Healing from Your Past
I remember the first time I forgave myself. It was about four years ago.
I had sinned greatly. Repented deeply. Did everything God called me to here. But I couldn’t escape the torment. The weight of the sin was crushing me. I didn’t know if I would survive. I didn’t understand why.
I went to a dear Christian girlfriend to confess. She listened carefully, prayerfully, and said, “You haven’t forgiven yourself.”
Have You Forgiven Yourself? Read More »
We must differentiate between true guilt, and false guilt. Listen to how Paul differentiates between the two:
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness; to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.2 Corinthians 7:10-11
Before we investigate these types of guilt, I would like to give you an overview.
1. True guilt. Corinthians calls this Godly sorrow in the NIV, or sorrow that is according to the will of God in the NASB. 2. False guilt. Corinthians calls this worldly sorrow in the NIV, or sorrow of the world in the NASB.
Within false guilt I see two categories:a. Deliberate pretended guilt.
b. Imposed guilt. This is guilt that we, the world, and other people impose upon ourselves.
Let’s explore.
Are You Experiencing True Guilt or False Guilt? Read More »
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
My immediate reaction when I read this verse is, Hallelujah!!! If there’s any reason for the children of God to praise the Lord – and there are many reasons piled on top of each other – this must be it. If we were to list our blessings, as the old hymn exhorts us to do, surely the first in line would be the fact that if we’re in Christ Jesus, we are uncondemned.
Only those who understand our state outside of Christ can truly grasp what that simple phrase – no condemnation – means. Anyone who lacks a clear vision of human depravity simply doesn’t have the background to understand the fundamental importance of this verse. We must first understand, in the words of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, that:
The longer I walk with Jesus; my Elder Brother, Lord and Savior, the more I need strengthening from the inside out! “Out of our innermost being flows the river of life.” This flow of life is more than abundant and it is always and only experienced from the inside out. And it always has its origin and power in the reservoir of Christ in me! So why do I seem to persist in my veiled attempt at living from the outside in?
16I desire for you to realize what the Father has given you from His own limitless resources, so that you may be dynamically reinforced in your inner being by the Spirit of God.
17 This will impact your faith with capacity to fully grasp the reality of the indwelling Christ. You are rooted and founded in Love. Love is your invisible inner source just like the root system of a tree and the foundation of a building. (The dimension of your inner person exceeds any other measure that could possibly define you.)
18 This is your reservoir of super human strength which causes you as saints to collectively grasp (come to terms with, make one’s own) the limitless extent of His love in breadth, in length, in height (rank), and the extremities of its depths.
The Reservoir of Christ in Me Read More »
Why doesn’t God seem to answer my prayers?
Often quoted is Psalm 37:4b, “and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This portion of the Scripture is often used to say that God will give you what you ask for. However, the first part of this verse-often unquoted-provides the true meaning behind it. Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will grant you the desires of your heart.”
If you are taking pleasure in the things of God, and you want for yourself no more and no less than God’s will for you, then you can be confident that He will grant you your desires. But, when you mix your own desires and self-made plans into your prayers, God may not answer the way that you thought you wanted Him to. James 4:3 says, When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Why doesn’t God seem to answer my prayers? Read More »
When praying, my past sins come to mind. Does this mean I am unworthy to pray?
No. God wants us to come to Him in humility and confess our sins to Him and then repent-turn away-from our sins. He does not want us to change and perfect ourselves and then go to Him. He wants us to go to Him so that He can help us change. The Bible says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
When praying, my past sins come to mind. Does this mean I am unworthy to pray? Read More »
When thinking of pornography and Christianity and the issue of control, things get quite interesting. Matthew 18:3 informs us:
On the other hand it seems intuitive that the repetitive use of pornography is proof that our “internal adolescent” has wrested away the controls in the command center of our brain and what is needed is a return of control to the superego. We long for simple joys, simple trust, unconditional love but there is no denying that we physically are no longer children and we can get into some very big trouble.
Pornography, Christianity and Control Read More »
We’re commanded in Hebrews 12:1 to “lay aside every weight” so we can “run with patience the race that is set before us.” Consider that first command: lay aside every weight, every burden that slows us down in our race forward. If we’re dwelling on the past, that means we’ve stopped running, picked up some weights we were commanded to drop, and are giving them (not God or His commandments and His service) all our attention. No wonder we stop running and even start walking backward. For good reason do race horses wear blinders that force them to look forward, blocking out distractions so they can focus on the race.
Even worse, Hebrews 12:1 continues on into the second verse, explaining what we should be looking at when we run the race “set before us” (set in front of us): “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher ofour faith.” If we’re looking at the past, we’re violating this second command of God’s: we’re not only picking up weights and burdens we were told to lay aside, to drop to the ground and regard as worthless impediments, but we’re not looking at Jesus but rather at those forbidden weights instead. We should be rejoicing that Christ tells us to drop all these weights. Satan’s worst enemy is a Christian focused on the future and running his race well.
Carrying the Burdens of Your Past? Read More »
An alcoholic woman told me, “My dad was always drunk and in and out of prison.” She sniffled and continued, “I hated him for that. Now I’m doing the same thing to my family.” She leaned over my desk, sobbed and said, “I can’t forgive myself.”
A drug addict told me he couldn’t forgive himself because his use left him with short-term memory loss and in financial ruin.
Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” John 19:30 He never said it is finished except for alcoholics and other addicts.
Do you identify with them? What is at the root of this lack of self-forgiveness?
Maybe you’ve done something awful. You asked God for forgiveness and He forgave you (1 John 1:9). However, you think you need to punish yourself anyway. God doesn’t need your help. Jesus paid the price in full for your forgiveness.
Do as thou hast said. 2 Samuel 7:25 
God’s promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; he intended that they be used. God’s gold is not miser’s money, but is minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see his promises put in circulation; he loves to see his children bring them up to him, and say, “Lord, do as you have said. We glorify God when we plead his promises.
Do you think that God will be any poorer for giving you the riches he has promised? Do you dream that he will be any less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine he will be any less pure for washing you from your sins? He has said
“Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the Lord:
though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.”
Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and it does not delay, saying, “This is a precious promise, I wonder if it is true?” but it goes straight to the throne with it, and pleads, “Lord, here is the promise, ‘Do as you have said.'”
Our Lord replies, “Be it done to you as you desire.”
When a Christian grasps a promise, if he does not take it to God, he dishonours him; but when he hastens to the throne of grace, and cries, “Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this, ‘Thou hast said it;'” then his desire shall be granted.
Feel too far Gone to Claim His Promises? Read More »
