Don't Let The Past Define You

[hldude33]

[SIZE=medium]“Don’t Let The Past Define You”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]By Zach Wood[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Mark 14:27-31, 66-72[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Life is not void of mistakes and failures. We are imperfect and we will make mistakes and fail at things sometimes. We will be lured by temptations in the world to follow a path that takes us into sin. We will also have things that happen to us that we cannot control, but still make us feel ashamed and unworthy of true love. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]We must remember that our past does not define who we are. Our past may contain consequences of mistakes we have made or pain from things that have happened to us, but that does not mean that we are failures. We have made mistakes and we have failed, but we are not considered failures in the eyes of God Who created us so beautifully! [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]In this passage, we read about Jesus predicting Peter’s denial. Peter insists that he will never turn away from Jesus or deny Him. But then later we read about [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]how Peter moved on. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Peter was human and he messed up. He was crushed after he heard the rooster crow three times. [/SIZE][SIZE=medium]I can’t imagine the immediate heartache that hit him when he heard the tragic alarm reminder of what Jesus had predicted. Peter wept bitterly. He was heartbroken. But Jesus forgave him and then in Acts, Peter preaches a powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost to start the early church. Wow! [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]All of us can relate to Peter in some way. And perhaps maybe someone reading this has made more mistakes in your life that you can count and you think all you have done defines who you are and that you don’t deserve redemption. It is so easy to let the past failures of our life define who we are, but Christ wants us to know that He gives hope that no one else can give. We can break through the shackles of shame from our past hurts and mistakes.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Don’t let the past define you, let Christ define you! [/SIZE]

 

[IBeMe]

hldude: "We are imperfect and we will make mistakes and fail at things sometimes."

Salvation only covers "past" sins.

ROM:3:25 Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

There are sins of ignorance and wilful sins; God makes a difference.

LEV:4:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD ...

If a person sins "wilfully" after salvation...

HEB:10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
HEB:10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Then it's between them and God: there will be judgement and punishment even if they do find mercy.

Only he that "overcometh"...

REV:2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

"We will be lured by temptations in the world to follow a path that takes us into sin."

The Lone Ranger and Tonto find themselves after a long exhausting horse ride staring up at canyon walls filled with hostile Apache warriors. The Lone Ranger sensing the impending doom, turns to Tonto, his faithful Indian scout, and says "What do WE do now Tonto?" Tonto slowly turns towards to the Lone Ranger, thinks of his Indian brothers and says "What do you mean WE, kemosabe?"

Speak for yourself, not everybody goes down the wide path.
It's a fight!
Take the narrow path.