Hindsight

Yesterday I wished I’d had time to develop the difference between real guilt and false guilt or what some psychologists call objective vs. subjective guilt.

Real guilt is when we can name a law, social standard or Biblical teaching that we have specifically violated.

False guilt or subjective guilt: is an uncomfortable feeling or regret, remorse, shame or condemnation that we experience when we have done something that we can’t put our finger on. 

False guilt is this free floating anxiety that can be caused by:  Unrealistic personal expectations, a sense of inferiority, or social pressure.

One of the largest causes of false guilt is poor conscience development as a child.  Dr. Gary Collins in his book Christian Counseling writes, “When the home is warm, predictable and secure, and when there is more emphasis on approval and giving encouragement than on punishment and criticism- then the child knows what it means to experience forgiveness.  But when there are poor parental models, and /or moral training which is punitive, critical, fear-ridden or highly demanding, then the child becomes angry, rigid, critical and burdened by a continuing sense of guilt.”

He finishes his article with this statement, “Remember that two good ways to learn about forgiveness are to practice it and to experience it.”

The first step is always, “Do what you can do!”  Practice forgiving and you’ll get better at accepting forgiveness which will help you eliminate guilt.

Personal counseling for guilt can be extremely helpful if you experience constant guilt from poor moral training with your parents.

Trinity Ministries Inc. here in Visalia has some really helpful counselors that can assist you in conquering the guilt dilemma. 

God bless,

Pastor Ed

Hindsight

I have a friend who is also a Pastor.  He was standing in a line at Starbucks behind a young lady who enjoyed talking, and she chose to talk to him. At one point in the conversation he asked her if she had ever tried church.  
She came a little unhinged and got a little angry and began to recite to him how badly she’d been hurt by the few churches she’d attended and she would have nothing to do with hypocrites like that. 

“You seem very upset,” he said, “and you still seem angry with those people, maybe even a little bitter.”

“I am!” she said.

He, in a very soft kind voice said, “How’s that anger-bitterness thing working for you in the rest of life?”

Her lip quivered and her eyes filled and she said, “Not very well.” 

They sat for an hour at Starbucks and had a long conversation over their coffee!

When you connect with Christ you encounter an inheritance of grace that changes the color of everything! Even at Starbucks.

Hindsight

Genesis 3 is the historical recording of Adam and Eve’s original sin.  From their distrust of God’s word and God’s character to their trust in the serpent’s word and character, sin entered the entire human race!  This story explains the original fall of humanity through which we all inherited the sin and guilt of Adam and Eve!  We all inherit a sin nature and the naturally inherited consequences for sin. 

The strategy of the serpent worked so well in this original scene that he has continued to pursue men and women in exactly the same way-by tempting them to distrust God’s word and God’s character. 

Is this a story of how I can sin and lose my relationship with God and my salvation today?  No. 

While the serpent’s strategy is the same, and my weakness is the same, Jesus’ payment for my sin is sufficient and my relationship with God is secure through Christ. 

Let me ask you, what do you think God’s ultimate plan is? I believe it is to bring as many people as possible into a saving knowledge of His Son’s payment on the cross for our sin? 

The Bible is not primarily a book about how to make bad people good, even though it can do that!  It’s primarily a book about how to make spiritually dead people alive!

Hindsight

Pastor Bill Yoshimoto leads our GateWay staff every morning in prayer.  He pulls out his World prayer book which lists every country of the world, lists what their needs are, lists what the major religions are and what percentage of Christians are there.  We pray for GateWay and then we pray for that country.

In Ephesians 6:18 Paul writes, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view,  be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…”

Paul uses the word “all” four different times.  He says that we are to:

#1.  Pray when we’re thinking about the armor of God!  Each piece of armor is a gift from God but it also has a corresponding act of obedience.  So pray that you’ll be obedient to the armor with which God has gifted you.

#2  Pray at all times!  Whatever you face in terms of struggle, temptation or blessing, you are to pray.  You can pray with a request or you can pray with thanksgiving.

#3.  Pray with perseverance!  The last thing we start and the first thing we give up is prayer.  Paul commands us to persevere in prayer.

#4.  Pray for all saints!  This simply means prayer for all the followers of Jesus             Christ. 

Stop right now and pray for the four “alls” that Paul lists.

God bless,

Pastor Ed