Many people feel stuck in their past even when they respond properly, because they still struggle with a couple of questions. I explored the first yesterday, let me attempt to tackle the second today:

2) How should I respond when I keep remembering my failures?

I must remember that what occurs in my mind is a choice of our will. one of the reasons we become stuck in our past is that we replay our sin over and over in our minds. This often comes from: a) a lack of genuine repentance – I am sorry I got caught, but not sorry that I did the act. b) The fear of man – What will people think about me if they learn what I have done? c) an unwillingness to forsake our sin – We are enjoy the sinful behavior so much, that we continue the behavior even when we struggle with the guilt. d) We lose our aw of God’s forgiving grace – Forgiveness is never earned, and should be forever appreciated. As I evaluate these things, I need to do three things to overcome and allow my failure to lead to success in my life. a) Recognize that … READ MORE

Many people feel stuck in their past even when they respond properly because the still struggle with two questions, Allow me to deal with the first:

1. What should I do if I don’t feel forgiven?

We must remember that our emotions are only reliable to the degree that they reflect biblical truth. After we have confessed our sin to God and to the appropriate people, we need to focus on what God’s Word has instructed us to believe about our status before Him, and what our Lord has done to make that status possible. We do that by remembering three things: 1) God is a forgiving God – Ps 103:12 2) Jesus focused on forgiveness even while dying on the cross – Luke 23:34; 23:43 3) God promises to forgive His children as soon as we come in repentance and faith – 1 John 1:9

On of the purposes of the Lord’s table, is to remind us as believers that our sins are forgiven because of 4 fold work of Christ in His Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and at Pentecost. We need to choose to live in the promises of God’s forgiveness whether our emotions accept that reality or not. … READ MORE

The question of whether people can and should be expected to make sound moral judgments has a dramatic impact on the way we face the challenges of daily living. Man’s love for truth and willingness to take responsibility fo their choices is essential to understanding what it means to be truly human. Bod, by His grace, has given us principles that can help us handle the grinding affliction that sometimes attends our journey in the sin cursed world. The hard reality is that many of us are stuck in the past, at least in part, because when someone mistreated us, we responded in a sinful way. We have sometimes been so focused on the hurt caused by other’s misdeeds that we have never taken the time to address our Biblical responses to those hurts. It is not easy to acknowledge our failures, especially when someone else sinned against us first. But doing so is an important step to God developing us into the new person He desires us to become. The challenge to this part of the process is developing the ability to honestly admit our past failures and dealing with them humbly. We do this by making a humble … READ MORE