Aiko stopped sleeping with her boyfriend when she gave her life to Jesus. Eventually he broke up with her and later she fell in love with a man who was a devoted believer in Jesus. She was much happier, yet felt guilty because of her previous lifestyle. She cried out to her friend Midori, “I just wish I could have a fresh start. I want to be reborn!”
Midori smiled and said, “Aiko, did you hear what you just said? What you long for is exactly what Jesus has given. The moment you turned from your sin and put your faith in Jesus, you were reborn. You already have the fresh start you seek.”
Midori opened her Bible and read 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” She then turned to Titus 3. “Aiko, see if this describes you. Paul says, ‘We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But . . .’ ”
Midori stopped. “Aren’t you glad for that ‘But’? We were bound by lust, unable to raise even a finger to free ourselves or start fresh. ‘But—when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done’—because we were pretty awful—‘but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit’ ” (Titus 3:3-5).
Aiko looked down. “But I don’t feel like a new person. I have so much shame!”
Midori responded, “Remember, your feelings are fallen. Don’t trust them. Believe God instead. If He says you are a brand new person, then that is what you are. Your fresh start has already begun.”
In Jesus, you and I can also find a fresh start!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Romans 8:1-18
More:
Read John 3:1-18 to learn what Jesus says it means to be born again.
Next:
What regret do you need to give to Jesus? How does God view those who have repented of their sins and received His forgiveness?
Gary Shultz on November 21, 2016 at 5:39 am
Mike, many people are like Aiko, and it’s not just young people. When you drag your sorry excuse of a life before God, it is a most odious heap. At this point is where Midori did a little friend intervention. At this point also we must take God at His word. We may not be capable of immediately or even in the distant future purging our minds from our past, “but” God has removed them from our account. This is another big struggle, to rip the emotions away from the fact of God’s fresh start. It is a worthy goal to be holy; however, we know on this side of life we will never totally make it. To me this is where I must lean on God’s grace, that He has taken into account that we are always pulled by sin, and we at times will fail. He has the ability and has bought the right to cleanse, any of us if we should confess and move on with Him. To beat oneself down after God has made you free is a giant lack of faith. The work does not fall to us, Jesus has payed for what we could not do. He asks us to take what He has done so we can grow on to be
more like the child He loves and forgives. Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks Mike
Mike Wittmer on November 21, 2016 at 8:12 am
This is powerful, Gary. I suspect that not accepting that God has forgiven us may actually be a sign of pride. Who do we think we are that God can’t forgive us? Why do we think our sin is stronger than God’s love? May we humble ourselves and accept the fact that we are forgiven.
godlove on November 22, 2016 at 3:02 am
“To beat oneself down after God has made you free is a giant lack of faith” – Wow, I never thought of it that way, Gary. Thanks for sharing that insight.
janderson0211 on November 21, 2016 at 5:53 am
Where can I learn more about our “feelings are fallen?”
Mike Wittmer on November 21, 2016 at 8:08 am
janderson0211, Tim’s recommendation is helpful. What I meant is that every part of us has been affected by sin, including our minds and emotions. Sometimes we think our feelings are obviously true and right simply because we have them. Whatever we feel must be the way it is. But we should remember to doubt our feelings, especially if they run in an opposite way from Scripture. Not doubt that we have them, but doubt that they accurately depict the truth about God and us.
tim gustafson on November 21, 2016 at 7:03 am
Hi janderson0211. I think you are asking a very specific question, and I don’t want to pretend to know your full meaning. Neither do I want to speak for the author of this post. But the link listed below contains a pdf about the promises of God. On page 29 of this 34-pager is a section on our emotions. That might be a place to start. Blessings!
https://d3uet6ae1sqvww.cloudfront.net/pdf/discovery-series/the-promises-of-god.pdf
sim jing ying on November 21, 2016 at 7:39 am
There are no regrets from me at the moment. God will view them as His children.
godlove on November 21, 2016 at 8:00 am
Oh I know that feeling so well! Wishing you could be completely transformed and renewed, literally reborn as the only method of wiping away that strong inner feeling of guilt and shame caused by sin and the ensuing regret. I would agree with Aiko that I don’t usually “feel” like a new person. It is especially difficult to experience that new person feeling when one keeps falling into temptation and sin even after having accepted Christ and you would expect to be living a new transformed life. The high expectations I have for myself (and which I am sure God, too, has for His children) make handling the shame so much harder. I resort to prayer as the only place where I can find peace and refuge from my guilt. Thanks for this reassuring post today, Mike, I needed this. Blessed week to you and to everyone.
Mike Wittmer on November 21, 2016 at 8:15 am
godlove, I know your struggle well. I think you have found a main purpose of prayer. Our repeated sin is a main reason we need to talk to God. Where else would peace possibly come from? If our sin drives us back to God, that’s not all bad!
hsnpoor on November 21, 2016 at 8:20 pm
Amen, Mike! Amen!
godlove on November 22, 2016 at 2:58 am
Amen, thanks for your encouragement, Mike.
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 8:59 am
I know that feeling all too well godlove. For years I struggled with that. I didn’t like the feeling of all that sin and shame, I just wanted a clean slate so to speak. I finally have that peace I have always wanted by accepting that I cannot change the past, and God loves me no matter what I did before. Satan uses that to make us think we are no good to try to make us sin more because he is a liar and a thief and will do anything to undermine us. But I know that all my sin and shame is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, so I am not falling for that…I’ve already wasted too many years wishing I could just have a clean slate, but you know what? God does give us a clean slate, we just have to believe that God sees us that way because He has forgiven us, so who are we not to forgive ourselves. I have to rely on God and through prayer and reading His Word, I can escape the trap. Resist the devil and he will flee from you, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you (James 4:7,8).
Shalom
hsnpoor on November 21, 2016 at 8:25 pm
Sandy, you so accurately described one of Satan’s most effective strategies against us; I call it the “in for a penny, in for a pound” argument”. I love your response. If God says we are clean, who are we to deny it. God is not a liar and Jesus didn’t die for nothing. “I am redeemed, bought with a price; Jesus has changed my whole life. If anybody asks you just who I am, tell them I am redeemed”. AMEN!
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 10:25 pm
Yes indeed, and our Redeemer lives!!
godlove on November 22, 2016 at 2:56 am
Thank you for your response, sandy. Our sins and shame have indeed been nailed on the cross. Like you say, if God says He has forgiven us through the sacrifice of His Son and made us new, then we shouldn’t let the old life distract us in our journey. The only shame which should still persist should be the shame of unconfessed sins, not the sins which our Redeemer has cleansed us from. Very encouraging comment, thanks a lot and Peace to you.
gagirllive on November 21, 2016 at 10:09 pm
Dear godlove, I am on a road trip across the country to be with relatives for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US. It’s been a long day of driving, and I am just now checking in with you guys. I could not pass up the opportunity to speak to what you’ve shared here, my kindred spirit friend. 🙂 I hear your heart, dear one. Rest assured that you are not alone in how you feel. I’m pretty sure that we all can testify that we have AT LEAST one besetting sin that we struggle with. I know I do. In fact, to my dismay, one that I had put away for years is trying to rear it’s ugly head again, but by God’s grace, I will make it bow down to the authority of Jesus Christ. I have been in the book of Matthew lately, looking at the beatitudes, and I have been so encouraged by “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” May I comfort you with the comfort that I have been comforted with from that? Here Jesus is speaking intimately to His disciples (v. 2), preparing them for kingdom life. He knows the fierce inner battles they will be facing and the many temptations they no doubt will succumb to, and He knows how grieved they will no doubt be by their failures. And guess what? He calls them “blessed”—“to be envied”— when they are! How does that translate to our struggles? I believe that when we are genuinely broken and grieved by our sin AND speak honestly with God about it, confessing and repenting, it is an incredible opportunity for us to know the comfort of His grace. Instead of embracing the feelings of guilt and shame, in our grief over our sin we see how desperate we are for God’s mercy and grace, and we all the more seek Him and the power that He provides to help us overcome. I don’t know if I’m making much sense because I’m tired, but I just wanted to encourage you to keep running to Jesus in your brokenness, just as I am, dear brother. He’s left us with a Helper— a Comforter—the Holy Spirit. He’s left us with spiritual weapons that can pull down all strongholds in our lives. Let’s not settle for anything less! I probably won’t be commenting much this week because of travel, but I’ll be praying for you, godlove. A very blessed Thanksgiving week to all of you—writers and sojourners on ODJ. When I count my blessings you all are tops! 🙂
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 10:30 pm
so good to see you GAgirl! well, see your voice that is and let me be the first to say, yes of course you make perfect sense which I’m sure godlove will agree with! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Shalom
godlove on November 22, 2016 at 2:28 am
Thank you so much for your very insightful reply, gagirl. I will certainly come back to read this comment again, it speaks straight to my heart in ways you can’t imagine. Maybe you should try posting when you’re tired more often 🙂 Thanks a lot for your encouragement and prayers dear sis. Have a great trip and a marvellous and blessed Thanksgiving.
godlove on November 22, 2016 at 2:36 am
Looks like the end of my reply got cut off there. I was thanking you for your encouragement and prayers, and wishing you a great trip and a marvellous Thanksgiving, dear sister.
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 9:12 am
So we should submit to authority, be ready to do good works for the Lord, and not speak evil of others. We should seek to live in peace–to be gentle to others with humility.
We should worship Jesus; give Him all of our devotion and love, and know that Jesus expresses God’s kindness and love toward us, do good works because Jesus has mercifully forgiven us, washed away our sin, and made us new by the power of the Holy Spirit, and avoid arguments and fights about questions that pertain to legalism and outward forms of religion.
Titus calls us to be champions of grace, diligently teaching that good works cannot save us(Ephesians 2:6,9). Yet, we are equally to be champions of godly living, giving clear guidelines for righteous conduct and behavior. Grace is never to be an excuse for ungodly living, but we are to live in godliness because Jesus has forgiven us and set us free by His grace. God’s grace and the power of His Spirit enable us to lead peaceful, godly lives in humility and truth.
Complete surrender of our lives to Jesus frees us to love Him and devote ourselves to God wholly. This is the meaning of “slave.” When we love God unreservedly, our devotional lives are set ablaze with the fire of God. The Holy Spirit is free to mold and shape us and use us beyond what we thought possible.
Devote yourself to God afresh today. Give Him all of you; do not withhold anything from Him. Give yourself to your Master as a slave of God.
joycemb on November 21, 2016 at 9:21 am
For many many years I had to write down my past sins as I studied scripture and I found more and more freedom as I learned what God said in answer to my shame. Its good for me to look back at all God has brought me through and the resulting closeness and trust I have developed through the years. What a journey! Pun intended:-)
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 9:39 am
Thank you Mike for this devotion today. For so many years, I hated myself for what I did, and I so wanted a clean slate but I couldn’t forgive myself for all I did. It took a lot of years and the song, “It is Well”, to realize that all my sin and shame is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. I finally was able to forgive myself, and it brought me such freedom in Christ. I felt like it was a new life, and I came to accept I can’t change the past, and now I live my life knowing that God has cleaned my slate and I am a new person in Christ. I guess the worse part about it was that I was a Christian when all this happened but I didn’t act like one, I was led away and enticed by the evil one, and the more I believed the lie, the worse it became. I thank God for His forgiveness and giving me another chance.
joycemb on November 21, 2016 at 11:09 am
Amen sandy!
Mike Wittmer on November 21, 2016 at 12:37 pm
Sandy, I like this a lot. I was struck by your words that our “sin and shame is nailed to the cross.” The horror of the cross instructs us that we have sinned grievously, so we shouldn’t be surprised when we sin in shameful ways. If we hadn’t, then the shame of the cross would not have been necessary. What I’m trying to say is the moment we come to Jesus we have to admit we have sinned in awful ways, so why do I still struggle to come clean before God? It must be because I’m still a sinner, now forgiven!, but still ashamed to confess my shame. Thank God that He forgives even that!
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 2:26 pm
Amen Mike. I appreciate your comments, Thank you.
street on November 21, 2016 at 1:38 pm
thank you for the cup of water.
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Ok, I had to put the lyrics to this song in here today, I really felt led to do this.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
This was also my Mother’s favorite song. She had a lot of difficulties in life, and went to be with the Lord after she got pancreatic cancer, but she always said, it is well with my soul. I guess you could say, this is what she taught me.
minkjh on November 21, 2016 at 6:19 pm
Thanks for sharing, Sandy. As this song is of great personal comfort, you are probably aware of the story surrounding the hymn. Horatio Spafford penned these lyrics shortly after the death of four daughters who lost their lives during a transatlantic maritime accident in 1873. Your posting this today must have been divinely-inspired because tomorrow is the anniversary date of that tragedy. Also, your earlier post from Titus about godliness and righteousness is an excellent reminder that we need to guard our lives against smugness when it comes to grace.
sandy229 on November 21, 2016 at 10:23 pm
Yes, I knew the story behind it, it’s so sad but I didn’t know tomorrow was the anniversary of it. Thank you