Listen to our hearts...not Satan's lies!!!

*** Edited ***
I was thinking how it took me totally out of my comfort zone to write this blog....then, our pastor brought out in his sermon last night about how sometimes we have to get out of our comfort zone to do things that God asks of us....so.....there you go!!!

Years ago...maybe when you were younger...did you ever say, "that will never happen to me?"...or...."I'll never do that"....referring to something that you saw happen to somebody else and you just swore (which we shouldn't be doing)....but you just swore you would never allow yourself to get involved in something like that.

Reminds me of the Pharisee comparing himself to the tax collector:

Luke 18:10-12 (NLT)
Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.'

A dear friend sent me something that contained the following scripture:

.....for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
I Samuel 16:7 (NLT - last part of the verse)

When I received this e-mail, I had no idea that God would direct me to use it in a post...but He has. See how God uses all of us, working together, to get a task accomplished:

Romans 8:28 (NLT)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

I want you to imagine yourself in a room....you're not alone...there are several other ladies in that room with you. Here are some "secrets" that some of these ladies hold tightly in their hearts:

Abortion
Extra-Marital Affair (I really don't like that term)
Homosexuality
Alcohol Abuse
Promiscuity
Divorce
Addiction to Prescription Drugs
Eating Disorders, i.e., Binging, Purging, Anorexia
Overeating - Secret Eating
Addiction to Internet Chat Rooms
Addiction to Spending
Addicted to Pornography - Themselves, or Their Husband
Abuse by Their Husband - Physical, or Verbal
Child Abuse
Cheating on Taxes
Stealing from Employer
Mistreatment of Employee
Teenage Pregnancy

.......and the list goes on!!!

Let me ask you something....if a friend confided in you that they were "guilty"of one of the above...what would you do? Would you look down on them? Would you condemn them and let them know that there is no way that would have ever happened to you?
My Mom used to tell me something when I was growing up, and I have "pondered it in my heart" for years:
"Given the right set of circumstances, and the right frame of mind, it could happen to anybody"!
Which means....
"There but by the grace of God, go I".
Plus...here's what scripture has to say about us passing judgment on others:

Matthew 7:1 (KJV)
Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Plus:

Romans 3:23 (KJV)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

I've had the privilege of having some very dear, special ladies confide in me.
I really appreciate the confidence they've placed in me, and I will honestly tell you that I do not feel worthy at all. But, these ladies have carried a burden with them long enough....something that happened in their past....but it is still affecting them, and sometimes affects their Christian walk. Did I for one second think any less of them? Absolutely not. My heart broke for them and I spent time in prayer asking God to help them to turn their entire burden over to Him.

I'm going to give you an example in my own life of the guilt that Satan can cause us to carry. As you know from past posts, I have a weight problem, and I've had one for most of my life. As a teenager, I was anorexic...of course, you would never know that by looking at me now....but I was. I never made myself throw up, I just quit eating. I won't go into detail, but I became very malnourished and even quit having my menstrual cycle, along with wanting to sleep all the time. Why did this happen??? I have my thoughts on that...but the problem is that I've carried that mind-set about food with me into adulthood, and as an adult, it manifested itself into emotional eating and also "secret" eating (you know what I mean...hubby goes into the other room and you try to quietly open up a bag of chips, or a bag of candy, or try to open up the fridge without being heard....am I the only one who has ever done this???) Anyway....for years I've let Satan tell me that because I'm overweight that I'm not good enough...."If you can't control your weight, then who is going to listen to your testimony"...."Nobody is going to listen to you, all they see is that you're fat"! The same way of thinking that led to me being anorexic...and being an emotional eater....also led to the need to be accepted...to feel loved...so, hence, food was what I found brought me pleasure!!! Some people turn to being promiscuous...some turn to drugs, or alcohol...I turned to food...or away from food, whichever the case might have been!!!
This probably makes no sense at all to some of you, but some of you reading this are probably having an "ah-ha" moment, realizing there's somebody else out there...ME...who are just like you!!!
Well...I have come to realize...and this has been a long time coming, and I've only recently had this break-thru, thanks to my Precious Savior....that all those years it was old Satan himself telling me all those lies!!! He had me convinced that I truly wasn't good enough...and you know what...I'm not...but Christ in me is!!!!

So, what I want to tell all of you is this. If you are harboring a "secret" in your heart, if at all possible, seek out a Christian lady whom you can confide in. Tell her....and rest assured that if you ask God to point out the person to you, then He will send you to just the right woman.....and she will carry your secret to her grave!!!

Secondly......FORGIVE YOURSELF!!!!
Do not let Satan convince you of his lies.
You are a child of God....YOU ARE HIS!!!
The very next time that the devil tries to convince you otherwise, just recite this scripture and say "Get thee behind me, Satan"!!!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

A new life....we are given a new life when we accept Him into our hearts. With that new life, we need to also have a new mindset...one where we do not allow Satan to rob us of any of the joy that God wants for us.

Psalm 51:12 (KJV)
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

I know this has been a very long post. Once again, I laid my faults out there for all to see...well, just some of them...but, if I can help just one person realize that you don't need to keep beating yourself up over your past, then it's worth it.

Psalm 103:12 (NLT)
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

And, this has to be one of my favorite scriptures pertaining to this topic:

Isaiah 43:25 (NLT)
“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.

Do you hear that??? Do you realize what He just said???
He will NEVER think of your sins again!!!

Praise His Blessed and Most Holy Name!!!

Hope each of you have a blessed day with your Precious Savior!!!

In His Love...and with mine!!!