Wednesday
Jul222009
Faith For Today...
Posted on 
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 5:35AM
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 5:35AM 
Greetings, Dear Friends!
And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.
Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who posts on my blog (and though I'm a bit behind right now, I do eventually reply to every post). :) This month's gift card is from Starbucks. So share a comment, story, or insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and a friend.
Now on to my topic...
If you read this blog with any regularity, you know I'm a visual person. I often think in pictures, make a point with word pictures, and I understand things best when a picture illustrates the point for me. So, indulge me for a moment as I share a picture that evolved during my prayer time the other day.
God wants to mobilize each one of us in such a way that we are free to live, and move, and have our paid-for freedom, TODAY.
Picture yourself on a big island, sitting on the shore, staring out to sea. Jesus is calling you out to sea, out to a place of faith and adventure and freedom. But you are chained to your past mistakes and hurts. So as you sit there on the shore, bogged down by past sins the enemy repeatedly parades before you, Jesus walks up to you and sits down beside you (sweet thought, isn't it?).
You turn a deaf ear to the enemy and you look into Jesus' eyes. He sweetly says to you, "You already asked me for forgiveness for those sins, right?" You nod, "Yes, that's right." Jesus continues, "So the enemy has no right to harass you with them today. Are you ready to leave your past behind you, once and for all?" You sit up a little straighter, your heart beats a little faster, and you reply, "Absolutely! I want my past to be a thing of the past!"
Suddenly you feel the ground quake beneath you, all the while, Jesus is smiling at you. A small portion of land breaks free from the island and before you know what's happening, you and Jesus are floating out to sea. You look back at the old island (which represents your past), and you watch as it sinks to the bottom of the sea where it belongs.
You look ahead at the open horizon and your heart races with possibility. But then your thoughts wander and it suddenly feels like your little island is losing steam.
You look over at Jesus as if to ask, "What's happening?"
He nods behind you and you notice an old pile of garbage attached to your land by a big rusty hook. "What's this?" you ask. Jesus turns towards you and mentions a name or two. You swallow hard because you know you're harboring un-forgiveness and judgement towards these people.
Jesus gently grabs your chin so you are looking straight into His eyes and He says, "I love you. I have plans for you, but you will never get to those promised places on time if you refuse to forgive and relinquish judgement as I have done for you. It's time to give up your 'right' to see them pay. Time to let them off the hook and trust me to deal with them."
You crawl over to that old rusty hook and you pull it out of the ground; you unhook yourself from the offense and you watch it sink to the bottom of the sea. Suddenly your load feels lighter and your perspective brighter.
You look ahead with hope and you embrace today with faith because Jesus is right beside you.
I don't know what you think of that picture but I love it. It reminds me of the fresh daily-manna God provided for the Israelites. If they tried to carry yesterday's stuff over today, it would go painfully bad. We don't have grace for yesterday. What we do have for yesterday is goodness and mercy - from the Father's heart. We have grace to carry today's burdens with ease. Yesterday's problems are covered by the mercy and the goodness of our living God.
Your goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6 NIV).
Our past is meant to be covered in His mercy in grace (not to be dug up and analyzed again and again). Our future is in the Lord's hands and entrusted to His care. Our present is filled with power, promise, and provision.
We have today. He is with us every step of the way.
Picture the old land of your past breaking away and falling into the sea. Purposely unhook the old debts and judgements you have against other people. Cherish the call on your life enough to be free from past sins (both yours and others).
God is doing a new thing!
Embrace today~
Until next week...
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Reader Comments (8)
So glad you were encouraged by this post! May God continue to strengthen us all for His service. Bless you~
So glad you appreciated the visual example of what we possess in Christ! It's so easy to get bogged down by past sins and recent mistakes. May the God who redeems all things help us to renew our minds and refine our perspectives! It's for freedom that Christ has set us free. May we refuse to be subject to a yoke of slavery. God bless you~
How wonderful to hear from you! Your prayer-warrior spirit always blesses me! Continue on in faith, my friend! Bless you~
Glad you liked the post! May we let go of the past and look forward to what lies ahead! Bless you!