MOVING FORWARD BY LIVING IN THE PRESENT

Certain past mistakes can continue to haunt us, especially when we harm others. Before Saul became the apostle Paul that we know, he was very devoted to Judaism, which is the religion of the Jews. Saul believed that Christianity, the teaching of our Lord Jesus, or His followers, was a threat to Judaism. Judaism relied on obeying the Law of God for salvation, but Jesus' teaching is about believing in Him as Lord and Savior for salvation. According to Acts 9:1-16, he was breathing out murderous threats against the Christians who were the followers of our Lord Jesus. His goal was to eradicate Christians. He was there when Stephen was stoned to death and approved it. Then, he went to the region of Damascus to put men or women who were followers of Jesus in prison. It was on his way to Damascus that Jesus revealed Himself in a powerful way to Saul. It was during that encounter that he came to believe in Jesus. Not long after, Saul was known as Paul. Despite everything that he had done wrong, God forgave him and chose him to become an apostle who would bring the gospel to Asia and Europe. Paul had not forgotten what he did against all the Christians whom he put in prison or even led to their death. In 1 Corinthians 15:9, Paul said these words: "For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church." 

Paul handled his past mistakes by living in the present towards the future, and he embraced God's forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love. He didn't ignore his past mistakes, but he didn't allow them to stop him from moving forward, especially in pursuing God's calling in his life. In Philippians 3:13-14, he said, "No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." When Paul said forgetting the past, he didn't mean it was a memory loss, but he learned to let go of his past mistakes and not allow regrets and shame to stop him from moving forward. Paul knew that he couldn't go back in the past to undo what he had done in destroying many Christians' lives, but he could continue living to serve God by telling people about the salvation that comes from having faith in Jesus. Past mistakes may linger in our minds, but let us not allow regrets and shame to stop us from moving forward. We must receive God's forgiveness and continue to live according to God's will. We can use our past mistakes as a source of growth.

We must not live in the past by allowing regrets and shame to control our lives. God has forgiven us so that we can live in the present and look forward to the future. We must learn from our past mistakes and live right in the present by trusting God for His forgiveness and restoring work in our lives. 

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What can I learn from Paul in dealing with past mistakes? How do I deal with my own past mistakes? Why is it important to let go of the past and trust God for His saving work and restoration in my life?

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for forgiving all my past mistakes. I acknowledge that I made terrible mistakes, and I surrender them to you. Please help me not to allow regrets and shame from my past mistakes to stop me from moving forward in living in the present. When Satan reminds me of my past mistakes, I pray that I will surrender them to you and remind myself that you have forgiven them. Thank you for the restoring work that you are doing in my life. Day by day, you are changing me to be the person that you want me to be. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.