Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” -John 11:39 (NKJV)

So it’s been a couple of weeks since the new year. How are your resolutions going?

It’s easy to get discouraged when we commit to doing better, but fall back on old habits. And sometimes, others will tell us that we can’t improve because haven’t changed at all. It’s like they want to remember us as our past selves…and we have to be careful not to think of ourselves as some snapshot from the past, either.

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus was indeed alive again…but still reeked from his old flesh rotting earlier. But because Lazarus was alive once more, he could go wash himself and change his smelly garments. His flesh was no longer rotting, but miraculously restored.

In our lives, we live to move forward and upward to God’s glory. We are not our pasts, no matter how much we or others mistakenly tell us so. He gives us new, clean garments in our new walk.

It does take conscious effort, however, to not fall into that trap of putting on the old, and to instead actively cleanse ourselves with His help. Thank you, Lord, for new life, and new opportunities and mercies anew each day!

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. -Luke 6:27-28 (NIV)

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. -Oswald Chambers

If you’ve reached that turning point in your life where you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior, your life began an amazing transformation for the better. He opened your eyes to truths that you never could see before, because you were blinded by what the world (and its ruler) told you was true and right.

But with that transformation likely came another one: resistance, and maybe even hostility, from those who previously walked along with you. Since your path diverged from theirs, you became alien to them, and they might lash out and remind you of your past mistakes. They will tell you what a terrible person and hypocrite you are to call yourself a follower of Christ, considering your past.

The enemy may do the same, whispering in your ear, making you doubt your new identity in Christ. Satan may get you to rewind the clock in your mind, reliving your past mistakes, tripping you up and tricking you into condemning yourself and wallowing in shame and remorse.

But your new identity in Christ frees you from condemnation, frees you from your past. You are forgiven and free. And unlike the old you, who might bash yourself into a pulp for your mistakes, you now have a Father to whom you can directly confess and repent of your sin, and be forgiven.

Christ is your constant in this world, no matter if everyone on this earth turns away from you. You do not live to please anyone but the Lord. To please Him, bless those who curse you…the ones who want you to rewind to the old person they want you to be again. Pray for them. Do good to them, and love them.

We live and love for Christ, and He will carry us no matter what happens here on earth. And what I believe you will find, fellow true believer, is that while some may turn away from you, others will come to you as you walk in His truth. We were made to worship, not win a popularity contest.

Today’s soundtrack

Chris Tomlin’s “Made To Worship” reminds us of our purpose here on earth.

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I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? -Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV)

The prison you cannot touch

I come from a family that truly knows how to harbor resentment, make it flourish, and carry it for decades…even past the death of another person. Talk about nurturing poisonous pain!

As a child, I was raised by parents could never be wrong. And from that, I inferred that it must be me who was always wrong and at fault. You can imagine the stage that set for adulthood.

Going hand in hand with this thinking is the debilitating way of looking backward in regret, living and reliving the past, just torturing the soul in self-condemnation, self pity, and guilt.

These conditions create invisible prisons for the mind and soul that may as well be cages and shackles of iron to keep us contained.

God breaks you free

But there is nothing too hard for the Lord.

There is nothing the Great Physician can’t heal. No pain or wound too deep. No rift or schism He can’t bridge. No prison from which He cannot free you.

After 40 years, my eyes started to see that resentment, self-condemnation, and regret were all sin burdens paid for in full by Jesus on the cross. And that truth only gets clearer with each passing day.

Though my sins were like scarlet, He made them white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

Get off the old cycle and on the new

For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. -Psalm 92:4 (NIV)

If not for Him, I would continue the cycle with my son. The cycle of sin and pain stop where God begins, and He has His hands outstretched to lift us up out of our prisons and into the freedom of His love.

And now that we are free, fellow believer, let us honor the Lord in starting healing and loving cycles…cycles of light and growth and change. Can you see the morning sun rising on your life after the years and years of night?

Today’s soundtrack

MercyMe’s “Hurt and the Healer” tells how God’s glory meets our suffering: