two greatest barriers to peace of mind…

we are continuing in our phrase by phrase look through the LORD’s prayer, looking at how to have inner peace in this stress filled world that we live in and two greatest barriers to peace of mind without a doubt are guilt and resentment.  guilt comes from what we do to other people.  resentment comes from what other people do to us.

now we have talked about that the only antidote to guilt is to receive the forgiveness of GOD.  and in the same way the only antidote to resentment is to offer the forgiveness of GOD to other people. 

we have been looking at the first part of matthew 6.12 (lb), now we’ll look at the second part.  forgive us our sins just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.  we are to forgive others just like we have been forgiven. 

in life you’re going to be hurt many times, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.  and the source is not what’s important but how you choose to respond to the hurt.  the only way you can get inner peace when you’ve been hurt is to let it go, to forgive.

just a thought from the front porch…

it’s as easy as a,b,c…

wouldn’t you like to let go of that load of guilt that is in your life?  it’s as easy as a,b,c.

let’s pray…

dear FATHER, i know there are people here on the front porch today who are tortured by guilt and shameful memories.  they’ve tried all kinds of things to get rid of it but nothing’s worked.  help them to realize how much YOU love them no matter what they’ve done.  right now, give them the courage to pray the prayer of forgiveness so that they can be free. 

just pray this prayer in your mind, in your heart, say this, “dear GOD, you know all the things i’m ashamed of.  you even know the things i’ve done i don’t even know about that were wrong.  thank YOU for bringing me here today to receive your forgiveness.  i want to take the a,b,c steps.  first, i admit that what i’ve done is wrong.  i admit that i have often been my own god.  i’ve gone my own way.  i did things i wanted to do instead of what YOU wanted me to do.  i ask you to forgive me for all those things.  second, i BELIEVE.  i believe that YOU want to forgive me.  i believe in YOUr grace.  i want to believe that JESUS CHRIST died to pay for all that i have done wrong.  thank you, JESUS CHRIST, for sacrificing YOUr life for me.  now, today, as best as i understand it i commit my life to YOU, JESUS.  i open up my life and say, i want to get to know YOU.  i want to follow YOU.  i want to live for the purpose YOU made me for.  in YOUr name i pray.  amen. 

why don’t you pray this prayer today?

just a thought from the front porch…

the best deal anywhere…

listen, your forgiveness is free, absolutely free, but it is not cheap.  somebody had to pay for it.  and JESUS CHRIST paid for it with his life.  colossians 1.14 says this, GOD has purchased our freedom with HIS blood and has forgiven all our sins.

GOD paid the ransom to set you free.  HE redeemed you.  HE said HE purchased it with HIS blood so all your sins could be forgiven. 

when JESUS died on the cross with HIS arms outstretched, nailed to that cross, the last thing HE said was, it is finished.  HE didn’t say, “i am finished,” because HE wasn’t.  HE resurrected and HE’s still alive today.  HE’s GOD.  HE wasn’t finished.  so what did HE mean, it is finished?

HE meant, I’ve paid for all your sins.  the plan of salvation is complete.  there’s nothing you need to add to it.  it is finished. 

in fact, in the greek in the bible, that phrase it is finished is only one word.  it is the greek word teleo.  it literally means in greek, “paid in full”.  it was a legal term. 

back in those days when someone would pay off a bill like you paid off your mortgage or you paid off a bill to a businessman they would stamp it teleo.  paid in full.  when a prisoner had served his time and his sentence was being commuted they would stamp on his prison papers when he was released, teleo.  paid on full.  free to go.  you’ve paid your debt to society.  you are scot free. 

when JESUS CHRIST died on the cross with HIS arms outstretched and HE said teleo, paid in full.  that meant that HE has paid already for every dumb thing you’re ever going to do.  every sin. 

notice it says, HE has forgiven all our sins.  when JESUS died for our sins which ones did HE include?  all of them.  that means if you are a CHRISTian, you’ve put your faith in JESUS CHRIST, and you’re carrying around a load of guilt right now you are carrying a load of guilt over sins that have already been paid for. 

what are you doing that for?  how long do you remember a bill that’s been paid for?  once i pay my electricity bill do you think i worry about it the next day?  i never, ever think about it again.  it’s been paid for.  i never think about it again.  paid in full.

what are you worried about?  why are you holding on to something that GOD has already paid for and when you confess it to HIM HE’s forgiven and you don’t have to keep confessing to HIM over and over.  in fact, if you keep confessing it that’s a lack of faith that says, “GOD, i don’t really think you forgave me the first time.”  GOD says, “i did.  why did you bring it back up again?  it’s already forgiven.”

just a thought from the front porch…

keep short accounts…

one of the greatest barriers to inner peace without a doubt is guilt.  millions of people are tortured by guilt.  they are stuck in the past.  they are a slave to regrets, a slave to shame, a slave to things they can’t get out of their mind.  they don’t know how to get out of the past so that they can get on with their life in the present and get into the future.  you cannot have peace of mind and guilt at the same time.

noel coward, a well known british playwright and comedian in the 20th century, once played a prank on ten famous men in london. he sent each of these distinguished men the same note which read: “we know what you have done. if you don’t want to be exposed, leave town.” and within six months all ten men had moved out of london.

guilt is a powerful emotion; it holds us captive and excludes us from sharing an intimate relationship with GOD and others. while nothing more than a cruel prank noel coward’s note exposed the guilt each of the recipients carried. fear of exposure caused each of them to move so they could keep their sin hidden. what is the key to unlocking the chains of guilt that hold us captive? guilt and shame become a self-made prison that excludes us from entering into a life of inner peace and joy.

there’s only one antidote that takes care of guilt.  it’s found in matthew 6.12 (niv), forgive us our debts.

there’s only one antidote to guilt and it is forgiveness.  while other people may forgive you for things you did against them, but the only person who can forgive you all the personal sins in your life is GOD.  you need GOD’s forgiveness. 

listen, keep short accounts with GOD.  when you realize you’ve done something wrong, immediately go to HIM about it.  don’t let it pile up.  you might practice what a lot of people call “spiritual breathing.”  breathing out and breathing in spiritually.  when you breathe out you say, “GOD, i confess that i’ve done something wrong.  i realize this is a sin.”  then when you breathe in, “GOD, i receive your forgiveness.  i realize that you are a GOD who loves me and you are a GOD whose willing to forgive me.”

just a thought from the front porch…

there’s this huge lie out there about guilt…

there’s this huge lie out there about guilt.  you may have heard this lie.  you may have thought this lie.  the lie is guilt makes me a better person.  if i just feel a little bit guilty maybe i’ll do the right thing next time.

but it never works.  it just gets you caught in the trap of doing the wrong thing, trying to do the right thing, doing the wrong thing again.  it’s an endless cycle.  it doesn’t make you a better person it just makes you a miserable person feeling trapped the rest of your life. 

the truth is some of you feel guilty about not feeling guilty.  your motto is “i should always feel guilty about something.”  then you’ll feel better about yourself. 

no, you won’t.  you feel worse about yourself. 

the truth is GOD tells us HE wants to forgive us.  and that we need HIS forgiveness to live the kind of life HE wants us to live. 

HE not only wants us to know that we’re forgiven by HIM; HE wants us to feel that we are forgiven by HIM because HE forgives us instantly. 

just a thought from the front porch…

the ways GOD forgives…

some of you say, “there’s something in my life i know is wrong.  i regretted it from the moment i did it.  and i’ve asked GOD over and over and over to forgive me.  every time i think about it i still ask HIM to forgive me.  but i don’t feel forgiven.”

what’s the problem?  what is the problem with that?

the problem is not GOD.  the problem is you don’t understand the ways GOD forgives. 

 so how does GOD forgive?

well for one, GOD forgives me instantly.  HE forgives me instantly, the moment that i ask.  there is no hesitation.  there is no delay.  GOD forgives instantly. 

the bible tells us in isaiah 55.7 (gnt), let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking.  let them turn to the LORD our GOD.  HE is merciful and quick to forgive.  HE is quick to forgive.  the moment you ask, without delay, GOD forgives. 

we have a hard time understanding this.  as human beings this is the exact opposite of how we often forgive.  we’re often slow to forgive. 

we like to hold it over people’s heads a little bit.  if someone asks us to forgive them we say, “i’ll think about it.”  we wait a little bit to forgive because the truth is we want them to suffer a little bit first before we forgive them.  we want them to beg a little bit.  we want them to grovel.  we want them to suffer.  we want to rub it in just little bit before we forgive them.  we don’t want to let them off that easy. 

but GOD is always quick to forgive.  the moment you and i go to HIM, HE forgives us that instant.  HE never holds it over our head.  HE’s perfect.  that’s how GOD forgives us.  HE never makes us wait. 

1 john 1.9 (gnt), if we confess our sins to GOD HE will keep HIS promise and do what is right.  HE will forgive us our sins and make purify us from all our wrongdoing. 

so how long should a believer feel guilty?  i’d say about fifteen seconds!  that’s about how long it takes for you to realize “i’ve sinned.  i’ve done something that’s hurt not only my heart and the people around me but the heart of GOD.”  take it to GOD, confess it to GOD and release it to GOD. 

just a thought from the front porch…

there’s only one antidote to guilt…

another way we try to deal with guilt is distractions.  that is, “i’m never going to slow down long enough so i won’t have to think about it.”  so i rush around from one event, one activity to the next trying to do what i want to do, trying to do what i need to get done so at night i can come home and crash.  lay my head down on the pillow and go to sleep before those depressing, guilty thoughts start filling my mind and haunting me again.

guilt is probably one of the primary causes of workacholism.  a lot of workaholics are running from something.  they’re trying to run away from something they know is wrong in their life and they’ve never dealt with it so they just try to stay busy so they don’t have to think about it. 

then one we’re all familiar with is escapism.  pop a pill, have a drink, smoke a joint, watch tv, go to disney world, take up a sport, play the lottery; any kind of thing to kind of escape from the depression of my guilt. 

the problem is that none of these work.  none of these will help you to get rid of guilt in your life. 

there was a guy who called up on the phone to one of those talk radio psychologists and he said, “i am so guilty,” and he poured out what he had done to this radio psychologist.  he said, “i’m so guilty!  how can i get rid of my guilt?”  the psychologist said, “you can’t.  you’ve got to live with it.” 

that is what someone who doesn’t believe in GOD would say. fortunately you don’t have to live with it.  fortunately nobody reading this – i don’t care what you’ve done – if you’ll stick with me during the next few days here on the porch and apply what we’ll talk about, there’s not a single person who needs to stay on a guilt trip.  there’s not a single person who needs to leave the  front porch without a clear conscious. 

there’s only one antidote and it’s the next phrase that we are going to look at in the LORD’s prayer.  it’s found in matthew 6.12 (niv),  forgive us our debts. 

there’s only one antidote to guilt and it is forgiveness.  while other people may forgive you for things you did against them, all the personal sins in your life the only person who can forgive you for that is GOD.  you need GOD’s forgiveness. 

just a beginning thought from the front porch…

are you familiar with these?...

a guy by the name of william justice wrote a book called the 37 ways we lie to ourselves to avoid guilt.  i was wondering if you maybe were familiar with few of these.

projection.  when you feel guilty you project it on to somebody else.  you blame everybody else.  “it’s not really my fault.”  you blame society.  you blame your boyfriend/your girlfriend.  you blame your parents.  you blame your teachers.  you blame the environment – the government.  you project your guilt on to somebody else. 

he says another way we lie to ourselves is rationalization.  we make up excuses.  “it’s no big deal what i did.  it didn’t really hurt anybody.  it’s just this once.”  we rationalize.  we justify.  we make excuses to cover up our guilt.

he said a third way we handle our guilt is comparison.  “if you think i’m bad you should see...”  if we think if their crimes are worse than ours then we’re mother theresa.  we’re a saint. 

the fourth way is repression.  you’re all familiar with this.  that’s where you stuff it down.  you push it down in your subconscious.  you try to live in denial.  “i know it was wrong but i just won’t think about it.”  you push it down.  the only problem with that is it doesn’t work.  you can’t keep guilt down permanently.  you cannot live in denial for the rest of your life. 

you’ve got to deal with the things you feel guilty about. 

if i were to take you out to the swimming pool this afternoon and you jumped in and i gave you eight tennis balls and said, “here’s your assignment.  i’ll give you a million bucks if you can keep them all submerged at once.”  you’d have a hard time.  you’d be pushing one down, then another, then another and they’d be popping back up. 

that’s what happens with guilt.  you can’t keep it down in your life.  no matter how you try to rationalize it, justify it, blame somebody else, make excuses, push it down, forget it.  the fact is you know it was wrong and it keeps popping back up.  here’s the problem.  if you don’t learn how to get rid of guilt in your life you’re going to be tired much of your life.  because it’s exhausting trying to keep all those balls submerged.  it takes enormous energy to live in denial.  it really does.  it takes a lot less energy to just deal with it and get it over with.  so it doesn’t work to try to repress it.

just a thought from the front porch…

one of the greatest barriers to inner peace…

one of the greatest barriers to inner peace…

we’re going to continue in our series as we’re going phrase by phrase through the LORD’s prayer.  we are looking at how to have inner peace in this stress filled world that we live in.

now one of the greatest barriers to inner peace without a doubt is guilt.  millions of people are tortured by guilt.  they are stuck in the past.  they are a slave to regrets, a slave to shame, a slave to things they can’t get out of their mind.  they don’t know how to get out of the past so that they can get on with their life in the present and get into the future.  you cannot have peace of mind and guilt at the same time. 

the thing about guilt is it is a uniquely human emotion.  we share a lot of emotions with animals.  animals have fear.  animals have anger.  animals can express joy and happiness.  animals can even express sadness.  but only human beings have guilt.  no dog ever feels a guilty conscious because no dog is made in the image of GOD. 

you were created with a soul and you were given a conscious and you know the difference between right and wrong.  so this is uniquely human emotion. 

it’s also universal.  everybody feels guilt at different times of their life because we’ve all blown it.  we’ve all made mistakes.  nobody’s perfect.  nobody bats 1000.  so everybody has to deal with this issue in their lives on a continual basis. 

the problem is guilt is an incredibly destructive emotion.  it is probably the number one cause of low self-esteem.  it is probably the number one cause of depression.  and it’s probably the number one cause of anxiety.  when you are filled with guilt and you’re trying to keep something a secret in your life that you’re ashamed of it curses all kinds of emotional difficulties in your life. 

most of all though guilt is a warning light.  it is a warning light that says something is wrong in my life and i need to get it corrected.  that’s the reason GOD allows it.  it’s a corrective warning light.  it’s not something that’s supposed to stay on in your life.  it’s a warning light.  you correct what’s wrong and then you get on with your life.

just a thought from the front porch… 

be consistent…

we are looking here on the front porch at this matter of us playing GOD when we judge other people.  there are seven places in scripture where it says it is wrong to judge.  the scripture does say in some places that we are to judge certain things.  we’re to judge ourselves and we’re to judge certain matters.

but over in paul’s letter to the romans he tells us it is wrong to judge other people when i’m practicing the same sin.

romans 2.1-3 (msg), you didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract GOD from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? you, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same thing.  now we know that GOD’s judgment on those who do such things is based on truth.  so when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet you do the same things, do you think you will escape GOD’s judgment?

i don’t have any right to speak up, if i lack the personal integrity where i’m guilty too.

remember the woman caught in adultery?  what did JESUS say to the pharisees?  he who is without sin cast the first stone. and they all walked away.

that’s what GOD is saying here.  i don’t have any right to judge anyone else if I’m guilty of the same thing.  we need to be consistent.

just a thought from the front porch…

not guilt or grief but grace…

dream managers see GOD’s hand at work.  they see GOD’s hand at work in life and in circumstances.  jacob dies. 

genesis 50.15-20 (niv), when joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead they said, “what if joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs that we did him?”

guilt again.  it’s a terrible thing.  when they threw joseph into that pit, who really went into the pit?  when they sold joseph into slavery, who really went into slavery?  guilt is a terrible thing. 

so they sent word to joseph saying, “your father left these instructions before he died.  ‘this is what you say to joseph, i ask you to forgive your brothers, the sins and wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.

it doesn’t even sound like jacob, does it?  sounds like one of those notes you used to write to teachers to get out of something.  they wrote one of those kinds of notes.

and now please forgive the sins of your servants.’”…when the message came to him, joseph wept.  his brothers came and threw themselves before him and said, “we’re your slaves.” 

and here’s one of the most dramatic moments in all the book of genesis.

joseph said to them, “don’t be afraid.  am i in the place of GOD? 

that’s somebody who sees GOD’s hand at work in their relationships, in their character, in their actions.  he recognized “i'm not in GOD’s place.  it’s not my place to judge, it’s GOD’s.

you intended it to harm me.  but GOD intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done the saving of many lives.” 

in genesis 50 you see joseph living, not with his solution but with GOD’s solution.  not guilt or grief like his brothers or his father.  you see him living with grace.  here at the pinnacle of his life, the pinnacle for an opportunity for revenge he instead takes the opportunity to sum up his faith. 

just a thought from the front porch…

allow HIM to forgive…

joseph’s brothers were still living with guilt twenty years later.  they go down to egypt and they’re going to buy some grain and guess who the brothers meet up with?  joseph.  he might have a veil on or some of the officials then might be behind a partition, they wouldn’t get close to people.  i don’t know exactly why but they could hear each other but not see each other real closely.  he might have been high up, away from them.  they talk and communicate but they don’t know who joseph is.  but joseph knows who they are.  he recognizes them.

they come in and say, “we need some food.”  joseph devises a little test.  he says, “i’ll give you some food but if you want some food i’ve got to see that younger brother.”  they begin to struggle with that. 

genesis 42.20-21 (niv), “you’ve got to bring your youngest brother to me so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.”  and this they proceeded to do.  “surely we are being punished because of our brother.”

benjamin?  no, joseph!

“we saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life but we wouldn’t listen.  that’s why this distress has come upon us.” 

twenty, at least, years later they remembered vividly how he pleaded for his life.  and every bad thing that happened in their life they’d think, “GOD’s punishing us.” 

any of you ever felt like that?  then get it settled!  don’t live with your solution, live with GOD’s solution.  live with HIS forgiveness.  learn to forgive and allow HIM to forgive.  you don’t have to feel like every time something bad happens that it’s punishment for what i did wrong.  that’s a family living with their solution. 

joseph has this test.  then he sends them away.  verse 25, joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and put each man’s silver that they brought to buy the grain within the sack.  after this was done they loaded the grain on their donkeys and they left.  they stopped and they looked in their sack and the silver was there.  their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling “what is this that GOD has done to us?” 

that’s guilt twenty years later, unresolved guilt! 

if you’re feeling that way every time something goes bad, get HIS forgiveness.  you don’t have to feel that, “GOD’s punishing us or what is this that GOD has done to us?”

just a thought from the front porch…

an unrealistic demand…

now this week possibly a fellow co-worker or a boss or somebody will ask you to do something that is immoral or illegal or unreasonable. it just is an unrealistic demand on you, on your life and time.

so how do you deal with that? look at what JESUS said, matthew 5.36 in the jerusalem bible, all you need to say is “yes” if you mean yes, or “no” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

look at the word “no” in that verse. for a CHRISTian, no is not a dirty word. it's ok to say, “no”.

i meet CHRISTians all of the time who don't know how to say, “no” and they are about to burn out because they have said “yes” to 50 things that they shouldn't be doing.

you see, we can teach this wimp religion kind of concept that JESUS went around on the hills around jerusalem picking flowers and talking about peace and love and not teach that the bible teaches about conviction.

so as a result, there are kids in the church on drugs or pregnant before marriage because they don't know how to say “no”. they don't know how to stand up against pressure. they don't know how to be assertive in the right way.

the bible says, when you are dealing with people who are trying to be controlling, when they are trying to get after you, you don't argue, you don't retaliate, but you don't also automatically cave in either.

you say “yes” when you mean yes, and “no” when you mean no. and it doesn't say anything about feeling guilty or about having to make excuses, it just says, say “yes” when you mean yes, and “no” when you mean no.

so you deal with that in that way without feeling guilty or without making excuses.

just a thought from the front porch…

HE paid the penalty…

chuck colson writes this story. “near the city of san jose in brazil is a remarkable prison facility. twenty years ago the brazilian government gave up on this prison and so they turned it over to two CHRISTians who renamed the prison and decided to build this prison based on CHRISTian principles. with only two full employees all the work is done by inmates.” chuck colson visited this prison in brazil and he said this, “i found the inmates smiling particularly the murderer who held the keys to the prison and opened the gates and let me in. wherever i went in the prison i saw men at peace. i saw clean living areas. i saw people working cheerfully. this is the power of the gospel. the walls were decorated with bible verses. then my guide escorted me to the notorious prison cell that had once been used for torture. he told me that it now houses only one inmate. as we walked down the long hall and he put the key in the lock he paused and asked, ‘chuck, are you sure you want to go in?’ ‘of course,’ i said impatiently. ‘i’ve been in isolation cells all over the world.’ slowly he swung open the massive door and i saw the solitary prisoner in that cell. it was a wooden statue carved by the inmates of JESUS hanging on the cross. my guide said softly, ‘he’s doing time for the rest of us.’”

think about that for a minute. JESUS CHRIST took your place on the cross. HE’s doing time for you so you don’t have to do time in hell. HE paid the penalty for your sin.

once you’re set free, once a prison sentence has been paid for and the doors open do you hang around the prison? no. you walk out into the light. i’m saying to you, whatever has had you imprisoned in JESUS CHRIST you can walk out of it.

some of you have been imprisoned by guilt. you can’t forget what you did. some of you have been imprisoned by resentment. you can’t forget what other have done to you and you’re still locked in the prison of bitterness and hatred and anger and resentment. or you’re locked in the prison of loneliness. or worry and anxiety and fear. or you’re locked in the prison of addiction. you can’t stop it no matter how hard you try. i want to tell you today. this power, the power of JESUS CHRIST, is there to help you to walk out of that prison and be free. GOD wants to bless your life. you receive him through CHRIST. you celebrate him through worship. i want to remind you and challenge you to never let a day go by that you don’t thank JESUS CHRIST for the cross.

just a thought from the front porch…

the biggest problem in CHRISTianity…

GOD's saving grace removes my guilt. then comes GOD's strengthening grace which reshapes my life. it helps me to become the person i really want to be, that GOD wants me to be. it molds me and reshapes me. GOD remakes my life.

listen, GOD loves you just the way you are but HE loves you too much to let you stay that way. the bible says, in jeremiah, that GOD is the potter, we are the clay. HE's got us on the potter's wheel. HE's making us and molding us and shaping our lives. we say, "thank you, LORD. i'm just going to jump off the potter's wheel. i'll take care of myself. i can shape myself into the right thing." we blow it!

hebrews 13.9 (nlt), your spiritual strength comes from GOD's special favor, not from ceremonial rules.

the biggest problem in CHRISTianity is people start with a relationship and revert to rules. they start with just being in love with GOD and then fall back into a religious syndrome of rituals and regulations.

a brand new CHRISTian is excited and happy and rejoicing how great it is to be in love with the LORD. then all of a sudden he makes the fatal mistake of beginning to watch other CHRISTians, how they dress, how they act, the SPIRITual sounding phrases. he no longer says "it was fun!" he now says, "it was a blessing." we never say "we're going to eat food" but "we partake of nourishment." we don't get angry anymore but say, "i was grieved in my SPIRIT."

you stop using english and revert back to a religious thing trying to earn GOD's pleasure by trying to keep certain rules and regulations. paul says that was the problem with the galatians. they started one way and ended up going back to a religion.

if that's not the way to live a CHRISTian life, then how do you?

colossians 2.6 (niv), just as you received CHRIST JESUS as LORD, continue to live in HIM. the way you became a CHRISTian is the way you continue as a CHRISTian.

how did you become a CHRISTian? by promising to do good? by promising to be perfect? no. how do you live the CHRISTian life? by promising to do good? no. simply by receiving GOD's grace and letting it come into your life.

the bible says grow in grace. the bible says GOD is working in your life. the more you trust in GOD – the more you let HIM work through you – the faster you're going to grow. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt and GOD's strengthening grace reshapes my life.

just a thought from the front porch…