Friday, February 23, 2018

Feb 23

Psalm 40  

Shame and guilt cripple so many people today.  I have had conversations with many teens in which they talk about "cutting" themselves to help deal with the pain. The gospel presents us with a different view of cutting. We don't have to cut ourselves to find relief from shame. Jesus was "cut" on our behalf. It is his "cutting" on the cross that changed everything.

In Psalm 40 David speaks about a radical identity change. One minute he is in the slimy pit; the next moment his feet are placed on a rock. One moment he is moaning in despair; the next moment he is singing a song. How does one have such a radical transformation?

The good news is the "cuts" of Jesus on the cross make us different people. Before Christ I was a different person. This person was my old nature, my old self. But that person died. He was killed when I trusted in the "cuts" of Jesus. And now my life is hidden with Christ. I am in Christ. And He is in me. I am a new creation. This doesn't mean that I will never stumble or fall back into my old habits. But I will call them what they are, old habits, and I will confess them. I will thank God for his forgiveness. I will make amends and then I will move on. Not because I am taking sin lightly, but because I am taking who God says I am seriously.

God says that I am holy, pure, unstained, and without blemish. It's not because of anything I have done, but because of the "cuts" of Jesus on the cross.

When I trust in his "cuts," he wipes the slate clean. All guilt, all shame, and all sins are removed from my account and God views me as blameless.  Therefore, shame has no place in my life because I am a new creation.

All the ugly parts of my story, the parts I want to pretend never happened, have been redeemed and they have become the moments in my life when God's grace is most on display.

In the end, my mistakes do not define me. My past does not define me. Jesus is the one who defines my identity and I am his beloved child in whom he is well pleased.

 



--
"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

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