Tag: guilt

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Matthew Devotionals

This is my blood

communion

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28)

Just thinking about how much those words must have meant to Peter every time he took communion after Jesus’ resurrection.

He had boasted that he would never fall away, that he would always be faithful to Jesus.

And yet not long after, he falls asleep when Jesus had asked him to watch and pray with him.

When Jesus woke him up, Peter was probably cursing himself, vowing to do better.

But then he falls asleep not only a second time, but also a third.

Then Judas comes to betray Jesus, and Peter attacks a servant, but instead of Jesus’ praise, he receives Jesus’ rebuke.

And then he denies three times that he even knew Jesus. He probably didn’t even realize what he was doing until that rooster crowed. And he weeps bitterly at his failure.

How much did Jesus’ words mean to him every time he took communion? Every time he felt the sting of his failures?

“This is my blood poured out for the sins of many. Poured out for your sins, Peter.”

I can’t count the times I’ve failed Jesus. Broken vows. Done the wrong thing despite my best intentions. Or denied Jesus if not by my words, by my actions.

And yet Jesus says to me, “This is my blood poured out for the sins of many. For your sins, Bruce.”

Remember those words every time you take communion. Remember them, every time you feel the sting of your sin, the bitterness of your failures. And as you remember them, rest in his grace.

This is my blood poured out for you…poured out for the forgiveness of your sins.

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Genesis Devotions

Father, do you ever weep?

God weeping

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.”

So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command: ‘Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and their sin—the suffering they caused you.’

Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”

Joseph wept when their message came to him. (Genesis 50:15-17)

Father, do you ever weep?

Do you ever weep when we hold on to guilt in our lives, even after you’ve forgiven us?

Do you ever weep when you see us holding back from you in fear, thinking you still want to punish us?

Do you ever weep when we act as fearful slaves though you call us your beloved children?

Help us to see you as the Father you really are and draw near.

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Mark Devotionals

The One who takes away our guilt and shame

Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5)

I’d never thought of this before, but how many people had been telling this paralytic, “It’s your fault you’re this way. God must be punishing you for some sin in your life.”

It was a very common way of thinking in those days. (John 9:1-2, Luke 13:1-4)

How long had this man carried this burden of guilt and shame? How often had he loathed himself for his sin every time he saw his paralyzed body?

Whether or not his condition was directly connected to his sin, I don’t know. But his sin and the shame that came from it were very real.

But then this man heard about Jesus. He heard his teaching. And it sparked faith in both him and his friends. I don’t think this was just faith that Jesus could heal him. I think he took Jesus’ message to heart.

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:15)

And when Jesus saw his faith, he said, “Your sins are forgiven.”

In an instant, all the man’s guilt and shame were gone.

How about you? Are you burdened by your guilt and shame?

Jesus is the one who takes away our guilt and shame.

And when we come to him with a heart of faith and repentance, he looks at us and says to us the same thing he told that man. “My child. Your sins are forgiven.”

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Acts Devotionals

What God has made clean

“What God has made clean, do not call impure.” (Acts 10:15)

Peter said to them, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean. (28)

When God called Israel to be his people, he declared certain foods “unclean” for them.

But those laws were not simply for the benefit of their health. Rather, they were a visual, daily reminder that they were to be a different from the nations around them.

They were not to simply eat things because the other nations ate them.

And in the same way, they were not simply to do immoral acts because the surrounding nations did them.

They were God’s people now and they were to follow him.

So it was a total shock to Peter when God told him to eat a bunch of food that God had declared unclean in his law.

When Peter balked, though, God said, “Hey. I’ve made this food clean. Don’t call what I made clean, unclean.”

But once again, God’s point wasn’t about mere food.

God was showing Peter that his promises to make a great nation out of Abraham were no longer limited to the Jews. Rather, the promises were now extended to even the “unclean” Gentiles.

Anyone who puts their faith in Jesus will be accepted by him.

That means us. We were once outsiders to God’s promises, excluded from God’s kingdom, without hope, and no relationship whatsoever to God.

But we have now been brought near to God by the blood Jesus shed on the cross. We have been made clean, with all our sin and guilt washed away. We are saints. We are God’s children. (Ephesians 2:12-18)

But too many Christians don’t see themselves that way.

Perhaps because of their past sins they’re ashamed of. Or guilt for the sins they struggle with now.

Or perhaps because all their lives, they’ve been told by their parents, their teachers, or others, “You’re not good enough.”

Is that you? Do you still see yourself as dirty.

When you hear God calls you a “saint,” do you feel that it must be some kind of joke?

When you look at yourself in the mirror, do you like what you see? Or does the thought, “I’m not good enough” keep reverberating in their head?

God says to you, “What I have made clean, don’t call impure. I have washed away the dirt of your sin, the guilt of your past. I have accepted you. So stop beating yourself up. You are my child now.”

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Genesis Devotions

How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves?

Genesis

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity.” (Genesis 44:16)

Aren’t those words representative of us all? When we stand before God, and God opens up the books that show our entire lives, there will be nothing we can say. No defense we can give.

Judah’s words to his father Jacob in verse 32 also strike me.

If I do not return him to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you, my father. (32)

It seems to me there was a double meaning there, although Jacob didn’t see it at the time.

It was Judah who had suggested selling Joseph as a slave. (Genesis 37:26-27)

And we see in this chapter how heavily he wore the weight of that guilt.

He had sinned against his father by selling Joseph. There was nothing he could do to change it. And I think he was trying to atone for his sin by guaranteeing Benjamin’s safety.

I think his hidden message to his father was, “If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you by selling Joseph.”

But the truth is, even if he had brought Benjamin back safely, it would not have truly paid for his sin.

How often do we try to do what Judah did? We try to “make up” for the wrong we did.

But nothing we do can take our sin away. God exposes our iniquity and there is no way to justify ourselves.

But the good news is that Jesus lifted the weight of our sin, put it on himself, and paid for our sin at the cross.

All we have to do is trust and rest in what Jesus did for us.

And so Paul tells us,

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

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2 Chronicles 2 Kings

Increasing our guilt

Trash

Hey! Finally! We’re back in the books of Kings and Chronicles… if only for a short time.

The story of Amon, son of Manasseh, is very short but not very sweet.

Like Manasseh, Amon got into all kinds of idolatries and unspeakable sin. It’s amazing that he would do so after he saw what had happened to his father.

But there was one thing that was very different between this father and son, and it’s written in 2 Chronicles 33:23.

Unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.

The result? Ultimately, his own people conspired against him and murdered him.

I have to believe that there were prophets who tried to warn Amon, just as they did with Manasseh.

But he refused to listen. Instead, he “increased his guilt.”

What does that mean?

I suppose one thing it means is that he piled sin upon sin.

When we confess our sins and repent, God washes them away and we’re given a clean slate.

But when we don’t repent, our sins pile up just as a trash pile would.

I remember visiting the garbage dump when I was living in Hawaii, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Another thing it probably means is that his sins got progressively worse.

So often, when we commit a small sin, our conscience smites us, and if we repent right away, it keeps our hearts sensitive to sin and to God’s Spirit.

But when we ignore the voice of God, our hearts become hardened, and soon we can’t hear his voice, nor do we feel any guilt when we commit sin.

The result is a heart that no longer cares when we do what’s wrong, leading to bigger and bigger sins.

A final thing it probably means is that by knowing he was sinning, he increased his guilt by sinning anyway.

Sometimes we sin unintentionally. It’s still sin, and it still must be dealt with, but when we sin knowingly, our guilt is much greater, and so is our accountability.

Jesus said,

That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.

But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:47–48)

How about you? Are you confessing and repenting of the sin in your life? Or are you letting it pile up in your life?

Let us not be like Amon, who increased his guilt and had to pay the price as a result.

Let us be like Manasseh, who repented and turned from his sin and, in the process, found God’s mercy.