Tuesday, September 22, 2009

IOW & WFW: No Shame

We deny Jesus every time we disregard His truth and put ourselves down. That hurts us. We deny Him every time we fail to see our value in Him. That hurts us. We deny Him every time we continue to hang on to our self-condemning thoughts and lies. That hurts us too. And then, it's as if Jesus turns and looks straight at us with His eyes of love and compassion, and something dawns on us. We have, in a sense, denied our Lord Jesus, and I wonder if that hurts Him."

~Shame Lifter by Marilyn Hontz~
There is a liar amongst us.

He slithers silkily into our lives to drape softly around our shoulders and whisper gently into our ears,

"Remember when you..."

"Who could forgive that...?"

"When that person hurt you, didn't you feel..."

"Do you really belong on this hallowed ground?"

"Since you've already messed up, why don't you..."

Shame is not of God. Shame says that we are bad, valueless, unworthy, defective, unlovable, inferior... Shame takes the wrongs, abuses, and neglect done to us and absorbs them into our self-image. We see ourselves as hateful, nasty, unworthy of love or simple kindness.

Satan is the father of shame. His desire is to twist every hurt or regret into a wedge that drives believers from staying close to our heavenly Father. He takes every word meant for encouragement and twists it into stabs that wound our fragile hearts, bleeding our joy from us...pouring into its place sorrow and fear and anger.

Beautiful lovers of God, we can defeat this liar with the Truth!

First, identify the lies we have believed about ourselves.

Second, confess to the Lord these lies.

Third, replace those lies with Biblical Truth about who God is and who we are as His beloved children.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ~ Romans 8:1 NKJV
Look now at ourselves through the eyes of His love.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written:


“ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~ Romans 8:31-39 NKJV
We must grab and hold to the Truth with everything within in us.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
Our acceptance of His Truth will lead our eyes from ourselves and point them to the Lord Jesus. Once we are focused on Him, we will be useful for His purpose.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
Rejoice now in the righteousness of God we have through Jesus Christ. God made us to be His Beloved ones. Do not deny the Lord the joy meant for Him through a close, intimate, and true relationship with us.
In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of refuge,
A fortress of defense to save me.
~ Psalm 31:1-2 NKJV
Beautiful lovers of God, rejoice!
These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ~ John 10:11 NKJV
Strength to see ourselves rightly through Love's eyes comes from a close, enduring relationship with Jesus Christ. He assures us of His love and gives us the power to live as He desires us to live:
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
~ Romans 15:13 NKJV
Now, dear friends, if you have read this and find that you cannot understand what these words mean to you...perhaps it is time to start at the beginning with trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Please go here: Steps to Peace with God, read the wonderful words of Life. Come back and share with me how God has changed your world from the inside out.






<-- Loni at Writing Canvas is hosting this week's In Other Words. Visit her to view more posts and to add your own take on today's quote.


-->Susan at Forever His is hosting Word-Filled Wednesday. Visit her to view more posts and to add your own.

6 comments:

Miriam Pauline said...

Patricia, bless you for speaking such truth today. We (okay at least I) need to get back to basics of standing on the truth of Scripture. Thank you for the reminder today.

Patricia said...

Miriam, this was a good quote for me to muse on. I've been going through a worry cycle because my son is at USMC boot camp and got sick. The worry has been awful and I have felt ashamed for my seeming lack of faith... until I read that quote. Now I realize that I have done no sin in being concerned for my son. Christians worry too. As long as we don't let it choke off our ability to pray and seek God, it is not sin -- so no shame...or guilt for that matter.

Jennsmere said...

Thanks, Patricia for declaring this truth! We can all get so mired down in feeling of inadequacy that we forget the One who loves us and makes us complete, in His own image....

You quoted my favorite scriptures...
Bless you,
Susan

Susan said...

What an incredible word. I really enjoyed this and will now meditate on it.

Oh, I want to bring Joy to our Father.

Thanks so much for sharing today♥

Cathy said...

Wonderful Words from the Lord ~

Marilyn Hontz said...

Dear Patricia,
Thank you for posting my quote from my book, Shame Lifter. That was so kind of you!
While probably most of us would not want to lie to others - we find it easy, and often okay, to lie to ourselves..."I'm not good enough, I'm not an adequate mom," etc.
Oh, how the Lord desires for us to know and believe His Truth about us. He thinks of us as a person of value and so often we tend to disagree with Him! Not long ago I read Psalm 119:29 (NLT) and it "popped" off the page at me..."Keep me from lying to myself...instead, give me the privilege of knowing Your instructions."
While God can use good shame in our life to bring us to repentance, I believe that unhealthy or toxic shame is responsible for the many things we cannot stand about ourselves.
Again, thank you for your post - and thanks for being a giver of grace!
Blessings,
Marilyn Hontz