Conviction ->->->Repentance->->->Freedom

Romans 8:1 - Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  

Over the past year God has been reminding me and has even used a friend to confirm that He doesn't use guilt or condemnation in the lives of His children.  He doesn't manipulate their feelings or emotions. God is the God of ALL truth. Those who have been born again are not under condemnation.  

John 3:17 - For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  

The Lord does use the promptings of the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us.  He does speak to us in His Word and in prayer. But condemnation and guilt come from the enemy of our souls or man imposes guilt on us.  Guilt is a tool of the enemy!  

I am convinced that guilting (my word) others into "serving" Christ does NOT work!  I have watched countless leaders, pastors, managers and might I add mothers (me included at times) use a form of guilt in order to move people to "do" what they deem is important or to move people to the rhythm of their drum beat (agenda).   Not so with Christ.  He never made anyone follow him.  He simply said, "Follow Me."  Did you see that period (.)?  Period, follow Me and I will do this or I will do this in and through you.  It's all about Jesus in us. His call to, "Follow Me" will also look different in the daily details of how that is lived out for each and every believer.   Different but yet, the same call to all who will follow Christ.  That our lives will glorify Him and we will be gospel bearers.  

If you feel guilty about something you have or haven't done ask the Lord to examine your heart.  Get down on your knees in your private prayer closet ask him to show you if this is genuine conviction or genuine guilt.  He will show you.  The Lord wants us to be free to serve Him from a heart of authentic love for Him and desire to serve Him out of devotion not duty.  Also, don't use guilt to beat and batter others into serving the Lord.  We are not to be beaten into submission.  Submission is the willing yielding of oneself to another either in authority over you like in marriage or as the word of God in Ephesians tells us to demonstrate love and unity in the body.  In Ephesians 5:21 tells us, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."  No one is to be Lord over their flock or those under their care.  Christ is the Lord. His blood was shed for the church.  He deserves our authentic worship.  He and He alone is worthy of our devotion and dedication.  If our hearts are made new in Christ we will desire to please Him above all else.  Others may benefit from our obedience and service to the Lord but our motivation should be pure love for our Savior.  

Guilt will only work for the short term but soon after resentment will kick in.  You will be one of those people that others avoid like the plague.  Why?  Because we all need encouragement, we need grace, mercy, love and kindness.  We need to know that we are being effective for the kingdom.  Guilt and condemnation are two of Satan's chief tools.  Guilt over our sin and disobedience is different, that my friend is called conviction from the Holy Spirit.  Which leads us to repentance and then to freedom!   

Think it over.  Are you being used as an instrument of encouragement and edification?  Or, are you being used as an instrument of condemnation and guilt which does the opposite of building up it tears down.  Are you being effective for the kingdom of God in the lives of those He has placed under your care?  Are you leading them to a life of repentance and freedom or to a life of being enslaved by guilt and condemnation? 

Guilt and condemnation lead to a defeated life.  Conviction and repentance lead to a life of freedom and victory!  

In the Shadow of the Almighty Ps. 91,

Are We Being the Church or Just Attending Church?

I would definitely say I am a conservative.  I typically vote Republican  because 9 times out of 10 they seem to be the ones who support the traditional (biblical) family, are against the killing of innocent lives (abortion), etc.  So, I'm not changing my conservative views.  For years though, God has begun to open up my eyes to the world all around me; to those who don't see eye to eye with my convictions on so many serious matters of conscience and morality.  There are moral absolutes I do believe in and there are things I don't believe in.  Some of those moral absolutes or biblical truths are worth dying for some are not.

I have been blessed to be at home with our children since my son was three years old.  Me and my husband decided that it would be in our children's best interest for me to be a full time stay at home Mother.  During 15 of those years we have chosen to home school our children.  There are things according to the Word of God I will not budge on in my beliefs.  Example:  Jesus Christ - the Jesus of the BIBLE not the Jesus man has re-invented to fit our mold; I believe according to the Word of God (God-breathed all of it) that Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life and NO one can come to the Father except through believing (completely trusting, depending on and living for Jesus) in Him.  I believe salvation can be found in no other but by the blood of Jesus Christ.  I believe in the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.  I have been saved by grace through faith -  because God gave me the gift of faith to believe I can't even take credit for that!  Faith is a gift - saving faith, sanctifying faith and faith to keep moving forward with the Lord until I see Jesus face to face. 

I believe in the Family as God ordained the family to function.  I believe in the Church (the Body of Christ) to function as God ordained it to function.  I believe that government is put in place to protect it's citizens and communities from those who would want to hurt our nation.  I have some very strong convictions.  I believe in the right for a law abiding citizen to bear arms.  I believe in the right for parents to decide what educational system is best for their children be it public school, private school or home school.  I do believe we are to love our enemy and do good to those who persecute, abuse and use us.  I do believe there is a time for peace and a time for war and all the rest. I do believe our nation has the right to protect our borders and people.   

Let me tell you what I don't believe in.   I don't believe that Marxism or Socialism or Communism is good for anyone!I don't believe that those who call themselves Christians or maybe a better word would be followers of Christ should be mean spirited.  I don't believe disagreeing with someones lifestyle that goes against my convictions of faith should be grounds for someone to call me a "hater", I do believe we should love them anyway, because Christ loved me right where I was and am.  I don't believe that true followers of Christ can ignore the cry of  what my dear friend in Christ would call "the forgotten children" and believe me there are many.  I don't believe we should be so "family" minded that we forget about those around us who aren't in a "family" atmosphere of any kind.  I don't believe we as believers and followers of Jesus Christ should hurl insults at those who think differently than we do.  I don't believe that "the church" should expect the lost to come through the doors of our churches just by knocking on their doors and shoving "heaven and hell" down their throats!  I don't believe it's right for many of us to sit in our warm, cozy pews each and every week and think we are faithful because we have taught that class for 40 years and haven't walked next door to meet our neighbor.  I don't believe it is alright to look down on others because they look different than I do or they don't dress their "Sunday Best".  

I believe if each of those true followers of Jesus Christ would not focus so much on our church buildings, budgets and beloved programs we could rock this world with the love of God Almighty.  The problem is not with this world.  The problem is with you and with me.  We are so stuck in our programs, plans, visions that we miss everyday opportunities to be disciples and make disciples as we go along the way.  We miss Jesus right in our midst.  God forgive us for looking out on the crowds or the woman behind the check out counter at Wal-Mart and not seeing another person You made in Your image.  Give us the courage, conviction and compassion to CARE more about people than we do our yearly church budgets & calendars.  Help us to BE the Church not just Go to Church!  

Psalm 91 - In the Shadow of the Almighty,

Learning to Pray Hard Prayers At the Feet of Jesus

Have you ever prayed a hard prayer?  

Prayers that go beyond, "God bless Charlie" or "God be with Susie".  Prayers that are developed out of desperate and what seem like impossible situations.  Prayers that are born out of the broken cries of our hearts.  Prayers that move beyond the ceiling of our own desires or dreams. Prayers that are kingdom focused and will live on in eternity!

Hard prayers!  Like for instance, "Dear Lord Jesus, please get a hold of ____________(you insert the name).  Disturb their souls, to the point that they can't sleep, eat, party or even enjoy things until they turn back to You Oh Lord."  Prayers like, "Dear Lord, whisper ___________(you insert name) name in their ear, continue to pursue them with a relentless pursuit of Your love Oh God."  How about a prayer like, "Lord God, reveal the hidden sins (those under the carpet) in me and my family, eradicate the deadly sins that could damage our relationship with you and others, expose them so that we will fall on our faces in repentance and turn back to You Oh Lord."  I'm talking hard prayers!  

I would say that most of us have never prayed a "hard prayer" in our lives.  Praying hard prayers begins when we have exhausted our own resources.  When we are desperate for God's hand to move in the lives of our loved ones.  Hard prayers are truly prayers of intercession. To intercede in prayer is to pray things that others can't pray for themselves.  Intercessory prayer is hard work!  Yes, prayer is a "good work", in my opinion the most important work we are called to do as followers of Christ Jesus.  I was going to say, second only to sharing the gospel but it is not second but sharing the gospel and prayer go hand in hand.  You can't have one without the other!

Over the past several years the Holy Spirit has been teaching me how to pray things I would have never prayed for before.  Those hard prayers came from a place of desperation, dependency, devotion and determination to follow and pray in accordance with God's will!  Many of those prayers have literally made me gasp for air after I have prayed them out loud to the Father.  Prayers that are a little scary to pray for this Mom of four and grandchild of one.  I say they are scary because of the One to Whom my prayers are directed.  The Lord Strong and Mighty, the Creator and Keeper of All living things, the God of heaven and earth, The God who is Sovereign over ALL the Universe.  We are to come into His presence with fear and trembling, not because He is waiting to punish us but because He is Holy, Righteous and the Judge of ALL the earth.  That should be enough to cause us to fall on our faces before Him in Awe and wonder. The fact that this little woman so unworthy of even lifting up her head in His Holy presence can even talk to the Lord of the Universe is unbelievable!  Thank You JESUS for access to the throne!  

It's not that I'm trembling in fear of His wrath.  I am a child of God.  I have been saved by His grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.  I was once dead in trespasses and sin but now have been made alive in Christ Jesus!  The veil has been torn from top to bottom and because of His Son's death and resurrection on the Cross of Calvary I have access to the King.  Not because of anything I have done, not because I have done anything deserving of His mercy and grace.  Simply, because He loves me and I have been accepted in the "Beloved".  What a blessing!  What a privilege!  A little girl who grew up with no Daddy, no security, always feeling invisible and inadequate am now a child of the King.  My Daddy God (Abba Father) has adopted me into His family.  I have a new name, a new position, a new family, a new kingdom to live for, a new way of talking part of that is a prayer language!  Everything is being made "new", so why not my prayers?  That is why I can come before the throne and pray hard prayers on behalf of others!  Intercessory prayer is powerful!  I have seen God answer some of those hard  prayers and it has been amazing; not at all easy, but no less amazing!  That God hears my cries truly is incredible! Not only hears them but also answers them!  

If your prayer life is dull and weak.  Maybe it's because your prayers are hitting the ceiling of your own hopes, dreams and desires.  Ask God to give you a new perspective on prayer.  Do you know that the prayers of the saints are eternal!  Go read it for yourself in chapter 8 of the book of Revelation - When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.  "² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.³ Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might ^[a]add it to the prayers of all the ^[b]saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, ^[c]with the prayers of the ^[d]saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel ^[e]took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake."  WOW!  Prayers of the saints are eternal!  

So what type of prayers are you praying?  How is our prayer life? Is it stale, dull or possibly dead?  Why not, ask the Lord of heaven and earth to revive your heart, get into His Word and begin praying God's Word back to Him.  When we sit at the feet of Christ Jesus and are teachable, the Holy Spirit will show up and teach us how to pray those "fervent prayers of a righteous man that will avail much." 

I don't know about you but I don't want to spend my time in prayer asking for things that are temporary (although, we can).  I want to be so close to my Father's heart that I am praying His will and His way and His word to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  

I challenge you today to ask God to revive your heart, to renew your mind in the Word of God and ask Him to teach you how to pray in ways that will bless His heart and benefit the kingdom of God.  God bless you as you endeavor to grow closer to the Lord through His Word and through praying hard prayers at the feet of Jesus.   

Psalm 91, In the Shadow of the Almighty,