A Christian thought to ponder…
What if Christians just viewed each other’s past records as wiped clean, embraced and loved one another the way Jesus’ did?
Acts 3:19 “Repent, therefore, and reform your lives, so that the record of your sins may be cancelled, and that there may come seasons of revival from the Lord…”
Each of us has a record of our own life. A record that God knew even before He created us. Some of us have clean records, some not so clean, and some of us have dirty, corrupted records. Where does your record lay? Mine lays in the middle between not so clean and dirty. I am not perfect. Moreover, I am not worthy or deserving of any kind of forgiveness because I have lied, stolen, envied, worshipped idols, followed other religions, broken hearts, ruined lives, and so on. I have failed God in many ways ever since I knew right from wrong, and I feel like I continue to fail Him. I have strayed from God, I have ran away from God, and I have disappointed God. Before I even dropped to my knees, God knew I needed a reboot, and my system wiped cleaned.
Because of those dirty, corrupted records, I often think about how or why God would ever want me to serve Him; I feel so unworthy, but I know that God loves me, and He has forgiven me of all my sins. So, how can one get past that feeling of unworthiness and not let the enemy cloud our hearts and minds with fears, doubts, sadness, regret, and bitterness?
- Keep focusing on God.
- Dive into the Word everyday.
- Pray to God daily.
The people in this world may hate and despise you, but if you demonstrate to all of them Christlike qualities - love, kindness, and forgiveness you might lead others to Christ, or you might lead others closer to Christ. It states in Ephesians 4:32 that we are to “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” It is difficult when you don’t see those same Christ-like qualities (and I am so guilty of this as well) within the Christian community; Instead, you are more apt to get cold, deathly stares or an icy, cold shoulder from other Christians that are quick to condemn you or ostracize you because of those past records. And we, who are the fallen and broken, let those past records and those people who have condemn us hinder us from helping God complete His work. Instead we begin to focus on ourselves and on how people dislike us, hate us, or how much of a disappointment we are to God and others. We let the enemy take all the joy out of everything, not realizing that those marred, black-stained, corrupted records have been wiped clean. We have a clean new record; We have been born again!! Hallelujah!!!
Start today by focusing on God and His plans and not on the plans of the enemy. The enemy wants to prevent people from drawing closer to God; We cannot erase those dirty, corrupted records on our own. Only Jesus can erase those records that mar our lives. Jesus died on the cross to save us from those darkly blotted records. Seek Jesus, repent, and ask Him to forgive you of all those black corrupted marks upon your records. Focus on God’s plan to reach the lost and reach out in brotherly and sisterly love towards everyone.
Dear Lord,
I love you so much. Thank you for always being there for me, standing by my side, and being my Rock. Thank you for dying on the cross for all our sins and for providing us with clean new records. Thank you so much for your love, grace, and mercy and accepting us as your children despite those dirty, corrupted records. Amen.
May you have a blessed week!
Carol
