Of course you don’t!

You drag that soiled, grimy, ugly carpet to the dump and are glad to be rid of it! The vibrant color and crisp clean scent of new carpet brightens any home no matter what the size. So why is it that we, as believers in Christ, work so hard to drag our past into our present? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to simply press the reset button on our lives?

You can!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV

Today’s scripture makes it very clear that Christ has long forgotten our past mistakes no matter how horrific and hurtful they may be. If Christ – who loves you, who cares for you, who created you – is willing to let the past remain in the past, at what point are you going to do the same? All things are truly new for YOU when Christ is your Savior!

excerpt by Jim Penner from A Positive Minute - The Hour of Power

The greatest news in the world is that God has visited this earth. He has walked this planet. He has made his great pronouncements. He has spoken his mind. He has declared his will. He has revealed his heart.

It is Jesus who reveals to the human race that God is “the eye that never closes, the ear that is never shut, the mind that never stops thinking, the heart that never grows cold.”

God would be only a vague idea, an irresponsible product of someone’s imagination, an unreliable exercise of human philosophizing, if it were not for Jesus Christ. Interpret Jesus as you wish, but one fact emerges clearly—God becomes real to those who draw close to Christ.

So listen to him when he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 25). Come to him…you with the empty, hollow lives. And when you come, don’t intellectualize, don’t analyze, and don’t diagnose him. Simply bow. Simply believe. Simply bend your knee, and you will experience the good life he has for you!

~ Robert H. Schuller (This excerpt was taken from the “Power for Life Daily Devotional”)

Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving.

Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble. I will get up. It’s OK to fail. I will rise again.

Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.