Morning Moments

God's prohibitions are for our protection! Violation will always bring consequence, along with guilt. God in his grace imposes gulit for the purpose of "running us back to Jesus."

Why did Adam and Eve hide from God? Because of GUILT. They learned from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that what they had done was evil. Ever since then we have had a problem with hiding. Not only does sin bring guilt, but it brings with distrust. Think about it. They lost their trust in God who made them and became afraid. Sin always brings guilt and guilt always brings a loss of trust. It is that lack of or loss of trust that makes us hide from God and each other by pretence or facade. Hallelujah, God even used the tree He had forbidden to develop guilt for our benefit. Satan's worst shot is always met with God's best shot. DON'T EVER FORGET THAT!

It happens in every relationship and to all of us. God designed us that way to help us, NOT to hurt us. So when I allow guilt, which comes with a violation of of God's will and Word, as well as my conscience, to serve its rightful purpose of bringing us to or back to God through confession and repentance. But let's be clear about those two things.

As a believer, it is the Holy Spirit who "quickens" my conscience, so without the Holy Spirit living in me, any guilt I feel is a violation of whatever laws I am living under: social, employment, fraternal, etc.. That is why the conscience CANNOT be our guide - it is influence by the wrong things. It must be influence by the presence of God in us. Being "convicted" by the Holy Spirit, I then MUST do two things: 1) Confess (to say the same thing; to agree with) - that does not mean necessarily to cry and moan, but it means that I say the same thing about that sin that God says about it and I ALSO say the same thing about the Lord Jesus Christ who saved me. Depending on the sin I may weep and moan because of a broken heart in realizing the hurt I brought to God and the damage I have done to other. 2) Repentance - CHANGE! I cannot remain the same if I agree with God and change. This is why so many believers never grow. They do not "exercise by reason of use their senses to distinguish between good and evil", and that only comes through "continuing in the WORD OF GOD. So, we must desire it above daily food.

PRAYER: Father Dear, My driving desire is to be a vessel that is cleansed, filled, and prepared for the Master use. I offer myself to you anew this morning for you to take and cleanse and fill and use because you ever live to make intercession for me.