EDITORIAL

Hi, welcome to the second part of Let the past pass. A man looking backwards is bound to stumble and fall. Your past is gone already and you cannot turn the hand of the clock backwards. A wise man will only learn from his past so that he doesnot make such blunders again, but a slothful man will refuse to change. On the cross of calvary, Christ declared boldly to us that “it is finished”;which is an indication that the record of our past is wiped out. David once sinned in his life and rather than linger on it and be held back from purpose, he went to God to seek for mercy. Take note that he is a man of the old covenant, how much more we who are under grace?  Once forgiven, David was up and doing to still remain as the light of Israel (II Sam. 21:17). He never allowed the past to be his meditations unto grief; rather they served as his stimulants unto taking greater strides in life (Psalm 126). Why not let your mind be renewed by God’s word? Let there be the washing of water by the word of God on your memory lane. Let the sweet promises of God as concerning your tomorrow wash away that your past that so easily besets you. Do not ignore this call, for it is highly profitable to you. Do not be stagnant, choose to move forward. Shalom!

LET THE PAST PASS PART II

Think about Thomas Edison that invented the electric light bulb. After thousands of experimentsin 1879, he figured out that a carbonized paper filament produced a lasting light bulb. Thomas Edison tried more than 6,000 different plant species before he discovered the one that would work as a proper filament. After struggling to develop a visible electric light bulb for months, he was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up. Perplexed, Edison replied, “Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitely over 9,000 ways that an electric will not work. Success is almost in my grasp”. And shortly after that and over 10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb. What others termed as failure, he turned  to a tool of learning that brought the invention of the incandescent bulb. God wants the best for us even more than we want for ourselves.

Nobody makes his past his focus that steps into his future. If you give up based on the past, you won’t move into glorious realms. Your movement forward becomes a certainty when you start forgetting your past. Also, the future can only be real when you forget your past. You cannot do anything about your past since you cannot change it, but YOU can change. Therefore, change so that you will experience a real future. The only way you can be more in life is to know that you are more or greater than your past. Thus, what you are greater than should no longer lay hold on you. Don’t allow your past to be greater than you: when it does, it grounds you. Listen, it’s not what has happened to you that matters; it is what you do about it that matters and what God ordained that matters the most.

Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Philippians said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). He could have been satisfied with those experiences he had, but he forgot the former things so that he could experience newer things. “…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before” (Phil 3:13). Former things hinder newer things, just as he that has drank the old wine does not straightaway desire the new. Why should you be satisfied with the past in whatsoever form it is? Come on! Get dissatisfied with it so that you project into your future. All successes and failures, trials, triumphs and thrills are things you have to put in the past. That which Apostle Paul is saying, in another from is this, “I am projecting into my future, no longer mindful of what has happened. I need new and better happenings. My vision is the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus”. That was why God said, ‘behold the former things have come to pass and new things do I declare’ and Paul also said that old things are passed away and all things become new. Allow God to take over your past (Isa. 42:9, II Cor.5:17).

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HOW YOU CAN FORGET THE PAST

1. FOCUS ON GOD: Focusing on God settles every issue of the past and sets someone for his future. Paul said, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). Whatever God has authored is what should become your focus. Whatever you focus on takes over your strength and that is what you become. You need to set your affection on things above and your past will no longer be able to consume your strength (Col. 3:2). Don’t occupy your memories with events or grieves of the past and/or the pains of circumstances and situations. Let God take over your spirit, soul and body. Focus your thoughts on God, think on the things He is thinking about you; and you will have the result that His thoughts always bring. Jer. 29:11, Isa. 55:8-9, Phil. 4:8. As a man thinketh so is he. Prov. 23:7.
2. VISION: The start off of every change is stimulated by vision. The future you see is the future you enter into. God had to take Abraham away from his past for him to be the Father of nations. Joseph kept seeing the vision God gave him in spite of all his situations and circumstances. Vision motivated by God is the cure to a grieving past. The past life of Jabez was labeled with sorrow, but by vision (I believe), he saw a tomorrow of greater honour as against the past of dishonor. Where there is no vision, people live in their past and therefore perish. With vision, steps are taken. Without vision, there are no steps taken. With vision, a man forges ahead; without vision, there is stagnancy. “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Prov. 29:18. By vision, the reality of a man’s future is spelt out.
3. FORGIVENESS: When you are forgiven and you forgive yourself, you will forget the past. Everybody has got a past: events or incidences that grieved you or sinful acts. Some moved forward, while others stayed back. Everyone’s movement or stagnancy was determined by his choice. Those that stayed back could have moved forward and those that moved forward could have stayed back. You may ask why? The difference in position is knowledge of the truth or its ignorance. Corrie Ten Boom puts it well when she said, “God has taken our sins. He has thrown it into the sea of forgetfulness, and he has posted a sign that says, “No fishing allowed”.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.Accepting forgiveness will take off the grieves and pains of the past. To effectively bury the past, you must be able to renew your mind by the word of God; for it cleans your past, gives you a good today and a better future.

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delightethin mercy.He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19.

4. ELIMINATE EXCUSES: Excuses serve as hindrance to excelling in life; and deprives someone of entering into a great future. Don’t let the issue of the past create the excuse that will inhibit your future. What you are giving excuse about is what another man will look at and ride onto stardom. If you don’t want to be excused from your future, stop giving excuses. Sometimes excuses are created because of the mistakes of the past and you need to eliminate them so that they don’t rob you of a great tomorrow. If you don’t desist from giving excuses, you may give excuses about things set to bring you to lime lightbecause of the experience of the past.
5. LIVE ABOVE ALL EXPERIENCES: You have to live above the good, bad, and ugly situations of life you have experienced. When you keep looking back, you will lose your effectiveness. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” Heb.12:2.

You have to desire the new. I know it is not easy, but the Bible says to straight away desire the new. You need to live above and beyondthe pain. There can never be a better yesterday. Good days are always ahead. The glory of yesterday is the shame of today. The path of the just is as a shining light that shineth brighter and brighter to a perfect day Prov. 4:18. Joseph never believed he’ll leave the prison, but he did and became a Prime Minister. Esther, though lived as a slave, became a queen; Nehemiah was a cupbearer, but he pushed and became a governor. Daniel was not captured by his past as a captive in Babylon, rather he moved on and one day, the king left his throne to prostrate before him (Dan. 2:46). Time will not permit me to mention the people who have pushed beyond their pains to gain a future.  You also need to push beyond your pains.

“Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this”. Eccl 7:10.

If you understand who Jesus is and what He has done about your past, you will cling to Him, and project into your beautiful future based on all that he has done. Because Christ lives, you can face tomorrow. Cease from living a miserable life. He is ALIVE! Don’t allow the past events to determine who you are, let God’s word be the determinate factor. Halt the past so that it will not halt you. Forget your past so that you will become resourceful in your generation. Don’t be in charge of your past, God has taken care of it ever before you were born. For while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for our sins( Rom. 5:8). No matter what you have done, God is set to forgive you; for God will in no wise cast you away (John 6:37). The moment you ask for forgiveness and repent, He forgives you and that ends it. You cannot become anything by your past, except you learn from it; for it is already gone. However, you can become something by your future, for it is yet to happen.  Prepare for the future, only reflecting on the past so as to have a better tomorrow and live adequately your today.

If you are not born-again, you can come to Him and He will take away your past if you will allow Him. If you want to receive Christ, pray this prayer with faith in you. “Lord Jesus, I thank you for the great sacrifice you gave for me in laying down your life for my sake. I accept that I have been a sinner, but now I’m willing to repent of all my sinful ways to accept you as my Savior and Lord. Do come into my life and make the change in me. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus name I pray.  Amen”.