In today's blog post I am starting with a question.
Have you ever struggled to believe shame has been removed from you?
In Jesus Christ, we are no longer left with the mark of shame. Christ has removed our shame and made us new creations in Him. He also died for our sins once and for all. This is why God does not throw our past sins back in our faces. That is one of the enemy's attacks to get us to disbelieve the truth. In comparison, God's grace covers us, and His forgiveness wipes away the sin which marked our pasts. Instead, we are made new in Christ and the sin and shame of our pasts can no longer be found.
In all honesty, this blog post has been one of the hardest to write so far. There have been many times in the past where I have not walked in complete freedom and let the enemy have a foothold in my thinking leading to negative thinking. There have been times where I have believed lies about myself. The point is I forgot to go back to the truth and see how God wiped away my shame. I forgot to see how Christ won the victory for me I do not have to believe this lie. There were times I allowed the enemy to whisper things that are not true. Where he tried to throw things back in my face.
Yet, God helped me to see the light and truth in where I was believing the wrong things by renewing my mind in the truth. The only way out of that mess was Jesus Himself. He was the only one who could show me my shame was truly wiped away. No one else could do it. No one else on this earth could save me from the hole I was digging for myself in allowing the enemy to have a foothold. I had to run to Jesus to fix it. He was the one who restored me and brought me back to wholeness. Jesus was the one who restored my thinking and renewed my mind to see how He wiped away my shame. Jesus is my everything and saving grace. I would not be here without Him.
So ask yourself; Are you believing you are truly free in Jesus Christ? Or are you half believing the truth you are free and not fully walking in freedom in Christ alone?
The burden of shame Jesus took off of us and put it on Him when He went to the cross to die for our sins. Then when He rose from the grave Christ won the victory over sin by defeating it. Jesus buried the mark of shame in the grave and left it there. This means no one can overturn Jesus Christ's sacrifice in dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead in victory. He did it once and for all.
Therefore, if there is any shame the enemy is trying to use against you. Take back the ground he has tried to take. God has given you the authority to take back the ground the enemy has stolen from you. Whether it is lies you believed and have exchanged for truth or not. Do not be afraid to stand up to the enemy and tell him to get under your feet. The reason why the enemy loves to shove shame back in our faces is not just about getting us to disbelieve the truth. It is also about getting us to be paralyzed in fear to stop us from doing what God has called us to. The enemy loves to silence us to keep us afraid of speaking out the truth.
Since Jesus died on the cross for our sins and shame. This means shame has no power over us. This is why we need to hold fast to the truth instead of cowering in fear of the enemy's lies. We need to remind ourselves every time the enemy speaks or whispers in our ears he only speaks lies.
In comparison when God speaks to us He speaks in peace and truth. God's forgiveness and grace cover us. He has wiped away our shame. Shame no longer defines us. It has lost its grip and hold on us because Christ has set us free. Since we are free in Christ now, we are made new. We are now defined by God's grace. Remember God speaks only truth He cannot lie. He brings darkness to light to redeem what was broken in us and restore it to wholeness. In Christ, we are now marked with His redemptive love.
This is where submitting to God and presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to God daily means not just our bodies but our minds to be renewed and made new through the truth. Like it says in Romans chapter 12 and Colossians chapter 3. Once the shame is removed from us we now have to choose to put the past behind us to walk in the freedom we have in Christ by letting go of the worldly things we have tried to keep ahold of in the past.
Here is the thing in knowing our shame is wiped away we can discern what are lies from the enemy and what is truth. In learning how to discern these things we are able to disarm the lies. In disarming the lies we are cutting ties with aligning with lies and trading them for truth. If you are wondering how we can learn to discern truth from lies. It is simple we dig into scripture and ask God to give us discernment. Ask God to move through the Holy Spirit to teach us how to discern what is the truth.
Let me tell you God is good and when we seek Him and seek to know the truth we will find it. God wants us to know Him. He wants us to know the truth. He wants a close relationship with us not the act of religion. God wants communion with us not the act of obligation. He wants all of our hearts not just pieces of it.
Especially in how our shame is wiped away through the redemption of Christ. God wants all of our hearts. He does not want just a part of us. He wiped away our shame and died on the cross for every broken part of us to redeem it. He came to 'Restore' us back to wholeness. That is the gift of salvation and grace in how shame is wiped away through Jesus Christ. The stain of sin is gone. Christ has redeemed you from sin. We have to accept it or reject it that is our free will choice.
Will you take God at His word that you are redeemed?
Will you take off the old and put on the new to have your mind renewed in Jesus Christ? Will you allow the Word of God to dwell in you?
Read Romans 12 and Colossians 3
References:
English Standard Version Study Bible (2008) Crossway Publishing, Wheaton IL,
Picture by: wix.com
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