His Words

Most of us feel guilty once we have performed wrong doings or violated God's law. It was like the feeling of being responsible for the things that caused negative to our life and even to others. The Holy Spirit is giving His full force and a lot of efforts to turn us away from committing sins and lead us towards to our Heavenly Father. I just realized that not all guilt comes from ungodly actions. 

Have you experienced that sometimes you question your performance for not reaching your goals? Or even feel so ashamed of the past events that we can't move forward? Even not fulfilling the expectations and criticisms by others has a big impact to us. Those times of rejection or pattern of abuse from a family member or encountering a power tripper supervisor can lead us to negative feelings. We can think of those ideas such as, 'what did I do wrong?', 'why it isn't enough?', 'why didn't I act on it', 'how did it happen, what was I doing?' These things are great and powerful tool that our enemy uses to spin our heads away from God. Whether false or real, these feelings can lead to the division of our attention. We can't think properly and we might question God's goodness. It also wastes our time and energy and insecurities will enter to overpower us. We might not feel the true love of God as we mingle and entertain those thoughts. Then what's next? It may lead to depression and hopelessness.

To cope up these, others channel their feelings through over shopping, overeating, excessive amount of time watching television and surfing the internet. But in the end, after those things, the feeling of guilt is still there. I admit that before I had the personal relationship with Jesus, I had the tendency to overeat and waste a lot of money just to push away those condemning thoughts and I assure you, those things will not help you at all! We must remember that dealing with guilt quickly is very important.

In Hebrews 10:22, "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.", it commands us to draw near to God as He will cleanse us. Point your eyes towards only to Him. Also, in Romans 8:1-2 "¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death", we must be reminded that there is no condemnation in the Kingdom of God. We must first admit and acknowledge our emotion and surrender everything to Him. Then identify the issue and pray it to God. If you commit sins and violated His commandment then ask for forgiveness and take necessary measures to amend your attitude (1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"). If you have the feelings of false guilt then ask God to adjust your thoughts and let Him guide you and point you to the right thinking. Praise Him because He promises forgiveness and the removal of guilt.

image from bedof65roses.blogspot.com

I always say that it is better late than never, this post should have been published during the valentines season but because of many reasons (I know I know, excuses!) I couldn't find a perfect timing to write this. Anyway, it was a blessful preach from Ps. Christie last 13th of February and she constantly saying that love isn't just a romantic feeling. There are many forms of love such as love to parents, siblings, friends or even country (nationalism???). But the main point of the discussion was looking for someone to share with your passion, dreams and future.

In 2 Corinthians 6:14 (Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?). Ps. christie said that if we have a relationship with non-believer, we shouldn't judge them or make a distance from them. Instead, we can still love them and we should lead them into the path of true love and happiness. Also in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13 (To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.), a couple shouldn't divorce if one of them is not a believer.

Ps. Christie also pointed out two major guidelines in waiting for that "someone".
1.) Look only with marriage in mind. - Of course if we want a relationship we should also consider someone who has plans for the future and true to commitment. He/She should have a stable job and financially stable. But of course, look for someone who is emotionally and spiritually stable. Just remember that we are complete and whole in Jesus.
2.) Wait for God's time. - He has the best and perfect timing for our lives. He knows when is the correct day on which we will face that someone and share the love with for our entire life. Let Him do the work and don't jump into someone immediately if you just feel that you need to get married the soonest. If that someone davalues you, then run away from that one.

The best of all, I think we should put these three important standards in looking for someone: (a) there is a growth in spirit / (b) servant of God / (c) one with a kind heart. Also, always remember this verse: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;), in short: No SEX before marriage. But what is true love? It's in 1 John 3:16 (This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.), it is the sacrifice of Jesus to save us and not thinking only about Himself.