Getting Past Guilt: Overcoming Barriers to Feeling Forgiven
Perhaps the waters of guilt have washed over you, and you feel like you are sinking in sorrow and regret. What could be preventing you from moving beyond your past and feeling forgiven?
Perhaps the waters of guilt have washed over you, and you feel like you are sinking in sorrow and regret. What could be preventing you from moving beyond your past and feeling forgiven?
Pastors today constantly counsel believers struggling with depression, broken marriages, anxiety, anger, and weak self-control. They can't help but wonder, “Where's that abundant life Christ promised in John 10:10?”
There are certain obstacles that, no matter how hard I try, I will never succeed in overcoming. And guess what? I'm confident that you will not be able to overcome these two obstacles either.
Grace is a foreign concept to us because the world doesn’t operate based on grace. It trends towards criticism and judgment. Grace says, “I forgive you...I accept you as you are...I value you.”
Hard times call for two things: Friends and character. If you have gone through hard times in recent days, you know the value of both. Character rests on truth, reinforces a life, and resists the temptation to compromise. Those who’ve impacted our lives the most have been people of character.
The cross is where we gain our spiritual freedom. But we don’t honour the cross...we honour the One who hung on it. Christ is the object of our adoration.
Walt Disney dreamed in risks. He thought about the impossible. What about you? Are you willing to take a risk and live the abundant life?
Perhaps you’re a skeptic. You don’t believe in miracles, only in science, logic, and absolutes. The good news is Christ doesn’t ask you to check your brains at the door when you come to know Him personally. Just the opposite—you gain insight and knowledge through the Holy Spirit!
Christ proved His love in that while we were still sinners He died for us. Do you know Christ died for you?
Just like you can’t unscramble an egg that’s been broken, we all have a dark side we can’t quite shake. We have a root problem with sin, which sounds pretty hopeless until we remember God, in His mercy, doesn’t leave us there. Through His Son He provided a way out of our brokenness and despair.