40 DAY FAST FROM WRONGFUL THINKING (Day 11)

"I Feel Guilty"



Today we are fasting from the thought that says, "I feel guilty."

    We've all thought that or had thoughts that try to make us feel guilty such as: "You don't do enough. You're not good enough. You don't say the right things.You don't take care of yourself. You don't measure up. You don't do as much for others as you should. You eat too much. etc."

    This line of thinking produces guilt, which leads to self-hatred, anger toward others, bad decisions, harsh words, procrastination and fear.

     So often, we feel guilty because we THINK we don't do enough for God and for others. We often feel we are not good enough or holy enough.

     This thinking has enslaved people for centuries. Nothing seems to rob us of our true purpose more than thoughts and feelings of guilt.

     God doesn't motivate us by guilt. That's manipulation. God motivates by love. Romans 2:4 says, "It's the love and kindness of God that leads us to change."

     Often people put a guilt trip on us to get us to do something or to give in to THEM. God isn't like that and He wants you free.



LET'S CHANGE IT TODAY

1. Jesus declares you: NOT GUILTY. This doesn't mean that you've never sinned or done wrong. This means that He washes all your sin & guilt with His Blood. The Word of God declares Jesus as our "guilt offering", thus declaring us free from guilt.
2. See what God sees. Accept Colossians 1:22, which says through His Blood "He presents you holy and faultless and unblameable in the Father's eyes." When God sees you, He sees Jesus --- like when Jacob went before his father Isaac with the hair, skin & scent of his brother. The father saw Jacob as if he was Esau. And God sees you as if you were Jesus--- without guilt.
3. Meditate on Job 10:7. "According to your knowledge, I AM INDEED NOT GUILTY..." (NASB) When a person is born-again, they are cleansed of sin and guilt by the blood of Jesus, and therefore: NOT GUILTY.
4. When you blow it, DON'T deny it. Admit it. Confess it. 1 John 1:9 says, "If you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you and to CLEANSE YOU FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS."
5. It's already done! Believe that it is already done! The last words of Jesus on the cross were: "It is finished." At that moment, the price was paid for your sin and guilt. Hebrews 1:3 says, "He cleansed us from our sin."
6. STOP thinking that you have to FEEL GUILTY to be forgiven. Sometimes we think we owe it to people to feel guilty and feel bad for everything. STOP THINKING THAT! YOU DON'T OWE ANYONE! Don't think guilt somehow pays for something. The Blood of Jesus paid it all. When we feel like we owe God guilt or we owe it to others to wallow in guilt... it's an insult to His Blood.
7. STOP beating yourself up about what you haven't done. We often punish ourselves with self-condemnation. We will never 'do enough' for God. That's why Jesus did it all. He paid for sin, the curse and our failure. Our job is to BELIEVE!
8. Rest in the fact that you don't have to be perfect. God is not holding you to a perfect standard, Jesus is your perfection. JUST REST!

THINK IT AND SAY IT



FEATURING:   Jesus has declared me: NOT GUILTY. Even when I feel I don't do
                          enough, or that I'm not good enough, God says FAITH IN HIM IS
                          ENOUGH!

                          I don't have to feel guitly to be forgiven. I am forgiven by faith in Jesus.
                          I receive God's forgiveness, since He already cleansed me from my sin.
                          If I sin, I will admit it, receive His mercy and move on.

                          I stop, today, beating myself up about all that I haven't done, or have
                          done. I choose to live in the now. I will enjoy the moment that I am in
                          and praise God in the midst of it.

                          I rest in the fact that He is my perfection. I don't have to be perfect.
                          He already is and I put my faith in Him. In Jesus' Name.

*** reprinted from Gregory Dickow's "Start Thinking Forward."