text: Leave The Past Behind – 3rdjohn2
  Good morning, everyone! I hope you are all having a great week. I'm so thankful for all that God is doing. He's allowed me to see another day and I love seeing his new blessings and mercies today.
  One of things that God revealed to me over the past week is not allowing what happened in my past to get in the way of my future. Everyone has a past. Mine is not the same as yours, but I have had moments when I think of the guilt and shame of past hurts and mistakes and it gets me down. If there is one thing I have learned it's my past is not who I am any more. I am a new creation in Jesus. The old has passed away and all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
  The Apostle Paul was a persecutor of Christians and saute to kill them prior to his conversion. Even though there were some people who identified him with his past life before accepting Jesus, he chose to focus on his new life. He said:
  Paul knew that he couldn't let his past get in the way of his future. He knew that by remaining in the past he would get stuck and never attain to what God had called him to. That is why he decided to press toward the mark. He kept moving forward in his future and left his past in the past.
  One of the things I love about God is that when we come to him and ask for forgiveness from our past, he not only forgives us but also cleanses us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). As an added bonus, he doesn't hold our past against us.
  So, God gives us a second chance, wipes our slate clean, and cast our sins into the sea to be remembered no more. A popular phrase is that our sins go into the sea of forgetfulness. God chooses to forget our sin and not hold it against us. His concern is our future and he desires for us to walk in what he has planned for us.
  Some may say, "Well what about your testimony? In order to tell your testimony, you have to remember your past."
  It brings to mind what Pastor Josh once said. "Remember the past, but don't remember the past." Yes, we should remember our testimony since that is how we overcome. (Revelation 12:11) They also help us in explaining to others the reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15).
  Most importantly, however, our past doesn't define us.
  Our life in Jesus is all that matters along with the future he has for us. Don't allow that past to get in the way. Let God cleanse you from your past and set you free so you can walk boldly in his plan for you.