Guilt Decisions - A message about how guilt can cause us to make abnormal decisions

Your heart races, you may start to sweat, you feel an overwhelming amount of other emotions all because of guilt. Something you did that you feel horrible about. Maybe you don't want to share because it will ruin a relationship. Maybe you will lose your job. There are a number of possibilities that could happen because of an error you made.

Maybe the error was due to a lack of judgment. Maybe it was due to a sense of compromise of "just this one time." Maybe it was due to greed or simply some other situation that caused the error to occur. The outcome is the same - you feel guilty.

Sunday, we looked at Herod's error in identity of Jesus, calling him John the Baptist - who had been recently beheaded. He had made some decisions in this passage (Matthew 14:1-12) due to the guilt he felt from previous decisions. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Misfired ~ Sometimes we do things in life with hopes to accomplish one particular goal but what comes out of it is something completely different - in a negative way. Maybe we say something sarcastic that comes across rude, instead of humorous. Maybe we try some sort of a stunt and we end up damaging us or something else. Regardless of the situation, we were going one direction, but we ended up with a negative outcome. Herod made a promise that he probably thought would have one outcome, but there was actually a negative one that resulted. May we try to think ahead with our decisions to help the outcome not be a "misfire."
• Not 'Over-correcting' ~ When a decision you've made causes you to feel so bad that you want to try to make up for it by doing something good, then you may over-correct that mistake. Over-correcting can cause problems. You may become out of control. Herod had this sense of "out of control" life with his decision that started with putting John in prison. John didn't make it any easier as his boldness cost him his life. For us, if we are feeling guilt then we need to watch how we react and
• Throwing Off the Weight ~ You have carried this guilt with you for the past several hours to days, maybe weeks or months. Worst case scenario, years. How fun has it been to have that weight with you day-in-and-day-out? It is likely stressing you out and may actually be causing physical damage to your body. That damage could lessen your lifespan. Is the weight and stress of the guilt better than confessing your wrong and dealing with the consequences/repercussions? I have been in the first part of this application and though the repercussion was not enjoyable, it was definitely freeing! If you have something to confess, there will be a sense of freedom that you experience. I am not suggesting the repercussions will be the most pleasant but it will be better on your body than carrying around the stress from guilt.

Guilt is not the most easy thing to deal with. The overwhelming majority of the time, the guilt is something we brought on ourselves. We made the choice to do whatever it was where guilt was the effect. How has guilt affected you - in the past or present? Have you had opportunities to release some of the weight? Have you carried some guilt on your shoulders through life that caused you to be prematurely stressed? Have you over-corrected with other choices in life because you felt guilt? Have you procrastinated due to guilt? Lots of things we may do because of guilt! The sooner you can release it the better things will be, in the end. The longer you carry it the worse things will become.

Now it's your turn...How can you relate to this post on guilt and its affects on your life?

He Bore Our Sins - I Peter 2:20-24

What have you done that you felt guilty over? Break something of someone else's, lie to someone, or any number of other things. Guilt causes us to carry baggage that we are not equipped to carry. Too much will weigh us down. When it comes to our sin problem, it is nice to know that Jesus bears our sins, so we don't have to bear them.

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus and how He took the sins of ours and placed them on His body, so that His sacrifice could take them away. Here are some applications to use from this lesson...

1. Give Him Your Guilt ~ We've all sinned. Some are very impacting on our lives. Make it a regular practice to give Him your guilt by confessing your wrongs. The wrongs of the past may be lurking, depending on what they were. If they were "washed away", then they are no longer on the record books to be judged against. Acknowledge the wrongs and leave a lot "lighter".
2. Confess Your Wrongs ~ When you've done something against someone else, practice the action you were taught since you were a child...Tell them you're sorry! Sometimes, just making the call or "coming clean" can make all the difference in the world. It is probably worse on you than it is on others (depending on what it is).
3. Breathe a sigh of relief ~ As Jesus has "bore our sins", praise Him for doing so, but then take a deep breath and sigh with a sense of relief, knowing what He's done for us.

Once you do not have to carry the guilt or you've confessed to the crime, you can breathe a sigh of relief because that baggage is no longer weighing you down. You may have to suffer the consequences, but you don't have to carry the weight.

Walking lighter...

Monday Mentionings - What If His People Prayed - Nehemiah 1:4-11

I hope your week has gotten off to a great start! Mine has. I left yesterday's assembly with a fire to see what God had in store for me this week. It gives me the anxiousness of Christmas morning...seeing what I am going to receive that I can open up and see what is inside. That is the way I look at it with teaming up with God...what is He going to hide inside to surprise me with this time???

"What If His People Prayed" is a song by Casting Crowns that has been a motivation for a "vision" of the future of this church for a long time now. I am so motivated by people's heartfelt, unscripted, nervous, prayers. Not all of those have to be included, but most. This usually happens most frequently when I hear a prayer of someone I don't normally hear from. My wife says some of the greatest prayers. I was left the prayer time for the shepherd search last winter so "pumped"! I heard lots of pray-ers I don't normally hear.

Yesterday's lesson, titled the same as the song title, came from Nehemiah's first prayer (in the book). Jerusalem's walls are in shambles and weak. Our faith foundation must be strong in order to keep ourselves from becoming susceptible to anything ungodly. Here are some applications you can choose from to put into practice...

1. Awesome God - Use the word "awesome" in your prayers this week to either describe God or something that He's done for you.
2. I'm Guilty - Is there something that you're guilty of that you haven't expressed to God? It could be something from the past that you haven't confessed to God or it could be just acknowledging that you are a sinner and/or have sinned. Remember...God knows what you do, but He likes to know that you know what you've done and will admit the guilt.
3. Don't Turn - God is a merciful God, so let us not deny that we've erred and revel in the assurance that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Praise God, when you pray, for that constant cleansing blood!
4. Reward Us - Life can have it's fair share of obstacles. The next time that you have an obstacle to face, no matter how small, ask God to deliver you, reward you, and/or bless you as you give this task to Him before you even enter into it.

Prayer is so motivational to me. I hope you will find yourself "intrinsically motivated" to pray to our AWESOME God!

May your prayer fire be refreshed as you seek Him in asking how you can best build your section of the wall. If you want any reminders to pray this week...let me know.

Have a fantastic week!