With no regard for what you have done, nobody is beyond hope. That is the great hope of the Christian message. No amount or depth of sin in your past can trump the grace of Our Lord God. If you question that, remember Saul, the loud Pharisee of Tarsus.

When the Lord saved him, he did not put him on probation. No, God gave Saul a new name and, in the process, made him a new creation. Although your past is dirtied, anybody can find a new start with God. When Saul knelt before the living God, he eventually faced the actuality of his sin.

Deep in the man, Christ transformed his life, and he started doing what was right.

Grace provides that kind of new beginning. Do not squander your time targeting what you used to be.

Remember, the hope we have in Christ means there is a brighter tomorrow. We are no longer chained to a deep, dark pit of the past. Could it be that you are stuck because of something from your past? Maybe it has pinned you to the ground with humiliation, shame, and fear.

The very best you can do is to limp thru every day, looking for a pain free end. That way of thinking is from the enemy, Satan. He likes to bump your nose in the mud, looking to make you miss the wonderful claims of grace. Don’t permit him that power in your life today. Around you are folk who have no bigger claim on grace than you do, and the Lord mercifully brought them out of their pit of sin.