Live Guilt Free!

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared (Psalm 130:3-4).

The greatest hindrance to faith is condemnation and inferiority. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He is skilled at reminding you of what you’ve done and how you don’t qualify for the blessings of God.

In a conversation with an interviewer in the 1960’s, Oral Roberts made the comment that I’ve never made a mistake! He was commenting on how he keeps his faith strong and said that though he makes mistakes, he walks in the forgiveness God offers!

As far as God is concerned, you have never done wrong! That’s a reality that you need to meditate on to allow it to soak in! Don’t brood over wrongs you have done. If you miss it, confess your sin. Keep short accounts with the Father.

When you confess your sin, he is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse the sin. And when God forgives, He forgets. Most of us are hard on ourselves when we do wrong. God and others forgive us long before we usually forgive ourselves. And that kind of condemnation will hinder your faith life.

Take plenty of time to meditate on the forgiveness the Father offers you. I’ll leave you with the scriptures I meditate on regularly to arm me against the accusations of Satan. Be free from condemnation and inferiority. Your Father thinks you’re perfect!

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world (1 John 2:1-2). Then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17). Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases (Psalm 103:3). As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12). I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins (Isaiah 43:25). He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).

Increasing God Hunger

For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness (Psalm 107:9).


Hunger is a sign of physical health. And spiritual health is strong when we’re hungry for God. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).
 
Smith Wigglesworth said, Spiritual hunger is when nothing satisfies us so much as being near to God. As I’ve read about the life of Smith Wigglesworth, I’ve been stirred to fresh hunger for Jesus. In his book Ever Increasing Faith, he said, I’d rather have a man on my platform that is not Spirit Filled but hungry, than a man who is Spirit Filled and satisfied.

Smith Wigglesworth’s passion for God is seen in a letter he wrote to a friend, Pleased to receive the news of much blessing in your ministry, especially in souls being saved and God keeping you in a very hungry and needy place. W. Hacking wrote a book about Smith’s life and summed up his work by saying, Wisdom, brokenness, purity, and spiritual hunger characterized his ministry.

If you’ve lost your hunger for God, you can get it back. Here are four things you can do. First, fast time stealers. Turn off the TV, the computer game, or whatever and take time to feed on the Word and to pray. The Lord ministered to me years ago during a time of personal disappointment that quenched my spiritual zeal. A guest speaker in our church said Your desires always follow your attention. When I heard that I knew that I must turn my attention to the Lord. I made myself listen to tapes and take notes word for word as my pastor preached just to force myself into the Word. I had no desire to do it, but I put my attention there every day. A couple of weeks later I woke up one morning with a desire to fellowship with my Father. Desire follows attention.

Secondly, feast on spiritual things. You desire what you give your time to. James 4:8 says draw near to God and He will draw near to you. We have to take the first step!

Thirdly, become desperate! Make lifestyle changes. If you want to see something you’ve never seen before, you must do something you’ve never done before. Make time in your day for God. Read your Bible and have a season of prayer during lunch. Take a walk in the evening and pray. Read the Word just before you go to sleep at night. Take time with the Lord throughout your day!

Fourthly, Ask the Lord to make you hungry. I’ll leave you with these verses:
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). And He said, Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father (John 6:65). The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you (Jeremiah 31:3). When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8).

Hunger Motivates

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).

  

Some years ago the Lord spoke to my spirit and said, You are filled with what you are hungry for. Our hunger draws us. Hunger is a tremendous motivator. Susan and I were walking in downtown Raleigh a few months ago, and I watched in shock as a man reached into a trash can on the street and retrieved some partially eaten food for himself.

  

You may have read accounts of single mothers who become prostitutes so they can earn money for their hungry children. Hunger motivates. I confess that there have been times that I’ve gotten so hungry (was just too busy to stop to eat) that my health conscious brain was tempting me to eat some McDonald’s fast food! For me that’s pretty radical. Hunger is a powerful force.

 

The word hunger here in Matthew 5:6 is in the present durative tense in the Greek. That means that the action continues on and on without ceasing. The hunger continues even after you’ve been fed. The longing is not satisfied.

 

In so many ways in life our appetite drives us. How we spend our time, what we value, what we spend our money on, what kind of occupation we are involved in all have to do with our appetite on various levels.  

 

Since our spiritual life is really the hub of our existence and determines our life values, would it not benefit us to remain spiritually hungry? The word here in Matthew 5:6 could be translated starving. Starving people are desperate people. To be starving spiritually would alter daily life! A starving person would do anything to eat. Are you starving spiritually? Are you desperate for God? If not, work on increasing your spiritual appetite.

 

Three things that hinder spiritual appetite are excessive entertainment, excessive activity, and anger and disappointment.

 

Globally people spend 1.8 trillion dollars annually on entertainment! Here in the US it has been estimated that we spend 67 billion dollars a year on entertainment. So do you wonder why so many lack spiritual zeal? The many entertainment distractions inhibit hunger. Movies, video and computer games, all sorts of technology can just eat up your time. Don’t let it happen!

Excessive activity can also crowd out time for God. Recreation is important for high stress lifestyles. But too much can damage your spiritual life. Put recreation in its place. Going to the beach or to the lake, or involvement in a sports activity or working out has great benefit. A hobby is a great diversion from normal routine. But make sure these things don’t crowd out attending your local church or spending time in the word and in prayer each day. For me, I take care of my spiritual life first, and then I involve myself in some form of recreation to relax. Seek first the kingdom of God!

 

Anger and disappointment at God or yourself when life doesn’t go the way you thought it should or would go can quench spiritual hunger. An I don’t care attitude can do some real damage to you spiritually. I’ve been at the place where I was so disillusioned that my natural person just wanted to throw in the towel. That’s a dangerous place to be. The enemy of your soul will take advantage of this kind of demeanor. It can totally quench your hunger for God.

  

Tomorrow I will talk about how to develop your God hunger if you’ve lost it. Don’t let the candy of the word quench your hunger for Jesus. You become what you’re hungry for.

No Longer Guilty

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. (19) For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. (20) So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" (21) For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Every person you meet today is equally loved by the Father. He has no favorite children. We are His ambassadors to share the good news with them. The good news is that He’s not mad at them and doesn’t hate them. Though they are sinners, their sin debt has been canceled. All they need to do is to bow their knee in repentance acknowledging their sin. The blood of Jesus will then remove their personal sin debt, and they go free.
 
This is the truth that brought me into the family of God years ago. I had the idea that the Father was mad at me, and that all He did was brood over my sin when He thought of me. When I found out that He did not hold my sin against me, hope sprang up! I saw that if I acknowledged my wrong, forgiveness for all my past deeds was immediately available.
 
A guy said to me, did you know that God is not holding your sin against you, that He loves you? The only thing holding you back from His love is your lack of relationship with Jesus Christ. In Christ, your sin debt is cancelled, and you are free!
 
No one had ever put it to me in those terms. My sin debt is canceled. For a person consumed with guilt, that’s a big deal! Finding out that the Father had already dealt with the sin issue freed me to come to Him, confess my sin, and embrace His free offer of grace.
 
Don’t beat the unsaved person over the head with angry words and tones. They have enough condemnation to deal with. Show them the love of the Father. Be a good ambassador as you represent the Father today. Let others know that in Christ their sin debt is settled. The only thing that stands between them and God the Father is their lack of relationship with Jesus!
 
It’s a great thing to be forgiven all your past sins! Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit (Psalm 32:1-2). There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).
  
Be a beacon of light to those you meet today! A free gift is theirs today for the taking! Because of Christ, we are no longer guilty.

Temporary

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
 
When you’re going through a rough place in life, these verses contain some wisdom for the fight. Realize that the tough place is only temporary, and if you’ll keep your eyes on the finish line the tough place will just make you stronger.
 
I’ve been jogging as a means of exercise for over twenty five years now. When you’ve planned to run a distance of several miles, you sort of “hit the wall” somewhere in mid course. That means that you get very fatigued and you feel like quitting. But if you press through this time you get a “second wind” and you actually feel stronger and a peace settles over your entire being.

To get through this “wall” I usually make my mind think about pleasant things and I keep my vision adjusted way ahead of me. If I only focus my eyes on the ground right in front of me I exacerbate the feelings of tiredness.

I think about this when I’m facing the pressures that life brings. The current problem is only a stepping stone to better days ahead. And the pressure of the moment will only prove to undergird my resolve and make me stronger in the days ahead.

We look at things not seen by keeping our focus on the Word during difficult times. The need will be met. The answer to prayer will come. The healing will manifest. The circumstance will eventually yield. Our job is to keep our eyes, our ears, and our mouth on the Word and the problem will eventually be swallowed by the peace of God! So the problem , which was meant to defeat us, actually makes us stronger!

Watch Out For The "World"

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).
 
The “world” is one of the enemies of the believer. Theologian Kenneth Wuest defines the “world” as all the floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, beliefs, and values that are current in the world. Smith Wigglesworth defined the world in his simple way as “that which cools my affection towards God.”

We’re admonished not to be friends with the world - James 4:4(Amplified): You are like unfaithful wives having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God. It’s strong language.

Friendship with the world leads to being “spotted” by the world - James 1:27: Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Friendship with the world also leads to “loving” the world - 1 John 2:15 (NLT): Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. (16) For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. (17) And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Loving the world leads to “conforming” to the world Romans 12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The Message Paraphrase by Eugene Peterson of this verse is insightful:  Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out.

Finally, conforming to the world  leads to being “condemned” with the world - 1 Corinthians 11:32 (NLT): Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

Demas was a companion of the Apostle Paul in ministry and left Paul and the ministry because he was overcome by the world. We all must examine ourselves regularly, confessing our faults to one another and our sins to the Father so that He can cleanse us and help us.

Shun the world. Snuggle up to Jesus and to the Word. Fellowship with Him. Pour your heart out to Him. Ask Him to help you overcome temptations that come your way. His throne is full of grace and mercy for your time of need.

Half Full or Half Empty?

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us (2 Corinthians 1:20). Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14).
 
Do you see the cup half full or half empty? Our attitude in life determines our perspective and our success in God. The Apostle Paul kept a positive attitude in spite of the negative circumstances he encountered. Difficult circumstances are part of living in a fallen world and must be faced until we leave this planet for heaven. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
  
During times of great struggle, I remind myself of the promises of God. His Word is forever settled in heaven. He watches over His Word to make it good. During one particularly grueling test years ago, I found scripture that proved to help in keeping my attitude positive. Take these scriptures that follow and make them yours. If God be for you, then who can be successful against you? You and God make a majority!

For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5).

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all (Psalm 34:19)

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him (Psalm 37:39-40).

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me (Psalm 50:15). God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea (Psalm 46:1-2).

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him (Psalm 91:14-15).

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32).

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

See the cup half full today!