"Yesterday Ended Lastnight"

The above was written upon a sign. It adequately describes things in the past. So many today are trapped in the past. They are plaqued by past mistakes, messups, slips, and stumbles. The thing that we must remember is all of us come from a past. Everyone of the heros of faith written about in the bible came from one. Moses killed the hebrew slave and spent the next forty years on the backside of the wilderness, Abraham slept with Hagar thus the birth of Ishmal breeding a conflict that's still is in existence to this very day, Sampson went into Delila even after the strict warnings from God through his parents thus bringing humiliation & heartache, David was a adulterer preventing the sword from departing from his house, Peter was a denier, Paul was a persecuter & executor, Thomas was a doubter and Judas was a betrayer. We see here with this parade of people that ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God(Rom 3:23) Lets get this phrase burned in our memory and never forget it "God never consults our past to determine our future." I heard this illustration that sums it up totally and completely. On our automobiles is a windshield and rearview mirror. The windshield is much bigger because whats ahead is more important than whats behind! How can we prevent the past from permiating the present. Number one, Forgive. We have to forgive everyone and anything that might have presented pain in our lives in anyway shape for or fashion. Its not optional, its critical. We do it by an act of will not by feeling or emotion. We can do ALL things through Christ that strengthens(Phil 4:13) If your like saying I JUST CANT. Than change the cant to a WON'T and you've atleast faced the truth. Jesus said No man can take your joy(John 16:22) Jesus said to the man at the pool of Bethesda Do you WANT to be WHOLE or WELL?(John 5:6) In other words forgiveness is for OUR OWN spiritual & emotional well being! Remember on the Saboth day Jesus healed a man and correlated the forgiveness of sins and healing of a person. In other words forgiveness can often be the very thing that stops the flow of pressure points going on in our physical body. I have heard of individuals that once forgave were completely healed of severe arthritis. I heard of a dude that litterally laughed his way back to life from terminal cancer. The point is we are unable to do that if we have the poison of unforgiveness flowing through our spiritual & emotional veins. There is a statement that goes "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison waiting for the other person to die". There is another statement that goes "Forgiveness is like the key that unlocks the handcuffs of hatred" Jesus dives into descriptive detail about the price of this poison in the book of Matthew. In it there was a servant that owed his master a debt and asked for time to pay it, than when this guys servant came to him asking for the very same consideration, he did'nt offer it and took him by the throat throwing him into a debtors prison. When it was found out what was done he was GIVEN OVER TO THE TORMENTERS(Matt 18:34) In other words we'll be under torment until we have it radically resolved! It would be kindof like letting ourselves be in a jail cell and handing the key to the person we refuse to forgive allowing them to be our own personal wardan! Number two, Forgetting. You hear people make this statement " I can forgive, but I CAN NEVER FORGET" We must understand that they are flipsides of the very same coin. In the story of Joeseph, who we all know went through over thirteen years of injustice administered by his brothers. When it was all said and done he had two sons, one of them was named Ephriam which meant God CAUSED me to FORGET(Gen 41) The Lord said through the mouth of Isiah FORGETTING the FORMER things(Isiah 43:18) and He said through the mouth of Paul FORGETTING the things that are BEHIND(Phil 3:13) Its going to take winning the battle of our minds! God has given each of us this responsibility. Responsibility comes with great accountability! Jesus said As much as given, MUCH SHALL BE REQUIRED(Luke 12:48) The bible commands us to bring EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY & PLACE IT UNDER THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST(2 Cor 10:5) in an earlier blog we discussed the four R's recognize, reject, replace, and renew. Number three, Focus. It can often be easy to look back. Remember the story of Lots wife? As they were being brought out of Sodom & Gommorah, she LOOKED BACK turning into a pillar of salt. Jesus was impressed in importance by the Father when he said REMEMBER LOTS WIFE(Luke 17:32) This was an order from headquarters to us from the head of the church!!! We cannot go forward while looking backwards.The bible says Looking UNTO JESUS the author & finisher of our faith(Heb 12:2) Two things cannot have our focus at the same time. The enemy is like the master of distraction which develops into deception that ultimately leads to death. So what must we do? Comintinue focusing forward, refuse to speak about it anymore. Dont be like the little boy that skined his knee and kept pulling off the bandaid before it had the opportunity to heal. We do that when we keep looking and speaking about the past. Number four, Faith in the Future. The bible says in the book of Ecc Better is the ending of a thing than the beginning thereof(Ecc 7:9) The bible says in the Book of Hageai The glory of the LATTER house SHALL BE GREATER than the FORMER house(Hageai 2:9) Recall the story of Sampson? We talked earlier that he disregared the advice of his parents and his sin lead to sorrow. However He asked God to grant him strength one last time to the pull the pillars down on the phillistines, and than the bible makes this incredible statement His ending was greater than throughout his whole entire life! Its not about how we START, its ALL about how we FINISH!!! The bible says we ALL run a race, BUT ONLY ONE RECIEVES THE PRIZE(1 Cor 9:24) Lets not the past be a barrier or baraxade to the future! There is a statement that goes our past pain is no predicter of our future PLEASURE!!! God said through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah I know that plans that I have for you saith the Lord PLANS for AN EXPECTED a FUTURE and a hope(Jer 29:11) We must never ALLOW our MEMORIES to become greater than our DREAMS! "Yesterday Ended Lastnight!"