Burn It

“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.” – Oswald Chambers

I grew up with dogs, and we enjoyed our times with our dogs. One thing I do remember is that sometimes we would put them on a line in the yard. It was a line staked into the ground, and had a length of about 20 feet. The dogs loved it.

However, one thing they did not love is when that 20 feet was felt. If we threw something, they would chase it. But, if it was beyond the line’s range, then our dogs would wine because they could not get to their toy. They could go a little ways, but their freedom was limited.

It is the same with us. When we start our new life with Christ, there are times where we know we are balancing between the old life and the new life. We feel the pull of our past, our struggles, and we give into the limits we have placed on ourselves.

Yet, that is not what Christ has called us to. He has called us to burn it.

Burn the Past

My past is filled with tear-stained stories. There are many things I look back at and feel sorrow. Somedays it is easier to wallow in the past, and respond from the past. It is comfortable, because it is how I used to live before the Spirit convicted me about living in my shame of the past. It is not what Jesus has called me to. My past is not apart of his future purpose. He will use it, but to live there is not living in the new life.

Philippians 3:13 can be considered one of Paul’s mottos in life. He knew his past. God knew his past. The people knew Paul’s past. Yet, Paul no longer was the same person, and neither are you. His goal was to leave behind the past, and walk in the calling of Christ.

We are a new person because of Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). We are adopted, loved, and accepted by God as his beloved children (Romans 8:15). God calls us his beloved son or daughter. The only other time God said those words were to Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17). You and I are loved and accepted by God, and he knows our pasts.

Therefore, my past of being bullied, and shamed is not me. That is my story to show God’s work. It is not who I am. My past is no longer my future destiny.

In order to do this, we need to burn the dog-lead of our past. Through the power and conviction of the Spirit, we no longer find comfort in our past (no matter how bad it may be for us).

Burn your past, and step into freedom with Christ. He already loves and accepts you. Isn’t it time we bring our pasts into the light and see God’s light burn it?

Burn Your Fears

Why did I wait for so long to reveal my story until I wrote it in my post Standing Against Shame? Fear. I was fearful of what people would think. I’m in seminary, and preparing for ministry. The pressure of coming across as the mature Christian and the “perfect Christian image” overtook me. However, I was suffocating in silence. Fear silenced me.

The fear of man, and what others will think of us keeps us from truly living with Christ (Proverbs 29:25). Our desire to keep up a “Christian image” becomes more important than truly living how God wants us to: with honesty and with openness. When we allow fear to control our Christian living, then we are only living for the approval of others. Trusting God with everything brings us into his safety.

Therefore, we need to burn our fears. We need to open up about our pasts. We need to be open about our struggles. We need to show the world who we are, and what miracle our lives are because of Jesus Christ.

However, we need to face our fears. We can no longer be tethered to fear like a dog. Our limited freedom will end up strangling us. I John 4:18 promises us that in God’s love there is no fear. In fact, when we really grasp and live in God’s love fear can not coexist. How can we do this? Not on our own. We can only do it because of what God has given us: a spirit of confidence and power (II Timothy 1:7).

Isn’t tiring allowing our fears to control us?

Light a Match, Burn the Ship

Last week I came across the song “Burn the Ships” by For King and Country. It beautiful paints the picture of our pasts like ships. We have left our old life for the new hope of our future with Christ, and yet we all have the tendency to go back to the ship for some comfort. We are fearful of falling again, not being good enough, or ashamed of our past. Yet, we need to light a match, burn the ship, and step into a new day.

Shame has been my ship. I struggle with shame over my body. Shame told me I was not a true man because I am disabled, and I was not loved by God, and I did not have a purpose. Yet, with my walking struggles and bathroom struggles, I am loved by God by being created as a disabled man for a specific purpose. Shame told me that having a past of being sexually taken advantage of was my fate of how I should be, and it led to other struggles. Yet, God says all things are made new for those who are in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17) and there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1), and I have a new identity because of Christ. Christ is my destiny; shame is not. 

How did I respond? I literally got a wooden ship and burned it (video link). I no longer want my past and fear to be what I look back at. It is only Jesus and his leading into a new day, and a new future where my focus should be.

So what is your ship? If we want to speak with conviction as Christians, then we must learn to speak with vulnerability. It is not common to open up about our struggles. Instead, we would rather protect our image. Yet, is our image worth being strangled in silence?

So I challenge you. Burn your past. Burn your fears. Make a memorial to God. No longer are we tethered to them. We have a bright future from a God of hope, and nothing will ever separate us from him (Romans 8:31-39).

“Light a match leave the past
burn the ships,don’t you look back…
Step into a new day.”
– “Burn the Ships” For King and Country