Guilt

Greetings, My Friends;

Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

James 4:7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Guilt is defined, as the fact of having committed a breach of conduct , especially violating the law and involving a penalty.

From the time we were old enough to remember, we have been acquainted with guilt. Even before we knew what guilt was, we unconsciously followed the rules and most of us learned that if we did not listen to our parents, there were consequences. In my day, it was spanking. Spanking, got your attention like nothing else did. The thing that made do what you were told was fear of a spanking .

As we got older we began to form a conscience. Now most of us felt bad when we did something wrong. We also found out that many times the degree or violation usually determined the degree of punishment. School and its discipline was different. The people passing out the punishment didn't love you as your parents did. They followed a set of guidelines for crime and punishment, no excuses, no partiality.

As we became adults, things got even tougher. You could be reminded daily by your boss or coworkers how you didn't measure up. Guilt came into the picture. You could be made to feel inadequate everywhere you went, only this time you punished yourself. Anxiety, stress, depression, all were among the penalties you gave yourself. You could feel so inferior when you thought you did or did not do something, you were supposed to do that it ruined your life, your family, and anything you touched. This of course would be an extreme case.

Unfortunately, some churches were preaching condemnation. You don't pray enough, you don't dress right, your hair is too long, too short, and so on, all man-made rules.You are even guilt ridden at church. You will go to hell if you don't shape up, you rotten sinner.

One day you find Jesus. You learn how much he loves you. You learned that he died on the cross to save all men, even rotten, no good people like us. You accept Him as your Savior and condemnation ceases to exist. You are saved by his grace, and this time, someone else {Jesus} gave ultimate hope for your life of screw ups. You are now a child of God destined to spend eternity with Him.

After all of this, along comes Satan. He is not happy. He hates Jesus and wants you back. He tempts you to sin, he tries to plant doubt of your salvation in your heart. You begin to believe him, maybe go along with the temptations. But now your heart feels guilty, so you repent and your loving father takes you back, and your guilt is put to rest. Now your conscience is your guide. I think probably the best advice I ever heard was follow the peace in your heart and you can't go wrong.

God bless you and remember,

 Jesus loves you,

Prayer of Salvation;

"Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I  repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen."