1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian 3 - Blessed are those who mourn | Page 10
you find yourself in maybe not such an extreme condition as this man, but in a
cave anyway. With people who can identify with the trauma that comes with
guilt and shame gone wrong, you’re faced with a choice: you can either continue
to live in your “cave”, frighten people and be miserable, or you can hear the call
of Jesus to come and be released from the power of these two overwhelming
evils. My prayer is that you would do just that (once again I invite you to connect
with one of your pastoral staff or elders – to have a conversation with them in
this regard could be just what you need).
Prayer Thought: You do not have to carry your guilt and shame anymore, Jesus
did not die just to take your sin away, He died so that you could be free from the
guilt of bad decisions and a messed up life to whatever extent that may be. He is
able to restore the years that the locusts have eaten (Joel 2 v 25).
Saturday
Reading: Romans 5 v 1 – 5
Today, the role that the Comforter takes upon Himself which I would like to
focus on is this:
#8: The Comforter Cheers you on to a deeper Character. Hebrews 12 v 1 speaks
of a “…great cloud of witnesses…” we are not entirely sure who the writer is
referring to, but I think it would be safe to presume that he’s talking about the
Old Testament saints and those who have moved into the presence of God
through death. The fact that this great cloud of witnesses watches us should do
one of two things for us: firstly, the fact that the witnesses watch me live a
dysfunctional insipid Christian life would bring much sadness to them. To the
martyrs of years gone by, how sad it must be for them to watch us live a pathetic
version of the Christian faith. This could, if we thought about it for long enough,
lead us to a position of embarrassment. But the second and more positive
emotion which should be engendered, is the fact that these witnesses will
applaud our progress down here on earth; that every time we make a good
decision which honours God these witnesses applaud. Every time I stretch my
faith and choose to trust God, the applause gets louder. Every time I choose to
stand firm in the issues of morality the applause intensifies. Every time I stand