GOD RESTORES AND REFRESHES!
Do not let the pains of the past keep you from embracing the victories of your future!
From Our Finest Hour publication
February 2018
Dear Believer, we have entered a new season. It is the season of a fresh start! We are in a divinely appointed time of refreshing and restoring (Joel 2:25):
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.” Joel 2:25
Do not let the pains of the past keep you from embracing the victories of your future! My friend Bob Jones would say; “the past is just that” - the past. This is a new day in which you may boldly declare, “Old things have passed away!” Isaiah 48:6-7.
God Offers Forgiveness!
One of the sweetest words in any language is the word forgiven! God promises that even if your sins are red like crimson bright, obvious glaring, unmistakable they have been forgiven, washed white as snow because of the Crimson Blood of Christ! (Isaiah 1:18)
I am not talking about just a few sins or a handful of mistakes, but each, and every betrayal, sin, and offense is under the Blood of Christ; every sin and mistake is forgotten and erased! Beloved, it makes no difference how twisted and tangled your life has been or is right now: through the shed Blood of Christ at Calvary, God has made all forgiveness and grace abound toward you!
Heaven and earth may pass away, but “His compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:20-21). Why? Because Christ Jesus already bore our sins and iniquities!
“Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
God Forgets Your Past!
Through our repentance, God always makes a way to free us from our past. Scripture states that God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalms 103:12). Brothers and sisters in Christ, take this encouragement to heart: shake off your past failures, and set your focus on the fresh new day, and begin experiencing your future victories!
Remember this important promise:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2
The Lord has already lavished you with abundant, extravagant, forgiveness and grace to empower you to leave behind every past sin and failure. Over, are the days of regret, doubt, and fear, along with the many missed opportunities and failed relationships. The seasons of backsliding and passivity, the detours of the works of the flesh, are finished!
As we believe His Word of forgiveness and set our heart to seek the Lord, we will find overwhelming grace and mercies for each day (Jeremiah 29:12-13). Never give up; never give in again to a mindset of guilt and failure (Hebrews 10:35). You were created by your Maker to carry His glory and Presence into a lost and dying world. God has confidence in you (Deuteronomy 28:13). Remember, you are His choice (Ephesians 2:10), chosen for “such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
God Redeems Your Wounds!
It is by the stripes of Jesus Christ that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)! Take comfort in this, dear Believer: any wounds that you have suffered will become significant avenues of healing for others. When we are healed from our wounds, then we receive the needed grace for healing others!
We bring Christ’s healing and comfort to others in the areas in which we personally have been afflicted (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
God Brings Breakthrough!
God is even now releasing divine favor to us for accomplishing great exploits for His glory. In Psalms 84:11 (NLV), we learn how He lavishes His blessings of grace and glory:
“For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” Psalms 84:1
Even if you have not succeeded in previous days and years, do not lose heart! God is saying, “Try again!” It is time to regroup and try again, knowing that failure is never God’s plan (Jeremiah 29:11). You will see doors open that were closed to you previously. God is granting breakthrough.
I pray that your entire family will experience the overwhelming love and favor of God as you leave the past behind and boldly take hold of the blessings and promises of God!
Bobby Conner
