My Guilt Is Killing Me

My Guilt Is Killing Me

 

Guilt. We all deal with it and have since the first humans experienced overpowering guilt and shame several millennia ago.

Made Guiltless www.soulcries.org

WHAT INTRODUCED GUILT AND SHAME INTO OUR STORY?

Created Guiltless

In Genesis one and two we read that God created all things by speaking them into existence. Yet it adds that he uniquely formed the first man with his own hands out of the dust of the ground, and then breathed his very life into him. He later fashioned the first woman from the man’s rib. The Bible also says God created them in his very image and likeness. He then gave all humanity, including you and me the mandate to rule and care for this earth as he would, as his co-regents. Identity, relationship, purpose, and fulfillment. Guiltless.

God declared them and us the pinnacle of his creation.

The garden he place them in was beautiful beyond imagination and included everything they would need and everything that was was good and pleasing. Here they experienced God’s very best – safety, peace, and gladness, with a life free from danger, fear, anxiety, sorrow, grief, pain, guilt, and shame. God joined them in the garden and spent precious time with them.

Within this beautiful garden God planted a tree called “The Knowledge of Good and Evil” and allowed access for a serpent. Both were harmless if left alone, but were in the garden to offer the man and woman the freedom to choose or reject God (no robots). God gave them one rule out of all the “yes’s” he offered, along with his explicit instructions to never eat from that tree. If they did, they would die.

Guilt introduced

In Genesis three we read that one day as the woman walked in the garden, the serpent came along and pointed out that tree and inferred that she and her husband Adam were missing out, and that one tree would enlighten them to all their Creator had withheld.

Adam and Eve already enjoyed God’s every good gift and safety, so the only thing that tree could offer was the knowledge of evil, which was the serpent’s specialty. In the original language, “evil” implies not only the construct of evil but everything that goes with it. Pain, suffering, hopelessness, guilt, shame, broken bodies, broken minds, foreign reasoning, all leading to a broken world. But this couple had never experienced such things, and so the serpent knew his only opportunity to gain their allegiance was to cause them to doubt God’s goodness, long for what they didn’t understand, and entice them to taste the pleasures evil offered. The serpent still counts on our naivety.

The Bible states that the woman believed the serpent and enticed her husband to also eat from the fruit. Immediately their eyes were opened to evil and they realized they were naked. Evil twisted what had been good, destroyed their innocence, and repictured view of themselves, their relationship with their Creator and one another. They sewed fig leaves to cover their guilt and shame and then hid from the only one who could help them.

Nothing has changed, has it?

Psalm 51:1-3 NLT

MERCY FOR GUILT

God found the man and woman hiding and called them to himself. He questioned them, they blamed everything but themselves, and eventually confessed. He told them what they would have to face because of their choice, yet in hope also declared that one day he would send a Redeemer who would make all things right. This Redeemer would also destroy the serpent who had deceived them. God didn’t abandon them to their guilt.

1 John 1:9 NLT

GOD COVERED THEIR GUILT AND SHAME

If you read Genesis 3:21, you’ll notice that God didn’t do what most of us would do. After confronting them and offering hope, he removed their attempt to cover their guilt and shame, and clothed them. God killed an animal he had created for good things, took its skin, and covered his children. This was the first sacrifice to pay for sin. His love for his children was immense. It still is.

John 3:16-17 NLT www.soulcries.org

WHO IS THIS REDEEMER PROMISED TO RID US OF OUR GUILT?

There is a prophesy in Isaiah 53:2-6 in the Old Testament that beautifully describes this Redeemer and how he would rid you and me from guilt.

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him. (MSG)

Titus 3:4-6 Guiltless www.soulcries.org

JESUS OFFERS US AN EXCHANGE FROM GUILT TO GUILTLESS

Kindness, mercy, and grace isn’t what we expect, is it? We assume judgement and condemnation because that is what we deserve. But God’s love is so great and his compassion so tender toward you and me that his heart would always rather offer to redeem us rather than condemn us in our guilt.

Our Creator sent his Son to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. Jesus became a man yet remained fully God, lived guiltlessly before God, and chose to pay for our guilt by sacrificing himself on our behalf. His payment:

  • Cleanses us from our guilt and shame
  • Breathes his Spirit within us
  • Makes us brand new creatures in Jesus
  • Destroys the hold of sin and death that was killing us

His Spirit within us makes the exchange from death to life, darkness to light, evil to restored good (God’s righteousness) in a split second when we choose to entrust ourselves to this Redeemer and his offer of new life. Yet change also happens over time as we yield to his work within us. We never have to grunt out change. We only yield to his gentle voice and direction as he makes the changes within us. Not religious zeal, but contented restoration of guiltless relationship.

Today, he’s offering you this exchange. Your guilt for his righteousness. Living in God’s rightness takes us back to the place where we can experience the same goodness and guiltlessness that Adam and Eve left behind when they rebelled. The same peace, gladness, safety, hope, and freedom from guilt and shame that killed us inside.

That’s his gift to you, but you must be willing to receive both him and his gift. It’s your choice.

Romans 8:1-2 TLB Guiltless www.soulcries.org

If you ask Jesus to make this exchange, he promises that you will no longer live in condemnation. Guiltless. Read that verse in Romans again. New creations in Jesus Christ don’t have to get bogged down any longer in the vicious cycle of sin and the death that brings about guilt and shame.

This is God’s offer to you. Right now.

May I pray for you?

Lord God, I am so tired of the guilt and shame. I’m tired of the endless cycle of attempting to cover myself but only ending up naked and ashamed once again. I have really messed my life up by __________________________ (you fill in the blank) and need a Redeemer, a savior. Would you make me new? I want to experience being made guiltless because of Jesus. Please. I give my life to you and will follow Jesus the rest of my days in gratitude for what you are about to do in me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you aren’t ready for that prayer, my I suggest this one?

“Dear God, I’m not certain I can believe all Robin says, or what your Bible says. But I am willing to say, ‘If you are real, and if all this is true, then reveal yourself to me. If you are real, I want to know you and experience all your Bible says. And if you do, I’ll serve you the rest of my days.'”

I’m still praying for you. Love, Robin

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WELCOME TO SOUL CRIES

WELCOME TO SOUL CRIES

LET’S GET SOME THINGS OUT IN THE OPEN

None of us are perfect

So, no one here at Soul Cries can point fingers at anyone. We’ve all failed in many ways, and we’re big enough to admit it.

Each of us at Soul Cries has discovered that God isn’t into pointing fingers either. We’ve all experienced in varying measures his lavish love and can attest to the fact he longs to express his love to you as well. Right where you are. But his immense love won’t leave you where you are for long because he wants to give you a life you could never imagine, filled with peace no matter what you face.

But being God, he also requires you to want to know him and not just impersonally beg for his gifts. Like any rational person, he longs for a healthy relationship with you where you seek his best as he gives you his. There’s no such thing as a one-night stand with God.

To summarize this point: We aren’t perfect and God doesn’t expect you to be perfect either. He’s into building relationships and so are we. That’s it.

We’ve all experienced messy lives

None of us at Soul Cries are novices at life. From those being interviewed to those doing the writing, we haven’t led pristine lives so don’t expect the best ten tips for making life rosy. We know better.

Although each of us has experienced different messy places we all have one thing in common, we’ve also experienced the love and power of Jesus Christ, which has changed our lives.

Having said that, we also want you to know we aren’t here to shove anything down your throats. So if you want to hang around a while and just see what we’re all about, you are welcome. And if at some point you wish to dialogue, there will be plenty of places and times to do so, without criticism. Do know, we will tell you the truth, and that truth includes a God who loves you and wants so much more for you than you already experience. We’ll also share with you a God who’s powerfully able and willing to take whatever life has thrown at you and transform it over time into something more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

SOME OF OUR UNIQUE FEATURES

This space is a safe environment where you can share your stories, questions, and doubts with us. Please feel free to do so. That’s why we’re here.

We also offer you a variety of means to explore what a relationship with God void of religion looks like. He may be very different than you expect.

  • Music selections that speak to your pain and God’s heart and hope for you.
  • Blog posts that offer biblical answers and volumes of hope because God is for you.
  • Interviews with others who’ve met Jesus and discovered the power of God in their lives, as well as resources from professionals who’ve met Jesus but can also offer professional help.
  • Resources that allow you to seek answers from experts and scientists in their fields, people far more educated than I am. (I can’t fully vet each resource and all they have written, but I am familiar with each to some extent and so feel comfortable sharing them at this time. Each holds to a biblical view but has the expertise to answer questions in ways I can’t.)

THE SOUL CRIES PODCAST

You can find the podcasts from the home page. You can also find them on Sound Cloud @ “Soul Cries Robin L Seaton”

THE BIBLE’S PLACE HERE

We recognize some have been beaten by the Bible. I’m so sorry as it should never be. We will always attempt to share the Bible with the immense love and compassion for you that was intended by God. Jesus spoke harshly about anyone who misused his Word and caused people to lose their faith in him. He said, “It would be better for them to have a millstone hung about their neck and be thrown into the sea.” We take how we share God’s Word seriously.

In saying that, we also want you to know that God’s Word the Bible matters to us and so will always supersede our personal opinions. For we have found the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ recorded in the Bible to be the most faithful means by which God has expressed his lavish love for us. Also, the Bible, when used by God’s Spirit, powerfully speaks to all cultures through all languages and to all strata of society, unlike any other book in history. One of the Bible’s authors stated, “Our ministry is not based on the letter of the law but through the power of the Spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit pours out life. That is our aim–to pour out God’s powerful Spirit of life to you.


None of us who contribute to Soul Cries are licensed professionals, and so any advice we may give is solely from our own personal experience. We are unable to give professional advice, nor do we assert any information we give to be equal to professional advice. We may on occasion interview a professional, and if we do, they and we will identify them as such.