So, Ask
Saturday, May 9, 2020 Good morning, Lord Romans 8:1-2 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. M.O.M.: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 Today's reading: 2 Kings 10-12 John 1:29-51
So, Ask
Think of the time in your life when you felt such dark guilt. The time after you did the deed-whatever it was-the bad sin for which you still hold regret. Yes, you know you have been forgiven but you still wish you had not done it.
Put yourself back there for just a minute. Look around you. If you concentrate you can, if not see, you can feel the Lord there. This is an exercise in finding the Lord everywhere all the time. When we are in shame, the Lord is there ready to forgive and lift the burden. He was there when you sinned. He is there with you now. He will never leave us.
Practicing the presence of the Lord has been taught for centuries and is in the scripture and is a part of each Christian's life though we may call it something different or explain it in a different manner.
If we drop back and look at what the Bible says about Jesus: 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need...Hebrews 4
Max Lucado writes about seeing Jesus as he was. He was tempted to look on a woman with lust. He was tempted with power. He was tempted to hate and hold grudges and to want revenge. He was tempted with the love of money-all of this and did not sin.
Lucado says it is easy for us to rake the manure away from the manger. We must realize that Jesus needed to bathe; He burped and had headaches just like all of us. He wore sandals and stumped His toes from time to time. Jesus felt the pressure of the atmosphere the way we all do-He walked in the same world.
He knows what you are feeling at this very moment and has felt it before as He feels it now. There is no one on this earth who can feel your pain but Jesus feels it exactly.
Our God always knows-He always loves us through it-
That sounds so much like what a preacher is supposed to say. But I know it to be a fact. The Lord never has turned His back on any of us. Yes, we have had great pain and will have more but God's sustaining power does just that-sustains-keeps our heads above the despair if we humble ourselves under His hand.
So, stop blaming God or cursing God or just arguing with Him. In your anger, do not sin.(Ephesians 4:26) Release the mental, anxious grip on the feelings and be still and know He is God. He is God over all. He is bigger than all of whatever pain or sin you feel.
Jesus took all our sin and pain to the cross and God even defeated death and raised Christ-He raised us all in Christ. 1Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.…Colossians 3
Take every opportunity to see the world Jesus saw through His eyes. The smells, the sounds, the despair, the sin-all these were the world around Jesus-and know that He sees your world-all of it-and Jesus knows what your next move should be.
So ask Him...
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven, Forgive me for not realizing Your knowledge of my life. Let me see with Your eyes. Kind and merciful God... In the name of Jesus, Amen