Crushed or Loved?

I want to ask you a question, today. Do you think that God is angry with you or disappointed in you? Do you avoid reading your Bible, praying or going to church because you feel guilty enough already? OK, so it was more than one question, but does this describe you?

If these symptoms do sound like you, then let me tell you the name of your condition: you are suffering from CONDEMNATION. Condemnation is contagious. People in your life can infect you with it when they judge the way you act as unacceptable. Satan, your enemy, uses condemnation as part of his germ warfare arsenal to fight against you. You can even infect yourself when you fail to meet your own expectations.

If you attempt to self-medicate to recover from this malady, the cure adds to the burden of the condition. The most common self-medication used for condemnation is "I'll do better tomorrow. I failed, today, but I can start over." This OTC medication may work for changing bad habits. For this spiritual disease, however, while it may appear to be effective, what it is really doing is changing the symptoms. If you "do better" the next day, you get relief from the weight of condemnation, but you break out in a rash of pride and self-righteousness. If you "fail" the next day, the weight of condemnation becomes the crushing burden of despair.

Only one cure exists for the condition of condemnation – John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Once you saw the reference to that Bible verse, did you just skim over the verse because you have already accepted Jesus' sacrifice in your place and acknowledged Him as your Savior? If you did, then join the crowd. Most of us know the significance of Jesus to our eternal salvation, but we end right there.

Let me introduce you to Elyse Fitzpatrick, who has made the trip past the point of Jesus being only the source of our salvation. She wrote Because He Loves Me to share what she learned on her own journey to cure the condemnation disease. Listen to what she says in her introduction:

"If I asked you, "Where did the ongoing incarnation of Jesus Christ intersect with your life yesterday?" would you have an answer? We all know the crucifixion is important for our initial salvation, but what did it mean to you this morning? Does Calvary inform and warm your heart when you're waiting in line at the grocery store or hearing bad news from the doctor? Does his sinless life comfort you when you realize that you've just sinned in that same way again? In other words, is he significantly relevant to you in your daily walk with him?"

Only when the love of God in Jesus Christ is significantly relevant in our daily walk are we immune to the condition of condemnation. Begin your journey to a cure with Elyse Fitzpatrick as your guide in Because He Loves Me.