Have you ever had a moment in life when you were confronted with your past mistakes? Something you thought you had put to rest; that part of your life was over and done with. You just wanted to move on and forget that phase of your life?
In life it appears some of the greatest challenges we face are not just the ones the lie ahead, instead it’s the ones behind us that we are still trying to lay to rest.
How many of us would like to go back in time and erase some irresponsible behaviors, or take back some harsh word, or even change your attitude or temperament? If we were honest with ourselves we would realize that, “time has left our mistakes behind, but we haven’t.”
King Herod was faced with this dilemma. As the acclaim and notoriety of Jesus began to grow; many people were trying to explain who this Jesus really was. Some said He was a prophet, others said He was Elijah, and some said He was John the Baptist raised from the dead.
The John the Baptist notion really struck a chord with Herod because, he in fact was the one who killed John the Baptist. Mark 6:16 says, “But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has risen!” It all came back, how he did it, why he did it, and all who were impacted by his decision to kill John the Baptist. In our own lives, there are times when it all comes back. We have to relive it over again, we have to go back to the scene of the crime, we remember our accomplices, and have sympathy for our victims. And when you don’t have Jesus to forgive you; the torment, the guilt and the shame can kills you.
Herod killed John the Baptist because of 3 things:
Arrogance: He made a promise in front of his prestigious banquet guest to demonstrate how much power he had.
Fear of Man: He didn’t want to renege on his word because of the people, not because of his convictions.
He ignored his true feelings: He knew it was wrong but he did it anyway.
In Christ there is forgiveness, and love. We would be doomed if He kept record of our wrongs (sins), but with Christ there is forgiveness. (Ps. 130:3-4)
When you find yourself battling with past mistakes, or you find yourself holding the past mistakes of your loved ones over their heads; remember we have all been arrogant, we’ve done things to try to please others, and we have ignored our gut feelings when we were being prompted to do right (that’s the precious Holy Spirit). Yet and still we have been blessed to be forgiven.
If you’ve had your Herod moments, allow Christ to redeem and restore you. If you would like to share your Herod moments please do, and I will be sure to pray that God would redeem and restore you.
Blessings,
Pastor Darryl
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