[Rebellious and vile sinners] is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11

Paul finished his exhortation in Corinthians with this incredible word of grace. He had to do it because we all tend to live in the land of “I-used-to-be.” For some of us, our past accomplishments become our excuse to live in the arrogant afterglow of yesterday. Paul wrote Philippians 3:4-9 for this group. For others, the wounds and sins of our past become the bag of heavy rocks we drag with us through the rest of life. We use them to prove why we can’t move on with our lives. What a glorious awakening Paul gives the Corinthians and, through them, gives us in this passage. In Christ, there are no more bags and no more rocks. We’re clean! We’re made holy! We are freed from our past! We’re declared innocent of any wrongdoing. How? Why? Who? The sacrifice and triumph of Jesus and the powerful work of the Holy Spirit changed everything for us.

Forgive me, Father, for lingering on yesterdays, ruining my todays, and clouding my tomorrows. Help me with my tendency to live in the land of “I-used-to-be.” Please give me the courage to believe that you have put my past in its proper place and want me to do a new glorious thing today, a magnificent and gracious something that brings you honor! In Jesus’ name, I thank you. Amen.