We all fall short of the glorious standards of God. No one measures up. Everyone is lacking in something. It is that truth that has helped me when the enemy would be attacking me with condemnation. When I struggle with guilt or shame for something that I knew that I had done wrong, I remind myself that we are imperfect and God loves us anyways. Reminding myself that everyone has faults and messes up helps me to not beat myself up. It helps me to not feel so alone in my struggles. We may all try to act like we have it all together but we don’t.
If you are anything like me you want to do right all of the time. You want to always be obedient to God. But life happens, we get caught up in the moment, we fall into temptation, we think and speak wrong, and we feel bad about it afterwards. I will beat myself up and wallow in guilt and shame for 3mths about something that God forgave me for as soon as I asked for his forgiveness, and he remembers it no more. Then I feel like I have a big posted note with my sin written on it in big black letters stuck to my forehead that everyone can see and they see me as a bad person or a hypocrite. The shame makes me feel as if people see me as the sin that I committed. As if i don’t beat myself up enough, the devil comes in with his lies and tells me that I’m no good, that I can’t ever get it right, that I am one big disappointment, that I always screw up, and that is why people won’t like me.
But one day as I had those things running through my mind the Lord spoke to my heart. He said, “you know Mandie, all of mankind sins. There is not a soul on this earth that has not committed sin. All of mankind falls short in my book but my grace covers them all. You are no different than the next person in my eyes. When I look at you I see Jesus. I know your heart and I know that you desire to do right. If you believe in me then believe that I meant what I said also. Believe that because of Jesus you are forgiven and made perfect in my sight.” Those words broke the enemies lies and my guilt and shame into pieces and God’s grace filled my heart.
We all fall short of God’s standard and it is only threw Jesus that we can meet his standards. But thanks to Jesus we don’t have to beat ourselves up for our wrong doing. We have been forgiven and we must receive his forgiveness and forgive ourselves. If God doesn’t remember the sin that you committed 6mths ago why are you still holding onto it? Forgive yourself and move forward.
The Abundant Life 
WOW! THIS SOUNDS LIKE CATHOLIC GUILT. THE PRIEST AND NUNS REALLY DRILLED THAT INTO US CATHOLICS BUT LET’S MOVE ON. YOU SAY THAT GOD HAS FORGIVEN YOU IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU HAVE SINNED, BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT. IF YOU READ THE OLD TESTAMENT, YOU SEE GOD INFLICTING SERVER PUNISHMENTS ON THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED OR NOT LISTENED TO HIM. CHANCES ARE YOU HAVE NOT BEEN FORGIVEN AND YOU MUST PAY FOR YOU SINS.
JUST READ THE OLD TESTAMENT AND YOU WILL SEE HOW HARSH GOD IS, WHEN YOU DISOBEY. I MYSELF FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT A LOVING GOD COULD POSSIBLY KILL SO MANY PEOPLE MANY OF WHICH WERE INNOCNET LIKE THE POOR EGYPTIANS WHO THROUGH NO FAULT OF THERE OWN, HAD THEIR FIRST BORN KILLED BY GOD.
POOR JOB WHO BECAME A PAWN IN A GAME BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN HAD HIS ENTIRE LIFE’S WORK PLUS HIS SERVANTS* (SLAVES), ANIMALS AND SEVEN CHILDREN MURDERED. THE MAN WAS INNOCENT AND REPLACING HIS CHILDREN WITH NEW ONES….WHAT IS THAT?
THE POOR UNKNOWING MAN PICKING UP STICKS ON THE SABBATH BEING STONED TO DEATH BY MOSES’S MEN.
YOU SPEAK OF A FORGIVING GOD….READ THE BOOK.
*THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF SERVANTS IN MANY PLACES. GOD MUST HAVE CONDONED SLAVES ALSO.
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I agree with you on what the old testament says. And the old testament is before christ! It was before we had a savior give his life for our wrongdoings. And it is the new testament that brings this forgiveness and maybe you should study that a little more in depth. I struggled for a time with the old testament and new testament and the fact that my sins are forgiven through Jesus. God did not want to have to punish those the way that he did in the old testament but what was he to do when he, A god that can not lie or go back on his word, when he had the 1st covenant. That is why he sent Jesus to die and complete the law of moses so that a new covenant can come into place. The covenant of forgiveness through Jesus. And I am so thankful that the perfect lamb gave his life for us imperfect humans. God knows our hearts and that we are imperfect humans. He chooses to look at us through Jesus so that He can see the perfection that he intended for us before sin came into play. We all have our own thoughts and beliefs but as to you saying that I should read the old testament, I say that maybe you should read the new testament. Our new covenant with God is found in the new testament but I am not making light of what those in the old testament had to endure.
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