"Past And Future"

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."  Romans 15:4

"Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."  1 Corinthians 10:11

 

I was asked to preach the Mother's Day message this year at the church I attend.  What the Lord laid on my heart was to share the experiences and lessons that we can learn from different mothers in the Bible.  The Bible says that the things that happened to them were written for our example so that we can learn from them.    

 One of the mothers I talked about was Ruth.  I want to share with you this morning the lesson that we learn from her life because I believe that there are some who will read this that need to be encouraged by this particular lesson.

The lesson we learn from Ruth's life and all that she went through is this:  Your past does not determine your future!  Ruth had a "dark" past.  She was from a nation who got its start through incest.  She was an idolater.  She was a heathen.  She served false gods.  She definitely did not have a good past.  But God took her past and turned it around and gave her an amazing future.  She became the great grandmother of King David.  Through her lineage Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world would come.  Wow, what a future.

The Lord says He knows the plans He has for you.  Those plans are not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future.  (Jeremiah 29:11) Your past may not be so good.  You may be ashamed of your past.  Your past may be full of pain, hurt, misery, mistakes and ugliness.  But that doesn't stop the Lord from loving you, having a plan for you, turning your life around and giving you a better future than your past. Last night my pastor made the statement-- you can't change your past, but God can give you a different future.  How true.  You may have had a sordid past, but God can give you a brand new future. 

Have a great day.  Your past does not determine your future.  God determines your future.  And His plans for you are good.