The New Past

Posted on October 5, 2018 by America's Keswick in Victory Call

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” II Corinthians 5:17

I have heard this verse my whole life. It was on the wall of the beautiful Chapel at America’s Keswick and I saw it every time I went to church there. I heard it quoted often throughout my years of living at Keswick and elsewhere. However, it wasn’t until 2011, when we first went to Grace Fellowship International’s conference, that this verse took on new meaning for me. Dr. John Woodward talked about the “new past.” I could not comprehend what he meant by that and asked him to clarify. He talked about how ALL things have become new, including our past, our present, and our future. In Father’s eyes, my past sin and failures were wiped out at the Cross. Although in this world, our past may have consequences, in God’s eyes, we are clean, redeemed, and have the righteousness of His beloved Son, Jesus. While we allow our failures to weigh us down and keep us from serving Him because “I’m not good enough,” He, on the other hand,  sees us as a clean slate with no black marks. We no longer have to walk in shame, guilt, and remorse, forever labeled as a loser. Jesus did the hard work of bearing all of our sin; our job is to accept our acceptance and live the way He sees us – clean, holy, forgiven, deeply loved.

What are the choices you have made that are weighing you down? What are the things you have done that have caused damage to those who love you and to your own soul that you think can never be forgiven? The enemy wants us bound and the easiest way to do that is to throw our past in our faces continually. He delights in taunting us with our failures and imprisoning us with our decisions. Please don’t let him win – Jesus paid for ALL of that at the Cross. Will you accept it?

“Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain;

He washed it white as snow.”

Elvina M. Hall

Written by Cherri Raws Freeman: Cherri Raws Freeman is the author of the book Beside Still Waters: Discovering Peace in the Midst of Your Child’s Addiction. She and her husband Joe, a graduate of the Colony of Mercy, founded Love Them to Life, a support ministry for mothers of addicts. Cherri is  a graduate of Wheaton College and the mother of 5 adult children, 2 of which struggled with addiction issues.

The Daily Bible Reading: Matthew 4; Luke 4-5; John 1:15-51 | You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: “All that God asks is that the heart should be cleansed from sin, full of love, whether it be the tender heart of a little child, with feeble powers of loving, or of the full-grown man.”– Duncan Campbell

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the Lord, The fountain of living waters.” Jeremiah 17:13