Suffering: Guilt, Like Jacob

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 (ESV)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Fomans 8:1 (ESV)

Jacob lied to get his father's blessing. He agreed to follow his mother's scheme and took advantage of Isaac's blindness.

After, in fear of his brother, Esau, Jacob fled to his Uncle Laban's land. His guilty conscience bound and burdened him.

In the Lord's lesson-teaching payback twist, Laban lied to Jacob for twenty years! When God's future leader finally left (along with family and possessions) and returned to the home he’d left behind…

Jacob bowed to Esau in repentance, becoming the man the Lord envisioned.*

Actors, models, and talent for Christ:

  • If heaven is your top destination and faith in Jesus is how you get there,

  • If no one but Jesus lives perfectly, and people in this world still make mistakes,..

  • Then we’re all BECOMING what God has planned, since our perfection is still in process.

Therefore, every self-reflecting Christian requires a passing acquaintance with guilt:

  • “Acquaintance” as in… confessing our sins.

  • “Passing” as in… we’re moving beyond them.

  • “Passing” also as in… NOT looking back.

Actors, models, and talent for Christ:

Dwelling in guilt prohibits your witness of the One Who took your guilt from the Cross, to the tomb, down to hell, and left it there!

If Jacob, David, and Paul big-time sinned, if they each repented and moved forward, then DO THE SAME to live your best life now!

Don’t continue in self-condemnation or linger in guilt from your past mistakes. (If you do, then Satan is succeeding in his nobody-ever-wins BLAME GAME.

Suffering: Guilt, Like Jacob (Part 4)

* Short article: Who was Jacob in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

* Short article: How should a Christian deal with feelings of guilt regarding past sins, whether pre- or post-salvation? | GotQuestions.org

NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God! We’re ALL called to be actors (action stars) for Jesus. We’re ALL called to models of Jesus, and we ALL have gifts, talents, and callings from God–  to multiply them in the world for His glory.

P.S. NO DEVOTION, PREACHER, or SERMON… can begin to replace personal time in the Bible. I wholeheartedly and clear-headedly recommend READING THE BIBLE DAILY.

WARNING: Don’t focus on favorite verses, because out of context, they’re often misinterpreted. I plead with you to READ AT LEAST 1 BIBLE CHAPTER DAILY. How long does it take? An average of 5 to 10 minutes!

Carey Arban