Monday, 2 May 2022

On an unrelated topic ...

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Isaiah 50:7 For Adonai Elohim will help Me. Therefore I have not been disgraced. Therefore I set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed ... 9a See, Adonai Elohim will help Me. Who is he who would condemn Me?

I woke this morning with thoughts of shame. Not my shame, just shame in general. I was thinking how there is good shame and bad shame. Good shame is of God and bad shame is of Satan. They both start the same, but when we believe a lie (John 8:44b Whenever he [Satan] speaks lies he is just being himself - for he is a liar and the father of lies), good shame is turned into bad shame.

All shame starts out as conviction that our behavior has not matched God's command. His desire for us is that we would be perfect. Matthew 5:48 Therefore be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Good shame brings the conviction that we have missed the mark. By grace, God uses good shame to draw us near to Himself.

Bad shame yields a harvest of condemnation when we believe the lie that we are a bad person (totally different from a good person doing something out of character). The lie is compounded when we believe there is no remedy to fix the offense. The harvest of condemnation sustains our separation from God, which is contrary to God's plan for reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Messiah and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

This is why prayer is so important. Pray that God will heal your shame and use it to draw you closer to Him. My rabbi, Dave Chansky, used to say, "When you fall, fall toward the cross, so that when you get up, you'll be closer to God than before." Reject bad shame, and embrace good shame. It is the beginning of God's gift of conviction that leads to reconciliation.

Micah 7:19 He will again have compassion on us. He will subdue our iniquities, and You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.