MY FAVORITE SCRIPTURE

“John 3:16.” “Romans 8:32.” “Psalm 23.” These are some of the responses that you may receive when you ask a believer what their favorite scripture is. Certain scriptures have a special meaning for us. It may be a passage that reveals the love of God, tells a moving story about forgiveness, or shares a faith-building word about prayer.
My answer to that question would be Philippians 3:13, 14. “...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (KJV)
This scripture reminds me not to look back at my past sins, whether committed before or after salvation. I am comforted in the fact that they are under the blood of Jesus, never to rise up in judgment against me. Therefore, I am not allowed to experience guilt or feel condemned. Since I have confessed these sins and repented of them I am exhorted by the Word now to “Go forward!”
As a pastor, many times I’ve had people say, “But pastor, you don’t know what I’ve done.” I respond by saying “I don’t and I don’t have to know.” All that matters is that we confess our sins to God and repent of them. (Of course, if the sin was serious and especially if it was committed by a church leader then it needs to be dealt with. But that’s when a restoration process begins).
If we have confessed and repented of our sins we need to go forward. We need to stop beating ourselves up and rid ourselves of the guilt and condemnation. We must not let the devil or anyone lay a guilt trip on us and condemn us. Looking back will not allow us to be of service to the Lord and His church. I don’t know of any scripture that exhorts us to “Look back or stand still” in the matter of our sins and failures.
I encourage you to confess your sins, repent of them, and “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!”
“Life's greatest tragedy is not to fall down, it's to stay down. The greatest disaster in life is not to fail, it's to park there, and say 'What's the use?'” Rowland Croucher www.churchlink.com.au/churchlink/forum/life.html

THE MISSION AND VISION OF RESTORATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

“…nothing can be written about ministry without a deeper understanding of the ways in which the minister can make his own wounds available as a source of healing.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen in “The Wounded Healer”

As a Christian for 38 years and a minister of the gospel for 33 years, I have seen both the good and the bad meted out by the church. I've seen brothers and sisters torn down, ripped apart, gossiped about, neglected, forgotten, etc. Because of the wounds that I have — many as a result of my own sins — I believe that the Lord has called me to be what Brother Nouwen calls a “Wounded Healer.”
Some of our t-shirts and bracelets reveal the thought-provoking WWJD – What Would Jesus Do? Always a good thought before a decision is to be made, but how often do we consider what Jesus would do for the sister who has fallen into sin? What would He say to the brother who is troubled by the disappointments in his life?
The Word provides the answers: “Restore…in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1) and “encourage and build up one another” (1Thessalonians 5:11)
It is my prayer that this blog would aid in the restoration of the fallen and provide encouragement to wounded, hurting, and abandoned Christians. Amen.
“Think of me as a fellow-patient in the same hospital who, having been admitted a little earlier, could give some advice.”
C.S. Lewis in “A Severe Mercy” a letter to Sheldon Vanauken.