It is through this returning to the Lord and to each other that I believe we are annually reminded that at every season , God will always make a way for us to come back home to Him .
So , in circling back to this word “ regret ,” is it possible that this in fact can be a useful emotion of us as followers of Yeshua , and if so , how might it benefit us , especially during this time of the year ?
In hearing this I was speechless ! I had only known them less than a year , and they had been nothing but loving to my wife and me . Even knowing we were Messianic ; we had been for Shabbat dinner and was even invited to pray with them . And yet , here they were “ asking me for forgiveness !”
As I inquired of them on this and told them that they had never done anything to offend me , they told me that with Yom Kippur coming , they did not want anything to get in the way of our friendship or their relationship with God .
Amazing !
That day was a powerful reminder for me of not only the forgiving power of God ’ s love , but most directly how especially at this time of the year , our hearts must be in tune with the Father and toward one another .
In his book , “ The Other Half of Church ,” Jim Wilder along with Michel Hendricks reminds us of what they refer to as toxic shame and healthy shame . In our modern culture , we are falsely conditioned to think that ALL shame is destructive , but the authors of this book aptly remind that this is not the case .
With toxic shame , the emotions and feelings which are communicated resound , not with affirmation , but instead feelings of unworthiness , brokenness an hurt . Through this , toxic shame says , “ you are worthless , you are not worth redeeming !” Counter to toxic shame , “ healthy shame ” does not tear down the other , but instead , is couched in covenant relationships . According to Wilder and Hendricks , healthy shame is good in that it is tied to how our brains work and the formation of human character and our desires to change .
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 • T I K K U N A M E R I C A R E S T O R E | 1 3