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foresight
Shame, Guilt and Condemnation sound and look like
triplets born to the same mother but only moments apart
and all in the Garden of Eden! All came out with one act of
disobedience though assisted by doubt and rebellion.
According to WHO, about one million people commit
suicide each year worldwide, that is about one death every
40 seconds or 3,000 per day. Out of these many do it out of
Guilt, Shame and Condemnation. Let’s take a look at what
these very crucial terms mean in our world today:
Shame: ‘A concealed, contagious, dangerous and
painful emotion caused by a guilty conscience. A feeling
of being looked upon or being ridiculed by people
around.’ Shame is therefore an emotion that is dependent
on an external cause.
Guilt: ‘An emotion associated with having committed a
breach of conduct, especially violating a law and involving
a penalty.’ Guilt, unlike shame, is an emotion held within. It
may or may not be dependent on an external cause.
Condemnation: ‘This is an act of saying that something
or someone is very bad and unacceptable.’ (Collins
dictionary.) Guilt is a verdict, an
awareness of failure against a
standard. Shame is a feeling, a sense
of exposed failure before someone
else.
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME:
Psychologists tell us that guilt is
about wrong doing while shame is
about wrong being. Shame is a very
inward-focused emotion whereas
guilt is outwardly-focused. We feel
guilty when we see our actions harmed others and we
feel ashamed when how others view our actions, reactions
or even inactions.
Joyce Meyer, one of America’s most prominent Christian
speakers and authors, overcame sexual abuse by her
father. Today, she voices it publicly without any
hesitation. “My father raped me at least 200 times,” she
boldly confesses. She’s living proof of recovery from
shame, guilt and condemnation. “I used to have a massive
problem with guilt. It was so horrible how I suffered with
it! I would get up in the morning and wish it was time to
go back to bed because it was always there…hanging
over me ... it was horrible. But I can honestly say that
today, I am completely free from guilt and the
condemnation it brings,” says Joyce Meyer.
ADAM’S GUILT AND EVE’S SHAME: Adam and Eve
were never created with shame, guilt or condemnation.
Shame is an emotion that will keep you shackled forever
to the past. The original sin made Adam and Eve feel
unworthy and embarrassed. Even the fig leaves
couldn’t conceal their shame. Shame produced misery,
discouragement, and emotional pain. They ran away to
fend for themselves... but forgot that they could neither
outrun the shameful accusations nor could they outrun
God. They tried to hide themselves but how can anyone
hide from God?
“ If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” - Jesus (John 8:36, NIV)
FORERUNNER l AUG. 2019
The Exchange O ffer
GUILT TO GRACE: The most widely known writer in
English Literature, William Shakespeare, says, “They
whose guilt within their bosom lies, imagine every eye
beholds their blame.” Guilt can paralyze life but it is not
God who makes people feel guilty; it is the devil and the
‘self’. For God, there is no such shameful secret. In fact
there is no thought, idea, or attitude that we can hide from
God. Psalm 139:15-16 says that God even sees the unborn
child inside the mother. In fact with God’s grace guilt can
become a loving instrument for God to convict, correct
and conform our character into His character.
“I DON’T CONDEMN YOU”: John 8:1-11 has an
extraordinary story of a woman brought in with guilt, shame
and condemnation. She was caught red-handed in the act
of adultery and had nothing left to hide. A condemned
woman brought in before the most powerful person in the
universe, the Creator. Her life and death depended on what
He would say. She was well aware of what could happen to
her and could have said, “I don’t deserve to live” a hundred
times from the time she was caught till
she reached Jesus. Her accusers kept
demanding an answer, so Jesus stood
up and said, “All right, but let the one
who has never sinned throw the first
stone!”
This statement is one of the most
powerful ways in which Jesus levels
sins and exposes the hypocrisy of the
ones who brought her to be stoned.
They had no choice but to walk away.
The only thing she could imagine was the pelting of
stones, and she being under that pile. Then the gentle
voice she could hear was, “Where are your accusers?
Didn’t even one of them condemn you? Jesus said
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
These words washed away her shame, guilt and
condemnation. These were the best words she could
ever hear in all her life and that changed her life forever!
She did not come to Jesus on her own, the accusers
brought her to Him. He is the best person anyone who
is condemned should go to. He gives life instead of
death and he exchanges bondage for freedom.
No doubt every one of us have failed and sinned but we
were never designed to live in guilt, shame and
condemnation. The price or the ransom for our sins has
been paid by Jesus for everyone - even for the worst,
condemned either by others or even by our own selves.
Pick up yourself, wherever you are, even if you’ve squand-
ered your money on a sinful lifestyle. Come to the Lord,
just as you are. God desires to exchange your sins and faults
with grace, redemption and justification. His unconditional
love and forgiveness will turn your life around.
The Exchange Offer is valid indefinitely. The stores of
forgiveness in Heaven work round the clock. Walk in
and claim your free but priceless offer today!
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- Jose, josetnithi@gmail.com
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