No more self-condemnation

All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God... God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So... we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. (I John 4:15-21)

Fear of judgment - what might that look like? Constantly trying to 'do' better, but never really trusting in the work of Christ in your life. Thinking you must 'clean up your act' in order to approach the throne of God. As I said yesterday, you don't wash up before you take a shower - you let the shower do that work! Do you declare Jesus to be the Son of God, trust in his love for you as a sinner? This is the first step toward no longer 'fearing' judgment. Have you confessed your sins to him, acknowledging that you are indeed a sinner, in need of forgiveness? If so, you are on the path of right-living. Does that mean you will never make any mistakes again? Not hardly! We are human, facing many trials and temptations, and we will mess up on occasion.

The good news is that when we do, we have a path back through confession and what we call 'repentance' (turning away from that sin and turning toward God's help to overcome it). Don't live in fear of judgment just because you 'mess up' from time to time - go to God with it and let him wash you clean. Then move on - don't belabor the fact that you messed up. That only serves to bring you under the burden of self-condemnation and shame. These two don't belong in the life of a forgiven child of God. 

Maybe this is how we learn to love each other in this world - forgiving as God so graciously and lovingly forgives us each time we mess up. This world might be a better place if God's love was practiced a bit more, don't you think? Love might just begin with the act of forgiving someone who has wronged you. It could begin because you have wronged another, and they lovingly restore you with open arms. Either way, we are making a good start at being ambassadors of God's love in a hurting and messed up world. 

We might find the path of forgiveness hard to accept because we have lived for so long under the condemnation of our misdeeds. I have been guilty of doing that on occasion - remembering all the things I did wrong and how many people were likely hurt by my misdeeds. Condemnation of this sort is 'self-made' - it is not God inflicted. God doesn't leave us under a load of guilt and shame - his grace unburdens us from both, but we have to let go of the burden in order to be free of it. We might just help another see the immenseness of God's love when they see that transformation occur within our lives! Just sayin!

Not giving up, just giving in

How many times we would love to throw in the towel, give up the fight, and move on without another thought - especially when the answers don't come easily, we are facing yucky stuff that is harder than we ever realized it would be, or the resistance we are facing is just astronomically huge! Then we get just a glimpse of hope from the Word of God, the counsel of a wise friend, or the unsuspecting message of a total stranger. God's faithfulness comes through - in that glimpse of truth, the word of hope, and the totally unexpected reminder of his care.

If your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I'll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words. Save me! I'm all yours. I look high and low for your words of wisdom. The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me, but I'm only concerned with your plans for me. I see the limits to everything human, but the horizons can't contain your commands! (Psalm 119:92-96)

Many times we may have heard that everything serves God's plans - even the worst of things. Nothing escapes his attention - that is true. Nothing happens by chance - this is also true. The most amazing thing someone once told me was that my misery was optional - there was no mandatory requirement to be miserable, even when miserable stuff is happening to or around me. The bad times come, but what we make of them is what counts. We can choose to wallow in our self-pity, or we can choose to be stretched to new capacity. When we choose the latter, we need the words of wise counsel to sustain us in the midst of the trouble or trial. We need the strength that comes from knowing we are listening to truth.

One thing is very clear to me - obedience is not by accident - nor is it optional. It is purposeful. It is a matter of choice - it is a matter of the application of truth. There are certain things that we can expect from God as we make the decision to live obediently, but we must choose the path of obedience. When we choose the path of obedience over the path of ease, he makes us wiser than our enemies! Ever want to outwit your enemy? You can - through obedience to God's counsel. He becomes a guide for us to help us navigate even the most difficult  and dangerous of stuff. It is important to remember here that the starting point in the process of navigation is to actually ascertain the course one is about to travel. In that "plotting" of course, the one navigating takes over control and then brings us to the desired destination. If we only followed half of the directions of the GPS in our cars, we'd still be lost!

When we choose obedience, he actually gives us more might and wisdom than our teachers. How can that be? When a student begins to grasp truth, it is possible for truth to expand because it is seen through fresh eyes. He has the ability to make us wiser than our elders. If you've ever heard the saying, "She is wiser than her years", this is what that is referring to. God's wisdom outshines all other. Probably the most valuable outcome of obedience is the certainty of our path. Embracing obedience begins to help us with the decisions of what to do with the evil around us - rather than being caught up in it, we reject it. We may have looked a lot at what the "longings" of our hearts might be. If we found they are more and more frequently the things revealed in the Word of God, we are probably pretty sure that our way will be made "plain" - easier for us to see, grasp, and understand. God promises to make our path straight (plain) - but this comes out of our choice to make him the center of our path! It comes as we choose obedience. Just sayin!