ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

gle in this area, I felt it needed a section of its own. You can’t determine the actions of others but you can control your own. Two NewTestament giants, Peter and Paul, provide wonderful case studies.As a zealous Jew, Paul hated Christians, persecuting and imprisoning them – and then He became one. Peter denied Christ at the time it mattered most, yet the Lord forgave and reinstated him on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.Though we don’t read specifically of these apostles forgiving themselves, obviously they did, because they became leaders in the early church and authors of the Bible. If the only thing that comes from my writing and your reading this chapter is you forgiving yourself, it will have been well worth the effort. Forget the past. Paul acknowledges, “Forgetting what lies behind” (Philippians 3:13). Paul could never have done what he did if his mind was muddled with all the mistakes he had made as a younger man. He put that behind him, positioning himself to be used mightily by God. I walked the aisle, filled out the card, and joined the church as a child, yet did not get saved until 23. Needless to say, I made mistakes and did some stupid stuff in my late teens and early 20’s. Thankfully, I’ve sought and received forgiveness of those sins, man- aging to forget a lot of what took place. Fight the enemy. Unfortunately, the enemy is not going to leave well enough alone, even if you’ve forgiven yourself and for- gotten the past. He hasn’t forgotten and will try to jog your mem- ory. So what do you do?You fight back. For guidance, return to the words of Paul from a few paragraphs back: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; for the weapons of our war- fare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strong holds” (Corinthians 10:3-4). Note, “we are not to fight as the world fights, using carnal weapons – which include “human cleverness or ingenuity, organiz-

99