Free From Guilt

March 15, 2000

One of the biggest tools Satan uses against the body of Christ is guilt.  If he can’t get us to turn against God he will try and get us so ‘busy’ for the Lord that our relationship and fellowship with Him is neglected and eventually we become defeated, many times just through sheer exhaustion.  And if he can’t get us too busy for the Lord he will try and make us feel guilty saying we are not doing enough.

Just as the devil used the Word of God against Jesus, (Matthew 4:6), so will he use it against us.  How?  By telling us we need to try and meet every need we hear about.  Every need that arises at church we feel obligated to volunteer for.  Every need we hear about we feel we have to take care of, even if it means neglecting our own family or our own life.  And if we don’t, we feel guilty.   We feel that we’re supposed to sacrifice and put others before us and if we don’t the devil can try and make us feel so guilty about it that we end up defeated anyway.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1

I believe the Lord wants us to straighten out our priorities.   He always starts at home.  We want to reach the world but God wants us to reach our homes.  Those in our own household, those in our families, those in our workplace.  When Jesus told His disciples they would be a witness for Him after receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit He told them they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth, (Acts 1:8).  But He started in Jerusalem-where they were.  Sometimes it’s a lifetime calling to reach your family.

Most importantly, God wants to reach you. I t is not selfish to take time for yourself to spend in prayer and study of the Word.  You need to be putting that time first.  If you are not, you will not be able to reach others and you will not even have victory in your own life.

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour, (fragrance), of his knowledge by us in every place."
2 Corinthians 2:14

Through triumph in our own life we bring the fragrance of Him to others.  As we have victory over circumstances in our own life, we become a witness to the goodness of God.  God desires for us to have victory in our lives.  He doesn’t want us to suffer along and barely make it.  As we have victory and triumph it is a testimony to others that God takes care of His own.  It’s a testimony to the love of God.

Take the time you need to put God first in your own life.   Spend time with Him in fellowship through prayer and studying the Word.   Don’t feel guilty about it!  It’s not God trying to make you feel guilty.  God loves the whole world-but that means you too, not everyone else but you.

God Bless you and have a great day!