In correlation with a bible study I'm doing, I'm giving up guilt for the next ten weeks. I'm quite sure I won't be missing it.
Galatians 5:1 (Posted on Facebook, February 13^th.)

Guilt. Love it. I would say I have successfully spent much of my life feeling guilty. Guilty about so many things: judging others, holding grudges, eating too much chocolate (although if one has to have a guilty pleasure, there could be worse things, right?) I even feel guilty about feeling guilty. Crazy. In fact, guilt and I are so well acquainted that I know its nuances all too well.

Guilt brings with it a sense of shame. I’m such a bad person. I can’t do anything right. God must be really irritated with me because, yes, once again I’ve failed to do what is right or to stop doing what’s wrong. This struggle reminds me of a verse penned by the Apostle Paul.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:24)

It brings me great comfort to know that even the Apostle Paul referred to himself as a wretched man. Because, hey, who can’t relate to that--wretched, miserable sinners that we are. Thankfully, that’s not the end of this great conversation that Paul has with his readers and, maybe, more importantly, himself.

²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

That deliverance earned for us on an old, rugged cross, that’s where the power comes in, the power I have to live the life I’ve always wanted to. Beating the stick of guilt over my head isn’t going to sanctify me. If anything, it just makes things worse. But, as I remember that God is my sanctifier, I realize that he is the only one who can change me.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thess 5:23-24)

Guilt and peace can’t cohabit. It’s either one or the other. Last time I checked, God didn’t send Jesus down to tally up my sins. He sent his beloved Son down to set me free. Besides, who am I fooling. God knows the real me--maybe even better than I know myself. He knows my sin, my guilt, my shame. He isn’t looking for me to grovel at his feet. All he wants to do is set me free--free from the part I hate most about myself, the sinner.

I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free. (Psalm 119:32)

 I’ve always loved that verse, but in the past it’s seemed so unattainable Running in the path of God’s commands; how is that possible? When I feel guilty about something, it weighs me down to the point that I can barely walk, let alone run. But I’m finding that when I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith, the winds of liberty spur me on to freedom, a freedom that releases me to run like crazy in the path of his commands.

1.     John 5:17

In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”

Have you ever thought about God working? Kind of an interesting thought, isn’t it? Up until a few years ago, whenever I thought of God, I pictured him as a king sitting on his throne, not really doing anything except, well, watching us. But, lately, I’ve been wondering, does God make plans. Does He have an end goal in mind, and does He know exactly how to get it to work?

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Jesus even said it. God is working to this very day. Kind of a cool thought.  I had a skewed vision of God when I believed that, since creation, he’s been sitting on his throne just hanging out. And while the Bible does speak of God sitting on his throne, it’s wrong to think that He’s just hanging out in the passive sense. Because I very much believe that God is active here and now. Active. Working. Solving. Doing.

What’s more, his work is good. Think about creation. Everything God made was good, right? But I’ve often wondered, if tigers weren’t supposed to eat gazelles, why did God give them sharp claws and teeth; or why does an iguana have to change colors to blend into its surroundings. Why do humans have sharp teeth if all we were meant to eat is plants? In other words, why the default? If creation was perfect, why the back-up plan?

Well, I believe that’s exactly what it was meant to be; a back-up plan. God knew, knew that things could go either way. He had a plan for that. If things went bad, He knew tigers would need claws and iguanas would need camouflage. The wisdom of creation is that God was prepared for the best, and the worst, of outcomes. That’s who God is.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Do you ever wonder about your own life? Does God truly work everything for our good? As you sit there and ponder that question, look back at the above verse. There’s that word, that beautiful word, work.  Scripture outright says it: God is working. He has a back-up plan for your life. No matter the way you’ve chosen up to this point, evil, good, or something in-between, God is at work and should you give him your life, He is putting that plan into action even as I type this. Trust him. Believe him. God is at work and, as we know from the marvel that is creation, His work is good.

crazy temptations

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

You know, sometimes I think we give Jesus a bad rap. I know for a long time I did. Because he is the Son of God, I assumed that he had it easy while he lived on earth. After all, he is God’s Son how hard can it be to resist temptations. Easy - peasy, right? But, unpack the verse above and you’ll get a different sense for how difficult life must have been for him. What’s more, knowing he suffered when he was tempted should give us hope and comfort. The same Spirit that gave Jesus the ability to stay strong lives in us, too.  

First, let’s unpack that verse. Here’s the deal. Jesus had just been baptized. He had fulfilled his Father’s will. After he was baptized, God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, descended on him in the form of a dove and his Father spoke from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22)

Figuratively speaking, I suppose Jesus was on the mountaintop. So where does God lead him next? He sends him to the desert, to be tempted. Nothing mountaintop-ish about that experience. He ate nothing. Nothing, for forty days, and, sorry to state the obvious, but he was probably hungry - really hungry. I don’t know about you, but I miss breakfast and I’m hungry by mid-morning. Hungry and grouchy.

This is what Jesus was up against. He was in the valley now. No mountaintop experience here. He was probably as low as low could be, and, at a moment when he was weakest, the tempter was ready. Ready to knock God’s Son off his feet. After all, Satan knew what he was doing. They don’t call him crafty for nothing. This was one of his best shots to bring Jesus down.

Maybe it’s the way Jesus responded to the devil. It all seemed to come so easy. And maybe because the account in Luke sounds so simple and matter-of fact, I’m led to believe that Jesus had it easy. But he didn’t. Not even close. He suffered. He really did. In fact, the book of Hebrews gives us an inside look at what Jesus was really going through.

Because [Jesus] himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18

Did you catch that word, that one important word? Suffered. Jesus suffered. It was no picnic. He may not have even expected it. He had come from the mountaintop, and, in a matter of days, found himself in one of life’s deepest valleys.

 You see, Jesus understands. He really does. He knows what it’s like to face some of life’s greatest temptations. He knows how hard it is to resist, to just say, “No.”  Next time you’re facing some of your greatest temptations remember this, the same Spirit that lives in Jesus, by faith, lives in us, too. Don’t make the mistake I made for so long. Jesus didn’t have it easy. Life was hard. Go to him, bring him your pain, and, remember, he’s suffered. He’s been there, too.