so before the last council of friends,
i searched the bible program i used:
guilt.
there were 109 results.
102 in the old testament,
all of them referred
to an objective
guilty/innocent
or guilty/not guilty kind of guilt,
or to guilt offerings
to be given as a result
of certain offenses.
in the new testament:
7 occurrences,
6 of which refer to Christ
as not having any guilt.
so i conclude from that
that the hebrew and greek concept of guilt
is narrower than our english one:
it doesn't seem to be related
to a guilty feeling/emotion.
it seems more objective:
you either did the bad thing
or you didn't.
so i asked the friends what words they associate with that guilty feeling, and here is our short list:
fear of being found out
shame
condemnation
sorrow
pain
regret
remorse
what kind of words do you associate with that "guilty feeling"?
Since my blog friend Lisa from Christians under Construction was following along with our quest to overcome feelings of guilt, I invited her to write a guest post of the things God is teaching her about it. Her message is healing and liberating, and I'm thankful that she was willing to contribute.
* * * * * *
I was so glad Tammie asked me to
participate with you all by writing a guest post on what the Lord has shown me
in my battle with guilt. This series 31
Days from Guilt to Grace was perfect timing for me personally; Guilt has
been a huge area of emotional pain in my life! Although it has significantly
changed over this last while I am ready to deal with this issue of lingering
guilt once and for all, thank you Tammie.
I
have so much to say on this issue as I tease it out, inspired by my sweet
friend, Tammie. So, I am going to be noting some things over on my own blog christiansunderconstruction.info
over the next while. Instead of going over Tammie’s foundational work here on
guilt and the same scripture and so on, I am sticking to one point that builds
on what she has shared and hopefully adds a little too it.
This scripture is the basis for my post
today, it is one we have heard so many times and I know myself that it is one
of those scriptures I used to rhyme off and hear a lot but never stop and think
“what does that actually mean?”
as
far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
To be honest until I really thought
about this I thought that was just a nice saying “As far as the east is from
the west”... it had no relevance for me. Then, after I allowed my mind to see
it as a reality to be understood and not just a pretty expressive saying, I
first imagined my arms outstretched as a measure of the distance and to be
honest (I am small) it’s not that far
is it? So, I pooh-poohed that length of my own short arms example and thought a
little bigger... Open a map and go Asia to America.... but that still was finite in my mind, I could
still go and retrieve my sins that way lol, it might be a trek but it was
doable to a human! Do you ever think this way?
This scripture reference – so often
quoted – began to get under my skin, but in a quiet annoyance type of way. I
just did not see how amazingly supernatural this was! How could I ever see the
end of my guilt when, I truly repent of my sin and then God just throws it over
my shoulder to Asia where I could retrieve it should I really want too... or I would at least know it was not GONE even if
I didn’t actually go retrieve it-it was just over there, not too far away!! I
thought it was finite! It only takes 3 or 4 hours to get from the East (where I
live) to West of Ireland! [Disclaimer:I did not think God was actually sending
all my sins to Asia!]
If I am the only one who thinks
backwards like this and has had trouble understanding this practically, I am
sorry... and I hope you don’t mind amusing me while I continue? ;)
How far IS the East from the West, Lord?
Have you heard the Casting Crowns
song East to West? Let me link it here and post a link to the lyrics below,
would you listen to the song and ponder the lyrics with me now? And then we
will pick up with my concluding points.
If
you have struggled with guilt, especially false guilt, then you understand “But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me
this way”
The
song beautifully puts the distance from east to west represented in the incomparable
sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us ... “From one scarred hand to the other”
Jesus
paid with His life blood and His broken body for us to be able to hand Him the
burden of this worlds system and this original sin carrying flesh we are
wearing! When we exchange Our Guilt for His Grace in true repentance, we can be
free! We don’t need to carry the guilt of what He has taken from us (in fact taking guilt back and holding it
falsely must be like spitting in our Saviours face! If you paid a fine for me
and I was set free but stayed in prison despite you that would insult you,
wouldn’t it?). He helps us by His Grace, to live each day! Repent and give
Him the original burden of sin – take his yolk, then try our best daily with
His help and keep a short account! It’s so simple but we complicate it!
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Praise the Lord for this awesome exchange!
So, do you want to know how far, east actually is from the
west? I can show you
I believe the Lord made it very clear for me and I am a
visual learner so this exercise will help me to remember in my walk away from
carrying unnecessary guilt and into understanding Grace! I pray this visual
will help you also and that it blesses you greatly!
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the
Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of
the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at
table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet
with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his
feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had
invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,
he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching
him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do
you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my
feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her
hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
1. don't have any other gods other than the true and living God.
2. don't make or admire imaginary gods or an imaginary idea of the true God.
3. don't use God's name(s) lightly or flippantly.
4. have a day of rest and worship.
5. honor your parents.
6. don't murder.
7. don't commit adultery.
8. don't steal.
9. don't lie.
10. don't crave other people's stuff or relationships
and our motive? loving God with all our being, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
The council of friends met again yesterday morning, bright and early. Over coffee and tea, we discussed our findings of the past week.
First we reviewed Psalm 51, which we had been meditating on.
One friend commented that she had kept her Bible open in her quilting room and read the psalm whenever it caught her eye. She asked about contrition, which I tried to explain as sincere sorrow over wrong-doing. In the context, David recorded: a broken and contrite heart [God] will not despise.
For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
I read the comment that Lisa made on the post about different sources of guilt (after I gave a bit of her back story for the past couple years to establish her credibility):
I think we should not respond to [sources of guilt] all the same
way as every source isn't necessarily truth however, I think the Church
at large have removed true guilt as the baby with the bath water type
situation - we need to know we are sinners and feel the wrong from right
when we actually are guilty so we can be broken before God about it and
repent! yet learning we are then forgiven so guilt has been washed from
us and we shouldn't carry it away with us...
I think because we
don't often know how to deal with our true guilt - we end up with a
guilt complex which is then put on situations it shouldn't be - feeling
guilty when a situation isn't actually our fault, blaming ourselves cos
we feel we have to, or accepting Satans lies in our ear
Another friend shared how in her meditation of Psalm 51, God had been showing her that she only had control over herself in her circumstances, and not over the circumstances or the other people involved.
May God have mercy on us all, and free us to live in joy and freedom.
“The Enemy’s voice can cause you to feel guilt
with no clear means of relief. Nothing but heaviness and hopelessness,
often with no specific connection to a particular sin. Just...there.
Take that! But when the Spirit brings conviction - which is many times
the purpose of His personal message to you - He will also bring you a
road map, a way back, a way out. He has no desire to pummel you and
prevent you from getting up again. Far from wanting to harm you, He is initiating freedom and blessing in your life.
With Him, there is “no condemnation” (Romans 8:1). No ridicule.
Total love. Love for you.
You’ll know the Spirit is speaking to you personally about your sin
when the feeling you get is not despair but a fresh desire for holiness
and purity. You’ll know it’s God when He’s calling you back to His
side, not tossing you out like yesterday’s garbage.”
guilt was the grace
that taught my heart to fear.
symptom of a deeper problem,
guilt made me examine
the crimes that i had committed
against the Ruler of the universe.
love was the grace
that relieved my fears.
the sacrificing mercy
and embracing affection
brought reconciliation
with my Father in heaven.
The first week, as I meditated and prayed about understanding the source of guilt, I came up with the following:
*breaking God's law (principally thinking of the 10 commandments)
*breaking government laws, school rules, employment policies
*failing to meet people's expectations or ideals and facing their criticism or disappointment
*failing to meet my own ideals, self-made rules, perfectionism.
Later I remembered another: the accusation of Satan in our spirits.
Should we respond to all these sources of evil in the same way?
I asked a group of my friends together for a council on what is the mental burden that most weighs us down, crippling our ability to think and act productively.
I had two-fold motivation in gathering this council. First, I was growing increasingly aware through a series of articles on the {in}courage that I was in need of integrating in a community. Second, the thought-provoking Bloom book club selection currently is a book by Jen Hatfield titled 7. The book is about reducing the excess in our lives to make more room for God and others. The impetus to blog about this topic came from The Nester's 31 day challenge for October. As you can see, I'm a little late, but I'm hoping to complete 31 blog posts even if I don't make the 31 days. :)
I invited friends whom I trusted to be honest and kindly and whom I perceive as seekers of Truth. When I began the discussion with my council of friends, I assumed maybe anxiety or
fear would be our topic, since it can be a big one for me. However the overwhelming
response was that preoccupation with guilt burdens our thoughts and
emotions.
So I began my inquiries. My goal is to understand God's mind and heart about our guilt. The resources are prayer, scripture, meditation, and the wisdom that can be gleaned from those who are further along this path than I am.
So. I'm looking forward to growing through both the highs and lows of this adventure from guilt to grace.
God takes our actions seriously. He has big plans, but He doesn’t HAVE to use us to accomplish them. He wants to offer us that joy, but we can skip out on it by choosing our own sin over His blessing. And the sad thing is, we might never know what He wanted to give us. What’s sadder is that maybe we will. --Benjamin Power
change
-
change is weird.
and usually uncomfortable.
but it can be exciting too!
for quite a while I have been feeling the need
to stretch my artistic wings,
to sep...
