This page was exported from Shelburne Free Press [ https://shelburnefreepress.ca ] Export date:Tue Apr 16 15:37:54 2024 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Christian Perspectives: Choose a Better Future --------------------------------------------------- By Rev. Bob McLellan Grace Church of the Nazarene You have probably heard the statement made, "The past is gone, the future has not happened, the only time you have is the present." While this statement sounds good, it is really a myth. You do not have the present, because the present is always changing and fluid in nature. With the tick of a second hand on a clock your present has become your past. What most people do not understand is your past defines your future unless you make purposeful choices and decisions to address your past and create a different future. Every person has developed neural pathways which create if this, then that scenarios in their life. We develop automated response systems through habits based on choices made in our past. Often the choices and patterns we follow are not even made at the conscious levels. It is these habits which define our character and create our outcomes in life. Anger, bitterness, frustration, to name just a few, are responses people carry for years which impact, in dramatic ways, what their future will look like; some event or interaction of the past which is allowed to fester is all it takes to find its way into every area of life. It affects relationships, health and how our lives will look in the future. A person who chooses to live with a victim mentality because of something in the past will continue to carry that mentality forward into the future. Until there is a conscious decision to change how the past is perceived, they will continue to get what they have always got. This is because God has set a universal law in place in our world. We reap what we sow. There are options to change, if we are willing to learn how to do so. For me, the power of the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary and His resurrection provides the power for transformation of those who choose to believe. There is power in forgiveness. The Apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" True transformational change is possible at both the conscious and subconscious levels of our being if we will make the choice to take advantage of what God offers to us. There are also practical procedures a person can implement, which will bring change to mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health should a person be willing to learn and willing to follow through on them. It is important to move beyond the “there are no options” feeling, trapped place in life. There are always more options if you are willing to continue to look for them in faith knowing you will find them. Dealing with the past to impact your outcomes in the future is something you may want to consider. When you do, you just might find your life in that continuing to shift momentary time, called the present, to be much more pleasant. In Mark 9:23 it is recorded that Jesus said, "Everything is possible for him who believes." --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2016-04-29 15:53:13 Post date GMT: 2016-04-29 19:53:13 Post modified date: 2016-04-29 15:53:13 Post modified date GMT: 2016-04-29 19:53:13 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com