"Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. Gilead's wife also had several sons and when these half-brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. "You will not get any of our father's inheritance", they said, "for you are the son of a prostitute. So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him" - Judges 11:1-3 (NLT)
"Without forgiveness, there is no future" - Bishop Desmond Tutu (South African social rights activist)
"Anyone who cannot come to terms with his life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate... but with his other hand he can note down what he sees among the ruins" - Franz Kafka (German author)
Our past tragic experiences have a way of negatively impacting our future - this is not just a psychological observation, this is a biblical truth. The story of Jephthah in Judges 11 is an example of this timeless truth. As the scripture above tells us, he was an 'outside' child rejected by his family. As a consequence, he left home; he began to hang out with "worthless" men.....in Jamaican parlance we would say, "him tun wutliss!”. One can imagine that in Jephthah's mind, all he is looking for is someone to love and accept him because his family rejected him: he ends up finding it in friends that are not good for him. The "great warrior" is now the leader of "a band of worthless men" - a gross underachievement and a bad example.
Stories like this happen every day across the length and breadth of our nation: men and women with great potential and ability are marred because of things that have happened in their past - family issues, humble upbringings, missed opportunities, failed relationships, traumatic experiences, and the list goes on and on. Many times, people end up living their lives in an attempt to fix things that have gone wrong in their past. This is a good thought, but sadly, sometimes things end up getting worse because of FEAR and DESPERATION.
The truth is: ONLY GOD CAN HEAL YOUR PAST. Within every tragic experience of life, there is grace offered from God to be able to fulfill His destiny for our lives. The past can actually stay in the past, and we can move on with our lives to great achievement and great example. The wonderful thing about Jephthah's story is that (after sorting himself out) he goes on to become a great leader of the nation of Israel. He didn't stay "wutliss" - he got over it and moved on.
You can get past your past; you can walk away from painful memories,
Past your past, you don't have to be alone;
You can stand upon the Word of God; your yesterdays can be gone,
Let Jesus bring you past your past, then you can go on. - Kirk Talley, Past Your Past
What do you think?
Pastor Andrew Smith
[email protected]
"Without forgiveness, there is no future" - Bishop Desmond Tutu (South African social rights activist)
"Anyone who cannot come to terms with his life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate... but with his other hand he can note down what he sees among the ruins" - Franz Kafka (German author)
Our past tragic experiences have a way of negatively impacting our future - this is not just a psychological observation, this is a biblical truth. The story of Jephthah in Judges 11 is an example of this timeless truth. As the scripture above tells us, he was an 'outside' child rejected by his family. As a consequence, he left home; he began to hang out with "worthless" men.....in Jamaican parlance we would say, "him tun wutliss!”. One can imagine that in Jephthah's mind, all he is looking for is someone to love and accept him because his family rejected him: he ends up finding it in friends that are not good for him. The "great warrior" is now the leader of "a band of worthless men" - a gross underachievement and a bad example.
Stories like this happen every day across the length and breadth of our nation: men and women with great potential and ability are marred because of things that have happened in their past - family issues, humble upbringings, missed opportunities, failed relationships, traumatic experiences, and the list goes on and on. Many times, people end up living their lives in an attempt to fix things that have gone wrong in their past. This is a good thought, but sadly, sometimes things end up getting worse because of FEAR and DESPERATION.
The truth is: ONLY GOD CAN HEAL YOUR PAST. Within every tragic experience of life, there is grace offered from God to be able to fulfill His destiny for our lives. The past can actually stay in the past, and we can move on with our lives to great achievement and great example. The wonderful thing about Jephthah's story is that (after sorting himself out) he goes on to become a great leader of the nation of Israel. He didn't stay "wutliss" - he got over it and moved on.
You can get past your past; you can walk away from painful memories,
Past your past, you don't have to be alone;
You can stand upon the Word of God; your yesterdays can be gone,
Let Jesus bring you past your past, then you can go on. - Kirk Talley, Past Your Past
What do you think?
Pastor Andrew Smith
[email protected]
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