“If I were your enemy, I’d constantly remind you of your past mistakes and poor choices. I’d want to keep you burdened by shame and guilt, in hopes that you’ll feel incapacitated by your many failings and see no point in even trying again. I’d … convince you that you’ve had your chance and blown it…” Did you know that shame is considered the most effective tool the enemy has? Think about the deepest secret you have. You know, the one NO one knows but you. The one you don't even tell your deepest, dearest friend. What would you do to keep that secret -- to keep everyone you love from associating you with that sin? If right now you’re considering that cost, well, that’s a by-product of shame you feel over something you did. So now matter how old the sin is, it still has power over us if we experience shame when we think about it. The sin could be forty years old and still feel as fresh and shame-producing in your mind as if it happened yesterday. The truth is that shame never wears out. It’s not like sorrow that softens with time. And, it’s not like anger that mellows with reason into some form of understanding. It’s not even like regret that can morph into growth when God gets ahold of it and us at the same time. Shame lives on. It doesn’t diminish. It doesn’t mellow and it certainly doesn’t soften as we age. It tastes just as nasty as the day it was born! And nothing, nothing short of Christ can transform shame into anything good! We all have experienced shame. I’m not going to share mine and I won’t ask you to share yours, but we all need to realize ONE thing: Christ died for our sins and when he did not only our sin died --- SHAME for our forgiven sin DID TOO. The key is asking for forgiveness and turning away from that sin. After that we don't need to carry shame around! He died for all my sins. All at once. For good! And forever! NO SIN - no matter WHO did it - is more powerful than the work He accomplished to END sin's shame for good! What in this chapter has helped transform your prayers and bring about a resolution to shame?
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
About Me
I'm supposed to tell you a little about myself ~ So here we go: Archives
January 2017
Categories |