Walk-on Wednesday - Washing Away Guilt - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

So he (Pilate) sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.” Matthew 27:24 NLT

He’s only an animal, but some of his looks show he’s feeling human emotions.

I once owned a Chihuahua out of necessity. I’ve owned quite a few by choice as I was growing up. This one belonged to my daughter, who moved into an apartment that didn’t allow animals. She bought him while in college. She attended classes almost daily, so she never had time to housetrain him fully. And since you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, we never managed to housetrain him completely. Occasionally when I got up in the morning or came home after work, I would find surprises I shouldn’t on the floor. As I stared at him with my hands on my hips, he peered back with downcast eyes—as if the look would alleviate his guilt.

Pilate thought washing his hands would remove his guilt. As the one the Jews brought Jesus to for conviction, he knew their motive: jealousy. He finally gave in to their demands, but he reminded them the guilt would rest on them, not him. To prove it, he washed his hands.

But we can wash away guilt with water. Nor can it be scoured away by sacrificing an animal on an altar. The Jews discovered that after thousands of years of trying.

When we feel honest guilt over sins we’ve committed against God, only one solution avails itself: take our sins to the throne of Jesus, confess and repent of them, and then walk away.

The forgiveness God dispenses is based on what Jesus did on the cross. Repressing it, talking about it, reading about it, ignoring it, and denying it won’t make it go away. 

Guilt is God’s reminder we’ve sinned. Only he can cleanse us from a guilty conscience so we can serve him in freedom.

Try confession when you’re tempted to try and soothe your guilt in some other way.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the guilt-free living we can experience through Jesus Christ. 

Tweetable: How do you deal with guilt? 

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Walk-on Wednesday - A Cleansed Conscience - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. Hebrews 13:18 NLT

His remedy for a good night’s sleep was easier said than done.

I was his pastor, and he was one of the godliest men I’d ever met. One day our conversation turned to sleep—specifically, my trouble doing so. Even though many elderly people have difficulty sleeping, he didn’t. He did take a Benadryl before he retired for the night, but that was for his allergies—not a sleeping aid.

When I asked what his key for restful nights was, he said, “I go to bed with a clear conscience.” Knowing him as I did, I believed him. He continually performed kind deeds, his speech was uplifting and clean, and he made an honest living by tending to a small farm while drawing his retirement.

Whoever the writer of Hebrews was, his conscience was clear also. Many others may have been preaching and teaching a corrupt gospel, but not him. Others may have felt guilt over past mistakes, but he didn’t. Instead, he simply wanted prayer support from his fellow Christians.

My conscience hasn’t always been clear. During my periods of rebellion against God’s will and commands, it bothered me tremendously. God tried to get my attention.

But when I finally confessed my orneriness and straightened things out between God and me, it occasionally still bothered me. No longer was God pricking my conscience. Now it was Satan. He wanted to chain me to what God had freed me from: the penalty of my sins, which I had confessed.

From God’s perspective, confession and repentance cleanse our conscience. Satan would love nothing more than for us to believe we’ve been too bad for God to forgive—but we haven’t.

Based on what Christ has done—and our acceptance of his gift—we can live with a clear conscience. 

Knowing we’re on good terms with God frees us from worry, anxiety, and feelings of false guilt.

If your conscience isn’t clear, ask God why.

Prayer: Father, we thank You that we can live with clear consciences because of what Christ has done. 

Tweetable: Is your conscience clear? 

 

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Walk-on Wednesday - Living Without Guilt - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped . . . and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. Hebrews 10:2 NLT

He was a church leader. How could he have done what he did?

Henry grew up in a Christian family and trusted Christ as his Savior when he was ten years old. After graduating high school, he remained in his small town, took a job at a local factory, and married his high school sweetheart. People in his church encouraged him to use his gifts, but there was one thing that held him back. Henry had a dark secret no one knew about—not even his wife.

As a teenager, he had begun to delve into pornography. Before he knew it, he was addicted. He had confessed it and gotten on with his life, but the guilt still ate in his soul. He simply couldn’t believe God could forgive him. Henry’s guilt led him to turn down every opportunity anyone gave him to use his spiritual gifts.  

Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices were unending. Every time a worshipper offered an animal, they were reminded of their sins. The ceremony only temporarily pacified their guilt, but it soon returned. They knew an animal’s blood could never permanently cover their sin.

Satan’s tried the same trick on me as he did Henry. As a saved but rebellious teenager, I have many things in my memory I’m ashamed of. Quite often he’s tried to convince me those sins disqualify me from being effective in God’s work. Only by understanding God’s forgiveness and the types of guilt was I able to thwart his subtle tactics.

False guilt makes us feel miserable over something we’ve already confessed to God. Satan is the source. God only sends the guilt when we need to confess. Additionally, God’s forgiveness takes care of all our sins. We no longer must feel guilty over what he’s forgiven.

Living with false guilt will stymie us as it did Henry. Understanding forgiveness frees us to be all God designed us to be and do.

Let God remove any false guilt you may be experiencing so you can live an abundant life. 

Tweetable: Is guilt consuming you? 

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Confronting Shame - Martin Wiles

At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Genesis 3:7 NLT

What I wanted to do to cover my shame, I couldn’t.

My teen years were rough—but not because they had to be. I had a wonderful Christian family who loved me and attempted to steer me in the right direction. But I had rebellion on my mind. I didn’t want their lifestyle. The hippie culture pulled me in directions my parents hated and I shouldn’t have gone.

Having a good spiritual foundation, my going in this opposite direction brought shame—shame I didn’t know how to deal with. If I would have had a choice, I would have stopped going to church, but I was a preacher’s kid and forced to go.

My rebellion continued after I graduated from high school and left home. I tried some other things to handle my shame. I didn’t go to church as often, I slacked up on reading my Bible, and I hung around with those who shared my new lifestyle. Eventually, I did the only thing I could do to deal with my shame.

Adam and Eve did the only thing they knew to do as well after eating from the tree God had told them to leave alone: tried to cover their nakedness … their shame … by sewing fig leaves together. It didn’t work.

When I sin against God, shame follows. When I don’t live the life He desires, He’ll bring on the guilt. Not because He wants me to feel miserable, but because He wants to form me into His likeness and image, which brings present and eternal joy.

I can try to ignore my shame over my disobedience, but it won’t go away. The only cure now is the cure I finally tried as a young adult: confession. When I finally did that, God restored me, and the shame and guilt left.

Occasionally, the shame over my past sins returns, but I quickly deal with it. God doesn’t bring up sins He’s forgiven. That’s the enemy’s job. So I tell him to leave me alone. The blood of God’s Son has covered my sins and freed me from a guilty conscience.

If your lifestyle is causing you shame, confess it to God and let Him help you live as He desires. If shame over past sins you’ve confessed haunts you, tell the enemy to go back where he came from. Christ’s blood has cleansed you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for covering our shame and guilt with the blood of Your Son.

Tweetable: Is shame holding you back? 

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Flashback Friday (on Saturday) - Confronting Guilt - Martin Wiles

Confronting Guilt

“Dad, can you loan me…..?” I may have been able to scrounge up the money, but I said no. Now I felt guilty.

Due to changing circumstances, I was able to award my daughter a car during her senior year in high school. Later, my son reminded me of the gift and asked for the extra vehicle my wife and I owned. Eventually, I gave in. Now he had traded it in on an older model with higher mileage. Sure enough, it crashed shortly after he purchased it. Now he wanted a loan to fix it. Though I felt guilty for rebuffing him, I stuck to my guns. Read more...

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Flashback Friday - How Many Sins Make Me Guilty? - Martin Wiles

How Many Sins Make Me Guilty?

“I figured I’d leave and not come back until I could make you proud of me again.”

Opie Taylor was an average student who studied hard but not as diligently as he could. But he wasn’t too worried this particular year; his teacher liked him. Even though Andy tried to explain that liking him had nothing to do with his grades, Opie wasn’t convinced. And getting all A’s on his report card didn’t help. Sadly, they weren’t from his studies or because the teacher liked him. She had made a mistake when transcribing his grades. Andy was so proud of Opie’s report card that Opie couldn’t bear to tell his father about the blunder. He felt guilt…that he couldn’t live up to his father’s expectations. His childhood solution was to run away and not come back until he could do something that would make his father proud of him. (“Opie’s Ill-Gotten Gain,” November 18, 1963) Read more...

Tweetable: Have you realized your guilt?

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