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The Repaired of the Lord (Part 2) – by Shirrell Wells

Continued from ‘The Repairing of the Lord (Part 1)”

  1. SHAME OF WRONGDOING

Has shame for wrong doing, or an attitude separated us from the Father?  We all have sinned, make mistakes, err, make slips, do wrong even though we are “Christians”.  Becoming a Christian is not a step into being perfect, it is stepping into forgiveness, mercy and love.  To receive Christ into your heart and life is to first, believe that he is the Son of God, and that He died to forgive your sins, second to receive Him into your heart, and to begin learning and walking in His image.  Christ did not come to condemn us, but He came to give us life, and an abundant life full of mercy, love forgiveness and healing.  Condemnation comes from the evil one, Satan.  He loves to remind you of all the things you do wrong, all the wrong thoughts and motive you may have, but if you have repented and asked God for forgiveness that sin is under the blood of Christ, and forgotten by God. 

Romans 8:1

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death”.

If we recognize the power of this Scripture we have discovered a powerful truth that will change or lives!

Shame separates us from God, but the forgiveness of God covers us and reconciles us to Him.  The Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, but in the conviction the purpose is to draw you to God, not drive you from His presence.  Repentance, the asking for forgiveness, the turning away from what you know is wrong, and receiving the forgiveness of God covers you in righteousness, establishing you as a child of God, and an heir and joint heir with Christ.  Conviction drives you to repentance, condemnation drives you to hide and to isolate yourself from the very one that can help you. 

Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself; but to grow we must recognize that to forgive opens the door to healing.  This kind of healing liberates us to grow and mature into the person God is calling and intended us to be.  Don’t allow shame to separate you from the Father.  Repent, forgive yourself and receive the Father’s forgiveness for you.  He will saturate your life and heart with the power of His total healing!

From the beginning of time God saw the need for repentance, atonement, and forgiveness.  When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, disregarding the rules that God gave them to live by he began providing a way back to His presence.  This constituted a sacrifice, a shedding of blood for atonement, and it required a consequence for the sin.  When we do wrong, we will most likely have a consequence that we do not like, or is very uncomfortable.  But God provided a way of atonement, forgiveness, and reconciliation to Him by sending His Son in the form of a man, to live among us, and to die for us, and to rise again to establish us in His kingdom.

When we become Christians, we receive the atonement for our sins by accepting Jesus into our heart and lives. That means we receive the forgiveness of ALL our sin!  We are reconciled to our position as children of the most High God.  Shame no longer can haunt us or isolate us from the Father if we recognize that we have been forgiven no matter what it is we have done, when we repent and ask God to forgive us. 

1 John 1:5-7

 This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth;  but if we [really] walk in the Light

[that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God]

, as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations.

Allow the Holy Spirit to comfort you, and teach you the truth of God.   Do not be delusional, creating a misconception of who you are.  God created you to be in communion and relationship with Him. Receive the forgiveness He freely offers, turning away from doing what you know is wrong. Begin to walk in the power and might of a person once lost and bound by sin but who is now a person liberated and free from its power.   Walk in the illumination of the Son who lives in you and the power of the Holy Spirit. 

3) PRIDE

Has pride erected itself in your life?  Pride is such a dangerous attitude; and when a heart has elevated itself you can be sure there is a fall that is imminent.  Pride was the cause of the fall of Lucifer from his position in Heaven, and pride will cause you to lose your position in Christ.  When we begin to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, not only do we become offensive to others, we become offensive to God! 

Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.

How does pride prohibit healing?  We mistakenly and foolishly have the notion that we can ‘fix’ ourselves.  We exclude the Father from our life!  I imagine He looks at us and just shakes His head sometimes.  How foolish we become.  We assume since we got ourselves into a situation, we can get ourselves out.  Imagine climbing to the top of a twenty- foot tree and then falling to the ground, breaking every bone in your body.  Would we say ‘NO, don’t help me, I can fix this?’  Absolutely not!  If we can make the rational decision to get professional help, why can’t we cry out to our Father to help us?  One touch from His hand, one moment in His presence brings change.  I can only imagine the power of being in His presence not just for a few hours a week, but continually, what changes would my life and yours undergo?  Health would flourish in our heart, mind and body.  The spiritual growth in our walk would transform us!

Are you hurting, feeling downcast, depressed and wounded?  Call on the Lord, release yourself into the presences of His healing power.  He will never reject you; He always forgives when you repent and ask.  He will change your attitude and situation.  He is the Great Physician, and only He can truly heal a broken heart.  Only Him…but we must call on Him and allow His power to flow into our lives and submit ourselves to His direction.  He will completely heal and restore us.

Isaiah 57:15

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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How Do You Use Your Bible? – by LaDonna Slade

How do you treat your Bible?

I’m not talking about where you place it when you are not reading it or do you carry it around all the time or how you read it or if you just display it on your coffee table.  I’m talking about how do you use your Bible?  Do you consider it a Source or a Resource?

Now, in my mind, reading and studying the Bible are two different things. Reading, takes you directly from point A to point B, while studying takes you on a tour of the vistas and special attractions as you journey from point A to point B.  In a study, you get to think about what you’ve read, ask questions and take notes.  Also, if you really liked what you studied, you can study it again and discover new things without the pressure of having to finish it.

I love studying the Bible! I think it is the most life changing, innovative, inspiring, money making, truth telling, put you on your knees, challenging, adventurous, jaw-dropping, comical (yes, in certain parts), healing book I know.

I must also add that sometimes as I just read my Bible, it tends to become a study.  I want to know more about the how, who, what and why of certain events or passages of scripture.  It can get pretty intense and take up an entire day, which I absolutely love!

Anyway, back to my original question… How do you use your Bible? Do you consider it a Source or a Resource?

Let’s take a look at a high-level definition of the words ‘Source’ and ‘Resource’:

  • Source is something that you go to as the final authority or used to provide evidence in research on a certain situation, event or statement.
  • Resource is what you cross-reference to further understand a situation, event or statement or to recover something.

Recently, I was searching for a Bible study attend.  I found one at a church near by and I was excited to go.  I arrived and was warmly greeted and then I was immediately asked to register.  Now, perhaps it’s just me, but I was surprised to have to register for a Bible study.  This was something new for me.  I understand ‘tracking’ participation in church events is becoming the norm but sometimes these administrative things can take some of the intimacy out of attending a Bible study.

I registered and then I proceeded to say hello to a few people and find a seat. After I was seated, I whipped out my Bible, notepad, pen and readers (no age assumptions, please! 🙂 ) in anticipation of what I now call, “hard core” Bible study.

However, as the room silenced and the speaker began, what I expected to be a Bible study took on the form of an inspirational talk with biblical reference points.   Now, don’t get me wrong, I think these types of events are extremely valuable but only valuable to a point.  It is not a Bible study.

When I think of a Bible study, I think of taking the Bible as the primary book and sometimes using other books to help understand word definitions, biographies and timelines of the people and events we read about in the Bible. However, what I noticed is that it is a growing trend to take a book written by a very notable Christian author or leader as the primary book and then use the Bible as a reference for that book.  What happened to just plain old “hard core” study of the Bible?  The Book can hold its own.

Today, there are various Bible version translations and interpretations of the original Greek and Hebrew that make it easier to read by itself.   Some versions you may have heard of are the New International Version (NIV), Amplified (AMP), New Living Translation (NLT), and The Message (MSG), the list goes on and on. My favorite is the New King James Version (NKJV).   I was taught it is the best translation to use especially for studying the Bible.  Yes, it’s a bit old English heavy with the “thee’s”, thou’s” and ‘shalts’ but that works for me.  Starting with the Bible as the primary book helps you stay with the Source of your faith and lessens the possibility of mixing opinion with truth.

The Bible in and of itself is a Source and a Resource book. You can read a passage of scripture from the Old Testament and find a reference to it in the New Testament that will give you increase your knowledge and understanding and vice versa.  You can read something in the New Testament and find a cross-reference to it in the Old Testament that can make you say, “Oh, that’s it!”

Studying the Bible by itself can seem a bit overwhelming. First of all, it contains words and phrases that you’ve never seen or even tried to pronounce.  Secondly, it references events and a way of living that is not familiar to us, today, making it challenging to see how to apply what we read to our everyday lives.

Here is something I’d like you to remember, the Bible is the inspired Word of God, in 2 Timothy 3:16, it says, “All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]”. So we must not forget that there is a Spiritual element when reading and studying the Bible.  He is called the Holy Spirit.

In John 4:24, it says “God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Also, in John 16:13, it says, “when the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”  You must trust and give the Spirit of God the opportunity to bring understanding as you read your Bible.

Also, reading the Bible not only causes us to gain better understanding and knowledge of who we are in Christ but it also causes our relationship with Him to deepen.

So, how do you use your Bible? Do you consider it a Source or a Resource?

Here is how I define using your:

Bible as a Source:  Using it as your launching pad of insight, wisdom, knowledge and understanding in how to live your everyday life.  Discover the wonders of the God you serve first hand.  Go to it first!

Bible as a Resource: Picking up a book by a notable Christian author or leader written on a topic you’re struggling with and then use the Bible as a cross-reference to what was written in their book.  Warning: This can sometimes cause to give more credit to the author than to the Word of God in helping you live every day in Christ.

There are millions of books written to help us understand the Bible and how to apply it to our everyday lives. I think that is wonderful! Just remember that those books would be nothing but man’s opinions without the Source of their books, the Holy Bible, itself.

Please take the time to read just your Bible, treat it is as your Source.  Just open the Bible, select a book, chapter or verse and start studying it.  You’ll be surprised what faith, trust and the Holy Spirit will bring to light in your life.

Grace and Peace!