No More Guilt

Prior to this next verse in Isaiah, there are 132 verses on guilt, those who keep sinning, how to deal with guilt, how the guilty will be punished, how disobeying brings guilt, and they are heavy, heavy verses.

And then in Isaiah, we read this,

With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

It was a coal from the altar that touched his lips. A coal from the offering for sin.

This is a foretelling of Christ’s work on the cross – the great sacrifice – the perfect sacrifice.

All of that heaviness that guilt brings when we sin and mess up, or even when we just think we’re not doing it “right” was atoned (paid) for, and this verse tells me that…

My guilt was taken away.

So therefore, I’m thinking that if I carry around a heavy bag full of guilt daily, and I’m not raising my fist or blatantly disobeying a direct command from His word, that heavy bag is not meant for me to carry.

In fact, I can toss it off to the side and leave it.

Never to pick it up again.

That’s a hard concept to grasp and live out…but I want to do it.

The Holy Place

Exodus 28 lines out what the priests are to wear when entering God’s presence:

Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.

There were offerings to be made and sins to atone for, back in the Old Testament, before the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  And sin had to be punished, and the guilty often died due to sin.  God was holy, and he still is.  And taking his holiness lightly by entering his presence in any way other than how he directed resulted in certain death.

However, even then God made provision for man to enter into His presence, to hear his voice, and to see and experience his power.  It required obedience to His word.

There were no excuses and nothing went unseen or unpunished. 

Fast forward to our present day walk with Christ and what a privilege it is that our guilt has been erased and washed away by the sacrifice – the last living sacrifice – to a holy God.

We don’t have to wear specific coverings when we enter into time with Him.  We are guilt-free and covered already, by His blood.

I want to remind myself that his blood was/is enough for me, even when I pick up those suitcases of guilt and lug them around.  And I want to hand them over to Him, allowing him to open them and empty them, and then toss them aside, as I reach out that same hand that carried the guilt…to now hold His…in the holy place with Him.

Free of Guilt

One of my goals this year is to travel lightly, (I’m reading Max Lucado’s book Traveling Light), and one thing I want to lay down is guilt.  It’s not really guilt for past sins that plague me, I know I’ve been forgiven.  It’s mostly guilt about not being good enough, not performing well, or not giving enough.  And I want to be free.

So, join me if you will!

In Exodus 20, in the list of the 10 Commandments, we are told this…

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

That’s a strong command and one with a bit of “scare” hooked up with it.

However, I have rarely looked at this command except under the umbrella of cursing, using God’s name in that way.

But how many times do I use misuse God’s name when I say that I love Him and He loves me, and I follow Him and want to be associated with His name, but yet I walk around feeling shamed and dismayed…after all He’s done for me?

Could that be a misuse of His name?

When he says I’m spotless, that I’m approved and pleasing in his sight, and that I’m his daughter and all He has is mine, and yet I go around feeling guilty and shaming the work that He’s done for me, is that a wrong use of His name?

I think so.

I’m not one that struggles with using God’s name in vain, but I do often struggle with bearing his Name and resting in all that He has for me, as his daughter.

I’d like to think about how I use His name this year, in a whole new light…

Changed

In Luke 9, we read of the transformation of Jesus as he was praying…

About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.  As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.  Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.

Jesus was with his friends, his closest followers, and they went up on a mountain to visit with God, to pray.  It was during that prayer, during communion with his father, that his face changed.  In fact, even his clothes changed!  They became as bright as a flash of lightning!

Jesus had just been talking about losing one’s life by giving it to Him.  And then he prayed.

When is the last time your prayer time was so powerful that your face changed, and your clothes were affected?  I’m not sure I can say that my clothes have ever been affected by my encounter with God, but I’d like to experience that.

Maybe, however, we are changed in ways that we are unaware of.  Maybe when we spend time communing with our Father, our face is lifted as the cares and worries dissipate.  And maybe what others see in our outward appearance is as powerful as a flash of lightning, and they look at us with a “wow,” at the power and force of God in our lives.

At least that’s how we should be affected when we cast all of our cares upon him and worship him for who he is – the One who never changes – the Father of lights – the Savior of our souls.

This Child

Matthew 18 says He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Here we read of a change we must make in order to enter his kingdom.

We just change and become like little children.

How so?

Little children trust.  They go to bed at night, not worrying about what they’ll eat for breakfast or what clothes they will wear (if they have loving parents).  They  just sleep and wake up, and then they enjoy the day.

Little children play.  They play and enjoy creation, and they dance, unaware of their surroundings.  They know what it is to laugh and be carefree.

Little children are not tainted by the cares of the world that we all take on, as we age.  They know their position, they are the child and their parent is the provider, and they come to the table to eat.

It’s sad today, because so many children are in homes where there is fear and unsafe conditions, so those children are carrying burdens never meant for children to carry. 

However, in these verses we are called to change.  This requires effort on our part to trust, play, and be untainted by the cares of the world, so that we can experience His kingdom on earth. 

That’s the kind of change I want, to be childlike in my trust and love of my Father, so that I look at him in admiration, willing to do whatever he asks me to do.

Rescued

Here’s hope for the new year, from Psalm 55:

He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.

Are you feeling a bit nervous about the new year?  Maybe taxes are due, health is not that great, the family is shaky, or your nerves or shot.  Or maybe grief has overtaken you.  You feel like you’ve been in a battle and you’ve been trampled and beaten.

This verse says “He rescues me,” and not only that, but he rescues me “unharmed from the battle.”

We don’t have to fight our battles.  God is our defender, a defender of the weak – us – when we are tired and spent.

God does not change. 

He still rescues.

He’s still the winner.

We are still his children.

It’s so hard to do, but we must lay our worries and our fears at his feet and give them to him, and lay our heads on his lap, knowing that our heavenly father in heaven is real, unchangeable, and a good, good Father, who gives generously all things for us to enjoy.

In Him is our hope for the new year.

Changed and Different

I Samuel says

The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.  Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

Here we see something spoken directly over a young man, stating that he will be changed into a different person, all because of the Spirit of the Lord.

The Spirit of the Lord anoints us, it really does.  And when He comes upon us, it’s powerful.  In fact, God’s spirit can change us and transforms us into something different than what we currently are.  And when we are changed, we realize that He is with us, and we go in faith to do what he tells us to do.

Sometimes, I have no strength on my own to obey or even get up and move.  I grow weary and I often experience fear and dread, until….I pray and receive His Spirit.  His Spirit, his loving hand, comes over me and rests on my head and my heart and it changes me.  It enables me to stand when I feel like falling over, and it calms my fearful heart and invites me to lean on his chest and breathe…and feel his heart beat.

God is a powerful force and He loves us and lives within us.  We are human and we succumb to human emotions at times, but those emotions and feelings can be changed into faith and the ability to rise, when His Spirit comes upon us.

All we have to do is ask and receive and believe.  And we too will be changed.