Friday Writing...18/19/18..."It Won’t Let Go - - -You Have To"

Good Morning,

Today the topic is the habit of hanging onto and rehashing what we see to be our failures in life. This practice steals our self esteem as we review our misdeeds of the past. Doing this is truly out of the pit of hell as the enemy tries to get us to believe that we are worthless and unworthy of redemption. Karen wrote, "When we became Christ’s we became new. We cannot save ourselves or be good enough! Jesus did that for us! We are reconciled to the Father. He holds nothing against us we have repented for! It’s time to stop doing it to ourselves and giving the evil one a foothold in our lives. Remember, he is powerless before our Almighty God, the God who loves us, and satan also knows his future!"

It is time to believe that we are a new creation as 2 Corinthians 5:17-19a assures us.
Be blessed, 
Karen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's Devotional  

"It Won’t Let Go - - -You Have To"

Written by

Karen Bennett

Do you ever dwell in the past? On a blue day do you chastise yourself mercilessly for your latest mistake and then begin to dredge up all sorts of things from the past to prove to yourself you’re right when you say you aren’t worth saving? Do you recall one humiliation after another to remind yourself why your life isn’t what you wanted it to be? Have you convinced yourself you aren’t good enough, smart enough, or popular enough to have what you always wanted?

You realize, of course, the hands you’re playing right into non-stop are those of the evil one. He wants you to dwell on all the debasing and debilitating things of your past. Then he will have plenty of ammunition to torment you - from you! You’re feeding him information he will most certainly use against you, and will furthermore never let it go!

What’s interesting is the fact that God let go of all those sinful mess-ups the very moment you sincerely asked Him to forgive you. They are, to him, as far as the east is from the west. A friend once said to me years ago, “Who are you that you feel you can’t forgive yourself when Almighty God already has?”

Think about it. If this is a habit you engage in, let go NOW! If you don’t, you can sink deeper into the quagmire of sin, feeling it doesn’t matter, you are already a worm and                                                                                         not good enough. 

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, 
he is a new creation, 

the old has gone, the new has come!
All this is from God, 

who reconciled us to himself 
through Christ and gave us 

the ministry of reconciliation: 
that God was reconciling

the world to himself in Christ, 
not counting men’s sins against them.” 

2 Corinthians 5:17-19a. 

When we became Christ’s we became new. We cannot save ourselves or be good enough! Jesus did that for us! We are reconciled to the Father. He holds nothing against us we have repented for! It’s time to stop doing it to ourselves and giving the evil one a foothold in our lives. Remember, he is powerless before our Almighty God, the God who loves us, and satan also knows his future! 

Father, 

Chastising ourselves comes so easy at times. We need to remember the danger of mulling over our sins of the past. Let us remember in Christ we are a new creation. In His holy name we pray. 
Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seeds Family Worship

"NEW CREATION"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not only listen to counsel – but listen to the LORD’s counsel, for that is what will stand in the end. Kindness is better than wrath, and rescuing someone from the punishment they have brought on themselves because of wrath, will not help them learn to abandon it. Letting them suffer the consequences of their punishment is the only way someone who refuses to receive instruction and listen to counsel, will learn to abandon it for kindness and wisdom.

And here is reiterated the same admonition found in many places in Torah, for the purpose of keeping the LORD’s commandments – so that it may go well with you, and so that you and your son, and your son’s son, may be blessed.

             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prayers are lifted up daily for you by the Devotional Writers 

  and the Monthly Writing Staff of Women's Focus Ministries.

Blog Writers:

Jan Andersen, Sandy Billingham, Carol Steficek,   

 Brother Thomas Ukwute, Jody Ward,  Karen Bennett, 

Bre Miller, Cathy Friberg, and  Corinne Mustafa
Elizabeth McElderry, Amie Spruiell,
Debbie Rodriguez

Occasional Contributors:

Kathy Bireley,  Lynda Kinnard, Mary M. Wilkins,

Terri Baker, Beverley Napier, Kelly Dobyns

Glenna Williamson,  Shelly Keith, Amie Spruiell,
Lisabeth Lipp,  and Nandita Bhatnagar