Lord, lead me everyday
condemnation
Condemnation Is The Root Cause
Today I am reading day 167 of Joseph Prince’s Devotional:
Day 167
Condemnation Is The Root Cause
Romans 8:1, NASB 1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
When you have a plant with sickly leaves, it would be foolish to just treat the leaves without knowing the root cause of the problem. Similarly, when “leaves” of sickness, poverty and destructive habits start sprouting in your life, you need to know what the root cause is.
Experts will tell you that it is stress. They may go a little deeper and say that it is fear — fear of the future, of rejection, of loss, of death and so on. But is fear really the root? Or is there something deeper than fear?
The Bible shows us that the most fundamental cause of problems in our lives is condemnation. With condemnation comes fear. Fear then induces stress that brings about the symptoms of the curse.
This is what happened to Adam. Long before he faced poverty, sickness and eventually death, he had stress. Because of his sin, God told him, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground.” (Genesis 3:19) Sweat speaks of stress. But before there was stress, there was fear because Adam told God, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:10)
But what made Adam fearful? Adam only feared when, seeing his nakedness, he realized that he had sinned against God. He felt so ashamed and condemned that he hid himself. God then asked him, “Who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:11) There was no one else in the garden other than Adam and Eve, so we know that it was probably the devil who told Adam that he was naked.
My friend, condemnation is the root cause of the symptoms of the curse manifesting in your life. That is why you need to know that at the cross, God took all your sins, put them on Jesus and unleashed the full fury of His wrath against them until Jesus cried out, “It is finished!”
All your sins have been completely punished in the body of Christ who was condemned for you. The root cause of all your problems has been dealt with. This means that the devil cannot enforce the curse in your life apart from your receiving condemnation. So come to the place of no condemnation and no sick leaves will sprout in your life!
Thought For The Day
Condemnation is the root cause of the symptoms of the curse manifesting in your life.
The Root Cause Of Your Problem Is Condemnation
Joseph Prince – The Root Cause Of Your Problem Is Condemnation – 06 Jan 2006 – Classic Sermon
When was the last time you had an evil day? If you look back and trace how it started, you will find that it all began when you received the accusations and condemnation of the devil. What brought about your evil day was not so much stress or fear, but the deepest root of all — condemnation. Listen to this message and root out condemnation in your life!
It begins with the feeling of condemnation! Set yourself free by believing that our Heavenly Father has forgiven you through the blood of Jesus Christ, and then start manifesting the blessings that our Heavenly Father has already given you in your life! Hallelujah!
The Gift Of No Condemnation
Today I am reading day 51 of Joseph Prince’s Devotional:
Day 51
The Gift Of No Condemnation
John 8:11 11… “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
When Jesus was on earth, a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Him by the scribes and Pharisees, the religious mafia of His day. They tried to trap Him by posing a question that was difficult to answer: “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:5)
Jesus answered, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7) The scribes and Pharisees began to leave one by one till none of them were left.
The people in the crowd who wanted to condemn the woman could not. But Jesus, the only one in the crowd who truly had the power to condemn her, would not. He then asked her, “Woman… Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10)
He spoke such words of grace to her because He loved her. Also, by asking her the question, He was giving her a chance to speak words of no condemnation to herself — “No one condemns me, Lord.” (John 8:11)
Jesus not only spoke words of grace to her, He also gave her the gift of no condemnation — “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”. It was when she received the gift of no condemnation that she had the power to “go and sin no more”.
Today, you have the gift of no condemnation because the Son of God was condemned for all your sins. (Romans 8:1) Today, God cannot condemn you when you sin because He is faithful and just to what His Son has done.
So if the devil tries to convince you that God is angry with you when you blow it, just say, “God does not condemn me today because He has already condemned Jesus at the cross 2,000 years ago!”
Unfortunately, we still hear people saying, “Go and sin no more first, then I won’t condemn you.” Maybe you have been saying this to yourself too. But God says, “I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more.” He gives you the gift of no condemnation, so that you have the strength to go and sin no more!
Thought For The Day
You have the gift of no condemnation because the Son of God was condemned for all your sins.
The Answer For A Guilty Conscience
Today I am reading day 20 of Joseph Prince’s Devotional:
Day 20
The Answer For A Guilty Conscience
Hebrews 9:14 14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Have you heard the voice of your conscience saying things like, “You deserve hell for the sins you committed against your wife three years ago” or “Why are you surprised that your child is not talking to you? You were never around when he needed you”?
You know, there are people who feel depressed all the time because of a sense of guilt, and they “pay” for their sins in terms of illnesses. In fact, doctors are discovering that many psychosomatic sicknesses are caused by guilt and condemnation because the conscience is saying, “You have done wrong. You must be punished. How can your sin not be punished?”
That is why you must have an answer that will satisfy your conscience. When your conscience says, “You have sinned. You must be punished for this sin or else God is not a just God,” you say, “Yes, I have sinned. But this sin and every other sin that I have committed were punished to the maximum in the body of Jesus Christ! So there remains no more punishment for me today, for how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse my conscience!”
My friend, the only way to bring peace to your conscience is to look to the cross. The cross of Jesus is the only answer that will satisfy your conscience.
So the next time your conscience condemns you because of sin, don’t try to silence it with your good works. Look to the cross and say, “Father, thank You for Jesus and the cross. Jesus was totally condemned on my behalf for this sin, so there is now absolutely no condemnation left for me.” Then, your conscience will look at the cross and say, “Ahhhh… peace.” My friend, Jesus’ finished work at the cross truly sets you free!
Thought For The Day
The cross of Jesus is the only answer that will satisfy your conscience.
From Condemnation to Confidence
Today I am reading day 331 of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional:
From Condemnation to Confidence
Romans 3:23-24 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
Many of you have been condemning yourself, maybe because of some unresolved guilt, maybe because of some unrealistic expectations, maybe both. The Bible says, “All of us have sinned and we all fall short of God’s ideal; yet, now God declares us not guilty if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness, freely takes away our sins.”
Would you like to have that burden removed? Would you pray, “Jesus Christ, I want to ask you to forgive me for all the things I’ve ever done wrong.” If something specific comes to mind right now, just agree, saying, “Yes, and that… and that…” As those pictures go across your mind, say, “Lord, I ask forgiveness for that, and I accept your forgiveness because of Jesus Christ.”
Then would you pray, “Lord, help me to relax in your grace, to realize that you don’t expect perfection. There is no condemnation in Christ. You’ll never love me any more and never love me any less because of what I do.”
“Father, I want to walk in your grace. I want to take off the yoke of guilt and put on the yoke of grace today. Lord, help me to eliminate the negative self-talk in my life. Help me to focus my mind on the positive things. Help read my Bible every day and memorize it and meditate on it. And as I read it, remind me again and again how much you love me.”
Replace Condemnation with Confidence
Today I am reading day 168 of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional:
Replace Condemnation with Confidence
1JN 3:21 And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence.
You’ve probably noticed that your confidence ebbs and flows. It varies greatly from day to day: one day you’re up and one day you’re down. What causes that?
In part, it’s about what is going on inside of you. The Bible teaches, “If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” (1 John 3:21 NIV) When we face life’s hurts, habits, and hang-ups, it’s important that we walk out of self-condemnation and into the faithful confidence that God forgives us.
What causes self-condemnation?
Unresolved guilt – King David wrote, “There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration.” (Psalms 32:3 TLB)
Unrealistic expectations – Also known as perfectionism — the feeling that I must be flawless, that I must be perfect, that I must please everybody, that I always have to do more, that I’m not allowed to relax.
If you’re a perfectionist, your favorite phrase is, “I should I must I ought I have to .” You’re always doing more. The Bible says, “Even perfection has its limits, but God’s commands have no limit.” (Psalms 119:96 NLT)
Both guilt and perfectionism cause a lack of confidence in our lives.
Admitting Your Mistakes
Today I am reading day 103 of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional:
Admitting Your Mistakes
Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
We’ve all been irresponsible. But God doesn’t want you going around with a heavy guilt trip about all the irresponsibility in your life. He wants you to go around with a sense of promise and hope. He will help you overcome your sins, he can even bring good out of the stupid decisions that you’ve made in your life, if you’ll give them to Him.
Sometimes we feel so guilty and ashamed of irresponsible actions we’ve taken that the guilt and shame actually perpetuate the problem and we keep doing it. “I blew it so I’m bad. Since I’m bad, I’m going to blow it again.” It’s a cycle that you can’t seem to get out of. The guilt and the shame actually keep you locked in a lifestyle of irresponsibility. You make one dumb decision after another.
What you need is a power beyond yourself. What you need is a savior who can forgive your sins, clear your conscience and break out of that cycle. Here’s the good news: “All of us have fallen short, yet now God declares us not guilty if we trust in Jesus Christ who freely takes away our sins.” (Romans 3:23-24)
Lord, lead me everyday 