He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
I couldn't live with myself
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
You meant it for my harm
We have had a lot of chaos in our lives with Covid and world events. Being home has meant a lot of time to think. Sometimes this can be good but other times it can lead to depression.
Lately I have had too much time to think and it had given rise to depression at times. Often it lead to having the evil one throw darts at me, often in reminding me of sins and mistakes of the past.
Things have been better lately. Once I realised that the darts were coming from the evil one, I was able to take action.
We know that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin with a way out: repentance and forgiveness. But the evil one condemns and accuses with no way to move forward out of the path of guilt and anxiety.
What the evil one was doing was trying to make me feel guilty and sad over past sins that have been forgiven and covered by the Blood of Jesus.
Remembering that Jesus has thrown those sins and mistakes into the Sea of Forgetfulness and remembers them no more, gave me the tool and the power to overcome these attacks.
An example of this would be me remembering some sin in my past that I would prefer to forget. The old anxiety pattern would start, making me miserable. So my conversation (vocal if I was alone) was to acknowledge with Satan that I was indeed guilty... but reminding him that Jesus has paid the price for that sin and has forgiven me!
Immediately, I would thank Jesus for His sacrifice and forgiveness and I would feel happy again. Satan cannot stand us to pray, praise and love Jesus!
What Satan meant for my harm became a reason to rejoice in my salvation!
Next time you are reminded of your past sin, remind him that you are redeemed and belong to Christ and start to praise Him. The devil will flee and what was meant for evil will be for your good.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20
Repentance is good for the soul
I have noticed many times over that people who have been broken and whom God has restored, often serve Him with passion and a zeal that others don't match. The greater the sin, the greater God's Grace..."Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." Luke 7:47
As for those who judge us, we should remind them that the Blood of Jesus has washed our sin away and that they should not ever call unclean what God has called clean...As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12
The LORD [is] nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalms 34:18
She won't be happy in Heaven!
Ours alone to deal with
Salvation: Responding to Gods' invitation to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour is a very personal thing. Nobody can do it for you. You can't be saved by relying on your church attendance or your parents' or spouses' profession of faith. Salvation is strictly between you and God. It is by its very deeply personal connection between you and Gods' Holy Spirit, that you are saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10
Responsibility for your own actions: The original finger-pointing and blame shifting happened in the Garden of Eden. Eve blamed the serpent, claiming that he beguiled her and she ate the fruit, and after eating of that same fruit, Adam shifted the blame to Eve, claiming that she shouldn't have shared it with him. We are experts at avoiding responsibility for our own actions. But taking responsibility for our own actions is critical in coming to a place of repentance. When I shall say to the righteous, [that] he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Ezekiel 33:13
Repentance: Being convicted of an offence or sin before the LORD is often something that is personally painful. No one else can make us repent, it is again a deeply personal matter of the heart.There can be no repentance if one does not take responsibility for our actions that gave occasion for us to sin. Only we can repent of our own sins. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2 Corinthians 7:10
Obedience to God: We are required to obey God. One can obey Him but with an impure heart. Others can force us to tow the line, and we can give lip service to God, and fool man. But this outward obedience doesn't fool God. True obedience comes from a servants' heart, a clean heart that longs for the closeness that obedience brings in our relationship between Him and us. And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. 2 Chronicles 25:2
Faith: Likewise faith is something one either has or hasn't got. No one can bestow faith on us. It is a very personal thing, again a matter of heart that only we can have or pray for, for even so faith is a gift from God.. But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Feeding on the Word: Whilst it is true that one can be forced to endure bible studies and gospel readings, if ones' heart is not in it, it will not bear fruit. We have to be prepared to listen... and learn. So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
Attitude to life: No one can form the attitude we choose to take in life. We can be persuaded or forced to comply to a set way of thinking, but ultimately we take charge of how we respond to life and its joys or stresses. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Luke 6:45
Control of thoughts and emotions: Whilst people can encourage us to display certain emotions, we are the ones who must learn to master them. With all the above coming into play in our lives, control of thoughts and emotions are critical. Thoughts and emotions vie side by side in importance for one controls the other. For through these thoughts and emotions, attitudes are produced and if entertained, they become actions. For good or bad. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ 2 Corinthians 10:5
We must get over the finger pointing and crying that "the devil made me do it!" and take responsibility for our own life. Accountability is both a pain and pleasure but something that we all are before the LORD. You are responsible for yourself and no one else. Let's run the race well and be responsible for ourselves!. Ourselves are ours alone to deal with!
It has been humbling.
So let's not argue
Change often takes time
Old habits sometimes take time to change, but they can change! It is not immediately obvious either. Take trying to stop using unsavoury language. Years of using certain words never bothered you, but God has convicted you about your speech and you have repented and responded.
Change can take time and calls for patience. Take planting some fruit trees for instance...you may not see any fruit on your tree, but there is still change and growth. Eventually if you persist in your desire and efforts to change, you will see buds of growth. Eventually there will be fruitful blossoms and then there will be fruit! Continue in your path of change and don't let yourself become discouraged!
I believe a person can change in a grand way if she or he so wishes. With repentance, the right attitude and prayer, we can do it! But remember, change often takes time.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
Being gracious to ourself.
Thank God He understands and doesn't judge us harshly. We both will have to pray that He takes away our guilty feelings. Until we both can forgive ourselves, we won't have any true peace. You have understood my guilt and I certainly understand yours. We should give ourselves grace. Sometimes we fail to be gracious to ourselves. Praying for you with love and understanding and knowing you will pray for me! (and remembering that sanctification is an ongoing process!) we are a work in progress!
We cannot undo what's done- what is passed is past. But we can let go of negative thoughts even about ourselves and purpose to do better.
If we have been convicted by the Holy Spirit and have confessed our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. We must remember that self condemnation after forgiveness is from the evil one.
Knowing that these guilty feelings after repentance is an old pattern of thinking, we must bring our thoughts into the captivity of Christ.
Our sanctification is an ongoing process that doesn't stop until we are in Glory. As long as we are moving forward, we are doing well. We simply must be gracious to ourselves.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51:15
Thank You, God for forgiving me!
Hanging on for dear life
Tell me something pretty!
A Godly heritage
Fear not!
I couldn't live with myself
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
Blanket prayers
By being merciful and gracious to yourself, you can fight in this battle for the LORD and for souls. So snuggle in your blanket and start to pray. Lift up the lost and hurting. Ask for healing. Pray for revival. We will rout the enemy in any way we can and we will sleep the sleep of the just as we cover ourself and those prayer needs in blanket prayers.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks