APRIL THEME – “SEEING THE RESURRECTION FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”

BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART

WHAT YOU KEEP CARRYING IS KEEPING YOU BOUND

Romans 8:1 — “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

One of the greatest lies believers carry into a new season is this: that what God forgave, they must still carry. You can step into a new day, a new season, even a new beginning—and still be dragging an old weight that Christ already paid for. You can be saved and still feel stuck, forgiven and still feel guilty, free and still live bound. Not because God has held anything against you—but because you have not fully agreed with what He has done. And until your thinking aligns with His truth, you will continue to carry what He already crucified.

THE PROBLEM IS NOT YOUR PAST, IT IS YOUR AGREEMENT WITH IT

Many people are not bound by what they did—they are bound by what they keep rehearsing. The enemy does not need new ammunition if he can keep replaying old failures in your mind. He will remind you of what you said, what you did, who you were, and if you listen long enough, you will begin to agree with it. But the battle is not over your past—it is over your agreement. Because whatever you agree with, you empower. Romans 8:1 does not say there is less condemnation—it says there is no condemnation. That means the voice telling you “you’ll never change” is not God. That weight you feel is not from heaven. The issue is not that God hasn’t released you—the issue is that you have not released yourself. You keep revisiting what God has already removed, carrying what God has already crucified, and identifying with what God has already judged at the cross.

CONDEMNATION SOUNDS TRUE, BUT IT IS A LIE

Condemnation can sound convincing. It often comes wrapped in thoughts that feel spiritual—“You should have known better… you’ve failed too many times… this is just who you are.” But it is not conviction—it is accusation. Conviction draws you to God; condemnation drives you from Him. Conviction says, “Come closer and be changed.” Condemnation says, “Stay where you are because you’ll never change.” And if you don’t discern the difference, you will live under something Christ already broke. The enemy fights for your agreement because if he can keep you thinking like your old self, he can keep you from walking in your new life. But you cannot walk forward while constantly looking backward. You cannot experience resurrection life while clinging to what belonged in the grave. At some point, what was buried must stay buried.

FREEDOM IS AGREEMENT WITH WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY DONE

Freedom is not just receiving forgiveness—it is agreeing with God about what He has done with your sin. When God forgives, He does not revisit—He removes. “As far as the east is from the west” is not poetic language—it is permanent separation. The blood of Jesus did not partially cleanse—it completely finished the work. The Apostle Paul had a past that could have defined him—he persecuted the church, stood by as believers were killed—yet he said in Philippians 3:13, “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” He did not deny his past—but he refused to live in it. He understood that his identity was no longer in what he had done, but in what Christ had done for him. And that is the shift you must make—you stop seeing yourself through your history and start seeing yourself through His redemption.

It is like someone who has been released from prison, the door swung open, the sentence fully paid, yet they choose to sit inside the cell because it feels familiar. Nothing is holding them there—but their thinking. Many believers live this way spiritually—free in Christ, but still sitting in a place they no longer belong. The door is open, but they won’t walk out. Not because they can’t—but because they haven’t believed that they already have been set free.

What you keep carrying is keeping you bound. Not because it still has power—but because you are still giving it place. God is not asking you to ignore your past—He is asking you to agree with Him about what He has done with it. It is forgiven. It is removed. It is finished. And today is not about trying to fix what has already been handled—it is about finally releasing what you were never meant to keep. Because you cannot walk in freedom while holding onto chains that have already been broken.

WARFARE PRAYER

Father, in Jesus’ name, I break agreement with every lie that has kept me bound to my past. I renounce every voice of condemnation, every memory that speaks against Your truth, and every mindset that keeps me living beneath what You have already declared. I declare that I am forgiven, I am free, and I am no longer defined by what I have done, but by what Christ has done for me. I lay down every weight I have been carrying, and I refuse to pick it back up again. Renew my mind, strengthen my spirit, and establish me in truth. From this day forward, I will walk in freedom, because whom the Son sets free is free indeed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY CHALLENGE

Today, write down one thing from your past that still tries to define you, bring it before God in prayer, and surrender it fully. Then make a decision: you will not revisit it again. When the thought comes back, answer it with truth—“God has already dealt with this, and I am walking free.”

TUESDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS                                                                                                           

Danny Jarrard – Surgery Today

Christopher & Yting Kelley

Ellen Boyd  

Jillian Gray – Surgery Went Well

Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda

Mary Williams

Nancy Riley

Theresa Bain

Wes Knight

Ann Stanley  

Britany Smith ~ Breast Cancer

Mateen – Kim McClain’s Sister

Mike And Paula Ferris And Family  

Phillip Roach

Amy Garner’s Dad

Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s

Angela Bryan’s Sisters

Annette Ford

Brando Echarte

Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers

Darlene Kelley – Cancer Treatment

Darlene Wiggins

Debbie Foskey 

Deon Lotter

Don And Carol Franklin – Mae’s Cousins

Don Franklin’s Son, David

Doris Loyd

Dr. and Mrs. Davis

Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards

Ed Franklin’s Son In Law – Heart Surgery

Eric Magnusson’s Mother

Eric Ward

Friend of Linda Hodge

Gayle Sparks

Gloria Young

Jake Jenkins

James Burnette

Jean Partee

Jean Partee’s Sister

Jessica Headrick  

John McClain’s Mother

Joni Oberhage

June Cronan

June Cronan’s Sister

June Davis

Kailey Bateman

Kim McClain’s Mother 

Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda & Mateen

Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom

Linda Mays

Lonzo Christian 

Lori Blount’s Mother

Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom

Mrs. Franklin 

Nancy Brown

Nora Allison

Paul Bateman

Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman

Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA

Roy Roach

Sandra Mitchell

Scott Lanier 

Scotty Nix

Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s

Steve Michaels

Tammy Shelnutt

Tom Witcher