Encouragement, Faith, Forgiveness, God's Plan, Joy, Love, Mercy, Peace, Prayer, Relationship to Christ, Repentance, Salvation, Sin, Struggles, Trust

Guilt and Shame Canceled

If you are like me, sometimes a memory of something we did in our past is brought to our mind which will fill us with shame and guilt. Shame and guilt do not need to be part of a Believer’s life because, when we ask Jesus to forgive us, He does. There was a woman in Jesus’ day who had “a past.” Luke 7:36-50 recounts what happened between the woman and Jesus. The woman washed Jesus’ feet with her tears because she knew she was a sinner and Jesus could save her from her sin. As she was washing Jesus’ feet, her tears were bitter because of the sin she had been living in, and the guilt and shame must have overwhelmed her. I can imagine though, as Jesus told her that she had been forgiven and to go in peace, that she must have wept tears of overwhelming joy.“ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50 ESV)

We also can have that same feeling of having our sins forgiven because we have been given a clean slate. Then there is nothing in our past to condemn us, and we can have overwhelming peace and joy. The Bible tells us that when Jesus forgives us of our sins, He removes them, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12 KJV)   

We also must remember that God is not the one who brings condemnation, guilt, and shame. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:17 NASB 1995)  Jesus helps us in that when we come to Him in prayer in repentance, “He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19 CSB)  He tells us that He doesn’t remember our sins anymore.

But the enemy of our souls will taunt us with those reminders of our past and we can feel that guilt and shame just as when we first asked for forgiveness. That doesn’t have to be so, however.  We can tell the enemy to flee. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (ESV) There is a pattern we must follow…submission to God, resisting the enemy, and then the result is, that Satan MUST flee. Jesus already forgave us of our past; therefore, we do not need to feel guilt and shame. Our sins are covered and canceled by Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. Peter tells us to, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV) By being watchful and recognizing Satan’s tactics, we can identify those times when he seeks to make us feel guilt and shame, and then we can fight against him. 

Guilt and shame have been canceled because of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.  He paid the penalty for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to. His love for us is so great!  When we place our faith and trust in Jesus, repent of our sins, and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, then guilt and shame are vanquished. They no longer have a place in the Believer’s life. We can then walk in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4) because our sins have been forgiven…canceled. 

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Donna Knuth Rice

I am trying a blog for the first time in my life, and frankly, I feel like I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing! But, here goes. I work at a Christian Television network in the Correspondence Department, where I write letters and emails to our viewers, pray with them for their needs, and send materials they request. I am a Christian. I was saved at the age of 11 during a youth meeting at my church. My pastor led me to the Lord, and to say the least, my life has been an adventure. I am a widow. My late husband, Allen, passed away after 34 1/2 years of marriage. He had been sick the last seven years of his life, and it was a struggle, for him and for me. We met as part of a singing group that was affiliated with a Christian Radio station, and we sang together all through our lives together. We both worked in television and radio all through our married life, mostly for Christian stations. Besides singing I also play flute. I had the luxury of having parents who started out as music teachers...so music was in our house constantly. Some people describe me as being a loud-mouthed lime type...can't disagree with that. I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth more times than I can count! I also have a tendency to say exactly what's on my mind...which is why I get myself in so much trouble! LOL! Trust me, that's something me and God have been working on for a very long time. I have no children here on earth, although I have a baby in heaven. My baby here is my dog Jack. He's a black lab/ chow mix. He's a big boy....thinks he's a lap dog! Can't think of much else to say. The reason I started this blog is because a few months ago in church, a guest pastor came and delivered a message, and when he asked for those of us who wanted prayer to come forward, I did. When he came to me he asked me if I did any journaling. I told him no 'cause I wasn't very good at it. He told me to start, and prophesied over me that my journal thoughts would impact other people. I wasn't sure just how I was to go about doing this. In fact, I was a little hesitant at first. I started journaling at home, and our assistant pastor's wife asked me to submit something for our Senior newsletter. I didn't the first edition, but something I had heard on Christian radio a long time ago and has stuck with me all these years, came to mind so I submitted an article. That article will be my first post. I don't claim to have all the answers, and my thoughts may seem a little "out there", but I feel God has been prodding me to do this, and so here I am. I hope what I post will bring encouragement, and "Something to Think About".

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