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“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT Everyone who has lived any length of time has experienced feeling, “there’s something wrong with me.” Perhaps a parent said something that placed a false label on them, or they interpreted a certain reaction from someone important in authority as rejection. Also, as children it is natural to begin to believe that what we do is who we are. And we all mess up!
That’s why it is so important to allow the statement above to soak deep into our hearts. Believe that the very moment you declared Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you were transferred out of the darkness and into his glorious Kingdom of light where you will remain forever seated with him. With Jesus, there is no more shame. He took all your shame on the Cross. The shame that causes those insidious thoughts that sabotage your life by whispering, “I am so stupid! No one listens to me or cares. I will never measure up,” have lost their power over you. Jesus broke the power of sin and Satan’s lies over you on the Cross. (Romans 6:10) You win the battle for your mind by just declaring and believing the truth. Please, believe this truth: Because Jesus took all of your shame, you can also be free of the fear it causes. Satan does NOT want us to know that, because our fears cause most of our sin, and make it difficult to have a true relationship with God. The fear that controls us may be that someone will discover what a fraud we are and abandon or reject us. Shame can cause us to believe the lie that we deserve to be abused, hurt or to fail. It is vital to identify the fears that unconsciously control our behavior. Our fears cause controlling behaviors, like addictions to food, work, computers, pornography and drugs. We may hide our hearts, put on masks, lie, or blame others. We may become legalistic and perfectionists, thinking that if we do everything right, maybe no one will discover our source of shame. No matter the fear or the resulting, controlling behaviors, we need to ask Jesus to deal with what is causing the shame, which is the root of the problems. Satan loves to cause shame in little children, and reinforces it as they grow, so that they deny it and push it into their subconscious mind. That way they are ignorant of what causes the failures in relationships, their depression and anxiety. When we rely on controlling behaviors to make it through the day, we are not relying on God. More to the point, we may even be hiding from God, so are robbed of the very purpose of our lives, an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. What may be causing you to believe that something is wrong with you? Have you asked God to speak truth to it and make your new identity in Christ so real that shame’s power is broken? Then, watch as the fear fades and peace invades your heart and mind. Dear friend, hear the truth. You are a new creation, the old has been crucified with Christ. You have a totally new identity in Christ. You are eternally loved, will always belong to the Father, and nothing can change that. You were created for an important purpose. There is no one like you. You have great value. Christ died for you to be set free of shame, fear and every form of control that robs your freedom, and steals your peace and joy. Daily, as you allow him, our Lord is working in you to restore all that has been lost or stolen, so you will become all that God created you to be, because he delights in you and you are precious to him. Pray with me: Father God, forgive me for allowing ignorance and lies to keep me imprisoned in shame and fear. In Jesus’ name, I step into the authority you give me, and I break the power of every lie and vow that causes me to feel I need to control, and bind them to the Cross of Christ. They no longer control me. Forgive me for trying to control things and other people. That was wrong. I now give you all control and choose to trust you to protect me, provide for me and guide me along the best path. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for setting me free. I choose to receive every good gift you have for me. Release the blessings that I have blocked. In Jesus’ loving name. Amen. Mary Sumner June 22, 2019
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“Don’t be misled. .. You will always harvest what you plant.” Galatians 6:7b NLT With all the rain that we have been having the farmers are way behind in getting in their crops. Some will not be able to plant some fields at all with the accustomed crops. Timing has a lot to do with farming, but the quality of the seed does, too.
Every day we have the opportunity to plant spiritual seed in others’ lives and in our own. Sometimes we miss the right timing and others times we are not even aware of the quality, or lack of quality, of the seed we plant by our words, our actions and through our prayers. What seed have you been intentional in planting lately? Are there words of forgiveness and blessing that Holy Spirit has nudged you to share with others so he can return the blessings to you? Perhaps, there is a difficult person the Lord is asking you to love, words of encouragement he is asking you to share, or secret gifts to give to ease another’s struggle. If you want to start the habit of intentional planting, you may want to start with words. Our words, spoken in love by the power of the Holy Spirit, have the power to change the course of others’ lives. We have no idea what their impact may be, but those words of blessing, encouragement and affirmation will go on into eternity producing quiet fruit. On the contrary, Jesus warned that on the day of judgment we will have to give account for every careless, hurtful, selfish word that we utter. (Matt.12:36) What words have you carelessly spoken into eternity for which you need to repent and cancel? Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse us of those and then speak blessing over those we have cursed, or hurt in other ways. Then, let’s practice planting good seeds of words, actions and prayers into the future, so we store up a rich reserve of blessings and good gifts. Those are the ones our loving, heavenly Father delights that we reap. Pray with me: Father God, forgive me for missing the opportunities you have given me to plant good spiritual seeds. Holy Spirit teach me how to improve my planting techniques. I want to present to you a bountiful harvest of good deeds and words as a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise for all you have done. Amen. Dear friend, may the Holy Spirit stir in you the desire to produce beautiful spiritual fruit. May you have the discernment to know the timing and the exact seed to plant. Then, may you overflow with joy as you recognize the glorious results. May your desires always be pleasing to the Father. Amen. Mary Sumner June 10, 2019 |
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