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(James 5:16) "Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
This next series is about how GOD wants to deal with the "sin that so easily besets us" (Hebrews 12:1) and how He will help us come out from under the enslavement of it through His Son, Jesus.
Our brother John Smith sent this very personal response to the message... (Which one of you has the next one?)
"Following on from what Jo said about the consequences of sin, I would like to bring some thoughts and observations about the Prison of SHAME.
Now we know that all sin comes from the Devil, Satan, Lucifer, fallen star, separated from God, and he wants to keep believers from walking and living in True Freedom in Christ, and for many, the burden of shame can achieve just that.
Shame comes from two sources: committing a shameful act and being on the receiving end of another's shameful acts. It doesn’t matter which one; they both have the same effect on a person. The main problem for many is the inability to share what’s happened, which keeps them locked in the darkness, like a prison. This can go on for years, and if something like this has happened to you and you’re still reading this, no doubt the memories will come flooding back.
If forgiveness has been sought and given, then that is done, and you must ask Jesus to help you accept it. Some folk find it hard to forgive what has happened to them and continue to suffer daily with the pain. For example, when someone is speaking on this subject at a meeting and gives an altar call at the end, most people will not go forward as they’re afraid of the whispers, “What if I get up? Everyone will see me and know I have shame on me. Best to stay seated…” And on it goes, but the answer to this is very simple. God made provision for exactly this in the Scriptures. (James 5:16) [I will change a word here with God's blessing] Confess 'the' sins to one another (the Scripture is written as confess ‘your' sin), but I would suggest that you should never own it or call it ‘yours'. It was put on you, and one way or another, it doesn’t belong to you. This doesn’t mean there is no responsibility for actions, but we are looking for freedom from them.
You can't live freely with shame lingering, so confide in someone trustworthy who will keep your conversation private. "Confess the sin to each other and pray for each other so that you will be HEALED of what has damaged you because the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Only God can do this for you, so don’t delay…!
Beloved. I am speaking from experience, having suffered myself from shame when I was very young. I suffered only the once. Still, the suffering stayed with me for decades, but I can promise that True Freedom in Christ follows on, and in time even the memories fade—thank you, Jesus.
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Let us pray, "Heavenly Father, please remove the 'garment of shame' from me and clothe me with Your robe of righteousness. In Faith, I release my past to You and will now focus on Your goodness." Amen!
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URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS (Please keep checking as more are being added almost daily)