Guilt from deliberate sin

 

It's also known as mortal sin.

     If we know something is wrong and we keep doing it anyway, does God forgive us when we repent? I assume so, but I also assume it grieves the Holy Spirit. I searched this subject and it took me through a long and winding journey with no real answers. 

     My thoughts, as one who has committed deliberate (and repetitive) sin, is that God forgives us when we come to Him with a sincerely repentant heart. If we ask for forgiveness knowing full well we're going to repeat the sin, He knows. It's in the back of our minds, even as we're praying for forgiveness. 

I believe the best thing to do is to pray for HELP. Ask Him to help you stop doing the sin. Ask Him for strength, wisdom, guidance, whatever it takes to free you from this temptation.

     The reason I bring this up is that I got to thinking about the things I haven't been able to let go of from my past and realized they were things that were premeditated; things that I KNEW were wrong but chose to do anyway. So, I think this feeling of guilt is maybe rooted in the fact that these sins were committed knowing full well that they were sins, and that I was going to do them anyway. It's kind of like that saying, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission." 

     I continue to work to better myself and to give things up to Him and not make a decision without Him. Jesus prayed all of the time. He lived a life without sin. What does that tell us about what we should be doing?

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Romans 2:12-16 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #anxiety 

Innumerable evils

 

Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.

For innumerable evils have surrounded me;

My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;

They are more than the hairs of my head;

Therefore my heart fails me.

Psalm 40:11b-12 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy #blessing

Unrepented sin

I read about unrepented sin somewhere and realized that maybe there was something in my past that I hadn't repented of or confessed to the Lord, and maybe I was feeling guilt from that and thinking it was for something else. So, I prayed for God to show me my unrepented sin and a few things surfaced.
     This is the point where I would normally share the things that God revealed to me, but I've decided not to. After talking to a friend, she reiterated to me that the past is in the past and it's time to move forward. Not that I won't continue to share my past here, it's just some things are best left alone, or kept between me and Him.
     I've blocked certain things from my memory in order to guard my heart, and maybe that's an act of letting go, in some respect, but some events are just pushed down deep inside of us, unresolved. Those are the things that are maybe preying on our self consciences, that are resurfacing as an underlying feeling of guilt and shame. Ask God to show you those things, or better yet, ask Him to just take those from you. God loves you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. He doesn't want us living a life of guilt and shame. Pray for help. Praise Him for His love and grace.

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.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

Psalm 32:1-6 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy #blessing

The blessing

 

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:1

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy #blessing

Learned guilt

 

You may have "learned" guilt as a child. I'm not talking about normal guilt, what you feel when you do something wrong, but rather a pang of guilt brought about by taking on the burdens of the world. 

     Case in point, my mom. Her latest guilt is for getting the covid vaccine. The first day that you could sign up began at 8:30. At 8:29 she sat poised at her phone with her list of medical facilities to call and within a few minutes had her first appointment. Ever since then, she's been anxiously waiting for everyone she knows to get their shot. She makes sure when the next group is eligible that everyone who she knows who's in that group knows to sign up. I love her for that, but I also worry that she stresses about it.

     I've learned this type of guilt. Maybe it's helped to humble me but maybe it's burdened me with anxiety and depression. I try to give all of my concerns to God and so I also have to trust Him with caring for everyone else. Why am I blessed with this or that and my friend isn't? I don't know, and I don't need to know. It's all up to Him and it's not for me to question.

     I guess maybe there could be a fine line between guilt in that respect and empathy? My counselor has told me time and time again that I'm so empathetic that it is a major contributor to my anxiety and depression; which is another reason I practice giving it all up to God. He is sovereign over all things. If guilt over things that I cannot control or even have a hand in are a burden, then that guilt is from the Accuser and is not of God.

     Let love consume you, not guilt.

 

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy

Into the sea

 

I need to learn how to do this ... "cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." What good does it serve to hold onto guilt? Who benefits from it? Does the Lord love us more if we wallow in shame for something He Himself forgave us for? Cast it into the depths of the sea. Let it go. Move onto something that will bring glory to God. Praise Him for His mercy and grace.

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 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #depression #forgiveness

The Accuser

 

Do you have something in your past that you just can't let go of? Something that continues to weigh on you years or decades later? Even though you've confessed the sin to our Father in Heaven, and felt His forgiveness, you just can't seem to forgive yourself?

     I have two events like that. Even though God has forgiven me, I can't forgive myself. For a long time, I thought that maybe I needed to share those parts of my life with others, but that just doesn't feel right, at least not right now. The people I have shared with were understanding and supportive, but it didn't lessen my guilt and shame. That was to be expected. If the burden was still there after God forgave me, then of course it would still be there after confessing to people who were uninvolved.

     My guilt was then compounded with the thought that 'who am I to not forgive sins that God has forgiven?' Jesus died a horrible death so that my sins would be forgiven. So, what did that say about my unwillingness to forgive? It's the same as not forgiving others.

     I now realize that it's Satan, the Great Accuser, who is causing me to hang onto these things, to make me feel bad about myself, to bring me down. Please don't let him do that to you. Recognize it and tell him to "go away." Pray for help and strength.

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 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #forgiveness

You are loved

 

God our Father loves us more than we can ever know or understand. Why else would He send His only precious Son to bear His wrath for our sins?!
     While I couldn't find anything in the Bible about self-love as a good thing, I found plenty in there about our worth in God's eyes, how He loves us and protects us, and how He has a plan for us. All of these things are revealed over and over again in the Bible. If God our Creator can love us like that, and forgive us of our sins, then who are we to say that "He can't possibly love me"? Who are we to say that even though we've asked for forgiveness from Him, "I know God forgives me, but I just can't forgive myself"?
     We need to love ourselves enough to form healthy relationships with one another. We need to love ourselves enough to seek Him continually and grow in wisdom and know truth. We need to love ourselves enough to take care of these earthly bodies because they house the Holy Spirit, they are images of God. Our bodies and words and actions are pathways between the unbelievers and salvation.

Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

Isaiah 43:4 ESV (Please read Isaiah 43:1-21)

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31

For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for our individual selves and for us as the collective Church. May we realize our worth and responsibilities as children of God, being created in His image. May we go to Him even in the midst of our guilt and shame so that He may forgive us of our sins, help us to be more Christlike, and grow in our faith and obedience.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #selflove #self #shame #guilt #selfesteem #neighbor

Seek the good of your neighbor

Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

1 Corinthians 10:24 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for our individual selves and for us as the collective Church. May we realize our worth and responsibilities as children of God, being created in His image. May we go to Him even in the midst of our guilt and shame so that He may forgive us of our sins, help us to be more Christlike, and grow in our faith and obedience.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #selflove #self #shame #guilt #selfesteem #neighbor

Do everything in love

 

Let all that you do be done in love.

1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV

For we are his workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand, 

that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for our individual selves and for us as the collective Church. May we realize our worth and responsibilities as children of God, being created in His image. May we go to Him even in the midst of our guilt and shame so that He may forgive us of our sins, help us to be more Christlike, and grow in our faith and obedience.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #selflove #self #shame #guilt #selfesteem

An empty heart

 

I forgot that I was going to share at least one example that, in my mind, illustrates that it's important for us to love ourselves so that we can love and care for others. (However, I do not believe that the bible tells us to put our needs before others' nor does it mean that we should love ourselves more than others.)

     Throughout my first marriage, I did not like myself. I did not love myself. In order to shield me from emotional, mental, and verbal abuse, I would beat my husband to the negative talk. Instead of waiting for him to ask, "What's wrong with you?" in that disdaining voice, I would start conversations with, "I'm sorry", or "I wasn't thinking," or "I screwed up and did or said this..." Whatever the topic, I began by putting myself down so I wouldn't have to hear him say those things, but he said them anyway. After you hear those types of statements over and over again, you begin to believe them. 

     I walked away from God a few years before I even got married, but afterward, even if I had thought to return to Him, I wouldn't have felt worthy. I had totally screwed up my life.

     I was empty and numb inside; didn't know who I was anymore. I had no sense of self-esteem or self-worth. I did still do whatever needed to be done; if someone needed my help, I was right there. Everything was out of a sense of obligation, looking for approval. None of it was because I wanted to take care of others. It was just what was necessary and it wasn't from the heart.

     What I just this second realized is that, when I returned to God, that's when things started to change for the better. The abuse didn't stop but I no longer felt so alone. I had Someone to go to and talk to. My heart changed. I still continued to berate myself, but I felt loved by God and that made a difference.

     After my husband passed away, I sought help and was blessed with smart, insightful counselors. I grew spiritually, getting reacquainted with my Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. I became a student of the Word, reading the entire bible over and over again, learning how it's one continuous book that God, in His infinite wisdom, created for our use so that we can maneuver through our time on Earth. 

I began taking care of my physical body, too, realizing what the phrase, "my body is a temple" means. The Holy Spirit lives inside of me; I need to take care of His home.

     My conclusion then is this: we need to

... love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 22:37b-39 

     The second part of verse 39 is what many say means that we need to love ourselves in order to love others, but what I've been getting from the majority of the commentaries I've read this week is that we already love ourselves. I wanted to share three so you can make your own conclusions:

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary (from 1710):

There is a self-love which is corrupt, and the root of the greatest sins, and it must be put off and mortified; but there is a self-love which is the rule of the greatest duty: we must have a due concern for the welfare of our own souls and bodies. And we must love our neighbour as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves; in many cases we must deny ourselves for the good of others.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible (from 1771)

This law supposes, that men should love themselves, or otherwise they cannot love their neighbour; not in a sinful way, by indulging themselves in carnal lusts and pleasures; some are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; but in a natural way, so as to be careful of their bodies, families, and estates; and in a spiritual way, so as to be concerned for their souls, and the everlasting happiness of them: and in like manner should men love their neighbours, in things temporal do them all the good they can, and do no injury to their persons or property; and in things spiritual pray for them, instruct them, and advise as they would their own souls, or their nearest and dearest relations. And this is to be extended to every man; though the Jews restrain it to their friend and companion, and one of their own religion,

EnduringWord.com David Guzik

It is clear enough what it means to love the LORD with all we are, though it is impossible to do perfectly. But there has been much confusion about what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. This doesn’t mean that we must love ourselves before we can love anyone else; it means that in the same way we take care of ourselves and are concerned about our own interests, we should take care and have concern for the interests of others.

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Please join me this week in praying for our individual selves and for us as the collective Church. May we realize our worth and responsibilities as children of God, being created in His image. May we go to Him even in the midst of our guilt and shame so that He may forgive us of our sins, help us to be more Christlike, and grow in our faith and obedience.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #selflove #self #shame #guilt #selfesteem #abuse

Children of God

 

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

1 John 3:1-3 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for our individual selves and for us as the collective Church. May we realize our worth and responsibilities as children of God, being created in His image. May we go to Him even in the midst of our guilt and shame so that He may forgive us of our sins, help us to be more Christlike, and grow in our faith and obedience.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #selflove #self #shame #guilt #selfesteem

Do you like yourself?

 

I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about this topic, especially Ephesians 5:29 (ESV) from yesterday's post.

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,

     I know that everything the bible says is true, therefore this is true. So I looked at a few commentaries this morning and none of them really explain it in a way that answers my questions about self-love, but, I did realize that I took it out of context. I try really hard to look at the surrounding text before posting a bible verse but thought this was pretty self-explanatory on its own and I was running late yesterday, so, yeah, there you go.
     The passage is about men loving their wives as Christ loves the church:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Regarding verse 29, David Guzik wrote on Enduringword.com:

Any man in his right mind is going to take care of his own flesh, even if it is just in the sense of feeding and clothing and caring for his own body. He knows that if he doesn’t, he is going to suffer for it. In the same way, once we know the Biblical fact of this unity, if we are in our right minds we will nourish and cherish our wives because she is part of us.

     What kept me awake about this verse standing on its own is that I know a handful of people who will tell you that they do not like themselves. So then I wonder, if you don't like yourself, can you still love yourself? Can you love others if you don't love yourself? Can you love Christ who created you if you don't love yourself? Or, does it keep you from accepting Christ's love? Does it chisel a void between you and others, you and Him? These are things I'm looking into. (If you have any thoughts on any of this, drop me a comment, or IM me, or email or text, etc...) While I research this, remember always:

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for our individual selves and for us as the collective Church. May we realize our worth and responsibilities as children of God, being created in His image. May we go to Him even in the midst of our guilt and shame so that He may forgive us of our sins, help us to be more Christlike, and grow in our faith and obedience.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #selflove #self #shame #guilt #selfesteem

Self-love

 

This week's topic may feel uncomfortable. I believe it's a topic that we as Christians avoid, especially women, but one that the rest of society seems to put way too much emphasis on. I'm talking about self-love.

     I started to research this just this morning and quickly realized that I'm not going to be able to talk about it until I delve much deeper. So, I started looking at other topics but that just didn't feel right, like maybe God wanted me to stick to this topic.

     What I can do is tell you how this came about. 

- I'm a weight watchers member. One of the topics lately has been self-care, such as avoiding negative self-talk, finding time in our day to do what we need to do to care for ourselves, whether that's exercising, meditation, meal prep,...This past weekend there was a WW virtual event with Oprah. A lot of what was said made me feel uncomfortable because it's not what the bible says, but on the other hand, I was able to take what was said and apply the bible to it. One of the topics was guilt.

- Sunday's sermon was on John 8:1-11 and Pastor Brian talked about "surrender to Jesus' authority." He said that we need to seek forgiveness from Jesus and not let shame and guilt keep us from doing that. We can't let ourselves get caught up in the thinking that our guilt and shame should keep us from Christ. We can't fix it; only He can. 

- Finally, yesterday was Valentine's Day. A day about love. It can be Valentine's, Galentine's, or Palentine's Day - whatever kind of love you chose to celebrate. However, it was also a bittersweet day for my daughters and me and for my in-laws because it was the 10-year anniversary of my husband's passing.

     This past weekend was just a jumbled pot of emotions and self-reflection and that's how I came up with this week's topic. There are several bible verses that warn of self-love as a bad thing (see 2 Timothy 3:1-5), and I get that. But, I'm also a proponent of the idea that we need to love ourselves in order to be able to love and care for others. I can share examples of this tomorrow.

For no one ever hated his own flesh, 

but nourishes and cherishes it, 

just as Christ does the church, 

Ephesians 5:29 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for our individual selves and for us as the collective Church. May we realize our worth and responsibilities as children of God, being created in His image. May we go to Him even in the midst of our guilt and shame so that He may forgive us of our sins, help us to be more Christlike, and grow in our faith and obedience.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #selflove #self #shame #guilt #selfesteem

Are you fooling yourself?

 

Someone shared this video with me and it fits perfectly with what we're praying about this week. I personally spend a lot of time in self-reflection, asking God questions. Sometimes I'm filled with doubt, but still, I feel secure in my relationship with Christ Jesus. Being saved isn't about having a warm fuzzy, feeling. You can't just pray the prayer and then go on living the life you were living. There are some preachers who would have you believe that, though.
     There are many hard truths in the bible that don't fit in with our sinful natures. We can't just ignore them because they make us feel bad about ourselves. We can't change God's word to fit our lives; we need to change our lives to fit God's word.

For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

1 John 3:20 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for God to show each of us our sin. Then, ask for His wisdom and guidance to overcome that sin. Pray that He humbles us to acknowledge our sinful nature and our shortcomings, so that we can become more Christlike and better image-bearers to those God brings into our lives. Finally, let's pray that we have open hearts, softened hearts in order to not condemn others. Ask God how you can help others instead of judging and walking away.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #sin #condemnation #guilt #shame #love #salvation

Self-condemnation

 

How did it go yesterday? For me it was really difficult. I posted an update...in case you didn't see it:

I realized after praying this and God answering, that my next prayer was "How do I overcome this sin?" followed by, "Lord, please give me the wisdom and the heart to let go of this sin. Please guide me and free me of it."

     That helped a lot. Still, it was a day of looking inward and trying to work on my sinful nature which is difficult to face and own up to. Before that prayer, I was getting swallowed up in the shame and guilt. It was pulling me down a path that I didn't need to be on, one that (more than likely) was Satan using that opportunity to make me feel helpless and unable to overcome my sin (thus, the photo above).

     My personal opinion is that God doesn't want us to dwell on our sin or feel guilty or shameful. He wants us to come to Him with it, ask forgiveness, ask for help to overcome it.

 

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 

but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:17 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for God to show each of us our sin. Then, ask for His wisdom and guidance to overcome that sin. Pray that He humbles us to acknowledge our sinful nature and our shortcomings, so that we can become more Christlike and better image-bearers to those God brings into our lives. Finally, let's pray that we have open hearts, softened hearts in order to not condemn others. Ask God how you can help others instead of judging and walking away.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #sin #condemnation #guilt #shame #love

On Being Essential

A New Normal - part 3

Over the last two weeks, I really wanted to be an encourager, an inspiration, a spiritual cheerleader of sorts to anyone I came in contact with, whether on social media or by phone or even in person, but I just haven't been feeling it really, at least not consistently. I thought it was because I've been sick (for 14 L-O-N-G days!) which is probably a lot of it, but today I had an epiphany.
     However, first, I want to tell you my pre-epiphanies, in case any of them would apply to someone else. My mental and emotional symptoms were depression and high, high anxiety - as in I would get in 3,000-5,800 steps a day just from pacing. I knew I wasn't scared or nervous about the pandemic because I find peace in my faith. Although I did realize from my "be still" time, that I needed to focus more of my time, thoughts, and activities on God.

So, I started with a physical assessment: I looked at how much coffee I was drinking: 5 cups a day, same as always (I know, I know). Maybe it was from going off NyQuil, but that never happened before. It could be a lack of sleep because I haven't slept well in at least a week. But none of that seems to warrant so much anxiety.
     Since it involved depression, it had to be mental in some way, especially if it wasn't spiritually or physically related. I knew it couldn't be that I'm stuck at home because honestly, that's ideal for someone like me. It very well could have been because my calendar was clear for the first time in forever. So, I got out my to-do list and added in things I want to accomplish during this time period and my anxiety reached new levels, so that wasn't it.
     Then, I dug a little deeper...loss of community. That's probably a big one for a lot of people. So I reached out to my church family and set up some Zoom meetings; my Pastor started making some prayer videos which helped me feel better, but it still wasn't enough; it wasn't the cure.

After another night of no sleep, I woke up this morning and decided to start from scratch. I laid in bed and tried to still my mind but my restless dreams kept coming to the foreground. They were dreams about work, family, church...and I began to feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. Guilt for not working, not earning a paycheck, not seeing my family, not serving in the church and who knows what else was involved that I didn't remember dreaming about. I have spent my entire life taking charge, no - actually more like taking "control" of situations (at least in my mind), handling and caring and protecting others and I can't do that in the midst of a world controlled by an unseen and unknown enemy (which sounds a lot like Satan, but at least we know him and how he operates and how to defend ourselves against him); one that spreads and infects and kills at such a rapid pace that no one can get ahead of it.
     Even though all of this is completely out of my control, it is what has been weighing on me. I feel helpless. I'm not essential personnel in any respect. Maybe that's a pride thing, but I like to think it's a longing of my recently discovered servant's heart. There are some volunteer opportunities, but I am still sick and have basically been sick off and on since last November, so I don't consider going out into the physical world to be an option, really.

So, how to fix this...
- I want to put more time and effort into reaching out to people.
- I will allow myself to feel that even something as simple as a daily bible verse may help someone; it may be just the message that someone needs to see from our loving Father.
- I will understand that staying home is my job for now and I will try to use this time as an opportunity to bring honor and glory to God in ways that I'm sure He will share with me.
- The hardest one for me is that I will quit judging myself based on life before the coronavirus. Actually, I want to expand that...I want to quit judging myself, and quit worrying about what others think of me - I hate that I've ever cared. People have been making fun of me my whole life for one thing or another and instead of developing a thick skin, it just made me more self-conscious. Well, enough is enough. What God thinks of me is my only concern and He knows I'm not perfect and He loves me anyway. His judgment is the only judgment that matters.

This is now part of my new normal.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 

“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mark 9:35 NIV

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A New Normal - A blog series dedicated to my ability (or inability) to live through this unprecedented period of time - one of a coronavirus, covid-19, pandemic, social distancing, shelter-in-place existence.
Part 1     A New Normal
Part 2     Be Still
Part 3     On Being Essential