IMPRISONED

Sometimes it doesn't take bars and chains to be imprisoned. Many people do a fine job imprisoning themselves without being tried in a court of law or sentenced to any punishment at all. 

What we tend to forget is that we're all guilty ... Of sin. Maybe you're guilty of fornication, or adultery, or maybe you've stolen something, or lied, or did something so terrible you don't even want to think about it. Maybe you've done something so bad that your past deeds threaten to imprison your future. Maybe you even murdered someone. 

Did you know that king David committed adultery and then had the husband killed? You might think that the apple of God’s eye would have no troubles with temptation and sin, but David desired Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, had sex with her, she got pregnant while her husband was away fighting a war for the country and David knew he would be found out ... So David had Uriah killed, AND TOOK Bathsheba to be his wife.

David repented for what he had done, and the after being punished by losing the child within Bathsheba's womb ... The Lord forgave him.

The Lord forgives us completely when we repent for our sins. He knows our human frailty and the temptation that we undergo. 

In fact, God forgave David and Bathsheba so completely that their son Solomon became the next king, and more importantly, God chose for Jesus to come into the world through the bloodline of David.

There are times when we're so ashamed of what we've done, that we don't think we're worthy of being forgiven. Some folks even keep company of other Christians and play the role that they believe they are forgiven, but deep inside, they are secretly imprisoned by feelings of guilt. 

Oft times there is worry about what others would think if they knew your secret sins. What would your lady friends think, or your gentlemen friends, or your pastor, or your boss or your grandparents, or your professor, or ... Anyone? Well, ... Who cares? The only One that really matters is your Father in Heaven, and even though you may feign forgiving yourself, He truly does forgive you when you're repentant and ask His forgiveness. If we're really unworthy of forgiveness, then Jesus died in vain. Think about that for a second ... A sinner unworthy of forgiveness ... It's like saying, a sick person is unworthy of taking medicine. It simply doesn't make sense ... sinners are the ONLY people worthy of forgiveness.

Who is it that has convicted you to the imprisonment that you're in? There may be someone on earth who hasn't forgiven you for something, but if you're truly sorry for something you've done and you've asked forgiveness of God, He has forgiven you. Jesus died for that very reason. The person who doesn't forgive, lives in a prison of their own.

Guilt is a heavy burden for anyone. Ask yourself a question. When you confess your sins to your Father and ask His forgiveness, do you end it there? Or do you stick around and listen so that you can hear Him say, I forgive you? Do you wake up the next morning and see a new day and know, just by that blessing alone that your Father said, I forgive you? Does He still give you the freedom to choose anything you want in your life? Do you count the ways that He continually says, I forgive you, throughout the days and months and years of your life, over and over and over again without fail? Does He want you to be imprisoned? Who is the warden that is locking you up? Isn't it you yourself? 

Sometimes we are our strongest accusers. The devil would like nothing more than to convince you that you should suffer guilt for sin, after you've repented and received Grace from God. By giving in to guilt, you're taking sides in spiritual warfare, as if to say that you don't believe that the death of Jesus Christ frees us from sin. Don't listen to the wrong voice.

Pray for God to lift the burden of guilt from your mind and to keep the enemy far from you. "Deliver us from evil," is what the Lord taught us to pray. After you pray, give a listen. Watch for the continued blessings in your life ... The sunshine on your face ... A gentle breeze ... A bird song ... The light of the moon ... A child's smile ... A cool drink of water ... Listen with your eyes and heart, as well as your ears. 

As long as you're imprisoned by your guilt, you won't be able to effectively serve the Lord and share His goodness with other souls. Can your sin possibly require more Grace than our Father has to offer? Impossible.

He has freed you ... Now free yourself.

Related Studies:
 

I would like to share a song with you ...

Mercy Came Runnin'

Once there was a holy place
Evidence of God's embrace
I can almost see Mercy's face
Pressed against the veil

Looking down with longing eyes
Mercy must have realized
Once His blood was sacrificed
Freedom would prevail

And as the sky grew dark
And the earth began to shake
With justice no longer in the way

Mercy came runnin'
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures
To the point of my knees

But the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach Mercy
Mercy came runnin' to me

Once there was a broken heart
Way too human from the start
All the years left it torn apart
Hopeless and afraid

Walls I never meant to build
Left this prisoner unfulfilled
Freedom called but even still
It seemed so far away

I was bound by the chains
From the wages of my sin
Just when I felt like givin' in

Mercy came runnin'
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures
To the point of my knees

But the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach Mercy
Mercy came runnin' to me

Sometimes I still feel so far
So far from where I really should be
He gently calls to my heart
Just to remind me

Mercy came runnin'
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures
To the point of my knees

But the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach Mercy
Mercy came runnin' to me

Take care and have a SON-derful day