New Year Poem: Let Go

Let Go

Let go the past

That caused you pain.

Be free at last,

Begin again.

Let go of fear

That kept you chained;

Take this new year,

And hope again.

Let go of hate

That brought you strife;

Take hold of love,

Reclaim your life.

Let go the war

Within your soul;

Let God restore

And make you whole.

© 2020 John Stuart

Going Forward - Philippians 3:13b-14

Philippians 3:13b-14 Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

            We all have past regrets which we keep in our hearts, mull over in our minds, and rekindle in our spirits every now and then. We relive some personal hurts and disappointments in order to cradle the resentments or offenses we once felt in our souls. Sometimes we keep visiting those uncomfortable moments as a means to either torture our spirits or maintain our injured pride. Whatever the reason, the past can draw us back and chain us to some events that cannot be changed, no matter how much we try to justify or understand them.

            I think the Apostle Paul felt these things, too. He had major regrets from his past before he became a Christian. He had harassed and hunted down Christ’s followers in order to rid his faith community of their existence. He may have had men, women, and children arrested who believed in Christ. He probably gave evidence against them at their trials and he could also have witnessed some executions. At the time, he felt justified and his zeal for God blinded him to the pain and suffering he was inflicting on his prey. When he became a Christian himself, Paul must have had many regrets which he carried with him for the rest of his life.

            However, Paul did not wallow in the past or afflict himself with his mistakes. Instead of looking back, he looked forward to using the time he had left for the work, mission, and calling that Christ had given him. He pushed himself onward and saw God’s reward clearly ahead of him. His goal was to live the rest of his life for Christ’s sake, taking every day as an opportunity to serve Jesus and fulfill his ministry for him. To do this, he left the past in the past and strained forward to the glorious future that awaited him.

            Christianity allows us the gift of beginning again. Christ permits us to let go of the past in order to follow Him faithfully into the future. Our regrets are absolved and our mistakes are forgiven. We can move on from what held us back and begin again. This is Christ’s way of freeing us from our failures and restoring our lives to God. It is a beautiful gift and one which we can receive today.

Point to ponder

What parts of my past hold me back? Am I willing to let Christ liberate me from them now?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know the struggles we deal with constantly in our hearts and minds. We ask that You help us to break free from our past and follow Your path in the future. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Our Sunday worship service begins at 11:00 AM. Come along and join us – you will be made most welcome.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Pentecost drawings called ‘Spirit Jazz.’ If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Jazz.

Devotion: Forgetting the Past - Isaiah 43:18

Isaiah 43:18     “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”

            Living in the past is a sure fire way to spoil the present and sabotage the future. As human beings, we are both blessed and cursed with powerful memories. Some of them are really good and cause us to be cheerfully nostalgic. Other remembrances are very painful and can sometimes be unhealthy.

            Letting go of the past is something that God calls us to do. It’s not easy to accomplish, but neither is lumbering a lot of baggage which weighs us down emotionally, spiritually, and even physically.

            God urges us to forget former things and not dwell on the past. His Son Jesus died painfully on the Cross, but God does not dwell on that terrible moment. Instead, He looks forward to the brightness of an eternal future where we will abide in His Kingdom and enjoy His everlasting love. This is why God wants us to let go of the past – so that we can look ahead to our future with Jesus.

Questions for reflection

What am I still carrying as a burden from the past? Am I willing to let it go and allow God to grant me a better present, as well as a brighter future?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You are our Savior; please save us from ourselves. Release us from the past and guide us to a hopeful future. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Please feel free to share this email with family & friends.

Today’s image is one of John’s Creation drawings called “Let There be Light.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on this link: Creation.

Daily devotions - Back to the Future - Ecclesiastes 1:9

Ecclesiastes 1:9           What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

I drank too much caffeine yesterday, so I ended up being wide awake in the wee small hours of the morning. You would think that I would know better by now, but I like my tea and my coffee, so earlier today you would have found me drawing and googling at 4:30AM.

A friend of mine sent me a link to Google maps. I had forgotten about this amazing site. After clicking on the world map and zooming in on Scotland, I was soon able to “virtually” walk down streets and places in my hometown of Glasgow. This kept me occupied for hours. Eventually, I found myself walking through the hospital grounds where my mum had been kept in a locked ward. As I stood in the street and looked directly at the door to 22B, I could still smell the antiseptic and hear the sounds beyond it. It was a weird feeling and it dredged up a few heart-rending memories that I had suppressed long ago.

For a couple of minutes, I was a child again and I was angry with God. A bitter prayer of “Why?” shot through my soul and then, just as suddenly, I realized that all that pain was in the past where it needed to rest. What happened 40 years ago, need not scar me now. What was done then, need not be experienced again. Today’s writer of Ecclesiastes may not have agreed with that statement, but rather than be pessimistically fatalistic and say that history repeats itself, I now hold on to the wonderful liberating words of God: “Behold, I make all things new!”

As I left my computer and crawled back into bed, I felt a burden from the past had been taken from my shoulders and buried forever. Caffeine may keep me awake, but Christ keeps me alive…J

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we all carry moments and memories from the past that weigh us down spiritually and sometimes depress our souls. We wish that things could have been different and we fear making the same mistakes or going through the same experiences again. Take hold of our lives; free us from the past, and make all things new. In Your Loving Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s drawing is one of John’s ‘Tribute to Vincent’ pictures. It’s called “Moonrise Van Gogh” and is based upon Van Gogh’s Field of Crows painting. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2758/4136822951_b576335e31_b.jpg