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“Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 (NLT)
The little girl let out a piercing scream that brought both parents running to her rescue. She had been playing on her grandparent’s farm and building a ‘fort’ in the wooded area behind the barn. Unfortunately, she’d chosen to build her fort in the midst of a nest of wood ticks! Her parents spent nearly an hour picking ticks off the scared and crying little girl.
After a thorough inspection, a warm bath and a bowl of ice cream on Grandpa’s lap she felt much better. She got down to play but decided to stay near the house and play with her dolls.
“A little scared to go play in the woods?” Grandma asked her gently.
“A little maybe,” was her reply, “But mostly I still feel itchy, like the bugs are still crawling all over me.”
We can all, no doubt, identify with the little girl in the story. We walk through a spider web or discover some insect on us and for some time later still feel it’s ‘presence’ on us.
The same can often be true of sin. We fail to do what we should, or do something we know we shouldn’t. We may even wander far from God and live a lifestyle we know is wrong or become addicted to drugs, alcohol or lust.
Like the Prodigal Son, we come crawling back to God. We confess our sin. We work hard at cleaning up our act. But deep in the corners of our mind is this sense of guilt and shame that we can’t shake. We pray about it. Read Scriptures. We talk to counselors, pastors or trusted friends. Still we are haunted, sometimes day and night by the feeling of guilt on our lives. Much like the little girl continued to feel the wood ticks on her body.
So, why is that? Is God so angry with us that he won’t let us forget? Are the reminders of our past signposts to make us be sure we were sincere? Does God’s forgiveness fall short of our expectations because our ‘sin was so bad’ that he’s going to haunt us for the rest of our lives?
The simple answer to that is a resounding NO! The Bible is very clear in several places that once we confess our sins to Jesus and ask his forgiveness those sins are forgiven. The moment you asked, the blood of Jesus cleansed you from the penalty of that sin. We can still feel guilty though for a variety of reasons.
If you have asked sincerely for your sin to be forgiven and still feel guilty it could be a matter of healing and healing takes time. Sometimes that healing is made longer because people keep bringing up your faults. Sometimes it can be due to constant ridicule. Religion is a great source of guilt as well with constant reminders that we are bad.
The biggest culprit in our struggle with a guilty conscience though is Satan. That great enemy of Christ-followers wants nothing more than to keep you in the prison of guilt and remorse. He’ll lie to you. He’ll use other people to lie about you. He can even use religion to keep you captive. Don’t listen to him. Listen to the words of Jesus. “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”. No matter how many times you come sincerely to Jesus he has promised to forgive you. Tell Satan to take a hike. Tell him to get lost. In Jesus Christ you are NOT GUILTY because of the blood he shed on the cross for you.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I’ve been carrying this load of guilt long enough. I now realize that the guilt I feel is a false belief that I’m not forgiven. I renounce the efforts of Satan to keep me in the prison of my soul. From this day forward I’m going to live in the freedom of your forgiveness. Amen.
“For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.” Isaiah 28:10
Nobody likes rules. When we are young we yearn to be free of rules and then we get older and find ourselves making more and more rules! Rules tend to confine and control us. Rules take away our freedom. Yet, in our more mature moments we have to admit that the world would be in big trouble if it weren’t for rules. Although rules control us, they can also guide us and protect us from…well, rule breakers!
When the Prophet Isaiah was ministering to the Israelites one of the complaints he and the other prophets heard was that they said the same things over and over again. The Prophets constantly stressed the basics. Later, in Jesus day, the Pharisees took rulemaking to new heights by burdening the people with rules to help them obey the rules. The problem was, those rules eventually, and I think unintentionally, replaced the real rules!
One of the reasons the Prophet Isaiah and his cohorts continued to stress the basics of the Godly life and didn’t move on to deeper things is that the people weren’t following the things God had already required of them.
The same is true today. We have conferences on seeing God’s power. We have books about seeing God’s power. There are some who make money off the ministry of telling people how to see God’s power. But nothing seems to help. For many of us we go through life hearing about God working in magnificent ways overseas or in the lives of others, but fail to see his power evident in our own life?
The thing each of us needs to realize is that our Heavenly Father is desperate to do things in our lives, but he can’t give us the deep things he has for us until we get the basics down. Other religions say you have to follow a multitude of rules to gain ‘divine power’. Not so with as Christ-followers. From the moment you accept Jesus you have all the power of God at your fingertips. His rules are simple. Get into a love relationship that holds him as number on and you will see mighty things.
So why don’t we see mighty God-power in our lives? God doesn’t expect big things from us until we master the little things in life. What are those ‘little things’? It starts with getting rid of all the stuff that keeps you from God. Anything that keeps you from holding God as number one in your life hinders your love relationship with him.
A love relationship with God means we take time out of our busy schedules to pray, read his word and fellowship with him. Those seem like little things but those little things are all God expects from us in order to show his power. It’s not about all sorts of rules like religion will tell you. Following God’s rules is all about freedom to be you.
PRAYER: Father God. I want to be desperate for you. There are so many things that keep me from seeing your power in my life. Empower me with your spirit to focus on the simple things of prayer, Bible reading and fellowship. Let your life shine powerfully through me to others, in Jesus name, Amen.
For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. Matthew 7:2 (NLT)
One of the men I admire most was my uncle Bernard. Uncle Bernie was a quiet man with a generous heart. In all the years I knew him I never once heard him raise his voice or say a negative word about anyone. He was soft-spoken, gentle at heart and generous. He didn’t have a large house although he had money, his home was modestly comfortable. Uncle Bernie died in the same way he lived, quietly falling asleep as he listened to his favorite baseball team on the radio.
Uncle Bernie has been gone a long time but his testimony lives on in my mind because he was probably the most non-judgmental man I know, next to Jesus. I don’t remember enough about Bernie to know what made him tick; what it was that made him so accepting of other people, but that part doesn’t really matter. What matters is that he was a man who knew Jesus and showed Jesus love in how he treated others.
Jesus taught us not to judge others. He showed us acceptance of other lifestyles when he reached out to the woman caught red-handed having sex with another woman’s husband by telling her she wasn’t condemned, even though she deserved death.
He showed how to accept people when he made a point to stop at a well so he could meet up with a woman who’d failed five times at marriage and finally decided to ‘shack up’ with man number six rather than go through the whole marriage/divorce cycle. She was so ashamed she went to the well when she ‘knew’ she’d be alone. But Jesus met her at her most lonely time in the loneliest place because he accepted her even though he couldn’t tolerate her lifestyle.
If Jesus were here today I think he’d visit people you and I avoid like the plague. The person living the gay lifestyle would find a friend in Jesus. The imposter who lives behind a disguise of religion while they battle with drugs, alcohol or pornography would feel his touch. The abusive father or stepmother, the guy with at tendency for road rage, the vindictive gossip. All can find acceptance and healing when they come to Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t ask us to accept those different than us, he requires it. Through the power of his Holy Spirit I can find the strength to accept those who make a mockery of my faith. Because of his nail scarred hands I can find acceptance and healing in the midst of my struggle with sin. I want to be like him. I want to show his love like my uncle Bernie did.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I see in scripture how you have reached to others. I ask that you would do a work in my soul. Forgive me and heal me of the struggles I’m enduring. Empower me to live for you and to reach out to those around me. Help me to accept those who mistreat me, drag your name through the mud and mock your name. I pray this in your name, Amen.
We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of him, God will raise with Jesus those who have died. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 (NCV)
“It’s not so important what you believe. The important thing is that you believe something.” Ever heard someone say something similar to that? To think that belief is more important than the validity of the object believed in is ludicrous at best and dangerous in most cases.
I could say I believe I can fly. I could believe is with all my heart. But one jump from the roof will prove me dreadfully wrong. I don’t need to go to that extreme. I know from what I’ve heard and learned and seen in life that jumping from the roof will bring me quickly to the ground and may cause injury or even death. My decision NOT to jump off the roof is based on quantifiable fact.
Faith works in me the same way. There are many religions that speak of some sort of life after death. Many systems of belief encourage morality and philanthropy. But the question that has to be asked of each of these belief systems is, “Where’s the proof? What evidence can you provide that insures I will live forever?” When it really comes down to it, that’s what each of us wants. In life we’d like money and health and vibrant, passionate relationships. But what happens after life can haunt us. It’s not knowing what happens after we die that puts the fear of death in the number one place of terror in our hearts.
That’s what sets us apart as Christ-followers. Jesus rose from the dead. There is a plethora of evidence, scientific and historic, that proves that point. Jesus is the only religious leader that not only stated he would rise from the dead, but actually did it. Not only did he say he would rise from the dead, he promised us that some day he would return for us.
If Jesus did what he said he would do by rising from the dead, we can be assured that his other promises will come true as well. Promises to always be with us. Promises to forgive us, show mercy to us and love us. Most of all, the promise that he will return one day and bring us to himself. We will rise again! How do we know? First of all our leader, Jesus Christ, did. Secondly, he told us we would rise from the dead. If it was true of him, it will be true of us. We will live forever. Death will have no victory over us because Jesus defeated death once and for all.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank you for offering me forgiveness for my sin. Thank you for fulfilling every promise you have ever made to me. Thank you for rising from the dead so that I can be assured I will live forever. In you I put my trust because no one else can do for me what you do. In your name I pray, Amen.
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30
Think for a moment of the person you love more than anyone else in this world. Get a good picture in your mind. Take a few minutes to gaze (in your minds eye) on every one of their features. Focus on the reasons you fell in love.
One suggestion as your doing this. It might be a good idea NOT to do this when you are in the presence of this person. You may find yourself staring at them and freaking them out!
Now, how many hairs are there on your loved ones head? What? You don’t know? Are you thinking I’m the one that’s crazy? Well then, you must not love that person.
Now your probably angry with me. Of course you love them, you are thinking. Your maybe tempted to shout “You have no right telling me that I do or don’t love _______! And you’d be right.
But here’s my point. When you love someone, really, really love them you know everything you can about them. You know their likes and dislikes. You know that makes them scared and what gives them comfort. You even sacrifice your own comfort to make them comfortable.
Jesus tells us that God loves us so much that he knows has the hairs on my head numbered! Imagine that for a moment. It doesn’t just say he knows how many there are. He can point at a hair on my head and say, “Hair number 2,368 is looking a bit frayed today!”.
Now, if God is that familiar with me; if he loves me that much. What do I have to worry about? I like the way Max Lucado says it in his book “A Gentle Thunder”.
“If God had a refrigerator, my picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, my photo would be in it. He sends me flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. When I want to talk, he’ll listen. He could have chosen any place in the universe, but he chose my heart.”
I know I make mistakes. Some days I make more than others. I know I’ll hurt people along the way unintentionally because I tend to be a social klutz at times. There are times when even my closest friends don’t understand my feelings, my fears and the things that make me happy. There are times I don’t even understand me! But my Father does. He even has the hairs on my head numbered.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for your love. There are things coming my way I don’t understand. Some of them scare me to no end. I thank you that in the turmoil that surrounds me you see me. I don’t get lost in the shuffle. You aren’t distracted from my problems because you are needed elsewhere. Thank you that I’m your number one priority today. Help me to be constantly aware of your presence, love and protection. In Jesus name, Amen.
