Shadows

Are you living in the shadow of your past?

“Shadows”, in life we all have them. These are two different pictures taken and put together as a double exposure. In doing this a shadowing affect was created. By shadows, I am referring to our past, that seems to keep following us. Ironically, these pictures were taken of my husband and myself, on a dock in our home town; where surely lies most of our past.

I am not saying that we need to forget or disregard all of our past, it helps define who we are. However, as a believer in Christ, there is a past that we definitely need to be rid of. It just bogs us down and creates problems. We are not meant to carry these burdens once we come to the Lord. This is the beautiful thing about the salvation God graciously gives to us.

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.”
1 Peter 2:24 NKJV

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

“Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55:22 NKJV

We must understand all that God has done for us through His salvation in order to walk as He wants us to. Christ died for our sins and forgives us, because all have sinned and need a savior. See John 3:16-17 and Romans 3:23.

“ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
John 3:16-17 NKJV

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23 NKJV

A key factor for us to remember is that God, not only forgives our sins, but He also forgets them. We are the ones who do not forget our past sins and punish ourselves, over and over, causing our past to control us. It “shadows” our daily lives, hindering our growth as new creations in Christ. God died to free us from these burdens. He does not want us burdened in this way. This makes us live ineffective lives.

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 8:12 NKJV

“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:17 NKJV

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”
Isaiah 43:25 NKJV

“I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 44:22 NKJV

There is so much to consider, yet still, there is so much more He has done for us. Let us now complete this with the thought of how God gives us newness of life. How are you doing? How are you walking in that? We seem to live such effectiveless lives. Don’t let your past sins haunt or hinder you. God forgives and forgets, so we also, need to forgive ourselves and forget our sins to go forward in newness of life. Stop dredging up the past and learn to live in His mercy and grace. It starts within ourselves; stop the “shadows “ from following you in your life now! Believe and trust His word and promises.

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”
Isaiah 1:18 NKJV

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Romans 6:4 NKJV

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

©️ Denise L. Calandra 2022

Scriptures for daily thought and encouragement!

The shadow picture is available to purchase on picfair.com. See link below.

https://denisecalandraphotography.picfair.com

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In Jesus Name, The Lord, Our Strong Tower.

For This Purpose I came Into The World

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Arizona, surely is a representation of Jesus our strong tower.  What a joy to have been able to view this in person.   The cross is predominating; you really can’t miss it!  It is upright in its glory for all to clearly see.

The Cross is a symbol of joy, love, peace, grace, hope, mercy, salvation, safety and so much more.  Ultimately, it stands for the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. This is, of course, all wonderful for us; however, it goes much deeper than this. The joy, love, sacrifice and all of what I mentioned above are the result of the willingness of the “Son of God” to endure this ordeal.  The other side of the story had to take place for this symbol to mean so much to us.

Let us consider the “other side of the story,” as we are in the Lenten season.  During this time, we need to reflect and consider all that Jesus endured for us. Without His willingness to tolerate this pain, we would not have the glorious Resurrection Day, Easter, to celebrate.

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour.’ But for this purpose, I came to this hour.  ‘Father, glorify your name.’” John 12:27-28 (NKJV)

Jesus was aware, His entire life, of the reason He was sent to earth and all that He would go through.  Actually, He foreknew before His earthly existence, yet He still came to die for us.  He bore this burden for our salvation.

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:44 (NKJV)

The physical suffering and agony that He was put through, is greater than any of us could ever imagine. As a matter of fact, it was unbearable.  We focus on this aspect more, but what about the emotional suffering He experienced?  He prayed and literally sweated drops of blood over His upcoming fulfilling of purpose.  I believe the emotional was even more unbearable than the physical.  Consider this, Jesus the Son of God, part of the trinity, in heavenly bliss with His Father, knowing no sin, became sin for us and was separated from God.  This caused Him to cry out, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”   Matthew 27:46 (NKJV)

Ponder this, He was physically whipped, tortured, beaten, mocked, shamed, crucified; and then He was separated from God, as the sin of the world fell on Him.  This was the ultimate agony that He endured for us. Yes, The Cross, is a symbol of joy, love, peace, grace, hope, mercy, salvation, safety and so much more. Prayerfully, we will never forget the reason why.  All this leads us to Easter, Resurrection Day!  Hallelujah, thanks be to our God!

For a full detailed account of Jesus’ suffering go to: inspirationalcorner.blog/easter, it is an inspirational read.  I highly recommend it. 

© Denise L. Calandra