Have you ever wished you could go back in time and make some changes in your past? Have you lived with some regrets in your life and they are praying on your mind? Have you ever thought about if you could just go back and get a do over? When we accepted Christ as our savior, we have become a new creation. There are no more regrets as the old us has died to become the new. His blood has cleansed us from our sins. He made us new and whole before the Lord God. God opened His grace for us and redeemed us to Him. He accepted us as His children and all that entails. You have no past to be carried as a burden. The Lord has completely wiped your slate clean. You have your do over and a chance to have zero regrets. You and I have our do over, our second chance. We are holy by the grace of God through Christ. Do not let guilt come to you through your past that has been done away with.
Since we have been made new, we have a new slate to write our life story. We have a newness that allows us to move on and become Christ like in our lives. There is no need to look back at what was, it is no longer a part of who we are.
We have been given that second chance people are always hoping for. We have been given a new life to live. A life full of hope and overflowing with love. This is no dream or fantasy. It is real and alive. It is as though you woke to a bright sunshine filled morning after a night of storms. The freshness and light is all around. Happiness can fill your heart and everything will look different. You experience the peace of God within your soul.
When we see our lives as God does, it is so different from what we knew. God has wiped clear the sins we have committed. He has erased the debt we could have had to pay. Through Jesus Christ, we have been made clean. We are to continue in this newness. We are to walk in the light of our Lord and be an example of what God has done.
ACTS 26: 14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul Saul, why persecutes thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou,Lord? And he said,I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for thispurpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satanunto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritanceamong them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Just as Paul did after His meeting Christ on the road to Damascus, we should live according to the new creation we are. We are not drawn to sin as in the old life. We can readily recognize and avoid temptation. We are now led by the Holy Spirit and we have the unfailing support of our God.
Our trust and confidence is in the Lord. Our faith tells us that what we believe is not false. We know the difference between right and wrong and choose to follow the word of God. I am telling nothing new, only what I have read in the bible. The same bible that is open to anyone. Read for yourself and see. Let the Holy Word of God enter your thoughts and minds. Let the instruction and understanding come to you through the Holy Spirit. Pray before reading, for understanding, and the Lord will hear you.
Remember, you are a child of the living God eternal, and He cares for you. Approach your Father as your Father. Just as a child would. Trust in the Lord and His word.
You have been made new, clean and fresh. You have accepted Christ and are saved. Just as the Lord raised Jesus from the dead, we are raised from the old life and brought to a new one. We will be resurrected and will be in the presence of the Lord someday. Until then, we will strive to live Christ like, with love as our guide and His word as our truth. John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
May the peace of God be with you all. The opposite is just as true, should any of us refuse the offer from God, there is no other option than to be lost. Hell is real, it is eternal and we do not have to be sent there, we only need to accept Christ and be saved. Paradise is real and we can walk in the light of the Lord forever, to be in the presence of God. AMEN.