Romans 8:1,2 Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
Psalm 86:5 For You, Lord are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
Psalm 119:22 Remove from me reproach and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies (This includes self-contempt!)
1 John 2:24-3:9
We are doing a disservice to God when we continue to feel shame for something when we have asked His forgiveness and truly repented for the action. If He has forgiven us, how can we feel we should hold it tightly and continue to beat ourselves with the memory, humility, and the burden of guilt. Jesus died to free us from our sins, and it is selfish in a way to cling to our guilt and shame if we have truly confessed it to Him and asked His forgiveness. He wants to free you, so you insult Him and His sacrifice by not accepting and freeing yourself of the guilt. If you need to apologize to soomeone for your actions, then do, but do not cling to the shame and guilt and negate His sacrifice for you and for us all if we believe.
Did He not send His son, Jesus, to be our complete way to forgiveness? By His death, if we ask Him to come into our lives, and forgive our sins, it is done. Not that our growth and striving to be more like Him is done, but God says, “Yes, welcome, my child.” He then offers us peace, rest, and a way to grow in love. We have the knowledge that we are forgiven. And we should act like it and not doubt, continuing to apologize and asking God to forgive. Yes, we are sinners, and we have done things that shame us. But how insulting it must be to God and to Jesus that we repent, truly ask forgiveness, then continue to hold onto our sin, shame, humiliation, and continue to feel badly. God has forgiven it; you insult Him by holding on to it. Hold on to Him and believe Him when He proclaims you are forgiven through the SACRIFICIAL DEATH OF HIS SON.
But if we hold onto our past fault/sin/shame then we doubt God’s words and promises. He offers a new life, but we have to be willing to take hold of the journey and learning the way to go. Our creator has given us the way to hand over all our negative baggage—not to forget it, but to grow in wisdom and learn from our sin, and then to become a true disciple, a follower and learner of Him, and a service to others.
It is sometimes so difficult for us to hand over our shame. I guess there are many reasons, but one is probably fear we really are not good enough, and God does not really want us (we’re too scuzzy, too bad, and too full of sins and hurts we have caused, just not worthy).
But those thoughts are SATAN’S lies, not God’s truth and promises.
The beast is insidious, sneaky and whispers these lies which our feeble human minds easily believe. Because much of our experiences have shown we have to improve our behavior to be loved or trusted, we therefore doubt we are ‘good enough’ and we put those conditions on God. But God is beyond all that. He gives unconditional love, direction, and the Way.
Those doubts are human (and reinforced by Satan) to pull us away from God’s love.
We need to truly hand over all ‘our negative stuff’ and believe we are forgiven, and then read His words, read repeatedly of His forgiveness, His peace, and His love. And try to reach ‘that stuff.’ Then we will be filled with thankfulness and the desire to be more like Jesus. It’s that simple. It’s only complicated because we hold so tightly to this negative baggage. Let it go, truly go.
This is the way I want to grow in ‘mybellaviews.’
Exodus 12:46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.
Numbers 9:12 They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break any of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.
Psalm 34:20 He guards all his bones, not one of them is broken.
In the Old Testament, there were a series of laws and sacrifices to be made and kept. The first few times I read much of the OT, I found it daunting and kept asking ‘why? What am I supposed to see and understand here?’ It felt like a burden to read through laws, consequences and felt like it was a bunch of blood, gore, and punishment, and I wondered at this “loving God.”
But I attended bible studies, listened to many sermons, not just at my own church, but lessons from the Stanleys, Franklin Graham, Joyce Meyer and a few others. And I began to have the doors opened in my brain. It is a process as I still learn. So much of the OT was missing for me until I began to see and understand the prophesies, the predictions that a Messiah would finally come and free God’s people. I didn’t see the connection with so many of God’s prophets and messengers who talked of sheep, shepherds and certainly did not fully grasp all it warned, both for those times, and for now.
It is so amazing to make the connections. There are over 200 prophesies that Jesus fulfilled before His death, many of which He could not be responsible for seeing come to pass. It was predicted that His garment, a lovely one piece cloak/robe, would be gambled for as the soldiers recognized it was a lovely garment. His legs would not be broken, although it was common practice to break the legs of those crucified. But because of His horrific injuries over the several hours before He was crucified, He was already dead. But God says in the OT not to break the legs of a sacrificial animal—the animal is to be pure and without blemish, and his legs are not to be broken. (Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, Psalm 34:20).
How could Jesus possibly have participated in the Roman soldiers not breaking His legs, or in the piercing of His side? How could He have influenced them gambling for His robe? He knew all that would occur, the pain, the humiliation, the abandonment of His friends and all before His death. Jesus knew exactly what He was facing, and willingly spread out His arms and died. He was the Passover Lamb, without sin or blemish. It is amazing to me to now realize how the OT is absolutely connected to the NT.
I challenge you to read the bible through one time and look for the connections from the OT to the NT. The OT is not just a story of laws and rules and sacrifices. It is also the genealogy of Jesus, and there were many sinners on that list—Tamar, Judah, Bathsheba, David, and it shows how fallible we all are. And yet, this was God’s plan, His line to His Son, the Messiah, our Savior as long as we believe He came to live, die via sacrifice, rise, and live now and forever more; and that He takes away our sin if we heartily confess and want to follow Him.
I am thankful everyday that I have Him in my life. This changed me and ‘mybellaviews’ forever.
Hebrews 13:16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
James 2:14-16 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
A few months ago, I saw a man with a sign which read “Hungry. Please help.” I often have gift cards to McDonald’s, Subway, Food Lion or Walmart with me. I handed one out the window to the gentleman and said, “I hope this helps a bit.”
He looked at the card, then back at me and said, “You haven’t got any money?”
I was stunned, then hurt, then furious. I drove away with swirling emotions, none of which were pleasant. I muttered about beggars not being choosers, and railed that a $25 gift card to Walmart should help. Shamefully, I must admit, that my hands shook with indignation and anger, and my thoughts were not pleasant toward the man.
Then, that quiet voice reassured me I had done what I was supposed to do, and yes, I had tried to help, but the incident was over, done, and certainly not worth my being so upset. By complaining and thinking how ungrateful, I was losing any blessing God may have planned for me. The act was not about me. I don’t do it for kudos…yet I was acting as though this was a personal affront to me. It was not. I did what I should have done, and it would have behooved me to just smile and say a prayer for the man.
I am blessed to be able to help some in this manner, and it is part of my duty and in all honestly, my desire, to help when I can. But I took his response as a personal affront. And that was not my right. So after several minutes of sputtering, I did say a prayer for him—not wholly enjoying the act of praying for him, but then a gentle peace filled my soul.
And my next thought, and gracious acknowledgement was “Oh, but for Your grace, it could be me asking.” So sorry I messed up with that act.
I hope the next time, I choose to hand out another gift card without thought of this negative incident. I don’t want it to cloud my thinking.
I have much to be thankful for with the blessings and “mybellaviews.”
Hosea 11:7 My people are bent on backsliding from Me, though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him.
Hosea 13:6 When they had pasture, they were filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore they forgot Me.
God had a plan even when Adam and Eve chose to think they were as knowing as God. They stepped away from sinless harmony and living with God, into sin. He was not surprised when Eve convinced Adam to sin with her, but that caused death to come upon humans. Part of that death is a separation from God, called sin. And that separateness can cause greater sin and hurt, hunger and despair to be everywhere. But He had a plan to save us, to bring us back to His kingdom if we would depart from our cocky sureness of making our own decisions as though we are always in charge. He would send His Son to be the final sacrifice for our sinful natures and many sins.
We all sin. We are born with a sinful nature, a self-seeking nature. Parents teach their children to share, to be nice to others, to give to others. It does not come naturally, so others must teach children to share and to be kind and gracious to others.
Jesus came to earth, Son of God, part of the trinity, alive forever, part of the Creator, the Alpha and Omega. But God’s plan was to send Him to earth to live as a fully human man, although God. He was and is sinless and He was to be an example, to teach and to fulfill more than 200 prophesies. The prophets told the Israelites what His grand plan was to offer them eternity with Him. They predicted He would be born of a virgin in a town of Bethlehem. (Isaiah 7:14)
It was predicted He would save the Israelites and He would be hurt, scourged, ridiculed and killed. ( Isaiah 53). Prophets told how He would die on a cross, but His legs would not be broken (Psalm 34:20) as it was determined He was already dead, hanging on the cross before it reached the sunset hour. The Old Testament gives us more than 200 prophesies which were fulfilled about Jesus, our Savior, and the One who would redeem us.
The Israelites and people who knew the stories of the scriptures waited for a soldier to fight and free them from oppression, the tyranny of the Romans, the evils of high taxes. They were not expecting a quiet, loving, calm teacher who explained and showed through example how to love. Like many of us who feel some of the unfairness, they wanted radical change now; they were anxious to join the fight for freedoms, and they wanted to push back at the oppressors. Nowhere in the Old Testament does it proclaim a mighty soldier will free them with violence and so forth.
God’s plan was so much better. And even as He traveled those dusty streets, spoke and taught, demonstrated His quiet loving ways, He reached many people. He healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, the demented, those paralyzed, with a touch, sometimes with just a quiet sentence…”Your servant is healed.” He explained repeatedly that He was in close communion with His Father…”He is in Me and I am in Him.” (John 14:11, 14:20) And the many who believed in Him, chose to follow. I would love to have walked those times and heard that voice and teaching then, on those dusty streets, maybe when He waited for water and a meeting with a scorned woman in Samaria. (John 4)
So many prophesies were predicted of Him. And some He had no responsibility to seeing fulfilled. He was already dead when the soldiers were breaking the legs of the two robbers crucified on each side of Him; therefore they had no need to break His legs. They did pierce His side, again He could have done nothing to cause or prevent this…yet another prophesy fulfilled. ( Psalm 22:16).
It is so amazing to me to read the OT and find how God fulfilled in the testimony of those men who walked, talked and learned with Him. And, these men, His chosen disciples, once they were filled with the Holy Spirit and fully knew Jesus, they never refracted their stories of belief. They all faced persecution, beatings, prison, abandonment and death, and never said, “NO, I just made it up. I just continued the great story.” Because they knew the truth, that Jesus is the Messiah. They knew He awaited them in glory. And they faithfully realized and were compelled to tell us what they knew, what God told them to say through visions and more. Those martyrs wanted all to be saved, as it was written, the words of God need to reach all the peoples of the earth to all the corners.
I know many don’t believe in heaven or hell, God or Satan. I can’t stand the idea of nothingness at my life’s end. Satan is alive and well and searching to destroy, lie and suck the life out of people and add to his dominion. He thrills at the idea of you not choosing God or him, because by you not choosing and reaching out by a simple sincere prayer to God, you will spend eternity in the fires and sulphur burnings in hell. It is not straddling the line. You either stand for Jesus… or you declare you are not sure, or you declare for Satan. But by the not clearly stating for Jesus, you choose Satan and hell’s eternity. That scares me for all those I love and care about and in their eternity.
It sounds simple, and the plan is simple. Humble yourself, reach out to God/Jesus, admit you are a sinner, and you want to honor Him, have Him guide your life. Confess and invite Him in and you are freed of the certainty of spending eternity in hell and damnation. But we are a STUBBORN people. And we believe we are in charge, in control, and we make and are responsible for all decisions and events that occur in life. Wrong! We can become humble rather quickly once things spin out of our control. That is when many reach out for the Savior.
I know I want one of “the many mansions, and I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:3-4) Believe me, for just the chance I could sit on a distant hill and sleep in a tent to hear Him and spend time with Him, I would sign up. But I received so much more. I have the reassurance of heaven, I know more love and peace and see beauty in each and every day, am surrounded with like-minded people, and it a ‘yahoo!’ feeling to hear the testimonies of others and the wondrous things He has done. And I get to share in it, to praise Him and to just be with Him. Nothing like it!
So thankful I reached out for “mybellaviews.”
Matthew 10:32,33 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will cnfess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
2 Timothy 2:11, 12 For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him, if we deny Him, He also will deny us.
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
Do you have unbelievers in your life that you love dearly? Do you worry and pray about them and hope they will reach for the Savior before it is too late? Do you find they scoff, not believing there is an eternity, or that there is anything after this life? Some, I know, believe just in the “dust to dust…”
That scares me. I would not want at all to believe there is nothing after this life. It is such a relief for me to know, that I know my Savior, I know He is God’s Son, and part of the trinity, and He sent the Holy Spirit to be my Guide, Counselor and to open my understanding when I am flummoxed while reading the Word. I know this. There is no denying this for me. To me it is a fact.
And yes, I have heard the challenges about proving it. To me it is easy. Look at nature—you see God and His artistry, His creations. I have a relationship. I know Him—not as deeply as I yearn to but I know Him and know He is dependable, loving, giving and worries about each instance in my life. I may plead and cry over some issue in my life, but I know He will direct my paths. I know it. Can I prove it? Maybe after I have received the direction, but no, I can’t prove Him to you through my experience and relationship. You must have your own.
I used to read the Old Testament and find it tedious, especially Leviticus and so on. But through my own bible studies, and listening to the teachings of other biblical teachers, my understanding has improved so much. And it is exciting!! Hundreds of years before the New Testament, God had his prophets predict, prophesy His Words. Sometimes, He was warning of punishment if the Israelites did not turn back to Him, to honor and revere only Him; sometimes He told them of the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, and the one who would redeem them.
Those are exciting finds for me now. Predictions from God that He made come true on His timeframe. And for all—yes, ALL, who believe in Jesus, call Him Savior, confess their sins and believe they are forgiven, yes, we get to spend eternity with Him and in heaven.
Because of these skeptics in my life, I have tried to prove the facts. I know little, although there are some verses I can pull out and explain how the prophesies came true, Isaiah, Jeremiah and so forth. But some of these folks still shake their heads not willing to jump on the “fallacy” without concrete proof. Wow, that scares me witless for them because I love them and do not want anyone I love to rot in fires and sulphur, spending their eternity in hell.
I have read a few books from some of the apologetics which give far more advanced evidence than I can. I’ve ordered a couple and will give them out. It is worth it if I can reach them, see no more smirking, and shaking of the head. I hope the books get read. But I have reached out, and tried to show how God is richly in my life and it is a benefit in a large myriad of ways. If these folks continue to hold firm to the belief in the “big bang” or some such nonsense, I can still continue to pray. And God answers prayer. I pray it will not be too late for any of these folks, and they can accept He is God, Savior, and their sins are forgiven.
Thank You for all You do for me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Hi, I'm Kathy. Welcome to my website!