Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Wrong Voice
He made us accepted in the Beloved.
--Ephesians 1:6
Like the pain we feel when we step on a sharp piece of glass, guilt is our moral warning system.
Guilt is not necessarily a bad thing, because it is a reaction to something in our lives that is not right. But sometimes the devil can use guilt to drive us to despair.
This is why it is important to distinguish between Satan's accusations and the Spirit's conviction. A feeling of guilt and shame is not a bad thing if it comes from the Spirit of God. But if it drives us to despair and hopelessness, then we have listened to the wrong voice.
The devil will accuse us, saying that we are not worthy to approach God. May I be blunt? We were never worthy. We will never be worthy. On our best day, we weren't even close to being worthy.
As believers, we have been made acceptable to God through what Christ did for us on the cross. We have been made acceptable in the Beloved. It is because of Jesus that we can come to God.
So don't ever let the devil's accusations drive you away from the cross, where you will find forgiveness.
You have a choice. The next time you sin, you can either give up in despair, or you can come back to the Lord and repent.
Remember this simple truth: Satan will always seek to drive you away from the cross, but the Holy Spirit will always draw you back to the cross.
Copyright © 2009 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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