Dealing with Guilt and Shame

Dealing with Guilt and Shame

Getting over the guilt and memories of past sin is never easy... especially if the sinning has been going on for a long time or is a severe or a deeply ingrained habit; not because God doesn't forgive instantly when we confess, but that WE sometimes have trouble forgiving ourselves. This is kind of a "false guilt" which Satan likes to use to keep the forgiven one from being an effective witness, and experiencing the joy of restoration.

Here are a few tips of how to overcome guilt...

1) We start with claiming 1 John 1:9 as a promise which God makes to us:

1 John 1:9 (KJV)
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

To claim a promise, you read it somewhere in God's word, then you pray to God and say "Lord you have promised that if I confess my sins to You, You will forgive me and cleanse me. I choose to believe that You will keep Your Word in this promise, and I accept Your forgiveness and Your cleansing of my soul... I will trust You to keep Your word, because of Jesus' Death on the Cross... Amen.

We confess, God keeps His promise, God forgives, God cleanses. The cleansing is an on-going process. It occurs as we read the Bible and apply the truths to ourselves. Then the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome the temptation the next time.

2) Next, consider this verse:

Isa 1:16-20 (KJV)
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; {17} Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. {18} Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. {19} If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: {20} But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Note the words in vs. 16-17..."cease to do evil, learn to do well". I heard a preacher say once that when you quit doing some sin in your life, in order to prevent it from re-occurring, you should replace it with a good Christian trait or some good Christian activity or service.

This is because there is like a "hole in your soul" (figuratively speaking) that needs filling because there once was a habit there. You spent time doing this sin, invested money and effort in it, maybe, and got some enjoyment from it. Now the activity of the sin is gone, but there is a time, activity and satisfaction void there that needs to be filled.

So, for example, if the Lord has delivered you from listening to rock music, listen to some Christian or classical music instead. You have a "music need", maybe even a musical gift. Give that gift to the Lord for His glory and service. Don’t give up if it doesn’t seem to satisfy right away. Old habits die hard... your brain needs to be reprogrammed. Volunteer to sing at a nursing home or a children ward in a hospital. Learn how to play an instrument...

The same principle works for more serious sins. It may be referred to as “The Principle of Replacement”.

So for example if you have been released from getting high on drugs or alcohol, you need to identify all the "benefits" you were receiving from getting high... escape from reality, guilt, anger, boredom, whatever... physical benefits, like the rush from a high, forgetful-ness, anesthesia, unconsciousness. Of course, the medical problems of addiction are very real too, but the "mental addiction" is something that needs to be replaced with something positive...

1) Replace escape from this world's sick reality with the heavenly reality of Biblical promises and study of future Glory in the presence of God. Replace the "high" of the drugs with the joy and peace which come from prolonged praising of the Lord in prayer and worship.

2) Replace guilt with the realization of God's forgiveness for your past, and learn to forgive yourself. We have no right to remember what God has forgotten.

3) Deal with anger and rage. Confess these as sins, and then forgive those who have done you wrong. And instead, volunteer to help out at a nursing home or hospital children ward, sharing Christ's love instead of stewing in depression and emptiness, or start a home Bible study and prayer group with a few of your like-minded Christian friends.

4) Practice praying and praising the Lord in prayer, and in song, and share your faith and experience of release with those who may be trapped in the same sins you once were, and need to be rescued. This is actually expressed in the following verse: 2 Cor. 1:3-5 (KJV) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; {4} Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. {5} For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

The final thing one should do is to learn how to "pray a psalm". This means getting alone with God, in a quiet place, and concentrating on each and every phrase of the psalm, and praying it back to God as if it were your own words. At certain times of guilt or persecution, we cannot think of what to pray. This is why God gives us these Psalms, so that we can pour our heart out to God and be guided in our prayer by God's wisdom.

The following Psalm is most precious, and is one of great help in overcoming and confessing the sources of guilt and shame...

Read Psalm 51:1-17 (KJV)

God bless you in your walk with Jesus.

Lifelong and Daily Commitment to the Lord

Lifelong and Daily Commitment to the Lord

"If you can't find a cause to die for, you've got nothing to live for."
~ Dr. Martin Luther King

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matt. 16:24-25

I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.
I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus.
I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me.

And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me - my banner will be clear!

What are your Spiritual Gifts?

What are your Spiritual Gifts?

Here are some excerpts to help you understand the various gifts of the Spirit.

Descriptions of gifts...

Administration
The ability to understand what makes an organization function, and the special ability to plan and execute procedures that accomplish the goals of the ministry. People with this gift develop strategies or plans to reach identified goals, assist ministries to become more effective and efficient, create order out of organizational chaos, manage or coordinate a variety of responsibilities to accomplish a task, organize people, tasks, or events.

Apostleship
It is the ability to start and oversee the development of new churches or ministry structures. People with this gift pioneer and establish new ministries or churches, adapt to different surroundings by being culturally sensitive and aware, desire to minister to un-reached people in other communities or countries, have responsibilities to oversee ministries or groups of churches, demonstrate authority and vision for the mission of the church.

Craftsmanship
It is the ability to creatively design and or construct items to be used for ministry. People with this gift work with wood, cloth , paints, metal, glass, and other raw materials, make things which increase the effectiveness of others' ministries, enjoy serving with their hands to meet tangible needs, design and build tangible items and resources for ministry use, work with different kinds of tools and are skilled with their hands.

Creative Communication
It is the ability to communicate God's truth through a variety of art forms. People with this gift use the arts to communicate God's truth, develop and use artistic skills such as drama, writing, art, music, dance, etc., use variety and creativity to captivate people and cause them to consider Christ's message, challenge people's perspective of God through various forms of the arts, demonstrate fresh ways to express the Lord's ministry and message.

Discernment
It is the ability to distinguish between truth and error, to discern the spirits, differentiating between good and evil, right and wrong. People with this gift, distinguish truth from error, right from wrong, pure motives from impure, identify deception in others with accuracy and appropriateness, determine whether a word attributed to God is authentic, recognize inconsistencies in a teaching, prophetic message, or interpretation, are able to sense the presence of evil.

Encouragement
It is the ability to present truth so as to strengthen, comfort, or urge to action those who are discouraged or wavering in faith. People with this gift, come to the side of those who are discouraged to strengthen and reassure them, challenge, comfort, or confront others to trust and hope in the promises of God, urge others to action by applying Biblical truth, motivate others to grow, emphasize God's promises and to have confidence in His will.

Evangelism
It is the ability to effectively communicate the gospel to unbelievers so they respond in faith and move toward discipleship. People with this gift, communicate the message of Christ with clarity and conviction, seek out opportunities to talk to unbelievers about spiritual matters, challenge unbelievers to faith and to become fully devoted followers of Christ, adapt their presentation of the gospel to connect with the individual's needs, seek opportunities to build relationships with unbelievers.

Faith
It is the ability to act on God's promises with confidence and unwavering belief in God's ability to fulfill his purposes. People with this gift, believe the promises of God and inspire others to do the same, act in complete confidence of God's ability to overcome obstacles, demonstrate an attitude of trust in God's will and his promises, advance the cause of Christ because they go forward when others will not, ask God for what is needed and trust him for his provisions.

Giving
It is the ability to contribute money and resources to the work of the Lord with cheerfulness and liberality. It does not ask, "How much money do I give to God?" but, how much of God’s money do I keep?" People with this gift manage their finances and limit their lifestyle in order to give as much of their resources as possible, support the work of ministry with sacrificial gifts to advance the Kingdom, meet tangible needs that enable spiritual growth to occur, provide resources, generously and cheerfully, busting God for his provision, may have a special ability to make money so that they may use it to further God's work.

Helps
It is the ability to accomplish practical and necessary tasks which free-up, support, and meet the needs of others. People with this gift, serve behind the scenes wherever needed to support the gifts and ministries of others, see the tangible and practical things to be done and enjoy doing them, sense God's purpose and pleasure in meeting everyday responsibilities, attach spiritual value to practical service, enjoy knowing that they are freeing up others to do what God has called them to do.

Hospitality
It is the ability to care for people by providing fellowship, food, and shelter. People with this gift provide an environment where people feel valued and cared for, meet new people and help those to feel welcomed, create a safe and comfortable setting where relationships can develop, seek ways to connect people together into meaningful relationships, set people at ease in unfamiliar surroundings.

Intercession
It is the ability to consistently pray on behalf of and for others, seeing frequent and specific results. People with this gift, feel compelled to earnestly pray on behalf of someone or some cause, have a daily awareness of the spiritual battles being waged and pray, are convinced God moves in direct response to prayer, pray in response to the leading of the spirit, whether they understand it or not exercise authority and power for the protection of others and the equipping of them to serve.

Knowledge
It is the ability to bring truth to the body through a revelation or biblical insight. People with this gift, receive truth which enables them to better serve the body, search the scriptures for insight, understanding, and truth, gain knowledge which at times was not attained by natural means, have an unusual insight or understanding that serves die church, organize information for teaching and practical use.

Leadership
It is the ability to cast vision, motivate and direct people to harmoniously accomplish the purposes of God. People with this gift provide direction for God's people or ministry, motivate others to perform to the best of their abilities, present the "big picture" for others to see, model the values of the ministry, take responsibility and establish goals.

Mercy
It is the ability to cheerfully and practically help those who are suffering or are in need, compassion moved to action. People with this gift - focus upon alleviating the sources of pain or discomfort in suffering people, address the needs of the lonely and forgotten, express love, grace, and dignity to those facing hardships and crisis, serve in difficult or unsightly circumstances and do so cheerfully, concern themselves with individual or social issues that oppress people.

Prophecy
This is the ability to reveal truth and proclaim it in a timely and relevant manner for understanding, correction, repentance, or edification. There may be immediate or future implications. People with this gift, expose sin or deception in others for the purpose of reconciliation, speak a timely word from God causing conviction, repentance, and edification, see truth that others often fail to see and challenge them to respond, warn of God's immediate or future judgment if there is no repentance, understand God's heart and mind through experience he takes them through.

Shepherding
This is the ability to nurture, care for, and guide people toward ongoing spiritual maturity and becoming like Christ. People with this gift, take responsibility to nurture the whole person in their walk with God, provide guidance and oversight to a group of God's people, model with their life what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus, establish trust and confidence through long relationships, lead and protect those within their span of care.

Teaching
The ability to understand, clearly explain and apply the word of God causing greater Christ-likeness in the lives of listeners. People with this gift communicate Biblical truth that inspires greater obedience to the word, challenge listeners simply and practically with the truths of scripture, present the whole counsel of God for maximum life change, give attention to detail and accuracy, prepare through extended times of study and reflection.

Wisdom
It is the ability to apply spiritual truth effectively to meet a need in a specific situation. People with this gift, focus on the unseen consequences in determining the next steps to take, receive an Understanding of what is necessary to meet the needs of the body, provide divinely given solutions in the midst of conflict and confusion, hear the Spirit provide direction for God's best in a given situation, apply spiritual truth in specific and practical ways.

Pray about Everything, All the Time

Pray about Everything, All the Time

Prayer is the gracious gift of God to us that allows us to communicate with Him. It allows us to express our needs and our worship of Him, to correct the wrongs of our society and of individual wicked people that we are otherwise helpless to protect ourselves from. Prayer also allows us to intercede with God on behalf of our family and friends, and even our enemies. Prayer allows us to ask for healing of our mind and body, and to rid our conscience of guilt and sin.

Before we pray, we must have a clean heart and conscience. The Bible says that if we are holding on to secret sinful attitudes and activities, God refuses to hear us and answer our prayers will go un-answered.

So first, we must deal with any sin in our life. If we think that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves. We are all sinners, fallen and depraved. Even though we are born again, we still have the tendency to hold on to sinful attitudes and do little secret sins. If we try to pray with sin on our heart, The Lord will not hear us. If we ask the Holy Spirit to search our heart and reveal to us what we need to confess and to stop doing, He will do so. Then with peace in our heart we will have confidence that our prayers will be answered, because we are talking with the All-Powerful, All-Seeing, and All-Loving God who controls the universe.

WHERE TO LOOK IN THE BIBLE

WHERE TO LOOK IN THE BIBLE

when you need rest and peace...............Matt 11:25-30

when you worry.....................................Matt 6:19-34

when you are lonely or fearful..................Psalm 23

when you need peace of mind.................John 14: 27, Phil 4: 6-8

when men fail you..................................Psalm 27

when you grow bitter and critical..............1 Corinthians 13

when you have sinned.............................Psalm 51, 1 John 1

when you are discouraged.......................Psalm 34

when God seems far away.......................Psalm 139

when the world seems bigger than God.....Psalm 90

when in sickness....................................Psalm 41

when you feel sorrowful...........................John 14, Psalm 46

when in danger.......................................Psalm 91

when you want courage...........................Joshua 1: 1-9

when you need assurance.......................Romans 8, 1 John 5

when you forget your blessings................Psalm 103

when looking for joy................................Colossians 3

when you leave home to travel.................Psalm 121

when you think of investments.................Mark 10:17-31

when you need guidelines for living.............Matt 5 thru 7, Romans 12

when you need rules of conduct...............Exodus 20:1-17

when you need to know God's will for your life..........Proverb 3: 1-6


from the GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS tract....."Where to look in the Bible"
1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton Illinois 60187

The Bridge Keeper

The Bridge Keeper

There once was a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it. A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed.

One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights. He stepped to the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was not securely in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard.

He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength. Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. “Daddy, where are you?” His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, “Run! Run!” But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. He took a moment to make his decision.

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

Now if you comprehend the emotions which went through this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of God in Heaven when He sacrificed His only Son Jesus to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died naked on the cross? How does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus Christ? How can you reject Jesus by simply saying I'm not ready, I'm not mature, my faith is different?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?” (Romans 8:32)

Overcoming Opposition to Prayer

Overcoming Opposition to Prayer

Many Christians may feel God's presence as they go through the day, but when they stop to pray, and really talk to Him, suddenly a thousand things are running through their mind, and it is hard to concentrate on the Lord. Is there any good way to pray without getting sidetracked by other things? This problem can become so annoying that Christians may give up trying to engage in lengthy and fervent times of prayer. This is probably a universal phenomenon which accompanies prayer, especially serious prayer, since Satan will do anything to disturb our prayer-life or distract us from praying. He knows that when we pray, he is in greatest danger of being defeated with regard to some person he is tormenting or some other evil scheme he is cooking up. If he can stop us from praying, his defeat is deferred.

Here is some advice from Jesus about how to pray from Matthew 6: 5-13, and other scriptures...

SEEK A PLACE OF SOLITUDE
Get alone with God. First of all, realize that all great men of the Bible recognized the necessity of getting alone to be with God when they prayed...

CONFESS ANY UN-DEALT-WITH SIN IN YOUR LIFE
Turn away from it (repent) and decide you want God to remove it permanently from your life.

KEEP AN ATTITUDE OF EXPECTANCY
Be convinced that God is going to answer your prayer, in no uncertain terms.

NEUTRALIZE THE OPPOSITION
Pray for Satan and his power to be bound.

ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS
Decide what you are going to pray beforehand-and be specific. Write your requests on a "prayer list".

PERSEVERE
Keep praying until the answer arrives. Don't give up just because the answer didn't come as quickly as you thought it should. There are spiritual battles being waged in heavenly places that we are not aware of, which can frustrate a timely answer to our prayers. God promises to answer our prayers, and we should take Him at His Word.

HUMILITY
Submit yourself to the will and wisdom of the all-knowing God. Once again, Jesus Himself gives us an example to follow.

THANKFULNESS
God is deserving of all praise for answered prayer. Like anyone else, God is disappointed when we are not thankful for what He does for us.

AND LASTLY, DON'T BE IN A HURRY
Be prepared to spend a minimum of 20 minutes in deep concentrating prayer seeking God's face and communing with Him. The longer you spend with Jesus, the more fulfilling your experience will be regardless of the answer to your prayer. Emergency prayers "on the run" are fine and often necessary when we are at work or at school or under some emergency situation, But God deserves our close and prolonged attention and fellowship, and rewards our time with Him with unspeakable joy and peace.

And the Apostle Paul gives us one further instruction about prayer, and that is to make prayer a continual part of your daily life. Talk to God about everything all the time. And thereby prayer will become a familiar activity in your experience, and not something out-of-the-ordinary. This will make it easier to pray at times of stress and difficulty.

God Bless you, in your pursuit of God's Presence and Power.