It is Finished!
But why are so many of us "guarding an empty tomb," trying to keep the shame of memories, regrets, sins of the past from impinging themselves on our present as if these offenses are still alive...and unforgiven?
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreIt is Finished!
But why are so many of us "guarding an empty tomb," trying to keep the shame of memories, regrets, sins of the past from impinging themselves on our present as if these offenses are still alive...and unforgiven?
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreIt is Finished!
But why are so many of us believers "guarding an empty tomb," trying to keep the shame of memories, regrets, sins of the past from impinging themselves on our present as if these offenses are still alive...and unforgiven?
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreIt is Finished!
But why are so many of us believers "guarding an empty tomb," trying to keep the shame of memories, regrets, sins of the past from impinging themselves on our present as if these offenses are still alive...and unforgiven?
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreIt is Finished!
There were soldiers that guarded Christ's tomb. And for them this was not just "another day at the office," because this time the death of the "Criminal" presented new problems: would the followers come to steal His body? Would He actually do what He said and come back to life? (I'm not so sure the officials really worried about this last possibility, do you?)
So the stone ... and so the guards! Until...
Read MoreAnother year, another 365 days to accumulate regrets! Loved ones have passed into eternity; opportunities have flown by because we have delayed too long ... and on and on. So I'm sharing this, one of my most visited blog posts over the years. May we all be able to face the fresh regrets of 2016, many of which are valid, and place them in the loving arms of our Savior. Amen.
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
We regret our offenses:
We regret our missed opportunities:
And the lists go on...and the regrets can eat you alive
But whatever the regret or the reason, if we are to begin afresh in the NEW YEAR, we need to put the past to rest...to rest, that is, in the hands of our Sovereign Father God.
Oswald Chambers says it well, speaking of the regret Christ's disciples must have felt when they didn't watch and pray with the Lord...
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair [...regret?].
The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, "Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore." If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair.
But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, "Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing."
In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.
There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them.
The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.”
If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption. Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
Jesus is in the redeeming and renewing business. He has promises that are sure:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:7-9
So we can flip the page of the calendar to this new year...trusting that our Sovereign God is weaving everything in our lives-- past, present, and future--including our faults, failures, and yes, even our sin (because of His grace) into the beautiful tapestry of His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3-14: Romans 8:28-39).
My life is like a weaving Between my Lord and me I do not chose the colors He worketh patiently Sometimes He weaveth sorrow And I in foolish pride Forgets He sees the upper And I the underside
Not till the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reasons why The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver's skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned
Author Unknown
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Be sure to see
Sue Cutting's Fleeting Sands of Time
Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...
it's part of the human condition!
We regret our offenses:
hurts we have caused
sins we've committed
walls we've built up toward others
We regret our missed opportunities:
to take advantage of new, though frightening, possibilities
to choose love in difficult relationships
to die to our own selfishness in order to serve
And the lists go on...and the regrets can eat you alive
...maybe because we can't believe we were so selfish or foolish!
...maybe because we can't undo them!
...maybe because those opportunities are gone forever!
But whatever the regret or the reason, if we are to begin afresh in the NEW YEAR, we need to put the past to rest...to rest, that is, in the hands of our Sovereign Father God.
Oswald Chambers says it well, speaking of the regret Christ's disciples must have felt when they didn't watch and pray with the Lord...
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair [...regret?].
The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, "Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore." If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair.
But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, "Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing."
In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.
There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them.
The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.”
If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption. Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
Jesus is in the redeeming and renewing business. He has promises that are sure:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:7-9
So we can flip the page of the calendar to this new year...trusting that our Sovereign God is weaving everything in our lives-- past, present, and future--including our faults, failures, and yes, even our sin (because of His grace) into the beautiful tapestry of His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3-14: Romans 8:28-39).
My life is like a weaving Between my Lord and me I do not chose the colors He worketh patiently Sometimes He weaveth sorrow And I in foolish pride Forgets He sees the upper And I the underside
Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reasons why
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned
(author unknown)
Janet Renner Loyd has been a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ most of her life. Her formal education includes a degree in education from the University of Arizona and also a degree in Bible & Theology from Moody Bible Institute. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in teaching and leading women’s Bible studies, retreats, and meetings…most notably Precept upon Precept and various studies that she has personally developed. Professionally, Jan recently retired from teaching language and writing to GED and adult ESOL students.
About her life, Jan says, “The most important thing about me is my relationship with my Father God through my Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to me and my family and friends...and the world.”
Jan has been happily married to John Loyd for more than forty years. They have two adult, married children and five lively young grandsons.
