No Longer Condemned

If you are anything like me I'm sure there are times that you need to be reminded that shame does not come from Jesus.

If you are trapped in a cycle of shame, run to Jesus. Read His word. Pray to Him.

There is no condemnation in those who follow Christ. He has set us free from both sin and shame.

Guilt on the other hand is conviction from the Holy Spirit that we have sinned against God and will ALWAYS lead us to repentance. Thereby drawing us closer to God.

Shame will always lead you away from God. Our enemy loves to get us focused on shamet that causes us to spiral down hill toward thinking of self. To make us feel like a bad person, unworthy of forgiveness or love.

Shame says "I am bad." Guilt says "I did something bad." Shame leads to a self focused veiw of our sin. Guilt leads to a focus on our behavior and causes us to run to our Father to seek grace, mercy and forgiveness.

Spend some time today reading these verses and mediating on their truth. All are in the NASB (1995) version.

Psalm 25:3

Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

Psalm 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 34:5

They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed.

Romans 8:1-2

THERE is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Romans 10:11

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”  

Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

It Is Well

Horatio Spafford wrote the hymn “It Is Well With my Soul” during a difficult season of life. He lost his only son to sickness. A successful lawyer he lost all he owned in the The Great Chicago fire. And shortly afterwards he lost his four daughters when the ship his daughters and wife were on went down. He penned this hymn as he was sailing to meet his wife while they passed over the area his daughters had drowned. 

In the midst of horrible devastation Stafford chose to remind himself that nothing mattered but Christ. Whether life was good or difficult he would say, “ it is well with my soul”. 

This is the kind of peace I desire. A peace that springs forth from a knowledge that God is sovereign and He is always good. Stafford could not have penned the words to this hymn without that knowledge. He could not have felt peace without complete trust in His God. 

Oh Father, build this kind of trust in my heart that I can say, no matter what may come, “it is well, it’s is well with my soul.”

A Burdened Heart

 My heart has been so heavy. It’s been burdened by so many things. Today it has felt like too much. I can’t carry all this weight. The weight of my own failure in so many areas. The weight of my sin, the sin of others and those who have been sinned against. My heart cries out for God to heal, to restore, to unite and to make things right and holy. I know I am powerless to fix anything and yet my heart aches for answers. For restoration of brothers and sisters. 

Come to me all who are weary and burdened…yes Jesus, I come to You and lays all the things at your feet. They are too heavy for me. And besides, I was never meant to carry them anyway. 

Jesus it’s your burden, you’ve promised to carry it. You will do the work necessary in order to lead those who come to You  You are the one who convicts of sin and heals the unrighteous. 

Oh help me to remember I only need to carry your yoke which is easy and light compared to the burden you carry for us all. Help me be obedient to the God I love. Who willingly carried the burden of my sin. 

AMEN

His Humble Servant

 I am reminded of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30 when he gave himself glory for the building of Babylon instead of God. 

Leaders do not build anything, whether a church rises or falls is God’s doing. Any leader who claims “it’s my church, I built it” has a sin of pride. 

Because of pride, James M Boice says of King Nebuchadnezzer, “God caused him to be lowered from the pinnacle of human pride and glory to the baseless of insanity, it was God’s way of saying that this is what happens to all who …take the glory of God for themselves.” 

I find this a bit sobering. As a leader of a church, ministry, family or if you’ve written a blog, authored a book, or created anything really, it’s so important to remember that you and I haven’t built anything. God has given the abilities, the knowledge to do what we are doing. He has brought success or failure. 

There needs to be a humility within each of us that says, “all glory goes to God, I am but His humble servant.” 

Trust God, Not Man

 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8

When I am at a place of actively trusting the Lord in all things I experience peace. There is a calmness, even in trials, because I know God is good. He will not leave me. I know that He has a plan for my life and I can trust that He will work out all the good, bad, ugly, painful things. 

But, when I forget, and place my confidence in humans I experience anxiety. When I trust in leaders, even Christian leaders, I set myself up to be disappointed. What I mean is, I should be able to trust them, but I must trust with the knowledge that they are fallible. They will disappoint. They will make mistakes. They will sin. They are just like me and capable of all the same failures I am capable of. 

I can, however, trust the God who is at work in them. It always comes back to trust in God. God will work through my failures and sin just as He will those leaders who serve over me. The older I get, and the more I see, I realize that my anxiety is at its worst when I begin to trust in man instead of the God. Instead, I need to trust the God who is at work through them. 

Oh, Father, help us keep our hearts focused on You, and You alone. We pray for our leader and fellow man, that Your purposes will be done in and through them. Father, thank you for Your promises to always be with us. Amen

Be A Peacemaker

  The commitment to make peace is highly valued throughout the Bible, but what does it mean to be a peacemaker? 

Biblically, a peacemaker is someone who reconciles people who are in conflict. The heart of Jesus' earthly mission was to make peace between God and those who would come to Him through faith. He did this by offering Himself as a sacrifice. His sacrifice made a way for God and man to have peace.  

As I think about this I am reminded that in order to be a peacemaker we may have to make sacrifices of our own. We may need to lay down our pride. Peace/harmony among believers is of the upmost importance. It shows the world Jesus. 

Conflict always comes but when it does will you be a peacemaker? Will you seek peace or ignore the conflict? Will you fight for unity among the body? 

God’s children should always be on the side of making peace.  

A Lament for Healing

I wrote this a few months ago as I realized that I was not going into remission. My almost 4 year battle with Hypothyroidism, due to Graves Disease will soon result in a thyroid removal. Sometimes healing doesn’t come as we desire. And though I know God could cause me to go into remission or healing me completely so Graves is gone, He hasn’t chosen too. I don’t know why, but I do know He loves me and that His purposes for my life are good. 

Oh Lord how long will I struggle?

 How long will my body work against me?

 Do you see me fight the darkness. 

Where are You? 

I pray for healing but it does not come. 

Why are you silent? 

 

 O Lord I need you!

 I need to feel Your Spirit within me. 

I need to know you are with me

Even if healing never comes. 

Free me from this life!

Show me how to live with pain yet joy.  

Lord God, I know you are good. 

I know your purposes are true and holy.

 You have everything in your hands. 

You rule the nations and keep all things together. 

I know you keep me too.

 

Your purposes are beyond my understanding. 

Your ways are higher than mine. 

I want to be in Your will. 

I will be content in whatever You do. 

Father I pray for healing, 

Yet Your will be done. 

Calm my Heart, Lord

Father, my heart has been so anxious. Thousands of thoughts run across my mind. The questions and concerns. The what if’s. You hear them all. 

I speak truth. You are there. But I long for healing. I long for answers but none seem to come. At least not the ones I was hoping for. I don’t want to be here, in this place, at this moment. I wonder how long, Oh God, will you wait to return? 

As I cry out to You and voice my troubles, my pain, concerns, and doubts, I know you hear me. I know You are good and have a plan for my life. You are trustworthy. You have it all in your sovereign control. 

Father, thank you calming my anxious thoughts. Thank you for Your peace, comfort and grace. Thank you for restoring my joy in You! 

Lament of the Broken

My heart is heavy.

There are so many broken people.

Words alone just aren’t adequate.

There is no comfort.

The losses are just too great.

Tears flow uncontrollably.

Hearts once whole, now broken.

I stammer for healing words.

Does anyone see them?

Oh Father, where are your people?

Where are those with words that encourage?

Oh Father, how long must we wait?

How long until we hear Your healing words  

Your words that bring peace.

Your are the mender of broken hearts.

The healer of our soul.

Oh Father help us to speak Your healing words.

Use us an an instrument of Your hands.

 

The LORD binds up the hurt of his people, and heals the stroke of their wound. Isaiah 30:26

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.  Psalms 55:22

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD. Jeremiah 30:17

O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. Psalm 30:2

When Fear Comes I will Trust

 

Sometimes I feel fear creeping into my heart. My anxiety begins to rage with a faster heart rate, trouble sleeping and a mind that I can’t turn off. I lose sight of what I know is true and plunge into the pit of worry and depression. It come when life seems out of control, my control. It comes when I lose sight of Who is in control. 

Today I read 1 Chronicles 17:16 which says “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house that You should have brought me this far?” Then a little further I read verse 20 “O, Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears,” 

These two verses remind me this that God has blessed me, He has been with me, He is good, He is God, He is in control and He will always be with me. He has brought me so far in this life. He took a broken, abused, scared little girl and set her free from the demons of her past. He took one on a path of destruction and sin to place her in His Kingdom. 

Who am I that He would be so mindful of me? I don’t have an answer, there was nothing good in me, nothing that would draw a good God to save me from my sinful life. And yet, He loved me, He chose me, He called me and I followed Him. Since that day, 40+ years ago, I have continued to follow Him. It hasn’t been perfectly, in fact some times it’s down right ugly, but He continues to work perfectly in and through my life as I surrender to Him. 

Faced with this reminder, knowing God is in control and good, I choose to focus on the God who has been faithful in my life. He has been good and He has always worked all thing out according to His purposes. He has brought me this far and He will continue to be with me in all my tomorrows regardless of what may come. 

O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God beside you! Blessed be the name of the LORD for I have seen and heard of Your greatness in my life!! Amen! 

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