Paul's use of the Past

Monday, September 6, 2021

If anyone could've been disqualified from serving the Lord, it was Saul, Paul. He was the greatest of sinners. Instead, he set his heart on the grace and love of God, and lived a life of repentance. His past didn't disqualify him from serving the Lord. It qualified him. For the ministry of God is the ministry of grace. A past sin, failure, doesn't disqualify you from preaching grace. It qualifies you. Only those who are unworthy are worthy to minister the grace of God. Only the unqualified are qualified to minister His mercy. You've messed up, led a less than perfect walk in the Lord. Stop letting the past hinder your life. In Messiah, the past is covered over. Ask His forgiveness, repent, take any actions you can to make things right, and move ahead to glorify God. Stop letting the past dominate your future. Paul said, "But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind, and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah..." The past is the past... and the future belongs to grace.

From Message #690 - The Press of the New