Transcript

0:00
Welcome to the Christian point, weighing today’s hot issues against the Bible because God has a point. I’m your host, Lynda McConnell, and on today’s episode we’re going to discuss, is it too late to start over? We’re going to talk about strengthening your faith, moving past mistakes, and leaning into Christ as you find your purpose. Today, I’m with my husband, Zack McConnell. We’re here in Texas. It’s kind of a rainy day. So we’ll be right back for this great episode of the Christian point.

0:32
Welcome to the Christian point podcast, where we’re all about growing your relationship with God. As lifelong Christian believers, your hosts Zack and Linda McConnell explore topics that affect your world. Together, they are relearning and redirecting our path as we walk through struggles hang ups, sins and purpose. The Christian point is a lively discussion that will help equip you with tools provide focus and encouragement from a biblical perspective. Always remember, Christ is the point. Now here are your hosts, Zach and Linda.

1:08
Welcome to the Christian point. Thank you so much for listening today. We’ll look at God’s word. And we’ll take today’s hot topics, and we weigh them against the Bible because God wants to point you to your salvation. So we are so excited for this episode. This is our first season and we’re so happy you’re here. We’re just excited that we’re here today. And we’re going to talk about starting over. Is it ever too late to start over? And I was reading an article and it said, one out of every three people feel unhappy, they are depressed, and they feel stuck. They’re too afraid to start over sack. And they don’t really know where to begin, how did again, you know, all of their past failures and things have kept them in bondage. And they’re not producing fruit. So what do you think we should do for those who are stuck and afraid to start over? And they’re not fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives?

2:07
Well, I’m glad you asked that, Linda, I’ve got a scripture here. And it’s Jeremiah one, five. And it says, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And you were born, I set you apart. So do we have changes to make? Well, yes, it sometimes we do. But you know, just by making them known to God, and that he’s already prepared you a path, and that you have unrealized blessings that God has waiting for you. God wants you to produce food fruit. You mentioned that one in three people today probably get off their path. And you know, that’s so easy to get off the path that God has designed for us. I was talking with a friend and asked the question, is it ever too late? And you know, some things are too late start over. We can’t go back and start from the beginning. We can’t do that. I mean, how many times have I said, I wish I could go back and start over, right. And although you can’t go back and start from a brand new beginning, everyone could start right now, and make a new start with God. And that’s such a blessing, Linda.

3:12
Absolutely. And it’s not so much how we start, right. It’s really how we finish. And we’ve got to finish this strong. And we can finish strong because the bottom line is at any given point in time, even though you may not be able to start at the start all over again, you can start where you are now. And you can start right now because God gives you the opportunity to come back to the creator of our lives. And just like Zach was talking about that scripture, before I formed you in the womb, basically now, if you want to find out who you were before you were in the womb, go back to focusing on God. And so if you’ll do that, and then God will get back in your life in the right place, putting God in the right lane. And then you’ll start doing the right things. And all you have to do is focus on God. Read your Bible, volunteer to serve your neighbor, write little things. Start taking action steps to get out of your rut, and serving others is a great way to do that. But you need to be in community in order to make that happen. If past sins keep you from finding your purpose or your happiness, well think about why you were placed on Earth. To begin with. You have to begin with God. If you are focused on your life, on your ambitions on your own dreams for your future, that’s really the wrong direction. The Bible says it is God who directs the lives of His creatures. Everyone’s life is in His power and focusing on ourselves will never reveal his our life purpose. We were made by God and for God and until you understand that Your life’s not going to ever really make sense. You discover your purpose through a relationship with God. And God was thinking about you long before you ever thought about him. God planned you before you ever existed. And the funny thing is, it had nothing to do with your input. So it’s not about you, without God as your focus. All of this really makes no sense. And when you turn to God, the Lord will fulfill His purpose for you. And you will no longer be stuck.

5:31
You know, Linda, that had me thinking about some past life experiences, you know, we had a fire in our home several years. And thinking about how God’s care and blessing as we rose out of the mess of those ashes. Absolutely. How the Bible talks about, he’ll give you beauty for ashes, the point to God’s redemptive power from everything from the very beginning. One of my favorite passages is Isaiah 61. Three, to decide to bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes, the oil of joy, instead of mourning, and the garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair. things we think are ultimately just destroyed, or it’s just part of God’s process. We know that the burning is part of a purification process. It purifies us. And there’s so much that we learn while God is refining us in the fire. It’s like another way of being prayed. God brings us to this place where he rewrites and gives us a totally new start. It even if we look at Yeah, in the Old Testament, you know, Moses or Joseph, those patriarchs of the Bible, many of them had a new start, and it helped each one of them to come into the plan that God had laid out for them. You know, part of the issue with us humans is that we have a perspective, we think of man to God instead of from God, to man. Just like you mentioned, while ago in life, when we’re born, we think about, oh, it’s our life. Well, no, no, this was God, something God planned up front. Our life is actually his. And the reality God is He molded you and when we deviate, and we suffer spiritually, until we get back on God’s path. And the question is, did you ever really start right in the first place? Okay. We don’t even find true life until we find him. So anything before that we’re dead pot, he’s walking. So if you look in the right perspective, when we find Christ, that’s when we actually start life. And the article I read was about unhappiness and how we’re writing that vision of unhappiness on our hearts. And once that gets embedded in our hearts, that’s when we start to feel stuck. But then again, if we’re in Christ, or knew in Christ again, Linda, that’s when we get to start over.

7:58
Absolutely. The beautiful thing about God is when we give our life to God, just like the Bible says, His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness, hallelujah, we could rejoice in that. And every day we wake up, we get an opportunity to have a new start, the old things have passed away, the Bible says, and all things become new. And as beautiful. I don’t want to think it’s too late to turn over a new leaf. Yeah, until we give up, right? I don’t want to give up, just like in Isaiah 43. Remember, not the former things, nor consider the things of old, it is nothing compared to what I’m going to do. And I think that if we allow God to do His will, you know, sometimes unfortunately, we just get stuck on the ending. And many times, the book is not over, just because that chapter ended. And now there’s a next chapter. And a lot of times that next chapter is even greater than what you could have ever imagined. And it takes us into a greater place than where we came from,

9:09
you know, some people, they just have a lot of fear, and that keeps them stuck. Some people feel a need to go back and start over. I think the reason sometimes for going back is because in your journey, there’s some point that things you miss that God needs to teach you. You go back and kind of start over on that point. And now follow the right path, and pick up and learn those things that you needed to learn. And no matter how big your problem is, your life situation your kids are out of control your financial health, no matter how bad it is. If you’ve got Jesus, then you can still have joy, and he restores you in while we’re talking about past mistakes and how we overcome them. Linda, so many people are stuck in bondage to their past mistakes. They’re believing the lie of the enemy. You know, they’re they’re not I’m going to fulfill their purpose because they’re living a lie. And they’re believing the lies of Satan, and they remain stuck. And as a lukewarm christian, we’re not growing fruit for the Kingdom. So how do we overcome those past mistakes? How do we walk in our purpose?

10:16
Wow, I think what are the main things that we have to do is we have to recognize what Jesus actually did for us. You know, we were all found in sin, we have all messed up. And that means everybody starts in the same place. And Jesus came, and by His blood eradicated all of that. So the reality is that he erased all of your past and he erased what you’re going to do now. And he erased everything you’re going to do in the future that is unlike him. So really, all that is covered, all you have to do now is actually believe him. And following God gives you a new likeness of who you are, and who he’s made you to be. And the Bible says to us that while there’s life, there’s hope. And when you’re still among the living, there is the expectation of God’s goodness, and God’s grace and God’s mercy. And so we have to really take hold of that. And that’s what we’re dealing with, again, we have been made a new creature. So now the reality is just allowing God to show us who we are, and now putting a plan in your life, to fulfill all of the new things, and that you’re letting him point you to the walk, so that you can do good works, right? You know, Paul said, I put behind me those things that lies behind, and reaching forward into what lies ahead. And I press on toward the goal to win the heavenly prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Absolutely, hallelujah. And we have to allow ourselves now to no longer see ourselves after the mistakes we’ve made. But look at the resurrection, and the restoration that he has done for us.

12:07
You know, that’s so important. We make mistakes every day, tomorrow, the mic mistakes we make today are going to be our past mistakes. So maybe we just need to stop regretting. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I’ll start reliving those past mistakes in my mind, and I need to fight those thoughts, so that they don’t make me stuck. And I need to use God’s weapons for spiritual warfare. You know, what do you think later? What are some of the weapons of warfare that we can use to rise above those past mistakes?

12:41
Well, I teach my children, we have three children, and we are beautifully blessed with them is I teach them that we have to remember the past is gone. There is nothing we can do to change that. And what happens in the reoccurring experience with past mistakes, it’s similar to being in prison, you know, it’s like being in a nightmare, when we’re truly awake. If we’re not careful, we’re still in that dream. So by allowing our minds to constantly dwell on mistakes, we end up doing it and we end up becoming that mistake. And if we’re not careful, we’ll become this mishap. And if we’re not careful, five years, we’ll still be stuck in that rut. And there’s a great song that I enjoy. I love listening to it chain breaker, have y’all probably heard it. And when we walk in the same old road, it brings us right back down the wrong path. And Jesus is our chain breaker, he can take us to a completely different road, forgiving our past and letting us move forward, he’ll break our past off so that we can walk in his fulfillment.

13:50
Well, the Bible does say Jesus blotted out our sins. So that means well, I like to think of it as a big black marker. And if you ever see those documents, the government redacted ones where they black and everything’s out on the paper. And that’s what the Lord has done with our sins, throwing them as far as the east is from the west, never to remember them anymore. God’s going to do that for us. He’s going to redact our document of sin. So if the document our lives, have our sands removed, well, however, we also should remember that those mistakes are in our minds. Here’s the key. If you continue to remember your mistakes, you can use them as learning lessons. You know, the last time I made that mistake, this was the result. And you can use that lesson so that you don’t make the mistake again. And we’re all going to make mistakes and fall short of the glory of God. Absolutely. It’s gonna happen. The key is to learn from our mistakes and not make the same mistake again. You know, we can even use those lessons we’ve learned to help encourage and teach others.

14:57
Absolutely. Well, I think sometimes people People are just too fearful of things. people’s mistakes, bring them fear and unforgiveness. And when we operate in fear, or if we allow unforgiveness, then a lot of times we can’t move forward because of unforgiveness. And then we forget. And forgiveness has children. You know, like anger, all those things are children of unforgiveness. And it keeps us from less. Isaac says, sometimes reflecting back as we can see what happened and what somebody else did. And we’re not going back and looking to see, what could I have done differently. It’s kind of just like a chain, like it says, In Ephesians, four, we have to put off the old self. And it’s something that we have to do. And it’s not going to be like, Oh, I was just going to wake up in the morning. And it’s going to be different. To some degree, yes. But to another degree, we have to do the hard work, and we have to do our hard work and itself work, you know, and get on your knees before the Lord and put off the old and put on the new. That’s right,

16:07
that’s right. You know, Scriptures tell us that correction is a way of life. And so that means, as long as you head toward God, you’re going to be corrected, you’re going to see, he’s gonna see you. He’s gonna see you as who you are, in what he is removing from you. But that’s not him, condemning you, that’s just him pruning you so that you can ultimately be more productive in God’s kingdom. And that’s why we’re separating the mistake from condemnation. Because again, God will show you the mistake that you made, that that’s his love. The more we’re in his presence, the more we’re in his love, we’ll find a way that there’s no, there’s no room for self stagnation, there’s only room to move forward in our walk with God. And that’s the key today. You know, that’s what I found that in life, it’s, it’s a lot of instances that we should consider a mistake is a learning in pruning process, that God’s choosing to move us forward.

17:09
Absolutely. That is a great idea. And we just have to put it in there. Because I know we probably have a lot of viewers at home who have made some mistakes. And maybe they’ve been out of church for years. Or maybe they’re out of fellowship with the Lord for years. Or, you know, maybe they’re not participating in a small group, they’re not in community. And we just want to say, we don’t want you to feel like it’s too late. But I want to say that what we all know, it’s never too late to give your life to Jesus says that, what do we do? Why do we say to the person who says you don’t know what I have done, and the things I’ve done?

17:52
Yeah, that’s something I hear often. And we’ve got to realize, we just have to come to Jesus as we are. We don’t wait to try to clean ourselves up and then come to him. We can’t him just as we are today. And he doesn’t mean come to him just a little by little we need to come 100% It’s never too late to pick up our Bible. It’s never too late. We see example, after example, a people who did terrible things things would never think about doing in our personal lives. And yet a person like David, you know, a man after God’s own heart, David made mistake after mistake, yet he continued to pursue a better relationship in a more perfect walk with God. And that’s what we need to do. And so with that being seen, you have to be able to take those scriptures that were written, for example, when you look at what God has done in other people’s lives, and what he said about them, and what he’s done with them. And we understand that God is in love with us, and how much more He loves us now that we’ve received Christ. So none of us are perfect. You know, it’s like Isaac said, He has many challenges. We all make these mistakes. And so we’re all in that same jumbled pot. But the reality is that we all have sin. Absolutely. So when we do sin, that’s not stopping. That’s not a stopping point. That’s the point we ask for forgiveness, and begin again, determined not to make the same mistakes.

19:24
Absolutely. Well, the key there, I think, too, is we need to include God in our decision making process, and not just include him in the cleanup that comes after we make our own decision. Well, I call it the ministry of prevention. A lot of people deal with God getting you out of the ditch, but my job is to teach you how to never get into the ditch. And when people find yourselves in the ditch, we need to understand that God has never left you. Are you really ready to be rescued? Just as the math Pool? Was he really ready to be healed? Yeah, God’s here. And I’m going to tell you it is never too late. That’s right. In fact, if you’re listening right now, and whether you’re 10 years old, you’re 40 years old, you’re 100 years old, it is not too late for you, today’s the day because you don’t know what tomorrow might bring. Right? You know, once you close your eyes that last time, there is no more and there’s no going back.

20:29
Yep, I think we need to come back, it’s never too late to strengthen our foundation. You know, first, a lot of people don’t necessarily start off with a good Christian foundation. So we have to be taught. And then people have to be told, and then they have to learn how to walk in God’s ways. Because these ways are so different than what’s going on in the world. The world’s doing such different things than what God wants us today. And we see your society changing so much, even people that are in church, the people that have been part of ministry, and really believe in what God has, has done something for them in their lives. You know, they, they kind of remind me of Caleb, when he was older, he said, you know, if the Lord delights in us, were able to possess the land, he said, Give me the mountains, we want to remember that God obtained in ordained us for something in our lives, regardless of how old you are, even if it looks like Time’s running out for you, it really doesn’t matter your age. But once God’s chosen you, and He’s anointed and glorified you, you need to make the decision. Okay, Lord, I’m walking with you, whatever it takes, right? And with repentance, and God will say, I’ll pick you up from where you are, and I’ll take you the rest of the way.

21:46
Wow. You know, it makes me think of the example of the thief on the cross, right? It’s his final moments, you know. And he said, Today, you’re going to be with me in paradise. And that’s just a prime example. I think we give this will give us all of us hope, right. And I think so often with social media, we’re not connecting Well, or, as groups, we’re not connecting as well with COVID, that’s kind of thrown us off. And we’re just not connecting, as well as a community group or worship groups. And that just gives me a lot of thought. And if we could get that back and build a strong bond with each other, we can minister to each other, and be in community with each other and serve each other. And that is the kind of fruit that really promotes people’s changes of heart. And the Lord opens our hearts. So you know, time is running out. And we don’t know when we’re going to take our last breath. So yeah, you need to start today. Start loving Jesus and doing his well.

22:55
Yeah, I remember hearing an old preacher say hit today could be your last day. And if you’re to leave here, you know, that’s a good point. It really is. And it’s very compelling. You’ve got to do it now. Don’t wait, do not wait. Do it. Now. As Christians, we already know that we’ve made the choice that he’s our Lord and Savior. But today, if he came for you, would you have lived your life, to fulfill the plans he had for you? You’re held responsible when you stand before the Lord. Well done. My good and faithful service. That’s what you want to hear Him say? Absolutely. And we want to remember that no matter where we find ourselves in life, now’s the time to step it up and live a more faithful life for the Lord. You know, here’s the thing. A lot of times, you’ll see people walk into a church, and what’s really happening walking into a hospital, they’re walking into an ER, or a trauma center, because they’re in such bad shape. And I think it’s their last resort. A lot of people say, I’m not ready yet. I still want to live my life. But what they don’t understand is that I’m in I’m looking at Jeremiah 2911. Here, For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future, we must realize that Satan wants us to believe if we give our lives over to Jesus, then we’re not going to have any more fun, right? But that’s where the real fun begins. Absolutely. I have a lot of fun. Absolutely. And when we give ourselves over to Jesus, that’s when real life begins. It begins with Jesus. And it ends with Jesus.

24:42
Oh, that is such great news. Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode, and we would love to hear from you. Thank you so much for listening, and thank you for being a part of this today. This is the Christian point. And we’ve been talking about starting over and I just want you to know that even though it may seem hard to start Aren’t over. God is a God of second chances and new beginnings. So if you have it or you’re afraid to make that step, make it today and make it with Jesus. And we would love for you to check out our website, the Christian point.com. You can make a donation there to keep us going. And you can keep connected with us through Facebook and Instagram. And please subscribe, like and comment on our podcast to help spread this message throughout the world.

25:31
Thanks for listening to the Christian point. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, or visit us on the web at Deep Christian point.com. If you enjoyed the show, please share it with your friends on social media. Until next time, always remember Christ is the Point

Transcribed by https://otter.ai