Day 178 "Guilt and shame are pathways to the pit of destruction."

Day 178 Matthew 21:33-39 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.” As we read this passage, it is ever so obvious how Jesus is using this parable to illustrate exactly what the people He is addressing are plotting out in their hearts, and yet still they press on with their plan. And, yes, we know that their plan was actually God's way of allowing them to act out the evil in their hearts in order to fulfill His perfect will. But what if they had listened; what if Israel had repented and received Christ as the Messiah? The truth is I doubt we will ever know. However, this does make me think back on my own life and wonder in some ways where I have missed it. I wonder were there ever times where God laid out the plans, prepared the way, allowed me to share in the work of something, and when it came to harvest time, my flesh got in the way, and I missed the mark? I'm sure that if we allowed ourselves to go down the road of "what if," the enemy would have a heyday with our minds, and soon we would be focused on the failures in our lives rather than the successes. When we get focused on our failures, we tend to become guilt-ridden, depressed, and withdrawn from God and others who would encourage us. We draw within, and in some ways we become very prideful because, once again, it becomes all about us. The truth of the matter is that, yes, we have all failed and continue to fail; however, that does not make us failures–it can rather make us successful, stronger, and more able to be used by God for His glory. The Old Testament is filled with stories of people who failed at life and yet were mighty for God. The law was more than they could handle (as it was for all mankind), but God didn't give up on us as a result. No, He made a better way through the sacrifice of His Son. God saw that man would never be able to succeed in this world without giving in to the multitude of temptations and constant barrage of opportunities to fail that the enemy would send our way, yet again, knowing we would fail, He made a better way–He gave us the redemptive power over sin! Our Father does not want us separated from Him by sin and failure; He wants fellowship; He wants what is best for us; He wants us to be joy filled and lights in a dark world, and the enemy wants the opposite. Therefore, let us become people who recognize our failures, acknowledge our imperfections with remorse and give them to Jesus to take care of; then we will become power-filled believers, able to impact our world for the Kingdom! Daily Prayer: Father, please help me to recognize, acknowledge, and seek forgiveness for my failures, and keep me from wallowing in the pit of despair. I need You, Lord; I need Your encouragement, and I need the blood of Your Son Jesus to cleanse me of my sins, my guilt, and my shame. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "Guilt and shame are pathways to the pit of destruction." Gene Burroughs, Pastor