Understanding Guilt...By Dr. Charles Stanley

Understanding Guilt

By Dr. Charles Stanley

John 8:1-11

Guilt over doing something that violates the conscience is a normal emotion. However, living under a cloud of remorse for no discernible reason is not. The Lord designed feelings of culpability and regret to serve as a reminder that a person has done wrong and needs to repent. But Satan twists those emotions to imprison men and women: those living in shame are uncertain of God's love and often lack self-confidence.

Good guilt--the Lord's effective tool for prompting repentance--is a gift that helps us find the right path. However, the Devil encourages false guilt, which involves taking responsibility for things outside our control and then suffering self-condemnation for not changing the outcome. This unhealthy type of guilt is also a widespread problem for those in legalistic churches or lifestyles--certain behaviors or thoughts are labeled as wrong, and then people feel ashamed for doing or thinking those things.

Self-condemnation stunts a relationship with Jesus. Instead of enjoying the peace of God, people who are trapped by shame fear His rejection and feel driven to prove their worth. Trust is nearly impossible because they are waiting for God's judgment to rain down. Their guilt even colors how they see themselves: rather than saying, "My action is wrong," they say, "I am bad."

Jesus did not come to accuse or condemn us. Christ restored our souls and made us righteous before God so that our guilt is removed. If our Savior forgave the woman caught in an adulterous relationship, just imagine how ready He is to take your shame away too (John 8:11).

Pause on Purpose

Pause on Purpose 
by Max Lucado

Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.
Mark 6:31

Ernie Johnson Jr. knows baseball. His father announced three decades' worth of major-league games, following the Braves from Milwaukee to Atlanta. In the quarter century since Ernie inherited the microphone, he has covered six sports on three continents, voicing blowouts and nail-biters, interviewing losers and buzzer beaters.

But one game stands out above all the rest. Not because of who played, but because of who stopped playing. Ernie was a nine-year-old Little Leaguer, dutifully playing shortstop. An opposing batter hit a ground rule double that bounced over the fence. Two outfielders scampered over the fence to retrieve the ball so the game could continue. (Apparently the league operated on a tight budget.)

Both teams waited for them to return. They waited … and waited … but no one appeared. Concerned coaches finally jogged into the outfield and scaled the fence. Curious players, including Ernie, followed them. They found the missing duo just a few feet beyond the fence, gloves dropped on the ground, found ball at their feet, blackberries and smiles on their faces.

The two players had stepped away from the game.

How long since you did the same? We need regular recalibrations. Besides, who couldn't use a few blackberries? But who has time to gather them? You have carpools to run; businesses to run; sales efforts to run; machines, organizations, and budgets to run. You gotta run.

Jesus understands. He knew the frenzy of life. People back-to-backed his calendar with demands. But he also knew how to step away from the game.

Having withstood the devil's wilderness temptation and his hometown's harsh rejection, Jesus journeyed to Capernaum, where the citizens give him a ticker-tape reception.

They were astonished at His teaching. (Luke 4:32)

The story of what he had done spread like wildfire throughout the whole region. (v. 37 NLT)

People throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. (v. 40 NLT)

Could Christ want more? Enthralled masses, just-healed believers, and thousands who will go where he leads. So Jesus …

Rallied a movement?

Organized a leadership team?

Mobilized a political-action society?

No. He baffled the public-relations experts by placing the mob in the rearview mirror and ducking into a wildlife preserve, a hidden cove, a vacant building, a deserted place.

Verse 42 identifies the reason: "the crowd … tried to keep Him from leaving them."

More than once he exercised crowd control. "When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he told his followers to go to the other side of the lake" (Matt. 8:18 NCV).

When the crowd ridiculed his power to raise a girl from the dead, he evicted them from the premises. "After the crowd had been thrown out of the house, Jesus went into the girl's room and took hold of her hand, and she stood up" (Matt. 9:25 NCV).

After a day of teaching, "Jesus left the crowd and went into the house" (Matt. 13:36 NCV).

Though surrounded by possibly twenty thousand fans, he turned away from them: "After Jesus had sent the crowds away" (Matt. 15:39 CEV).

Christ repeatedly escaped the noise of the crowd in order to hear the voice of God.

He resisted the undertow of the people by anchoring to the rock of his purpose: employing his uniqueness (to "preach … to the other cities also") to make a big deal out of God ("the kingdom of God") everywhere he could.

And aren't you glad he did? Suppose he had heeded the crowd and set up camp in Capernaum, reasoning, "I thought the whole world was my target and the cross my destiny. But the entire town tells me to stay in Capernaum. Could all these people be wrong?"

Yes, they could! In defiance of the crowd, Jesus turned his back on the Capernaum pastorate and followed the will of God. Doing so meant leaving some sick people unhealed and some confused people untaught. He said no to good things so he could say yes to the right thing: his unique call.

Not an easy choice for anyone.

God may want you to leave your Capernaum, but you're staying. Or he may want you to stay, and you're leaving. How can you know unless you mute the crowd and meet with Jesus in a deserted place?

"Deserted" need not mean desolate, just quiet. Simply a place to which you, like Jesus, depart. "Now when it was day, He departed" (Luke 4:42). "Depart" presupposes a decision on the part of Jesus. "I need to get away. To think. To ponder. To rechart my course." He determined the time, selected a place. With resolve, he pressed the pause button on his life.

The devil implants taximeters in our brains. We hear the relentless tick, tick, tick telling us to hurry, hurry, hurry, time is money … resulting in this roaring blur called the human race.

But Jesus stands against the tide, countering the crescendo with these words: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Follow the example of Jesus, who "often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed" (Luke 5:16).

God rested after six days of work, and the world didn't collapse. What makes us think it will if we do? (Or do we fear it won't?)

Follow Jesus into the desert. A thousand and one voices will scream like banana-tree monkeys telling you not to. Ignore them. Heed him. Quit your work. Contemplate his. Accept your Maker's invitation: "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while" (Mark 6:31).

And while you are there, enjoy some blackberries.

Taming the Tug of the Screen

Taming the Tug of the Screen
ARLENE PELLICANE

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. ” Exodus 20:4-5a (NIV)

Right before we walked into church, my phone vibrated. I quickly looked at the text. It was someone with an invitation. Sitting in service, I kept thinking of an appropriate time to pull out my phone and text back.

Announcements … that seemed like the perfect time to send my text! But right when I reached for my phone, the announcer said, “Please silence your cell phones and put them away.”

I didn’t dare send the text anytime during service, but it did occupy my thoughts the whole time.

And there’s the technological rub. Our phones, screens, emails and social media accounts can always be with us. A constant and distracting presence. Instead of soaking in the presence of God, we often soak in new likes, tantalizing headlines, home décor ideas, and emails.

If we could only get a picture of who God really is, our phones would quickly lose their appeal.

Exodus 20:18 (NIV) says, “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance.” Moses approached this awesome God on behalf of the frightened Israelites, and God then spoke the Ten Commandments.

Today’s key verse was the second commandment, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-5a).

Wait a minute, I thought jealousy was a bad thing?

Often it can be. But to God, it’s a glorious jealousy. When God says He’s “jealous,” it means when anyone attempts to substitute anything else for God (an idol), this is absolutely offensive to Him. He will defend His uniqueness (“I am the LORD” in Exodus 20:2) which means He alone is God. He will share that place with no one or no thing, including our phones.

If I saw a woman flirting with my husband, trying to take him on a date, you better believe I would be jealous, and rightly so! My husband belongs to me and no one else. In the same way, God is jealous for you. You belong to Him, and He is crazy about you.

Which brings us back to our phones. I wonder how many times God wanted to remind us of a Scripture or connect us with a person who needed ministry, but we were unavailable in that moment because we were checking email or playing on a device. In Exodus 20:23, God tells Moses to tell the Israelites, “Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold” (NIV).

Did you know elements like gold, copper and silver are used to wire phones?

I may not bow to a wooden statue as a substitute god, but I might spend hours distracted on a small metal gadget adorned with glass.

Let’s repent when we place phones, social media or screen entertainment on a pedestal higher than God. The second commandment banned all idolatrous images in Israel. God is jealous for His people. He is jealous for you.

Lord, You are the God who brought me out of bondage. Forgive me if I placed any other gods before You in my love and loyalty. I know You are a jealous God, and I give You my heart, mind and strength today. Help me use technology wisely for specific purposes, but not be too distracted or drawn away from Your presence. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Zechariah 8:2, “This is what the LORD Almighty says, ‘I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.’” (NIV)

James 4:4-5, “… don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” (NIV)

Living Your Thanksgiving..(a very good read)

Living Your Thanksgiving
by Laura MacCorkle

Make a glad sound to the Lord, all the earth. Give worship to the Lord with joy; come before him with a song. Be certain that the Lord is God; it is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep to whom he gives food. Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise; give him honour, blessing his name. For the Lord is good, and his mercy is never-ending; his faith is unchanging through all generations. - Psalms 100, The Bible in Basic English

When I was younger, Thanksgiving was pretty much just another holiday—a day when I got to eat a whole lot of good food and nibble on all the sugary stuff I wanted. 

In fact, one year it only took me, my sister, two forks and about 30 minutes to finish off the rest of the pecan pie, while everyone else was either glued to the football game or snoring in a recliner. We had no regrets, and I’m pretty sure we’d do it again.

But besides being a holiday when I had permission to indulge, Thanksgiving was also a word my grandfather always incorporated at the end of his prayers: "And with thanksgiving, in Jesus' name, Amen." I always wondered why he used a word that made me think of cornucopias and construction-paper turkeys; but he had the Th.D. in our family, and I did not. So I knew he must have had a good reason.

Years later, I think I now understand. In that one word, he was saying "Thank You for giving."  You, being God. From my grandfather's example, I see that thanksgiving was more than a one-day family gathering. It was and is a way of living, a daily act of expressing gratitude to our Maker who first gave to us.

At this time of year, I sit and think about when I last thanked God for giving me anything—let alone his son, Jesus Christ. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember. But I know that I want to make such gratefulness as prominent as the giant turkey on the table and see thanksgiving become a way of life. 

There's no better thanksgiving wisdom than that found in God's Word, specifically The Old One-Hundredth (Psalm 100). If you open your Bible and take a look at this passage, you'll see a notation under the heading: "A psalm. For giving thanks." 

Following that, there are many directives listed that can help us live our Thanksgiving . . .

• Make a glad sound to the Lord
• Give worship to the Lord with joy
• Come before him with a song
• Be certain that the Lord is God
• Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise
• [Remember] for the Lord is good . . . his mercy is never-ending . . . his faith is unchanging

Reflect on Psalm 100 today, and ask the Lord how he can help you really live out Thanksgiving each day of the year.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Your celebration with friends or loved ones is probably already planned by this point. But here is your Thanksgiving Day challenge: take time to “live your Thanksgiving” and call or visit someone who is alone or having a hard time (for whatever reason) on this holiday. 

3 Psalms to Read When You Can’t Sleep

3 Psalms to Read When You Can’t Sleep
By Christina Patterson

Some nights I'm left looking at my ceiling or my iPhone wondering why I can't seem to go to sleep. I have, however, found ways to help myself relax, making it easier to fall asleep. One of which is to read the Bible, specifically the Psalms. The beautiful poetry of the Psalms mixed with the power of God's Word almost always puts my nerves to rest so I can get some shuteye.

If you’re like me and sometimes need help getting to sleep, I want to share with you my favorite psalms to read to help me surrender to rest:

1. Psalm 116

Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. - Psalm 116:7 NIV

Psalm 116:7 is a Psalm I memorized almost 10 years ago. It is my first go-to scripture to say over and over to myself on a sleepless night. I say it slow to really think about the words. I'm reminded that my soul can rest, because the Lord is good and I have so much evidence of His goodness in my life. I then start to think about all the good the Lord is going and has done for me. This scripture reminds me that God is with me and that gives me a peace that relaxes my mind, body and soul.

2. Psalm 4:8

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. - Psalm 4:8 NIV

After a super busy day you would think the only thing my body would want to do is quickly fall asleep. Nope! I've realized a busy day usually leads to more difficulties falling asleep. My mind races with everything that happened that day and what might happen tomorrow.

What will happen tomorrow?

What will happen next year?

What if something bad happens to me? My husband? My children?

There is nothing worse than trying to fall asleep on anxious thoughts. It's during these times I love to pull out Psalm 4. It always reminds me God is in control, He is my protection, and I can trust Him. Now that's some truth I can sleep on.

3. Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. - Psalm 91:1,5,11

During the day, I'm not thinking about scary thoughts. But as soon as I hit the pillow they all want to attack. And fear is the enemy of sleep. Which is why I absolutely adore Psalm 91. I've only listed a few verse from the Psalm above but, if you have time, or find yourself losing sleep due to fear, I highly suggest you read this Psalm in its entirety. It reminds me God will not only protect me, but He will defend me as well. Psalm 91 reveals that my fearful thoughts don't even come close to the power my God has to overcome them.

I have yet to face a battle that the Lord has not addressed in His Word. This includes my struggle to fall asleep some nights. It is the Word of God that helps me to let go of the worries of this world and grasp how trustworthy our God is. And leaning on His truths, even on sleepless nights, feels like God Himself is rocking my to sleep. So the next time you have trouble falling asleep go ahead and give these Psalms a try. It is my prayer that the truth of God's word produces a peace in your soul that leads to many nights of good sweet sleep.

A Prayer to Keep it Together When Your Life is Falling Apart

A Prayer to Keep it Together When Your Life is Falling Apart
By Cindi McMenamin

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:28-29)

The drama that life brings is inevitable. Yet how we respond to it determines whether or not it will be fruitful in our lives in conforming us to the image of Christ. Our response to the drama also determines whether God gets the glory or we shine the spotlight on our frailties, insecurities, and emotional instability. 

With help from God’s Word, plus some practical guidance, you and I can be drama free – even when the unthinkable happens. Even when you are clearly a victim. Even when life takes an unexpected turn and you are caught in an overwhelming whirlwind of circumstances that would make any person lose it. Even then. 

Here are four ways that you can keep it together when it feels like your life is falling apart. (These four steps spell the word “CALM” which is what you can be if you practice them.)  

C - Consider the bigger picture. 

Life – and therefore every circumstance you encounter – is meant to conform you to the image of Christ. Once you consider this, you can relax and realize God knows what He’s doing in the circumstances He’s allowing. And you can focus on passing the test, rather than failing it through unnecessary drama. 

A – Acknowledge God is in control. 

You are going to trust the God of miracles and whatever He decides to do or not do, for your greater good. Try taking a look at God’s track record in the stories of the Bible. People went through trial after trial, but when they acknowledged God’s control and remained faithful to Him in spite of their circumstances, they experienced deliverance, protection, comfort, and peace. God has an excellent track record of honoring those who trust Him. 

L – Look for the lesson. 

Ask God to show you what He wants you to see in the moment, and then stay tuned to His instruction. I find it is helpful, and a reminder to me that God is working in my life, when I say aloud, “God, show me what You want me to see in this situation” or, “Mold me through this, God,” or, “Open my eyes to the truth of Who You are through this situation and my pain.” Maybe your short prayer is simply, “Change me through this, Lord Jesus.” By acknowledging that God is doing something through our situation, we won’t miss the lesson.  

M – Make it a point to praise. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we are instructed to “give thanks in all circumstances: for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Note that command says in all circumstances, even the unexpected, uncomfortable, and unwanted circumstances. As we thank God for our circumstances – and for whatever He determines to do through them – it will change our perspective and make us people who anticipate His provision, rather than dread the worst.

Lord, Thank You that what is happening in my life right now did not take You by surprise. You understand the bigger picture of what is going on and I trust You with Your plan and purposes for my life. Thank You that You are in absolute control and You are fully able to conform me to the image of Christ through this ordeal as I surrender it to You. Show me what You want me to learn through this and help me to remain teachable and sensitive to Your Holy Spirit. I thank You that You are with me, that You will never leave me, and that You are drawing me closer to You through this situation so I can experience a more intimate relationship with You. May You receive glory for how I respond to all that Your loving hand has allowed in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.