What's Your But? ~Tuesday

Adam and Eve hid from God in shame, knowing that they had sinned. Then they pointed fingers at each other and blamed the evil serpent who slithered off as God pronounced their punishment.

We don’t have to spread the blame when we have sinned. He already knows what we’ve done and what’s been done to us.

But because of what His Son did on the cross, we can come boldly before God and ask for His forgiveness. He promises to wipe the slate clean.

We don’t have to hide in shame.

In fact, shame is a nasty trick the enemy uses to confuse us. When he can make us ashamed of our actions, he can further deceive us into thinking God is mad at us, or that we couldn’t possibly be worthy of forgiveness. That our sins are just too big. And then Satan might even convince us that we don’t belong in church with the “good people.” When he separates us from fellowship with believers, we lose the hope and consolation they are meant to offer us. And that leads to feelings of isolation. And isolation can lead to more sin as we lose the accountability of fellowship.

You can see how our enemy uses our shame to lead us further and further away from God’s loving forgiveness and deeper into sin.

Yes, God wants us to hate sin. His Word says it is an abomination. But He doesn’t hate us, no matter how badly we’ve messed up. He loves us. Enough that He sent His only Son to take the blame and punishment for our sins.

Jesus took the blame to eliminate our shame.

He longs for us to come clean, to admit we were wrong, and to call on His Holy Spirit to lead us toward righteousness.

This is called repentance - to confess our sins before God, ask Him to help us turn from them, and accept His forgiveness and mercy. Acts 3:19, says, “Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

Let’s not allow the enemy to use shame to entice us to forfeit the freedom God offers us in His forgiveness.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me to hate sin with the same fervor You do. Lead me to repent of my own and help me to forgive it in others, so that I may experience the fullness of the freedom You offer. Thank You for Your Son’s sacrifice that eliminates my shame. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


​Author: Liz Giertz

---