Is it right to go on a guilt trip?

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Most of us feel guilty from time to time. I know that many people are tormented at times with guilt as they wish that they could turn the clock back and change what they did. I am not suggesting that people should always feel guilty for most of us have done things inadvertently and it all went horribly wrong.

 

But there are times when it is right to feel guilty. If we have genuinely wronged someone guilt is the God given mechanism that warns us that ‘action needs to be taken’. Sometimes we can rectify the problem and make amends. Other times it is outside of our power to reverse the effect of our actions. It is only right that we should fix the problems that we have caused where possible.

 

Having said this, many mistakes in life are not really significant in the general scheme of things and will not make a big difference in our lives. Courtesy and true friendship, decency and honesty will however ensure that we behave in ways that are commendable. 

 

A more worrying aspect of life is that of human beings and their relationship with God. In our current society we are in danger of being unaware that we have disobeyed our Creator (and therefore owner) and that he does not tolerate people who break his law. I was aware from childhood of the fact that God had stated his principles (the 10 commandments in the Bible) and that I was incapable of living up to them. The passage in the Bible that explains God’s standards is Exodus 20. The New Testament passage that states that we are not capable of living up to these standards is Romans 3:23 ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’.

 

Now, contrary to public opinion God gave his Law to make us feel guilty and not to make us feel good. The Bible says ‘Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’. The reality is that when you and I hear the Bible preached and become aware that God is holy and has his standards; we then realise that we cannot live up to his standards and get feelings of guilt. I lied, I lusted, I took something that did not belong to me (time, emotions, things etc) and as a result I am guilty and am limited as to what I can do to rectify the situation. My offence is firstly against God (Psalm 51:4) and will also often be against a fellow human being.

 

So we all need to go on a guilt trip – but not for long. When the awareness of our wrong living is heightened and guilt is triggered we will be forced do something about it. That is God’s plan.

 

What can we do? Again God in the Bible tells us what there is no point in doing! God says in Romans 3:20 that no action on our part will satisfy him because our problem is one we were born with (Psalm 51:5). The problem is reflected in our actions and behaviours but it is deeper than that. God says rather bluntly in the Old Testament that all the right things we do are like filthy clothes. We can never be good enough for God, ‘There is none righteous, no not one’.

 

I say again ‘what can we do’? The answer again comes from God. He says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. The Lord Jesus says ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. The early Christian preachers preached ‘neither is their salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved’. God’s Son (The Lord Jesus) came to earth, lived and then was put to death on a cross.  God was punishing him for sin, sin that he did not commit (for he is God and perfect) but that sin that he was prepared to atone for. He paid the price God demanded to put away sin and to provide forgiveness for us.

 

Go on a guilt trip? No way - admit your guilt to God and then accept his offer of salvation through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will experience inexplicable joy

How much do you value your life?

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Recently a lady took an oil painting by L.S. Lowry (1887-1976) to an ‘Antiques Roadshow’ to be valued. After inspection by a knowledgeable connoisseur of art she was informed that it could be worth £100,000. The lady was shocked and said, “I had no idea it was so valuable.” For years it had been in the house and few people even cast a second glance at it but the name of the artist so clearly visible at the bottom of the painting meant it was a treasure.

After reading this story I began to think of the people, many of whom have heard the gospel from infancy, who should know how valuable God’s salvation is, and who only discover its importance when it is too late to obtain it and they have found themselves in Hell, on the wrong side of the “great gulf fixed” of which the Lord Jesus spoke in Luke 16.26. For years they were deceived into thinking that salvation was something only for the religiously inclined, a pleasant addition to life but not absolutely necessary; to them it was a mere badge of respectability, but they never considered it a ‘must-have’ in view of an unending eternity.

My friend, you can live quite successfully and happily without salvation but you can never be in Heaven without it; that is a complete impossibility. The main reason for its importance is the name which is linked to salvation. It was the Lord Jesus Christ Who provided salvation at an infinite cost: the giving of His life. Only by accepting Him can you obtain the salvation of your soul. Salvation is not obtained in any place, practices, prayers or piety; it is linked to the Person of the Lord Jesus, God’s only begotten Son. To receive Him as personal Saviour is the only way by which your sins can be forgiven.

Helping someone when they get down

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How do you help someone when everything gets on top of them, and they feel that it is not worth living?

I am interested to see how Bible characters handled these episodes in their lives. It is easy to dismiss them and say that they didn’t experience pressure like we do, but I think some of them had a really tough time.

Take, for example, Elijah. He was a real character. I think most of us would have thought he was quite a resilient and strong person. That in itself is a warning.

Elijah was a spokesman for God. These men were commonly known as Prophets. God communicated with them, and they were expected to pass on His message ‘word for word’. No changes or adjustments, their terms of engagement were - just tell them what I told you - ‘thus says the LORD’. As a result of this, Elijah had met Kings, military leaders and other influential people. All in all, he was an impressive man. You couldn’t imagine him being brow beaten by anyone or getting depressed by his circumstances - but he did.

We discover this in 1 Kings chapter 19. If you are interested, read 1 Kings chapter 18 (it’s a captivating read) to get the background. Elijah has just been involved in a major event where God used Him to prove that He (God) is a living and powerful God and that the so-called God, called Baal, was nothing but a sham, a figment of the imagination and powerless. After this, Elijah should have been ‘on a high,’ but he wasn’t.

Mr Grumpy - what would change you?

 

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When we think of someone, we can often think of a characteristic that describes them. It could be grumpy, optimistic, sullen, generous, or mean. I wonder what people say about you and, more importantly, what people say about me. The truth is that we all exhibit many commendable qualities along with our flaws, but often one of our idiosyncrasies seems to represent us.

There are often reasons for this! Maybe a lack of confidence stops us from being optimistic, or past failures stop our confidence from showing. Is it easy to change? No, not really!

Goodnight but not Goodbye

Goodnight but not Goodbye

I have just come back from my Father in Law's funeral. This took place in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. I flew home lat night.

He was an amazing man. The Lord took him home to heaven on Saturday morning at 1:55 am. He is now in heaven, in the presence of the Lord Jesus, in the presence of God, the Father. Psalm 16:11 states 'in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore'. David McMullan is now enjoying the presence of the God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, in a way that he had never experienced before.

For those of us left behind, who are Christians there is a slight feeling of jealousy. To be with the Lord Jesus will be the most wonderful thing we could ever imagine. In fact we cannot even begin to imagine it. The only way to be sure that we end up in heaven is to agree to heaven's terms. Jesus said 'I am the way, the truth and the life no man comes unto the Father but by me'.

Death is awful. It separates from loved ones in this life and can separate us for eternity from the love of God. However if we repent of our sin and believe the gospel nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

As I close let me remind you of what the Bible teaches about dying. This is a great comfort to all believers who have lost a loved one:

Psalms 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

This is true because God delights to receive into heaven those who trust Him.

2 Corinthians 5:6-9 - So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

When we die we are 'away from the body'. We abandon our bodies at death as they were only needed for this life. In the next life we will either be in hell or with the Lord in heaven.

My last verse is this:

Psalm 17:15 - As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

My father in law is finally fully satisfied having looked into the face of The Lord Jesus Christ. Where would you be if you had passed through the 'valley of the shadow of death'? Would you have reached heaven's shore safely or will you one day hear the words of Jesus Christ saying, 'depart from me I never knew you'.

For us the parting was hard but the reality is we have only said goodnight and not good bye. We will see him 'in the morning' when Jesus Christ comes back again. The parting, although painful, is only for a little while. For the scriptures teach in Hebrews 10:37 For yet “in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay".

The Lord bless you.

Stephen