Amnesia

This past Sabbath, we heard from Caleb Oliva, and he talked about his word for the year Amnesia. Instead of doing a New Year's Resolution he prays that Yahweh will give him a word or phrase to define his year. He talked about Amnesia as loss of memories including facts, information, and experiences and broke it down into three sections.

1) Personal Experiences:

We all go through major life experiences including but not limited to divorce, injury, illness, addiction, and deal with challenging issues like suicide, depression, losing a loved one, and ultimately falling short of the law. Don't let your past dictate how you live your future. We see in 2 Corinthians 11:24-31 that Paul talks about all of the things that suffered in the name of Yashua including being whipped, beaten, shipwrecked, and stoned. Through all of that he held firm in what he believed and persevered. He finished the race without compromising his faith (2 Tim 4:7)

2) Your experiences through Yah's eyes:

Have you ever felt like you weren't good enough for Yahweh? Or questioned why he would choose you? Well you are not alone. The prophet Isaiah dealt with that same issue. He told Yahweh that he was "a man of unclean lips," but Yahweh used an angel and a coal to cleanse him. Yahweh is a consuming fire that burns away all the dead parts of our lives and our pasts in order for new things to grow! Hewbrews 8:12 talks about how Yahweh will be merciful towards us and forgive us for any sins and "(He) will remember no more." Yahweh gets amnesia when it comes to our past!

3) Benefits of your experiences:

Use your past experiences, mistakes, sins, and shortcomings as life lessons. Be careful not to repeat the same mistakes and forget how you got there (Prov. 26:11-12). Your experiences in life allow you to be a witness to others! Believers and nonbelievers alike endure hardships in life and you can use what you've gone through to help them as well. Learn to reflect on the things that you have experienced and pray to Yahweh that He might show you the positive outcome from them, no matter how hard they might have been at the time.

Remember that we are all sinners, and Yashua came and lived a perfect life full of temptation and persecution. He endured being whipped, a crown of thorns and finally the cross so that He might take on YOUR sins. "Behold, the Lamb of Yah, who washes away the sins of the world!" (John 1:29)