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

 

 

 

You Be the Judge

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”  Romans 2:1

 

Were more convicting words ever written?  How many among us can truly say that we never pass judgment on others?  We even come up with ways to justify our assessments or our right to judge them.  But do we have that right?  Really?

According to today’s passage, the answer is an emphatic “no!” We do not have that right.  Because as the passage states, we who judge are guilty of the same things for which we judge another.  I can hear you saying right now (or is it me talking to myself?!), but they are selfish, arrogant and mean.  I would never do anything so rotten to someone else!  And yet, out there somewhere, are the people who have said such things about us and our words.

At times, it has been comical to me when people I know pass judgment on someone in an area, and yet they are even guiltier of it than the one they are accusing.  As my grandmother would say, “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” 

I think sometimes we actually judge people more harshly in an area that we know we are weak in.  Perhaps, that is because we resent having to deal with that area so much in our own lives that we cannot tolerate anyone who is not dealing with it like we are.

Either way, God’s challenge to you and me today is to turn our focus inward instead.  Let us examine ourselves and repent and change. At the end of the day, the only person’s behavior we can truly change is our own. 

Dear Lord, forgive me for being guilty of judging. Lord, help me instead to inspect myself.  Help me, O God, to walk in mercy that I may receive mercy.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

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