1987) Isn’t it amazing how the human mind works? We are capable of remembering the past, solving problems, talking about specific subjects and dreaming of the future.  

All these things and more are in a mental filing cabinet and assuming age or illness hasn’t impaired this, we can pull up a file of memory or understanding any time we’d like. It’s remarkable.  

As is true with most things in this life, there is a downside to these things; we can remember actions by us or those around us from our past that are horrible and even evil. Whether these things were done by us or to us, they carry much weight. After a while, we can crumble under it, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us if we’re washed with the blood of Jesus, we are a new creation. Most of us would nod our heads at this, but have you thought about the second half of the verse? It says old things have passed away and all things have become new.  

Just think. If we’re new to Christ, we don’t have a history. This is the nature of the word, new. In God’s eyes, he sees us as forgiven, not the things of our past we are ashamed of. Does this mean we see ourselves that way, too? It would be helpful if we could, but our brains aren’t made in a way we can pick and choose what we remember.  

We can stand on this verse when those, spiritual or human, keep pointing at what we did wrong in our past and remind ourselves we are new. No history should be a target of defeat. Jesus has taken away the target.