“Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the House of the LORD forever.” – {Psalm 23:6}.

These were words of David affirming his confidence in the LORD whom he had come to know as his personal Shepherd! While the enemy will keep your sins, failures before you, reminding you seeking to drive and leave you in despair. David teaches us to look to the LORD your Shepherd, and his view is one you must adopt.  It is as though you look over your right shoulder into what is behind you, your past and see the Shepherd’s goodness for your steps, and then look over your left shoulder and see His “mercy,” for your sin! Look back only to see His goodness and mercy! Goodness and mercy “follow,” the word means, “pursue.” Not a start, stop, occasionally, a “wish –so” but a Divine certainty, “all the days of your life.” Never a second in a minute, in an hour, in a day, in a week, in a year, is “goodness and mercy” not pursuing you and will so all the way to the Father’s house, having delivered you safely to Him. Some chase after goodness and mercy, for those who have the LORD as their Shepherd, His goodness and mercy chases after them!

The Shepherd is good and merciful and abundantly so!But, what about my sin, when I look back?,” you may ask. The evil one seeking to torment your mind at times by the memories that haunt you, because you have a new nature, “In Christ.” Sin bothers you, satan beats you down,“But God…” has “blotted them all out!! “…having forgiven us all our transgressions,  having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting  of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”- {Col 2:13-14}. The word,“canceled” means “erase!” Like taking a hard drive out of a computer so there is no data, your sin record has been “erased!” through the blood of the LORD Jesus! There is no record, in Heaven of sin against you. His blood has erased it all! Always end with “But God…”  

The accuser will have you sin conscious, the Holy Spirit will have you Christ conscious and will always have you end with hope in Him! His blood paying for your sins, past present, future.  Merciful and good Shepherd! 

The evil one will remind you of your past sin, to tempt you to become disheartened, despondent and divorce you from who you are “In Christ.”  and take your eyes off the LORD and leave you with yourself, without hope. Condemnation. Seeking to turn you inward. The unbelieving conscience will  remind you of past sin, troubling and seeking to divert your attention off the Lord and His business by being occupied with sin. satan injects thoughts to seek to own your attention. You need to renew your mind.{Romans 12:2}. The un-love of others, will seek to remind  you of past sins, failures. “Unloving because “love does not keep records of wrongs.” {1 Cor 13:4-7}. Loveless, bitter, unforgiving people will bring it up and hold it before you to manipulate, keep you down, “But God…” has erased it all.  So three enemies to live your new life, standing with God, is satan, un-renewed conscious, unloving people. Don’t turn inward and look at past sin and end there, as though there is no blood of Christ. No cross that once and for all dealt with the sin issue.  The evil one will remind you of sin and leave you there, accusing, condemning, tormenting you, seeking to leave you with yourself. But The Holy Spirit, comes to Glorify Jesus Christ and He will lead and leave you with Him.- {John 16:14}.

What is The difference between condemnation and conviction?

Condemnation leaves you with yourself, and no hope. Conviction shows you your sin and shows you the Savior as the answer. it always leaves you with Him.  Like a “boomerang,” it always comes back to Him. The Spirit of God convicts and we see, own it and He turns us to Jesus.

What good news we read in Matthew 1:21,“And you shall call His Name Jesus and He will save His people from their sins.” If it is a sin issue, this passage shares with us the good news, Jesus can take care of it. “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to continually cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” {1 John 1:9}.”FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.” – {Heb 8:12}. This verse is not teaching God has no memory or somehow He has amnesia. He is perfect, He is all knowing. What it means is “No more,” will He hold the sin against you. He held your sin, all of your sins against His Son, once for all. He who knew no sin became sin that you may through Him become right with God. “No more,” is a promise. It is permanent. It comes through a Person, the LORD Jesus Christ. The One who promises, has performed all that was required so that you would stand before Him, fully forgiven and fully accepted, based on the perfect, once for all sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.”To Him who {continually} loves us and has freed us from our sin, to Him be the glory.” {Rev 1:5}. “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” -{John 8:}. The Lord JESUS paid COMPLETELY, ETERNALLY for our sin, He freed us from sin and “it was for freedom Christ set us free, never again to be enyoked to a bond of slavery again.”-{Gal 5:1}. “There is therefore NOW, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”– {Romans 8:1}. Note “now,” as long as it is “now,” there is no condemnation for the believer. WE LIVE OUR LIVES IN THE “NOW!” Hopefully, you can see from these verses His provision, promises, and the execution of His cross, as the permanent solution to the sin issue. His resurrection, is the proof that God has accepted His sacrifice. {“…to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.“-{Rom 4:25}. Look away to Jesus. These verses lead and leave us with Jesus Christ as the Solution. We have Hope in Him!

Be Shepherd conscious!

The verse begins with, “Surely,” which speaks of the Heavenly irrevocable, certainty. It can be read, “Only, goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.” Look back in your history, and see God’s dealings with you of goodness and mercy! All the days, good days, dark days, all days included, goodness and mercy backing you up, at the Shepherd’s command! They are inseparable from you!

Your Past? “Goodness and mercy pursuing you.”-v6

Your Future? “ And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” –v6

Your Present?- “The LORD IS my Shepherd I shall not lack!”-v1

God’s Got Your Past, and Your Back!