Guilt from the past

[grampster]

For the past nearly 40 years since I became born again I have been plagued by my memories from when I was a young married man. I betrayed my wife by drinking too much and having one night stands with various women I picked up in bars. When I became born again, (it's a long story) I confessed my sins and accepted Jesus as my savior. I also confessed to my wife about my behavior. I never had a sexual relationship with anyone other than my wife since. Not even tempted.

I spend a good deal of time praying after I wake in the morning, before I get up, and when I go to bed at night. I even pray if I wake up during the night as it is a good way to fall back to sleep. Many times when I'm praying all of those bad memories come back to me. I clearly remember each of my one night stands. They play through my head like a bad movie.

The bible teaches us that our Father remembers our sin no more because of Jesus and our repentance. If the Lord forgets our sins, why in the world am I still plagued by my sinful behavior from the past? So, I pray my way through those occurrences. I just wonder if any or all of you for that matter continue to be plagued of past sins.?

 

[Tolworth John]

still plagued by my sinful behavior from the past? So, I pray my way through those occurrences. I just wonder if a

May I suggest that when you are besieged by memories of past forgiven sins, that you thank God for his forgiveness of these old sins and praise him for his grace and mercy.

 

[Junia]

May I suggest that when you are besieged by memories of past forgiven sins, that you thank God for his forgiveness of these old sins and praise him for his grace and mercy.

I second this!!

 

[DLovingBrother]

God can choose to forget your sins because He is God, while you are not. You are human, our minds are feeble, deceptive, corruptible, imperfect and fallen. It takes time because your guilt is genuine and the devil is there trying to lure you back, to get you to throw up your arms in the air declaring God’s peace is not real, or for you to question if you are truly forgiven. So just trust in the Lord, brother, and don’t give a foothold to doubt.

 

[aiki]

I spend a good deal of time praying after I wake in the morning, before I get up, and when I go to bed at night. I even pray if I wake up during the night as it is a good way to fall back to sleep. Many times when I'm praying all of those bad memories come back to me. I clearly remember each of my one night stands. They play through my head like a bad movie.

The bible teaches us that our Father remembers our sin no more because of Jesus and our repentance. If the Lord forgets our sins, why in the world am I still plagued by my sinful behavior from the past? So, I pray my way through those occurrences. I just wonder if any or all of you for that matter continue to be plagued of past sins.?

God's remedy for your afflicted thought-life is the surrender of yourself - including your thoughts - to Him. When you surrender, God ultimately takes captive all your thoughts, bringing them into obedience to Himself.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NASB)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

The devil wants to get us focused on our sin, forgiven though it may be, and upon ourselves. He knows the more we work to "understand ourselves," the more we are occupied with looking inward at who we are and at our regrets and failures, the less attention we are giving to the One who would, as we behold Him, transform us into His likeness.

Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NASB)
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

I don't think any person who has lived beyond fifty has done so without some significant regrets and failures spiritually. Doubtless, this is, at least in part, why Paul wrote,

Philippians 3:12-14 (NASB)
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Forgetting - especially regarding our sin and regrets - often requires a conscious refusal to dwell on the past. Couple this refusal with an active focus upon, and surrender to, Christ, and the Spirit will be free to act to liberate you from the past. If the devil is involved in attempting to mire you in regret - and I'd be very surprised if he wasn't - when he sees his attempts to do so acting as a trigger for your surrender and focus upon the Lord, you can bet he'll lay off. He wants to distract you from God, not propel you toward Him, right?

These have been the things that have helped me win free of self-preoccupation and condemnation and enjoy the liberty and joy in Christ that is mine as God's fully-forgiven child. Hope all this helps you as it has me.

 

[grampster]

God's remedy for your afflicted thought-life is the surrender of yourself - including your thoughts - to Him. When you surrender, God ultimately takes captive all your thoughts, bringing them into obedience to Himself.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NASB)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

The devil wants to get us focused on our sin, forgiven though it may be, and upon ourselves. He knows the more we work to "understand ourselves," the more we are occupied with looking inward at who we are and at our regrets and failures, the less attention we are giving to the One who would, as we behold Him, transform us into His likeness.

Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NASB)
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

I don't think any person who has lived beyond fifty has done so without some significant regrets and failures spiritually. Doubtless, this is, at least in part, why Paul wrote,

Philippians 3:12-14 (NASB)
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Forgetting - especially regarding our sin and regrets - often requires a conscious refusal to dwell on the past. Couple this refusal with an active focus upon, and surrender to, Christ, and the Spirit will be free to act to liberate you from the past. If the devil is involved in attempting to mire you in regret - and I'd be very surprised if he wasn't - when he sees his attempts to do so acting as a trigger for your surrender and focus upon the Lord, you can bet he'll lay off. He wants to distract you from God, not propel you toward Him, right?

These have been the things that have helped me win free of self-preoccupation and condemnation and enjoy the liberty and joy in Christ that is mine as God's fully-forgiven child. Hope all this helps you as it has me.

Thank you especially for your advice, as well as the others, too. It's been a great help.