Don't Build Your House in the Cemetery

2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Isaiah 43:18-19, "But the Lord says, "Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. 19) Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already - you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there." 

Luke 9:62, "Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God."

Don't Look Back!

Cemetery represents so many things but ultimately it symbolizes death. Primarily death of loved ones, friends and acquaintances who have left this earth to dwell where they have chosen to reside. But with the death of someone we know, comes with it the death of something that once was, a relationship, memories both good and bad, and a resting place of the body that housed a living, breathing, human with a soul. A cemetery also houses millions of tears for those who were left behind and who visit the cemetery in remembrance. But it represents the past. A past that we are not to hold onto, look back upon nor long for. I'm not saying we can't reminisce over things in our lives or cherish good memories made together over our lifetime or remember those who we have lost. That would be foolish on my part. What I am saying is we are told not to live in the past, not to look back, not to long for the past and to remember it no more. Philippians 3:13, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead," It serves no purpose. It holds us back. A cemetery. I personally don't feel comfortable visiting a cemetery not only because of its connotations but also because I don't believe in honoring death of our loved ones in that manner. Personally, their memories will live on in our hearts, thoughts and minds and that's enough for me. I don't feel it a necessity to lay "gifts" upon a grave of someone who cannot enjoy them while at the same time, we are also not to talk to the dead. Everyone I know who has visited the grave of a loved one, talks to them as though they are there and listening. Many times, this very act leads and entices some people to seek out mediums, psychics or witchcraft to get in "touch" with the "spirits" of their lost ones. This opens the doors to all kinds of harassing spirits. This is strictly forbidden in the Bible! Why? Because who they THINK is their "family member" is none other than a demon, or a familiar spirit. Anyway, a cemetery feels so final to me because it represents a final death, a final resting place and something gone forever. But is it really? Well, that depends on where they will reside for eternity and where you will choose to reside for all eternity. If they chose Jesus Christ's free gift of Salvation, then they will be present with the Lord upon death. If they rejected His free gift, then they will be in eternal hell to reside with Satan. Once in that grave, all that remains is the empty shell of what once was and what will never be again. An empty shell casing returning to the dust (ground) it was created out of. Don't build YOUR house in the cemetery! Something to think about.

Let's take a look at Lot and his wife as a good example of looking back and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is what we are told in Luke 17:28-32, "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29) but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30) Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31) "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32) Remember Lot’s wife."  Remember Lot's wife is a powerful, dramatic and potent illustration from God Himself that has ever been used in His sermons. Remember Lot's wife. But why? For those of you who don't know, or only know a fraction of this wonderful lesson, let me recap it briefly, in the best way possible, without losing any of the content. There's alot to unpack and for the sake of this writing, I'll recap briefly. The biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were situated near the Dead Sea in Israel, most likely, and in all probability, on the southern end. Lot and his family lived in Sodom. The Lord told Abraham, who was Lot's uncle, that He was going to destroy the city because of the wicked immorality of its inhabitants. Pretty strong statement I might add! Abraham begged the Lord to show mercy toward those who were living there, for the sake of the good people in it, which included his nephew Lot. So Abraham asked the Lord if He would spare Sodom if 50 righteous people could be found in it (this account can be found in Genesis 18). The Lord said He would. Abraham gradually lowered the number, in his attempt to negotiate it down to 10. The Lord said He would not destroy Sodom if He could find even 10 righteous people there. None could be found and so fire and brimstone rained from the heaven to destroy them all who remained. Two angels visited Sodom and found that Lot was the only one there who had any decency. They found that the city was full of adulterers, pride, gluttony, greed, fornicators, extreme wickedness, people going after "strange flesh" and homosexuals who even tried to rape the angels while they were staying with Lot. The following is the account of this found in Genesis 19:4-11. "Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5) And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally." 6) So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8) See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof." 9) And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10) But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11) And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door." 

Knowing God was about to destroy the city, the angels told Lot to get out of the city quickly with his family. The angels only led Lot out of the city along with his wife and two daughters from among the parents and sons and daughters. Lot's sons-in-law didn't believe the city was going to be destroyed, so they chose to stay. Lot had sons as well but we aren't told that Lot so much as warned them, so many believe, and are of the opinion, that it's very possible the sons were so deeply involved in the immorality of the city that Lot saw it was pointless to warn them. As far as Lot's sons-in-law, Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, said they were betrothed to the daughters and not yet married to them, which may explain why the girls were still virgins. This leads to the “assumption” by some scholars that Lot only had two daughters, but because it wasn't clearly understood, and maybe not of great importance to the whole of the story itself, it is then POSSIBLE that he had married daughters as well. God didn't breathe these words into His love letter to us so we can only go by what we KNOW from His words. One of the angels told the family to escape to the mountain, not to stay in any of the nearby cities of the plain, and not to even look behind them. Genesis 19:17, “So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” But Lot, who was very hesitant and resistant to go to the mountain, said he'd rather stay at the small village of Zoar where he THOUGHT he and his family would be safe. He eventually feared for his life in Zoar and went to the mountain anyway, showing us how much better it is to follow the Lord's guidance directly! As soon as they entered into Zoar, the Lord rained massive fire and brimstone upon the Sodomites and the city of Sodom, and upon Gomorrah and the other cities of the plain and their inhabitants. And next, we are told of something truly amazing and in many cases, unimaginable! Lot's wife "looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt." She looked back in longing for the old ways, the wealth, the forbidden pleasures and the things of "old" that they were told to turn from. She clearly disobeyed and instead of obeying her Master, she gave into the fleshly desires, disobeyed and longed for what used to be so she looked over her shoulder and became a pillar of salt. Lot's wife didn't simply just longingly look back; she dragged her heels from Sodom to Zoar, dilly dallying and wasting time. By conducting herself in this manner, she showed unmistakable evidence that her heart did not truly believe what the angel had said to her: God would not really destroy all of their possessions. This showed her reluctance to leave the old behind due to her lack of faith. 

In Gen 19:24-25, it says, "Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. v25) So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." God will once again destroy the sexually immoral, the sexual deviants, and that day will come when either that person dies or Christ returns. As Jude wrote in Jude 1:7, "as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." To clarify, "going after strange flesh" in the context of these scriptures and in this account, this refers to fallen angels, otherwise known as the Nephilim, or giants, found in Genesis 6:4-5, "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5) Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Notice that Jude mentions both "fornication" and "going after strange flesh." The "and" means in addition to, more than just fornication. Obviously, Sodom's sins were more than fornication, and certainly more than a "lack of hospitality" as some people tend to believe. The lack of hospitality is definitely referenced in Ezekiel 16:49-50, "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50) And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit." Let it be known, it was not the crux of the fire and brimstone raining down by any means! The "strange" flesh refers to that which is forbidden by God for us to have, it is flesh outside the bounds of God's laws; hence, the term "sexual deviance" which means to deviate from what is acceptable to God. This does not just mean with humans. As indicated from the provided scripture above, it also means the "strange flesh" of angels who were on the earth at that time genetically modifying and altering the DNA of humankind and poisoning mankind. Anything that is outside the bounds of God's laws is a sexual deviance because it DEVIATES FROM THE NORM! Bestiality, raping, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, "strange flesh." The list is endless but it must be understood to understand the extent of the extreme wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Have You Entertained Angels?

So, in 2 Peter 2:6-8 it says, "v6) and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; v7) and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked v8) (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)...." The "filthy conversation" of the wicked, literally means, the "filthy manner of life" of the wicked. The Greek noun for "conversation" is "anastrophe," which literally means, "behavior." Hence, Sodom and Gomorrah were saturated with sexual deviance, filthy behavior, and every form of godlessness known to mankind. I might be so bold to add at this point in this post that there are cities in this present day and age that very much resemble that of Sodom and Gomorrah! And those numbers are growing the closer we come to the return of our Lord! Las Vegas, Nevada is one of those cities and has been aptly nick-named, "Sin City." Many cities in California resemble that of Sodom and Gomorrah, New York, Chicago, Illinois, etc. Well, that isn't something to boast about, but the world over does and even more than ever as we are closing in on our flight out of here! Genesis 13:13, "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." God said that the men of Sodom were sinners EXCEEDINGLY! Exceedingly means, "to an extreme degree; extremely; severely; excessively." Surely we don't need a degree in theology to know that the word EXCEEDINGLY meant that these men of Sodom were rotten to the very core! These weren't some petty criminals we're talking about here. Remember, Genesis 19:4-9 tells us about two angels who were sent by God to deliver Lot, and his family, out of Sodom. The angels came in the appearance of regular men. They were sent to save Lot and his family. The homosexuals in the city of Sodom wanted to rape the two visitors, whom many speculate they weren't aware they were angels, which also confirms who and what the "strange flesh" is referencing. This is reminiscent of the scripture from Hebrews 13:2, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." An angel's appearance may not always be known to man! 

Ok, now with that refresher course in place, let's talk about the human nature's desire to "look back" longingly for those things that were part of our distinct past, or for those people that were part of our past as well. Our past is what Satan and his little minions want us to constantly remember, to ruminate upon, and if he had his way, he would want us residing there because he knows it prevents us from moving on, moving forward and it's because our past is full of sin. Desires that were mistakes, rebellion, desperate. But they were momentary "pleasures" as well and THOSE are the things he helps us remember be bringing the pleasures up from those sins. Remember, he wants to make us all forget the sin and remember the pleasure! It's those times when he taps ever so slightly on our shoulders and says, "Psst, hey, remember THIS? Wasn't THIS fun? Wasn't THIS exciting? Didn't THIS make you feel good? Remember how THIS made you feel?" Oh he's conniving, isn't he? No wonder he took on the form of a snake, because that's exactly what he is....a slippery, slimy, sneaky, sorry, sly SNAKE! I've said over and over, that he cannot do anything new, ONLY GOD can! He only has the authority to drudge up our past, harass us with those temptations and plant thoughts in our minds. Nothing else though. By drudging up our past and in many cases for the Christian, it makes one begin to embrace those times, begin living more in the past than in the present and begin to doubt one's salvation in addition to doubting God's grace! He's good at what he does as it is.....but he's been defeated! He's condemned already and THAT, my dear readers, is exactly what he wants YOU to feel like....CONDEMNED! I wrote about the difference between Conviction and Condemnation and if you haven't read that yet, it's probably a good time to do so now! It can be found here. Satan CONDEMNS! A child of God, a Christ believer, born again, is convicted and the conviction comes from the Holy Spirit! Satan is always tapping our shoulders and the closer we get to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the more rapidly he taps! He doesn't want us to get close. He wants us to stumble. To fall. To doubt. To rebel. After all, isn't that exactly what he did himself? He was so good at the deception and the manipulation that he got a third of the angels to rebel against God and they too, got cast out of heaven. There is always going to be temptations that get in our way. It doesn't mean we have to act upon them. It doesn't mean we have to give up if we act upon the temptation. The path isn't easy and it gets harder the closer you become, BUT, it's not impossible!!!

Satan wants us to doubt our Savior! Satan wants us to trust him through his manipulative actions. That's why he's constantly trying to trip us up, constantly bring up our past, trying to make us long for the days of old and for the days gone by! God, however, gave us an armor to wear daily to protect ourselves from the fiery darts of the enemy, our adversary. The armor of God will not only protect us, but it will DEFEAT the enemy! I wrote a post about this armor and it can be found here. The power given to us in Luke 10:19 says CLEARLY and LOUDLY, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Ah, this alone should bring boldness and courage and strength to you!!! Satan knows our weaknesses especially if we say them aloud! He has a good memory and remembers what that little "thing" is that makes us stumble, makes us ruminate on things we shouldn't be ruminating on and makes us doubt Jesus's promises! Remember, ONLY God can hear our thoughts not Satan. Satan can only drop a few of them in our minds to taunt us and tempt us back to the days of old, but in no way, is he able to HEAR what's in our minds, thoughts or hearts! He does NOT have that authority. Once Christians understand that fully, it makes things a little easier. If you aren't a child of God, and you haven't accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, then the torment is much greater because Satan knows he already "has" you in his darkened grip and that you are already doing his work for him without resistance. However, it's NEVER too late!!!! Satan also knows that the MOMENT that you begin to come towards the "Light" of the Lord Jesus Christ, he's lost another soul to Jesus! Praise the Lord! Satan doesn't want you to choose Jesus' side! He wants you to stay in the darkness....for all eternity with him and his other lost souls! That's why he makes everything sinful on this fallen earth APPEAR pleasing, comforting, fun, innocent, beautiful, good and pure. That's part of his lure, his lies and his deception. He wants to MOCK God, after all, that's why he rebelled. It was because he wanted to be like God, worse, he wanted to BE God. Well, in an ironic chain of events, he IS a "god." Not THE Creator God, but he is the god of this world! Roaming this earth seeking whom he may devour. Some go with him willingly and knowingly, some put up a fight before they succumb. It is here that I will say with a desperate plea, if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior than that is rejecting His free gift making you automatically "belong" to Satan. There are very evil, diabolical people on his sinking ship, but there are also many who appear to be good, kind people also joining him because they don't believe in Jesus Christ! THAT is the truth of who belongs to who by the choices one makes. This is very serious! There's only 2 choices of who you belong to and that's either God or Satan. Nothing in between. But those that are children of God....they are the ones he wants to torment the most. They're the ones he wants to make doubt the Lord Jesus Christ! 1 John 4:4, " Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

Anything that is a stronghold of yours, or was in the past, are the things he will use to tempt you and tap your shoulder ever so aggressively! Anyone that you longingly miss who have passed on and for some reason you find yourself grieving and longing for them many years later, he will also use to fool you into believing they are near and within your reach. The memories of our loved ones will always live on in our hearts and memories however, it's there that it should end. Satan, however, keeps taunting and bringing people to those long gone days keeping them in a constant state of grief. This is  not our Father's wishes! Satan can also, as stated above earlier, entice someone grieving and longing for a deceased loved one to seek our a medium, witchcraft or psychics to "speak" to them. Dangerous, indeed. Oh, at first he whispers. At first he taps you lightly. At first he is gently calling your sins out. But the more you listen, the more you pay attention to the lies, and the more you try to turn from them, the more rapidly and loudly and aggressively he proceeds. He thinks it's a green light! The moment you say "What?" when he says, "Psst, Hey___" is when he THINKS you've given in to him. He thinks since you've answered him, he has free reign now. So remember this, if nothing else......when he comes calling your name....tapping your shoulder.....helping you remember your past and longing for it or the things/people in your past.....don't ANSWER! When he taps your shoulder, don't look back because that's where he wants you to STAY! Jesus wants us to be present, to look forward to His return, to remember our sins are all covered by His shed blood on the cross, paying our sin debt in full for a debt He didn't owe because He is sinless and didn't commit any sin! He bore our burdens and paid the ultimate price! There is freedom in Jesus! There is bondage in Satan. There is PEACE in Jesus! There is Torment in Satan. There is Confidence in Jesus! There is Doubt in Satan. There is Love in Jesus! There is Hate in Satan. There is Victory in Jesus! There is failure in Satan. There is Comfort and Consolation in Jesus! There is Misery in Satan. THERE IS TRUTH IN JESUS! THERE IS LIES WITH SATAN. Every single time you look back, you miss out on one of the blessings of Jesus because Satan told you a lie that you believed. For a moment! For a time. For a season. Anytime we slip, stumble and/or fall, we're getting what the devil gives us, NOT the wonderful things the Lord God Almighty has for our obedience! 

We all need to remember that Sodom and Gomorrah had more than just one sin. They were filled with pride, gluttony, greed, homosexuality, extreme wickedness, adulteries, and fornication as well. The sins of these evil cities are among us today. Their inhabitants fill the land. Let us never forget that these sins will not only destroy a nation, but also each of us individually. That's why it's so important to understand that our sins were paid in full at the cross but it doesn't mean we can WILLINGLY relish in them without guilt, conviction or repentance. As David wrote in Psalm 9:17, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Never looking back is part of our Salvation process. We become a new creation in Christ Jesus. In Luke 17:30-32 says, "30) Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31) “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32) Remember Lot’s wife."  Many people miss this one verse in the midst of the rest....one small three word verse, Remember Lot's Wife. It is packed full of warning! It's warning us not to be so apprehensive about leaving a place marked, or bound, for destruction, otherwise our wicked, sinful ways, and that whoever and/or whatever that's left behind that you find precious or dear to you shouldn't be longed for. We're not to look back in case we should be tempted to go back to our ways, or to the places marked and bound for destruction. Please remember that the past no longer exists! It's gone. It's just a memory. The past is also "dead" if you will because just like a grave, it's buried and has become a shell of what and who we once were. Turning back to our old ways could definitely be construed as going back in heart to those eyes upon us who are watching our walk. Therefore, when we leave our past behind us, we should leave our old heart's longing behind as well. Our hearts are deceitful above all, we are told. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt so that she might remain a lasting monument of God’s. Remember Lot's wife. Interesting, isn't it? Was Lot's wife looking back so wrong? Apparently what was really wrong with Lot’s wife wasn't that she was just looking back; it was IN her heart so deeply that she wanted to GO back. She looked back LONGINGLY with desire in her heart. In short, her attachment to the past most definitely outweighed her confidence in the future. The confidence that we can only find in Jesus! That, apparently, was at least part of her sin. It would appear that even before they were past the city limits, according to Scripture, she was already missing what Sodom and Gomorrah had offered her. She didn't have FAITH. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. She apparently thought, fatally, as it turned out, that nothing God laid ahead of her could possibly be as good, or better, than those moments she was begrudgingly leaving behind. So a good lesson from this is it's what's in our HEARTS that make the difference and our FAITH that pulls us through!

This ties into a cemetery and the dead that is buried there. As I'd mentioned, the dead who are buried throughout all the cemeteries in the world are nothing more than shells of what was once a living, breathing human being full of life, emotions, experiences and who loved and was loved. When they died, so too, did everything that made them who they were, their experiences, their emotions, their memories, their love. Ecclesiastes 9:4-6 tells us, "But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5) For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. 6) Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun." As you can see in these verses, when the living pass away, they are forgotten and all love, hatred, envy, etc., have perished with them. It explicitly states they will never have anything else to do with anything done under the sun. These are strong words and should be taken seriously. With that said, why do you suppose the occultists, Satanists, witches, etc., choose a cemetery for many of their activities? They have a "love" of the places of death that hold, what they believe to be, souls that they can conjure up in their wicked evil ways. A cemetery is used for "ghost hunting" and Halloween parties and Halloween hauntings. You see, these people belong to Satan. They can, and do, receive certain "powers" and are often times led by familiar spirits (demons) or are attached to them so death to them is their "lifeline." They celebrate it. They thrive on it. Deuteronomy 18:10-14, "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11) or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12) For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. 13) You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. 14) For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you." They may thrive on it and seek it out. They may choose the side of Satan but as you can clearly see by the scriptures provided, it is forbidden! God detests those practices and it can be found several places warning us to stay away from due to its harmful effects upon our spirits and our walk! 

You Are the Temple of God

I am likening the cemetery to our past because it is FULL of the past. A place we are not to take up residence nor allow it to reside inside of our thoughts. Remembering and lovingly holding onto an endearing memory is one thing and one which I am not speaking of here. What I'm speaking of is taking those memories, those remembrances, those experiences of the past and focusing on them, obsessing on and over them, allowing them to control your thoughts and minds. That's what I mean by taking up residence. It's toxic not only to your identity in Christ but for your growth and for overcoming obstacles that may have been a result OF your past. You cannot move forward when you are stuck in your past. You cannot live in the present if you are living in the past. And you definitely cannot see a promise of a brighter future if all you see and focus on is the grip of darkness of your past. People then, begin to build their "house" in that proverbial cemetery and that's the dangers of living in the past, longing for what once was or even to some degree, longing for what WASN'T. Each darkened memory that holds you back is another brick in your house. Our body is the temple of God. As a born again believer in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit resides inside of our "temple." We, in essence, house the Holy Spirit! God has entrusted us believer's and when Jesus departed to return to the right hand of the Father, He left us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit! So you see, it's His "HOUSE" if you will. The house is already built and the driveway to the door is part of our journey. 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" Much in the same way that we are to take care of the "temple," our bodies that house the Holy Spirit, we are also instructed not to be conformed to this world and instead renew our minds, which is a daily task, to be transformed! Everything we need can be found in Christ Jesus and He loves us so much that He breathed His words into our Living Bible! Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." I'm sure you can see how difficult renewing our minds would be while residing in the past. It would be impossible because the past holds regrets, pain, sadness, grief, guilt, shame and many other emotions. Satan wants nothing more than for you to stay in your past, reliving every moment that will cause you to stumble and to focus on the darkness. Jesus is the Light that shines IN the darkness and the Light is where He intended you to reside! Jesus conquered the grave you see because death could not hold Him! He does NOT reside in the cemetery but instead, He is ALIVE and residing inside of each believer! Jesus didn't build His "temple" or "house" in the cemetery and neither should you! Please also remember that a renewed mind fine tunes your walk with the Father and that is something we all should deeply desire and strive for in our daily walk! 

You need not dwell on the days now gone away, or the pains and sorrows they held. I say that in past tense because the past can't HOLD anything as that word indicates an action in the present. Held is in the past tense which also is our past life experiences. Both are gone. Nor you need not vainly yearn for any of your yesterdays, no matter how good those yesterdays may have been. They're gone. The past is to be learned from but NOT lived in. We can look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not gather up the ashes from the fires that burned out. This is what all too often happens when the enemy sneaks in and sabotages your progress and tries to set hidden grenades all around your "field." Then when we've learned what we needed to learn from our past, no matter how long it takes us, then we look ahead! I understand the learning process can often be painful times but growth is painful. Learning valuable lessons from our past mistakes, sins, shortcomings, and such is one thing but we are not to stay in that non-existent place to be harassed and put down. We must remember that Faith is always pointed toward the future. Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives. To yearn to go back to a world that can't be lived in now; to be perennially dissatisfied with present circumstances and have only dismal views of the future; to miss the here-and-now-and-tomorrow because we are so trapped and bound up in the there-and-then-and-yesterday, well, these are just some of the sins of Lot's wife. Longing in the heart for things of old. Things we don't want to practice in our own lives! The Apostle Paul, after reviewing the very privileged and rewarding life of his early years, his birthright, education, his standing in the Jewish community, Paul says that all of that was nothing compared to his conversion to Christianity. Basically he says he stopped rhapsodizing for the old days and eagerly awaits the future when he may "apprehend that for which Christ apprehended me." And then this wonderful reminder comes along. Philippians 3:12–14 tells us, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13) Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14) I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 

You see, God wants us to forget the past because there is no profit in any of it at all. Period. There is no gain. There is no fulfillment. There is no future. Some people dwell incessantly on the past to the point they begin to live in it. They've build their house in the cemetery of the dead. This obsession, this incessantly dwelling is a spiritual battle brought on by the devil himself, make no mistake. I assure you, it is not Jesus! It's a spiritual attack on us and it reaches its fullest when you actually make an attempt to return to something where you were a miserable failure. This destroys people, though. We've all done it. There's a saying that is fitting for this repetitious return to the past. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I'm sure you can also think of some times you've done something over and over expecting different results too. We might even justify it by convincing ourselves it's what the Lord wants us to do to learn some kind of a lesson when in reality, it's our fallen, sinful flesh being influenced by our adversary. How exhausting it is not surrendering to our Lord! Anyone who is manipulated by something spiritual is being controlled by that spirit. As a reminder, a true born again follower of Jesus Christ cannot, I repeat, CANNOT be possessed by any demonic spirits. No demonic spirit can reside in the "house" or "temple" where the Holy Spirit resides. God simply will not allow it! God is the authority over Satan and his minions and they must obey Him too! They can, however, be attacked by them. Let me state here that the enemy is a spirit as well, hence why he is obsessed with death and the dead, and so are his "followers" in the occult, witchcraft, mediums, Satanists and such. He is an evil spirit, however, along with his demons. They're simply parasites feeding off of vulnerability of people and once it gets what it needs, it moves on. So maybe it's easier for you to see that God wants us to reach forward and grasp what is in the present and with hope of a beautiful future. He wants us to live in the present and doesn't want us to live in our past, nor does He want us to worry about our future. Matthew 6:31-34, "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32) For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." He gives us our Hope and let's not lose this present day's gifts by ruminating unnecessarily unto our past! 

Now let's take another look at what God, once again, thinks about the past which is an example concerning sin itself. Hebrews 10:16-17, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," 17) then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." When we are covered in the Blood of Jesus Christ that He died on the Cross to pay our sin debt in full, our sins are remembered no more. Sins have been washed clean, erased. They aren't remembered by God so why should we waste precious time trying to remember, live in and ruminate on our past? It's so powerful knowing that even when we break our fellowship with God and sin, we confess that sin and repent, asking for His forgiveness and He forgives us! But that's not all He does. Take a closer look at the end of verse 17. It says, "....I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE." Just from that text alone, we can understand clearly that when God forgives, He forgets! Now here's what you must understand, and take hold of; something very profound and an undeniable truth. If a sin, or something unpleasant, dark or harassing from your PAST comes up in your MIND and THOUGHTS, it can't be coming from the One True God and Father of our Lord and Savior! Why? He tells us He remembers no more so He will NOT bring something up from our past as it serves no purpose and is under the blood of Jesus Christ! Therefore, it must be coming from another source, another "spirit," and that source is the "god" of this world. Our desires to return to something from our past or keep looking back and dwelling on something that causes us pain, or our failures, or traumas, whatever that is for each of you, know that thought is coming from the pits of hell and from the one who wants to devour you and spit you out! You really need to get that and remember that or you will continue to be defeated, or feel defeated, in many areas of your life. You might have to keep reminding yourself but it's worth it! Even if the feeling of defeat is present, it's the enemy harassing you and he will continue as long as you allow him because ultimately he wants you to BE defeated. You see, our adversary successfully uses looking back/dwelling on the things of days gone by, as one of his most subtle tricks on us all. Be wiser than the snake before it strikes.....If you keep God first in all things, He will cover for your mistakes, show you your escape route, teach you the lesson and block your path going backwards. However, if you keep making the same mistake over and over again, you are undeniably going to have consequences. Don't look back! Some of those consequences are much more painful than putting and keeping God first and following His will and purpose! Leave the bricks to the house in the cemetery and walk away. Each memory that lingers too long, each dark and evil thought that keeps popping up, each flashback, each desire to live in the past and desire what once was is just another brick that the enemy throws your way to build your "house" in the cemetery. Build your house on the Rock of Salvation, through Jesus Christ! Build your house in the LIGHT! 

In the Word of God we can take a look at someone who did an amazing job of not dwelling on the past. He couldn't really afford to. Who is this someone and why couldn't he afford to dwell on the past? It is the Apostle Paul. He received the greatest revelation from God than any other man of that time. To have THAT kind of deep relationship with the Father, you've got to be on talking terms, awesome talking terms. And through that deep relationship, Paul received the revelation of the great mystery. This is a very difficult renewed mind principle to master of which takes practice and determination. You really have to work at it but remember what the Word of God says you can do. In Philippians 4: 13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." You see, you can do everything, and anything, according to that Scripture. We mustn't look back. God tells us this through Sodom and Gomorrah and what happens when we do. In Philippians 4:13, God tells us you can do ALL things, not some, not most, but ALL things through Christ but don't look back. There's nothing there. It's empty. It's not real anymore. It's gone. God never brings up our past so why should we bring it up? We shouldn't but the enemy will try....

In summary, I want to reiterate our need to stay present, in the here and now. Don't keep dwelling on things that are no longer there. No longer a reality. What happens when people keep reliving their pasts, living in their pasts, refusing to move on from their pasts? ALOT! Our past is just that.....the past. IT DOES NOT EXIST. Think on that for a moment and let it sink in! It's gone. Period. We can't go back to it, we can't change anything in it, and we can't do anything about it. Nothing we've said, done, thought, touched, seen, felt, or heard exists any longer in the here and now. Nothing is tangible once it has went through the five senses and becomes a memory. Even our memories fade if you really think about it. We can't remember very much of our entire lives in the whole scope of the life we've led thus far, no matter your age at the time of this writing. You see, every waking moment is gone. Poof! Some memories remain upon recall but so much is gone. You see, the enemy wants us to live in our past, to feel our pain, to live with regrets, to rehash the "what if's" and live blaming others for everything. He wants to KEEP us in the past, keeping our thoughts on what was, what could have been, what sins we've committed, what perceived wrongs have been committed against us, etc. The reason he wants to hold us there is simple. He KNOWS it's his ONLY power over us. He KNOWS he is not capable of creating anything new and the only things he is able to do is bring up our pasts, keeping our minds and thoughts focused away from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and throw those fiery darts every time we make progress. Let's take this a bit further. Most memories that we tend to ruminate and obsess over are the negative ones, those that hurt us, traumatized us, made us fail, made us fall, and made us feel pain. Sure we remember happy ones too but those aren't the ones we obsess over! But why? Well, he wants us to fall. He wants us to get angry at God. He wants us to blame God because blame is his weapon. He wants us to fall away from all that the Lord has for us. He wants us to remain in agony so we can't see and feel the peace and joy awaiting us. He wants us to remain in the darkness so we can't see the clearly bright Light of our Lord. He doesn't want us anywhere near Jesus Christ because he knows Jesus is the truth, the life and the way that is eternal. He knows Jesus has already defeated him and death. He too has to bow down at the mention of Jesus' name! Once we begin to spend incessant amounts of time reliving our past over and over, it steals the only time we have....the here and now...RIGHT NOW. We can't let our past regrets or pain shape our present moments, nor should we let them drag us down. 

Give Your Keys to God

It's hard to live in something that doesn't exist, wouldn't you agree? There is no past. This means it doesn't exist. One cannot "live" there. Sure, our memories, such as they are, do exist. To break it down just a bit further, we can see that "Living in the past" is nothing more than a colloquialism that refers to obsessively considering our memories. As we do this, however, we consciously ignore the only time we have been given to live, the present moment. In Luke 17:21, Jesus said, "nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."" As I look back, as I may reminisce, I cannot see who I am. Neither can you or anyone for that matter. Jesus didn't say there's some kind of special action you'll have to take to find the kingdom of God somehow in the future. The future doesn't exist either. It hasn't happened yet. We aren't promised tomorrow. All we have is right now. The kingdom of God is right here, right now, right this very second and within each one of us who are born again through the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross. If you distract yourself with memories, with what might have been, with what was, with what should be, then you truly fail to see what is real, right in front of you, right here, right now. You see, you already have what you seek and you already are what you seek. It really isn't separate from you in space or time. We can't look for truth outside of ourselves. It can only be found in Jesus Christ. If you have read the Bible, then I'm sure you've noticed that it is forward looking. It only records the past only to point to the future. But it instructs us to live in the present throughout. It never instructs us to live in the past as it is gone. Satan, however, can only drudge up those memories from our pasts because it's the only thing that works for him. He isn't God our Creator. He isn't the Son, Jesus Christ. He isn't the Holy Spirit residing in our "temple house." He can't create anything. He can only mimic, mock and destroy. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior you are a new creation! God’s love never ends and always endures forever. It doesn’t matter if you were a murderer, prostitute, wiccan, or thief. God will forgive you and remember your sins no more. Hebrews 8:12, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." What you must do is walk faithfully with the Lord and put the past behind you. You can't move forward if you keep looking back. He made you a new creation for a purpose and He pulled you out of the darkness of your past so that you can live in peace and joy. Always remember this! God is always working in your life, sometimes behind the scenes, sometimes where you can feel His presence, but even if it seems like He is not working in your life, know that He IS. 

We've all experienced times of distress and questioning. Sometimes we dwell on persecution we've received, things we have given up, or opportunities that have been lost because of being a Christian. For Christ we have to choose a harder life over an easier life, a rougher path over a smoother path. However, what we don't need to do is look back and say we could've done this and should've done that or why did this happen and not that. We must remember to renew our minds. Daily. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Know that God will never leave you and He knows what is best far more than what you THINK is best. There's a grave misconception about Christians out there in this big old world and that's we are perceived as "perfect." In a sense, we ARE perfect IN CHRIST. However, we are not perfect in our bodies, in our flesh, in this fallen world. Remember, we are in this world but not OF it so we battle daily against the wiles of the enemy! Even as a Christian, we will make mistakes, we'll sin, we'll fall but all of these mistakes, slips and falls will only make you stronger, smarter, wiser, resilient, and builds you up as a more mature Christian. We fall, we sin but we repent and are forgiven. I remember once, in a very volatile work environment where I was constantly persecuted for my belief in Jesus Christ because I didn't hide who I belonged to, I was being mocked. I stood up in a conference room full of strangers (I had just started) and made a strong statement to the person who was outwardly mocking me in front of the room full of strangers. I felt a welling inside my spirit and it was at that moment that I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I must stand for my Faith and for all to see. I stood up and said, "I am a Christian by Faith, a Baptist by choice! The difference between me and those who have not been born again is that I am forgiven! It doesn't mean I'm perfect because I'm not, or won't make mistakes because I will. It means I will repent and try to turn from those sins and mistakes and be forgiven by Jesus. I am covered by the Blood of Jesus who died on the Cross for my sins to be paid in full. He doesn't owe ME anything but I owe HIM EVERYTHING!!" From that point on, until my last day with that company, I was attacked, persecuted and singled out. I fought daily because I knew Satan was behind it all. The path isn't easy but it is worth it! For a time after leaving that company, I kept looking back, wondering if I could have done something different, handled something better, and I did this often. It held me down and held me back from experiencing my present time God gave me. One day, it clicked. And I ruminated no more. It served no purpose. It didn't exist. It wasn't His will for me to keep on going over it over and over again because it kept the pain alive. That's when it all sank in because I realized all it did was keep pain alive and active and I knew this wasn't God's will for my life! 

We've all been born into a war zone of sorts as a result of the curse of Adam and Eve. Unless you learn how to walk in the power and anointing of God for your life then some of these torpedoes may literally knock you right off the path and right out of your divine call in the Lord. All of us, to some degree or another, have issues from our past that have had to be properly dealt with before we could really proceed to walk into the perfect plan of God for our lives. Dealing with those issues are imperative to our growth and to our calling in the Kingdom of God because through our pain and suffering we will also be able to help others. If we haven't dealt with those issues or haven't been able to work through them enough to allow healing to occur by Jesus Christ, we cannot be used as a solid testimony for what God has done in our lives. By holding on, we are letting the adversary take the steering wheel and his destination is much different than the destination of Jesus if we give Him the keys instead! We can't very well tell others not to live in their pasts or to stop reliving their trauma memories because they are a new creation in Christ, if we are, in fact, doing the very same thing. Some Christians are so bound up with the things that have happened to them in their past that they literally can't get off the couch to start living again, much less ever fully being able to fly into their divine destinies for the Lord! These are heartbreaking examples but they exist. Many of God’s majestic eagles have had their wings clipped, totally broken and/or decimated with some of the torpedoes they've been hit by. I was one of those eagles but by His Grace and healing, my wing has been repaired for flight. Many of them are now living on anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotics, alcohol and pain killers because they simply can no longer deal with the stress, pain, and heartache of this life because they are unable to cut the ties with the devil controlling them and manipulating them into the lies of their pasts. There are mental illnesses that have been acquired because of trauma and injustices against others. I'm not down-playing those situations in any way, but I also know healing can take place in many cases as well through Jesus' free gift of Salvation and the renewing of one's mind. We all have a testimony. We all have a purpose in Christ. The world is changing fast. You have been created for such a time as this. Time is short so please seek His face, cry out to Him and believe and He will save you for all eternity! 

In closing, I want you to remember that each brick that Satan hands you to build your "house" in the cemetery, can be busted apart and left in the cemetery to decay and disappear. Work on putting your past away, and letting it die a slow death in the cemetery so that you can live a fully restored life in Christ. Let it go, leave it all into His hands and let nothing hinder your relationship with the Lord. It’s all about Christ, live for Him today and always. Allow the Lord to guide your life and allow Him to work in it. God can make all things, even those bad situations, work together for good.....2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

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