God Can Cancel Your Past – Part 1/3
“Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14)
Jesus “canceled the record of the charges against us…by nailing it to the cross.” The word ‘cancel’ means to remove, to neutralize, to offset something. Have you ever got most of the way through a project and wished you could start over? Suppose you were painting your room, and you stepped back and looked at the color on the sample chart. On the wall, however, it doesn’t look the same. You wish you could redo it.
Many of us feel that way about life, as one author describes it: ‘I’ve made so many mistakes. I wish I could just wipe them out and start over.’ Failures, problems, bad decisions – we have all suffered from them. But some people can’t let go of the past and, as a result, they let their past limit their present opportunities. They live in a constant state of regret, continually lamenting, ‘If only I hadn’t done that’ or ‘If only I had made these changes.’ They repeatedly second-guess themselves. And they are tormented by painful memories. ‘I blew it, and I’m going to be paying for it for the rest of my life.’
You may choose to carry guilt, but you don’t have to! The moment you put your trust in Jesus, He “cancels the record” of your past. Actually, you no longer have a past, you only have a future! You can lay down, once and for all, your heavy load of guilt, old hurts, and memories of mistakes. Jesus “took it away by nailing it to the cross”. God has promised to “blot out your sins…and will never think of them again” (Isaiah 43:25). You must too!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your canceling my debt! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
ITTT
Thank you for those words. They pretty much define my life. It is so hard to believe in forgiveness, especially forgiving yourself. I can’t imagine how the remainder of my life would be if I could quit dwelling on the past failures. I keep praying for him to show me the way, and am so thankful for his example of forgiveness.
Tim…this lesson really hit home. It is so difficult to let go of the regrets & what if’s. I feel if I would have understood the Bible when I was younger l could have helped more people knowing the Lord & following His ways instead of letting people down with negative words & selfish thoughts. The people I hurt are gone & the others I don’t know where they are. I don’t understand how the Lord could make good out this.
Thank you for listening & was hoping you could pray for my friend who is dealing with cancer & my son who is stressed, my daugther in law & grandson dealing with Lupus & other grandson on the cusp of autism. Hope you were able to recover from your illness & you feel a little better. Sorry you had to miss your trip. Take it easy & again thank you for your listening ear.