"The me that still can be in Jesus"

One of the things that we as Christians deal with in our lives is condemnation. Condemnation over past sins that have been confessed and forgiven.

We all, at times, struggle with this. If only I had been this, or done that or hadn't said this.....on and on it goes.

The enemy doesn't fight fair. He encourages us to sin, tempts us to sin, entices us to sin - and then when we do sin - he stands back and says something like, "you call yourself a Christian? How could you have done that?"

And....then we confess, God forgives, and the enemy STILL doesn't let go. He will continually bring to our minds that which we have done or said in the past.

Condemnation.

One of the characteristics of those who are living under condemnation is that they become selfish. They think about one thing, the regrets from the past. They constantly feel sorry for themselves and can't get their minds off their own pain and suffering.

Well....one of my mentors, Dr. Richard Dobbins has written this (and it is a powerful quote that you will want to come back too several times):

"Usually, such people are the last ones in the world to think of themselves as idolaters, but they are worshipping an idol. How many times do you suppose such people have said to themselves: "oh, if only it hadn't happened that way. How different my life might have been. But my whole life is ruined now."

These people are worshipping the idol of "the me that might have been." Because the "me that might have been" can never be, they refuse to accept "the me that is."

And since they won't accept "the that is," they can't discover"the me that still can be" in Jesus.

When you won't forgive yourself for some mistake in your past, you're really making an idol out of "the me that might have been."

If you will smash that idol you've created and forgive yourself, God will help you discover "the me that still can be in Jesus." Only as you let go for the past can you reach the future that can be yours."

Listen to this story:

"Noble Doss dropped the ball. One ball. One pass. One mistake. In 1941, he let one fall. And it's haunted him ever since. "I cost us a national championship," he says.

The University of Texas football team was ranked number one in the nation. Hoping for an undefeated season and a berth in the Rose Bowl, they played conference rival Baylor University. With a 7-0 lead in the third quarter, the Longhorn quarterback launched a deep pass to a wide-open Doss.

"The only thing I had between me and the goal," he recalls, "was twenty yards of grass."

The throw was on target. Longhorn fans rose to their feet. The sure-handed Doss spotted the ball and reached out, but it slipped through.

Baylor rallied and tied the score with seconds to play. Texas lost their top ranking and, consequently, their chance at the Rose Bowl.

"I think about that play every day," Doss admits.

Not that he lacks other memories. Happily married for more than six decades. A father. Grandfather. He served in the navy during World War II. He appeared on the cover of Life magazine with his Texas teammates.

He intercepted seventeen passes during his collegiate career, a university record. He won two NFL titles with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Texas High School Hall of Fame and the Longhorn Hall of Honor include his name.

Most fans remember the plays Doss made and the passes he caught. Doss remembers the one he missed. Once, upon meeting a new Longhorn head coach, Doss told him about the bobbled ball. It had been fifty years since the game, but he wept as he spoke."

I guess the thought of the day is this: sometimes we are harder on ourselves than God is - so LET IT GO - and relax in God's love.