Altar
Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter
Albritton
June
14, 2015
Breaking free from bondage
to the past
A look at your past can
paralyze you. Shame can lead you to believe that God will not forgive you. Once
you think like that, you are in bondage to the past.
This bondage can prevent you
from experiencing the joy of God’s forgiving grace and the thrill of letting
God use your little life to make a difference in the world today.
So how can we break free
from this paralyzing bondage? An Old Testament prophet named Zechariah may
offer us a clue. Look with me at what Old Zach can teach us.
Zechariah was a “minor”
prophet but he delivered a “major” message to the Israelites of his day. He
urged them to learn from the past, repent of their sins, get busy rebuilding
the temple and have confidence in God’s power to redeem the world. In other
words, let God help you break free from your bondage to the past. Zechariah saw
the big picture of what God was doing and what he could do for those who trusted
him.
Zechariah and his friend
Haggai, another minor prophet, were in the right place at the right time. The
time was about 520 BC.
Fifteen years earlier the
Jews had returned from captivity in Babylon. The eager desire of the Jews
to rebuild the temple soon fizzled. They wilted under the criticism and
resistance of the Samaritans.
So Zechariah and Haggai
inspired the people to resume the work of rebuilding the temple. Because of
their zealous work, the temple restoration was finally completed.
Zechariah told the people
to look back and observe the foolishness of their ancestors. When God told them
to turn from their evil ways and return to him, the people ignored God. The
consequence of their disobedience was captivity and the destruction of their
temple. Sin led to bondage.
Christians have the unique
privilege of helping repentant sinners embrace God’s sweet forgiveness and
break free from bondage. A Christian can tell someone bound up in the guilt of
past sins the good news that their sins are forgiven. Often troubled sinners
cannot really believe in God’s forgiving love until they hear Christ’s words
spoken to them by a caring Christian friend: “Your sins are forgiven.” That can
be a decisive, liberating moment for a truly repentant person.
Zechariah and Haggai are
gone. They had their turn at bat. They did a good job of warning people and
urging them to turn from evil and return to faith in God.
Today we have our turn at
bat. Every day we have the opportunity to step up the plate and give people
hope that God can free them from their past sins and help them live a useful
life.
Perhaps you can think of
some troubled person to whom God may be opening the door for you to speak words
like these in love:
“Your sins are forgiven.
God is ready to deliver you from bondage to your past. He has a plan for your
life. He wants you to serve him in your home, and in your work, by living a
life that honors Christ. Let me pray with you to accept Christ’s forgiveness
and embrace his grace to begin a new life. Let us walk together, in the here
and now, the journey of following Christ and doing the work he is calling us to
do today.”
Many are ready to heed
God’s call to repentance and, set free from the past, begin a new life. If they
can hear a word of hope spoken in love from someone who cares about them, their
names can be added to the Book of Life.
Where can you begin?
Wherever the Spirit leads you! Listen, obey him, and let him multiply your joy!
It is your turn at bat. + + +