02/26/2022
As a Christian our past can most certainly haunt us, and be a thorn in our side. People who have witnessed the actions of our old selves might never believe it possible for us to have changed, and to have been transformed by Christ into a new creation. So how do we live out lives of faith when everywhere we go there is such denial of His presence in us? We do exactly as Paul did… we remain focused on Jesus, and repeat over and over again the words Paul was given by the Lord, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Our salvation has nothing to do with the world’s perception of us… we are saved by Faith, and the grace of God alone.
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 ESV
Saul (the apostle Paul) had made a profession of tormenting and executing Christians, that is until he met Jesus, and he was blinded on the road to Damascus. When Jesus knocked him down and blinded him Saul became a changed man, but like Ananias, who Jesus sent to heal his blindness, many would continue to fear him, and doubt his conversion… Just like many continue to doubt the transformation of converted Christians today.
“But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.””
Acts 9:13-16 ESV
How much must some, who have been made new in Christ, suffer? Are we one of those who has been transformed, and yet is doubted, and persecuted, for our faith; even by those who say they believe in Jesus, and have themselves been changed?
“And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?””
Acts 9:21 ESV
When we are converted, and transformed; when our sins have been forgiven, and God has chosen not to remember them anymore, there will be those in the world who will continue to remember them, and they will persist in their desire to confront us with them. However, the judgement of the world is like the world itself… it has been overcome by Jesus. No matter the banter, and accusations, we are saved, and our faith in Jesus has redeemed us…
“Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””
John 16:31, 33 ESV
I know two pastors who are dear friends of mine, and they have spent their lives visiting prisons, and preaching the gospel message to men and women whose past deeds would shock you, and make you quake in terror by merely being in their presence. My Pastor friends deliver the gospel to despicable people that many would like to see God torment, or in some cases, put to death. But by grace these criminals/sinners have come to believe, and though the world will never forgive them, God has forgiven them, and transformed them through their faith in His Son Jesus.
““If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
John 15:18-19 ESV
The past deeds of these incarcerated Christians will most certainly haunt them, and they will pay a debt to the world, but their sin has been forgiven, and in the eyes of God they have been made new. They might never be recognized as acceptable to those who have remained in the world, but by grace they are truly new creations, and as Jesus has said… His grace is sufficient for them.
Although our past sins might not have landed us in jail, we can still carrying them like a thorn in our flesh. Are we suffering each day despite the fact that we have been saved? Well if this is our plight, and we are beset upon by a those who would convict us, take heart, know that we are new, loved by God, and that this, our weakness, is now meant to be a remembrance to us, and to prevent us from becoming the victim of conceit in our faith. In this way our lives, and our living faith, will serve to announce us as who we now are… heirs and joint heirs in Jesus, and children of God.
“On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.”
2 Corinthians 12:5-7 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your amazing grace that flows through your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for His life, suffering, death, and resurrection, that has redeemed us. Thank you for opening our eyes to the fact that the world can convict us, and even put our bodies to death, but it can’t judge us eternally, or destroy our renewed soul that your grace, and our faith in Jesus, has prepared for eternity with you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who redeems us, forgives us, and transforms us into righteous creatures. Praised be your name Lord, for every bitter word spoken against us, for every stone cast at us, and for the hatred of the world. Each of these becoming a strength in our weakness, and magnifying your grace in our eyes. Help us to forgive those who are piercing us like a thorn, and teach us how to pray for the renewal of their souls in Christ. Merciful are you Father for the time and circumstances needed for us to meet Jesus, and which have made our salvation possible. Wash us in the blood of your Son Jesus, and cleanse us of every sin. We pray too Lord, that the suffering, and bitter remembrance of our past sins will not harm the souls of those we have wronged, or those who have seen our sinful lives and hold them against us. Teach us all to forgive, and to forget as we are transformed by faith, so that we can be judged worthy when we stand before you. Let your grace be sufficient for us all, and give us the eternal life that is in Jesus Christ.
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-12 ESV
Rich Forbes