Guilt-free Living

 

Rom 8:1

 

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,* who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (NKJV)

 

 

Feeling guilty.  It is a terrible habit that I am trying to break.  If everyone does not like what I cooked for dinner, I feel guilty.  If I take a day off from work, I feel guilty.  Some of us are just wired that way!  I am so grateful, that guilt is not a part of God's perfect plan for us!

 

When Jesus paid the price for our sins, He also removed the accompanying guilt.  We do not have to feel bad about past sin- it is completely obliterated under the super power of His precious blood.  Jesus could save us,  then hang it over our heads for eternity.  But instead, He says, "I forgive you.  I do not remember it any more.  Forget it."

 

Satan, the enemy of our soul, loves to remind us of our past sins.  The Bible calls him the "Accuser of the Brethren".  He can accuse, but his power ends there.  If it is under the blood of Jesus, if you have repented and walked away, there is nothing left for you to do but lift your head and rejoice!  You stand before God, guiltless and righteous.

 

If you struggle with low self-esteem...  If you feel like you can never be good enough...Beware!  The enemy is lying to you.  God has pronounced you clean, and you are what God says about you.

 
Dear Lord, thank you for forgiving and removing my guilt.  Help me to walk before You in confidence of Your complete work on Calvary.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

Sherri

 

 

 

Do You Really Know?

"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning:  You should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.  This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his  presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command:  to believe in  the name of the his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  And this is his command:  to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us:  We know it by the Spirit he gave us. "  I John 3:11-24

 

Have you ever wondered if you were truly saved?  I guess we all struggle from time to time with feeling unsaved, condemned and apart from God. But it is so important as Christians that we walk in confidence before the Lord about our salvation.  If we do not, we fail to pray faith-filled prayers and we leave ourselves open to the enemy of our soul to fill us full of doubt.

Thank the Lord (!) his spirit dwells in us and testifies to us that we are God's children.  We need the witness of the Spirit and the witness of the Word in our lives.  We need to have a clear conscience before the Lord that we are carrying out his commands and obeying his decrees.  Doing as he instructs us to do, allows us to have assurance of our righteousness and confidence before a holy God. 

Our society is  really big on tolerance and not judging anyone.  In fact, that seems to be the main scripture that the world knows.  But the truth of the matter is, there are many things that we can judge.  If a person claims to be a Christian, they have to line up their lives and conduct with the Word of God.  Just as a person who wants to play baseball must play by the rule book to stay in the game, we have to live by the Bible to stay on the straight and narrow path.

Is there anything in your life that is a departure from what the Scripture teaches?  Let the Spirit talk with you about that today. 

Dear Lord, thank you for the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in my life.  Help me to live true to your Word.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convicted or Condemned?

 

 

"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning:  You should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.  This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his  presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. "  I John 3:11-20

 

There are times that when God convicts my heart, and there are times when my own heart condemns me.  So what is the difference?  Condemnation occurs when we feel judged or "damned" by God.  Usually for a Christian, condemnation is a lie from the enemy. God convicts the heart of the Christian for restorative purposes- so that they can be made willing to repent and be set right with God.  Satan, our enemy, accuses us and makes us feel unworthy of God's mercy and forgiveness.  Satan works to make us feel horrible about our situation and to leave us feeling that we are outside of God's mercy and grace.  Convictions causes us to be aware of our sin, while simultaneously feeling drawn toward God for forgiveness.

If our heart is in disrest, and we feel condemned within, we must always examine ourselves to see if we are indeed in sin.  If we are, we must quickly repent and turn away from our sin, confessing it to the Lord.  If we are not, then, we can be sure that the allegations are from the enemy of our soul and are only for the purpose of torment.  Those we must take captive unto the obedience of the Word of God.  When the enemy tells us we are unworthy, unloved and rejected by God, we must remind him that our sins have been cast into God's sea of forgetfulness, never to be remembered against us again.  When he says we are unloved, we can remind the enemy of John 3:16.  The greatest defense against condemnation is the "sword of the Spirit" or the Word of God.

God knows everything about us and our hearts- hat we do.  The twisted reasons for why we do them.  He understands the hurts that have scarred us and the weaknesses we face.  We can trust our hearts to him, knowing that he understands more than anyone else.  We can trust that he convicts and disciplines us only for the purpose of making us right with him.  His purpose and actions are always in keeping with helping us improve and grow in our relationship with him.

Are there feelings that you are struggling with?  Ask the Lord to show you if you are feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit or if the devil is condemning you.  Commit your way to God.  He will help you. 

Dear Lord, show me the difference between conviction and condemnation.  Help me to learn to know your voice and follow in your way.  Forgive me for taking your place as Judge.   In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

 

 

 

The Felling of the Mighty (Christmas) Tree

"See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”  Isaiah 42:9

 

Ah, the Christmas tree.  Its twinkling beauty holds the power to mesmerize and condemn. Condemn?  Perhaps you are now questioning my reasoning.  But for me, and other neurotic souls, that tree has a condemning thing about it.  After Thanksgiving, as I ride along and realize that other folks on our street have their tree up, I begin to have the nagging feeling.  I need to get the tree up. The kids won’t even know it is Christmas unless I get the tree up.  Once it is up, I can thoroughly enjoy looking at it. But then a new nagging starts… you need to get presents wrapped and under the tree… a feeling fully satisfied on Christmas Eve when it is full of the best we have to offer that year to our children.  And then, you guessed it, the day after Christmas… it begins to taunt me once again.  I then start with a quandary… How long must I keep this thing up to make it worth all the hassle it was?  Am I a scrooge if I take it down immediately?  In our early years of marriage, when we were childless and had money to spare, I would always leave it up until after New Year’s Day, because my husband is a New Year’s baby.  I would wrap up several presents (again, this was B.C.- before children) and enjoy it until he opened presents on his birthday.  But these days, his birthday is a quieter and lower budget affair.  Thus, my conundrum.  Do I take down the tree or leave it up until after his birthday?

OK, so maybe you now realize you are reading the rantings of a woman off-kilter.  But let me ask you this- what is the Christmas tree in your life?  What is it that hangs over your head, makes demands on you and causes torment?  Is it debt?  Is it health that you could improve by making lifestyle changes?  Parenting guilt and expectations?  An unfulfilling job?  Whatever stares you down on a daily basis, we face the same questions:  What do I need to do?  What do I need to let go and put away?  Is it time to conquer this thing or recognize that this is a fight that I do not need to win?

These questions are one reason why I cherish the new year.  As today’s passages states, “the former things have taken place and new things I declare…”  There is a lot of water under the bridge.  Some of it has been awesome- milestones of our life.  Other things have been frightening, disappointing and down-right depressing.  No matter; it is in the past.  Now you look ahead with a year full of potential.  Will there still be disappointment and pain for me in 2013?  Most likely- unless the Lord soon returns for us.  But this year can be a great year if we apply ourselves and seize the opportunities that the Lord puts in our path.

Tomorrow we will talk about looking to the new.  But today- survey your life.  Pray and read the Bible a bit.  Ask he Lord the hard questions.  What do I need to let go of?  What do you desire to change in me? Let today be a day of putting the past behind you, and stirring up yourself to embrace the new with zeal and enthusiasm.

Thank you Lord, for Christmas and all it means to me as a Christian. But as I put the past behind me, I ask that you help me to know what to let go of and what to cling to.  Help me find renewed hope and strength in you.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Happy New Year!

Sherri

Facing Sin Head On

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” Psalm 51:3

These verses were penned by King David after Nathan, the prophet, confronted him about his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the setting up for her husband to be killed in battle. Although David should have been struck with remorse long before Nathan spoke to him, it seems that the voice of the prophet had left him a broken man.

Have you ever committed a sin so dark and unspeakable that you grieved over it?  Most of us have committed sin to a degree that we feel ashamed before God for our actions.  Because, in truth, no matter how small our sin, it always separates us from the holiness of God.  A white lie, an angry word, adultery… all of these results from the sin nature and if left unrepented, leads to death.

In this passage David was facing his sin head on.  What had seemed so desirable at the time, now looked back at him in the light of day.  He recognized his moral failure and he was having a hard time moving on.  All he could see was his wrongdoing, sin and separation from God. The sin was always before him.

When the Lord convicts us of sin, it is always to a redemptive end.  He convicts us so that we will repent, receive forgiveness and restoration.  It is not God’s will for us to be eternally condemned, always feeling unworthy to come in His presence.  If you are struggling with condemnation, please know that condemnation is from your enemy.  If you have repented, the sin is no longer always before you. It is behind you, plunged beneath the cleansing blood of Jesus.  When you confess sin and receive forgiveness, the Father does not remember it against you anymore.  And the good news is that “we have the mind of Christ.”  Therefore, we do not have to ever think again of our sins, except to say “Thank you God, I am clean and free of that.”

Dear Lord, I pray today especially for my friends who are struggling with guilt, shame and condemnation.  Help them to receive your forgiveness and walk in freedom from even the effects of sin.  Help them to see themselves as you see them- pure, righteous, holy and blameless in Your sight.  Thank you for your cleansing blood.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri