Old voices

“In him we…become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

Gandhi once said, “I refuse to let anyone walk through my mind with dirty feet.” Yet that’s exactly what we do when we listen to old voices of condemnation. A respected author wrote, “Negative accusations take various forms. ‘You’re not as spiritual as you should be…You didn’t work hard enough last week…God can’t bless you because of your past.’ Those are lies…We don’t have to live condemned when we make mistakes. Even Paul said, ‘I do not do the good things I want to do…I do the bad thing I do not want to do’ (Romans 7:19 NCV). There is a time to repent and a time to shake it off and press forward. You can’t change the past. And if you live in guilt today because of yesterday, you won’t have the strength to live in victory. The Bible says, ‘Put on the breastplate of God’s approval’ (see Ephesians 6:14). The breastplate covers your heart, the centre of your being, the way you think and feel about yourself. If you’re thinking, ‘I don’t have much of a future. I’ve blown it too often. God couldn’t be pleased with me,’ that’s ‘the accuser,’ and he has no authority over you.” God says he’s been “cast down” (Revelation 12:10). So stand your ground and remind him that “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Like all of us, you’ve probably made your fair share of mistakes. But positionally, God sees you “in Christ,” so you’re complete, justified, and accepted. Conditionally you’re a work in progress—and He won’t give up on you!

Bible in a year: Malachi 1-4 and Revelation 22