Security from Yesterday. “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

Security for Tomorrow. “…the Lord will go before you….” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.

Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste….” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

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December 12 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this devotional is very timely as I take stock of 2014 and look out at the future of 2015. However, there is something here that doesn’t quite ring true. If Jesus paid the price for our sins and transgressions, then why should we recall them and our yesterdays as if we need to be held accountable?  What can we be held accountable for, if Jesus paid the price? Is this one more of those “bait and switch” teachings? Jesus paid it all now it is up to me to live it out and be held to account for not doing so according to some measuring guide?

And God says…”I said I will remember your sins no more. They are as far as the east from the west. I do not recall past, present or future sins. When I look at the accounting, I see Jesus, and how you allowed My Spirit to live through you. There is no measurement, only yes and no. As you have been fond of saying, “God does not grade on the curve”. So let go of the past, present and future, and look to the new year as an opportunity to step out in a vision and faith so large, that the only way to live it is to be totally surrendered to Me. Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else you require will be provided. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. Do not get confused by the enemy contemplating your failures and missteps. Focus on Jesus and by the strength and faith of Jesus, allow your vision, hopes and dreams to become real. Acknowledge Me in all our ways and I will make your paths straight.”