{"id":1807,"date":"2022-02-25T03:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T08:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/?p=1807"},"modified":"2022-02-25T03:45:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T08:45:00","slug":"letting-the-past-stay-in-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2022\/02\/25\/letting-the-past-stay-in-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Letting the past stay in the past."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.<br \/><br \/>Philippians 3:13<br \/><br \/><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>The Koinonia Women\u2019s Support Group was invited to attend a virtual book club meeting for the book entitled, \u201cExecuting Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It\u2019s Killing Us\u201d by Shane Claiborne. It was a very intriguing conversation- full of thought provoking, rich dialogue that really opened the door for communities to take action, start talking, and assisting to be a bigger part of the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though the Book club meeting only lasted a little over an hour it ignited flames within many of us on the call. We began talking about how we could be apart of a great mission and what part\/role could we play to encourage our fellow brothers and sisters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I took lots of wisdom nuggets from the conversation, one quote that Pastor Hilary quoted stood out to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201c<strong>Each of us is more than the worst thing we\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><cite>Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Injustice and Redemption <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It was something about that quote that stuck with me like glue. I\u2019ve never watched the movie or read the book <strong>Just Mercy <\/strong>but I took the time to go on the website and read a little bit about it. This New York Times Book Review stood out to me as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cThe message of this book\u2026is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful.\u201d<\/p><cite>Ted Conover, <em>The New York Times Book Review<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>And so as I sat at work last night the words <em>forgiveness, sin, mistakes, sorrow, change, and consequences <\/em>came to mine. So today with God\u2019s assistance I just want to talk to you briefly about letting the past stay in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Often times when folks have wronged us we say we will forgive but never forget or forgive and forget. Even though those words come out of our mouths, all it takes is one disagreement or heated argument and everything that we supposedly forgave someone for, comes right back up. The mere fact that we mention someone\u2019s past mistakes will tarnish relationships and destroy progress and reestablishing trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Have you ever heard the saying once a cheater, always a cheater? If you killed once, you\u2019ll kill twice? If you lied before, how do I know if you are lying now?! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of these different sayings can really hinder someone from growing and changing for the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about all of the persons sitting on death row that have been wrongfully accused. Even though they have been exonerated of all charges, some folks only see them as killers, rapists, murderers, etc. even though they were proven to be found innocent in a crime that they never committed or a crime that never happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately we serve a God who loves us unconditionally and who does not hold sin above our heads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander; along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.<br \/><br \/>Ephesians 4:31-32<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine growing up where your family thinks all you do is lie. Maybe you\u2019ve had a bad history of being dishonest and you finally turn over a new leaf. Because of your \u201ctrack record\u201d it is hard or simply impossible for people to believe you are telling the truth or even have an honest bone in your body. That could be discouraging right?! That could force someone to either pick up old habits or to continue to do the right thing even if folks don\u2019t ever believe you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a tough spot to be in don\u2019t you think?!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well folks that\u2019s what we do when we doubt a person\u2019s ability to change or we doubt the Christ in them is big enough, strong enough, or cares enough to bring about a positive change. Whether we do this intentionally or not we should reevaluate our actions in order to yield positive results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God is a merciful God. He allows us the chance to be forgiven of our sins and to be cleansed and renewed. All we must do is confess of our sins and He will forgive us and cleanse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God wants us to pray and to move on to bigger and better things. He doesn\u2019t want us scorned and bashed for the mistakes we have made in the past. We can achieve great things in Christ once we put our past behind us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If God can love and forgive so freely, what\u2019s our problem? Shouldn\u2019t we have a loving and forgiving heart as well? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">\u201cForget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. <br \/><br \/>Isaiah 43:18-19<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>God placed it on my heart to share these scripture and this topic because like Matthew 6:19, if we do not forgive others of their sins, our Father will not forgive your sins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s topic hits home to me and I pray that it may help you in your lives as well. Whether you are the one being accused or the one doing the accusing, learn to let Go and let God. Learn to not dwell on the past. Learn to move forward without being toxic or bitter. Understand we serve a reconciling God. Learn from your mistakes but don\u2019t hold a person for their discretions because that\u2019s not forgiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes that means you\u2019ll have to take risks but isn\u2019t life about taking risks? I\u2019ll end today\u2019s message with Psalm 37:1-6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.Philippians 3:13 The Koinonia Women\u2019s Support Group was invited to attend&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2022\/02\/25\/letting-the-past-stay-in-the-past\/\" class=\"readmore\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Letting the past stay in the past.<\/span><span class=\"fa fa-angle-double-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[129],"class_list":["post-1807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grace-mercy","tag-forgive","content-layout-excerpt-thumb"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":541,"url":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/27\/the-lord-as-our-rescuer-1-27-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":1807,"position":0},"title":"The Lord as our Rescuer!!!! 1.27.2020","author":"Whitnee","date":"January 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday's message from church came from the book of Matthew, 14th chapter. The man of God provided several scripture references as well as examples of how The Lord is our Rescuer. Click here for full details of todays message. Before you leave, please provide words of encouragement for others this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Grace &amp; Mercy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Grace &amp; Mercy","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/category\/grace-mercy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1726,"url":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2021\/10\/29\/pouring-from-an-empty-cup\/","url_meta":{"origin":1807,"position":1},"title":"Pouring from an empty cup.","author":"Whitnee","date":"October 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I was on the phone the other day with a friend while trying to figure out exactly what I was going to do for my birthday. At the moment there were so many different ideas in my head but due to lack of planning, my wants seemed simply impossible. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Finding Peace&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Finding Peace","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/category\/peace\/finding-peace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/img_3676.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/img_3676.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/img_3676.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/img_3676.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/img_3676.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1729,"url":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2021\/11\/02\/pump-your-brakes-sis\/","url_meta":{"origin":1807,"position":2},"title":"Pump your brakes sis!","author":"Whitnee","date":"November 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"You ever heard someone talking and your immediate reaction was, \u201csis tripping for real, for real?\u201d I\u2019ve experienced this quite a few times myself. I\u2019m sure we can all recall encounters were we have to tell our homegirls, family, coworkers, or whomever to pump their brakes. Though many people don\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Joy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Joy","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/category\/joy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/img_3703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/img_3703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/img_3703.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/img_3703.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2005,"url":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2022\/07\/13\/whats-your-availability\/","url_meta":{"origin":1807,"position":3},"title":"What\u2019s your availability?","author":"Whitnee","date":"July 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When you apply for a job, what is one of the questions you will always run across? WHAT IS YOUR AVAILABILITY? Idealistically some folks want a 9-5 Monday through Friday. It\u2019s very rare folks want to take the graveyard shift or work on weekends and that\u2019s a fact. But again,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Talents &amp; Gifts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Talents &amp; Gifts","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/category\/talents-gifts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/894f032f-c6c1-4880-b628-875dc26d11f2.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/894f032f-c6c1-4880-b628-875dc26d11f2.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/894f032f-c6c1-4880-b628-875dc26d11f2.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/894f032f-c6c1-4880-b628-875dc26d11f2.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1104,"url":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2020\/06\/29\/her-hope-speaks-loud-and-clear-6-29-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":1807,"position":4},"title":"Her hope speaks loud and clear! 6.29.2020","author":"Whitnee","date":"June 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve heard others talk about how pleasant your mom is so I just wanted to stop by and speak. So this is where everyone hides out at. You can feel the positivity when you walk through the door. It\u2019s so refreshing!Says one of the 7th floor Patient Care Technicians So\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"#Hope\"","block_context":{"text":"#Hope","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/tag\/hope\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_0950.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_0950.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_0950.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_0950.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_0950.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1193,"url":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2020\/09\/09\/finishing-what-god-started\/","url_meta":{"origin":1807,"position":5},"title":"Finishing what God started.","author":"Whitnee","date":"September 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"You ever had those days when you are ready to say, \u201cI\u2019ve had it, I can\u2019t take it anymore?\u201d How did you get yourself out of that \u201cfunk\u201d, what changed that encouraged you to keep going, or what motivated you to keep on running until you finish the race? (Comments\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"#GodIsTheAuthorAndFinisherOfMyFaith\"","block_context":{"text":"#GodIsTheAuthorAndFinisherOfMyFaith","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/tag\/godistheauthorandfinisherofmyfaith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/img_1248-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/img_1248-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/img_1248-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/img_1248-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/img_1248-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/img_1248-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbfCFX-t9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}