No More Guilty Conscience

MY COMPASSIONATE SOVEREIGN, I easily discourage myself by believing I am sin because I am the one who is doing the sinning. But to the contrary, it is sin that uses the member’s of my body to work through (Rom 7:17).

CHRIST dwells in me (Gal 2:20) as well as my sinful nature (Rom 7:17,20) (ref#56, p1624, [Rom 7:14-25]). Help me LORD, to never forget that You have made me a saint yet because I’m a mortal creature I still am susceptible to sin. I am a saint who still has a sinful nature that indwells me. So, regarding sin, “…no longer is it I who do it, but the sinful nature which indwells me;…” (ref#37, p363, [Rom 7:17]).

Remind me that possessing the nature of CHRIST I am no longer willingly habitually disobedient. It is I, in CHRIST, who makes me desire very much to be obedient even when I’m knowingly sinning (Rom 7:14-25).

And, even as I’m sinning the blood of JESUS cleanses all guilt from my conscience (Heb 10:22). So I should never feel guilty for sinning! You say, “…THEIR ERRORS AND THEIR BREACHES OF THE LAW WILL I SURELY NOT REMEMBER ANY MORE’”(ref#38, p242, [Heb 10:17]). There is absolute forgiveness of sins (Heb 10:18). I have been washed clean with pure water (Heb 10:22). Help me remind myself of that often, FATHER, for satan loves to bring my failures to remembrance.

When sin entangles me (Heb 12:1) and uses me for its evil purposes—when You, LORD, witness me aiding and abetting evil—when I’m caught in the crime of offending You— how exceedingly sorrowful I am for my participation in assaulting You. Sorrowful yes, but my faith in CHRIST eliminates guilt.

Again, it’s not I who sin but the sinful nature that still indwells me. Help me always make my confession thorough and quick so I may have the freedom again to praise You. I am always in CHRIST and clean (Heb 10:22). Do not let me wallow in self-pity because I find myself involved in sin. Keep me always from a guilty conscience. And encourage me with the fact that while sin still accompanies my new identity eventually my “new identity will result in the final triumph over indwelling sin (Rom 6:2-14)” (ref#56, p1624, [Rom 7:15]).

“…music is completely the servant of the Word. It elucidates the Word in its mystery….unison singing finds its sole and essential support in the words that are sung and therefore does not need the musical support of other voices” (ref#28, p 59).

The Earth Is Filled With the LORD

The time is coming when,
the earth shall be filled with Your knowledge—

filled with the awareness of Your glory,
as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14).

Though You are high, You regard the lowly,
Your right hand delivers me.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble (Ps 138:6-7),

You will fulfill Your purpose for me (Ps 138:8).

You LORD will surely save me;
So I will play my songs on instruments

all the days of my life
at Your house, LORD (Isa 38:20).

GOD, You are light and in You is no darkness (1 John 1:5).

You alone have immortality,
dwelling in unapproachable light,
to whom be honor and everlasting power (1 Tim 6:16).

The Offense of the Cross

“The darkness that covered Him there on Golgotha wasn’t an atmospheric phenomenon as much as it was a spiritual reality. In one sense the darkness must have radiated from Jesus, not around Him. For…darkness is the visible manifestation of sin,…” (ref#137, p181).

CHRIST became a curse for it is written, “…’Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’…“ (Gal 3:13 ESV). “The Cross of Jesus is the revelation of God’s judgment on sin. Never tolerate the idea of martyrdom about theCross of Jesus Christ” (ref#7, April 6th). “The Cross did not happen to Jesus: He came on purpose for it” (ref#7, April 6th). “…he was cut off out of the land of the living…” (Isa 53:8 ESV), being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of You, FATHER. He was taken by lawless hands, crucified, and put to death (Acts 2:23).

“HEAVENLY FATHER, Thou hast led me singing to the cross where I fling down all my burdens and see them vanish, where my mountains of guilt are leveled to a plain,…” (ref#76, p173).

Prayer Facts:

“It is a vital necessity for Christians to think along the lines on which they pray. The philosophy of prayer is that prayer is the work”(ref#157, June 14th).

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because Your stability and faithfulness are great and abundant (Lam 3:23), I will wait for Y ou.
Because You are very compassionate and merciful (James 5:11), I will wait for You.

Because You are always fair and just (Isa 30:18), I will wait for You.

Because You give freedom to the prisoners (Ps 146:7), I will wait for You.
Because You give Your underserved favor to the low and humble and the afflicted (Prov 3:34), I will wait for You.

Psalm 86

I will praise You, O LORD my GOD, with my whole heart (Ps 86:12).
For You incline Your ear and answer me in my distress (Ps 86:1).

I ask You to preserve my life since I am dedicated to You,

since I trust in You, my GOD, save Your servant (Ps 86:2).

You are merciful and gracious to me, O LORD;
make Your servant to rejoice
for I lift myself up to You (Ps 86:3-4);

Teach me that I may walk
and live in Your truth;
direct my heart to reverently fear and honor Your name (Ps 86:11).

You, O LORD, are good
and ready to forgive my trespasses;
I call and You send my sins away— gone completely and forever (Ps 86:5).

Great is Your mercy
and loving-kindness toward me;
You deliver me
from the depths of affliction (Ps 86:13).

You are great and work wonders!
You alone are GOD (Ps 86:10).
You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness,
and I will glorify Your name forevermore (Ps 86:5,12).

Benefits of Misery

FATHER, cause ____ to remember that Your heart has been broken over all the sin (he/she) has done. Cause ____ to be loathsome in (his/her) own sight for the evils that (he/she) has committed—for all (his/her) abominations (Ezek 6:9).

FATHER, I praise You that You sovereignly work all things so that even the misery of ____ may lead to (his/her) eternal security. Allow (his/her) desperation guide (him/her) into union with You (ref#66, p62).

I pray that ____ give up the fight of resisting You. Dole out to (him/her) no respite and no resting place for the soles of (his/her) feet, instead give (him/her) a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul (Deut 28:65). Make (his/her) life itself hang in doubt—that (he/she) dread night and day (Deut 28:66). Make (his/her) suffering so oppressive that Your promises contrast (his/her) plight so strongly that the hope of Your promises drives (him/her) to acceptance.

FATHER, exhaust (him/her) with the guilt of (his/her) sin then offer the refreshment of CHRIST (Matt 11:28-30). Give (him/her) the uplifting option of starting over.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Cor 5:17 NASU)

Drawing Conversation Back to JESUS

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (I Cor 2:1-5 ESV).

FATHER, I pray for ____ as (he/she) has opportunity to speak of Christianity. Restrain (him/her) from thinking and speaking in a worldly manner. There is no spiritual strength using words that put pressure on the will of the listener or to make an effort to engage emotions (#123, p116). “Paul does not threaten or merely exhort, nor does he lift up some shining example to emulate” (ref# 123, p117). Prod ____ to make (his/her) message only be about “the limitless significance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins,…” (ref#7, Oct 15th).

FATHER, also keep ____ from toting a specific program of Christianity. This, too, is the world’s way to persuade, for it is easier to be part of a cause than to be an obedient CHRIST-follower. “It is easier to belong to a coterie which tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, easier to become a devotee to Divine healing, or to a special type of sanctification, or to the baptism of the Holy Ghost” (ref#7, Oct 15th).

Again, prod ____ to proclaim the Gospel, testifying “to the matchless worth of the person and work of Christ” (ref#152, p 167)—no sales pitch—no witnessing for CHRIST, but witnessing about CHRIST.

Who is Doing the Doing?

“Not all deeds done for God are His deeds. Doing for Him is not enough; the question is, who is doing the doing? God will not recognize any labor as His if it simply reflects the believer’s activity and is carried out in his strength” (ref#101, p44).

When the Apostle Paul says I am to work out my own salvation (Phil 2:12-13), he is not saying to me to get busy and convince You, FATHER, that I love You. If I have any thought of impressing You it signals my activities are birthed from ruling myself. Working out my salvation is not choosing Christian activities that I want to do.

FATHER, instead of permitting my perverse nature to work out my salvation, bequeath me that I may, with concentration and care work out the nature You have put in me when You changed my nature (ref#7, June 6th). I want You to dominate more and more of my life (ref#7, June 7th); I want to be more and more acquainted with Your good work, not my own good work—Your rule, not my rule.

“The moment we begin to feel satisfied that we are making some progress
along the road of sanctification, it is all the more necessary to repent and confess that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags….God alone knows our good works, all we know is his good work. We can do no more than…carry on and rely on his grace,…and—sin” (ref#10, p297).

Going to the Cross

FATHER, what would happen if I willed myself to look into the face of JESUS on the cross? Could the SPIRIT reveal something in my heart that I’m unaware of and have been avoiding?

Can I let CHRIST’s self-forgetful love—His longsuffering and forbearance flow into my self-remembering heart? I see His wounded hands and feet—His face crowned with thorns (ref#97, p48)—“the bruised body, the dying cries” (ref#76, p41). I remember how He lived—what He did—what He didn’t do. This

cross scene is not something in the past; the Cross still stands! His precious blood still flows for my sin (ref#97, p29)! Do I comprehend the magnitude of that?

“…let us go…in all our rags and poverty and defilement of our natural condition. Let us clasp that cross and look into His eyes. Let us bathe in that fountain filled with blood. Then we will have our first love restored to us. Once again we will experience the simplicity of our faith and the tenderness of our hearts” (ref#34, March 30th PM).

“We should love God because He is God” (ref#103, p38).

Blessed Is GOD Forever

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth” (Ps 57:5 ESV)!
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;…” (Ps 45:6 ESV).

“In the greatness of Your majesty
you overthrow Your adversaries;
you send out your fury;
it consumes them like stubble” (Ex 15:7 ESV).

“’Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds,
doing wonders” (Ex 15:11 ESV)?

“…’Blessed are you, O Lord,…forever and ever.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the victory and the majesty,

for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours….” (1 Chron 29:10-11 ESV).