and “times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” will be upon us.

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3;19 

YOUR PRAYER: Holy Father, I come to You afresh, now in the name of Jesus Christ. Please forgive my sins by the precious blood of my LORD Jesus. Wash me clean dear LORD and remove the guilt from my conscience. Here and now I let the past go. I forget those things which are now behind me. I reach forth unto Thee dear LORD and what you have for me to do in this temporal world. I now press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I love You LORD Jesus and thank You for everything You’ve given to this child of Yours to use for You glory and not my own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Support | STORE | Podcasts | Jail/Prison Ministry | Mexico Mission here | All Ministry Updates| More on Assurance here | Because You Care Page | The Greatest of these is Charity | Be Ready in the Morning [podcast] | The Sure Mercies of David [podcast] | That Repentance and Remission of Sins should be Preached [podcast] | At His Feet

Join Us

We saved a place for you to receive our weekly newsletter.

Email

Please wait...

Subscribe

Thank you for signing up!

The Sins and Restoration of the Patriarchs [podcast] 

Every Believer Must be Stripped 

Wondering How God Views You in Your Weakness? 

Victory Comes Little by Little [podcast]

“And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.” Deuteronomy 7:22  “The Lord led me to pour over this scripture this morning. 2 Corinthians 3:18. ‘But we all, with open face beholding as a glass the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from Glory to Glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ ‘Open face’ here means not hiding, taking off the veil over our eyes and hearts and seeing ourselves for […]

The Sins and Restoration of the Patriarchs [podcast]

Abraham, Moses, and David – Their Sin and God’s Restoration! “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Ecclesiastes 7:20 This fact doesn’t justify any sinning and yet, as the Word of God, must be factored in (Isaiah 28:16; Romans 6:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:15). “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” Proverbs 20:9 Sinless perfectionism is a lie (1 John 1:7-2:2). “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me […]

Returning to Christ as Our "First Love" [podcast]

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 The LORD is a “Jealous” God. “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:” Exodus 34:14 If Jesus Christ is not genuinely the first love of our hearts, our lives, we are committing spiritual adultery on the Son of God. “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two […]

"A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey" [podcast]

DADDY’S IN THE HOUSE! He’s Large and in Charge! He’s Daddy. He’s Your Father! “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba (Daddy), Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8:15-17 Growing up in daddy’s house, you did things his way, right? Not your way […]

Fresh Start with God

You can Have a … Jesus is the Great Shepherd of His Sheep (Heb. 13:20; Lk. 15) A FRESH START WITH GOD (First, if you are not certain that you are genuinely born again, please go here first) Let’s get something straight…. the disciple, the mere man writing this message is more in need of JESUS than anyone who ever lived! No one needs Jesus more than I do and yet, we must do things HIS way, not our own (Ephesians 3:8). “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs […]