“The Power of 'NOW'"
In our previous blog post we continued to share one of the issues that are common to many people that we worked with over our 25 years of counseling. That issue was "Toxic Shame," and included a personal story on how this issue affected me (Jerry). As a followup to that writing, we would like to share something that often accompanies that struggle--self-condemnation--and something we recently heard that might be helpful in dealing with that issue.
A Little Background
We attend NewSpring Church in Greenville, one of 13 NewSpring campuses across South Carolina. All messages are broadcast from the Anderson campus and the current focus is on the Book of Romans. Lee McDerment, one of the lead pastors, was sharing from Romans, Chapter 8, with this message entitled “The Bible's Greatest Chapter.”
The Importance of the word "Now"
During this message, Pastor Lee shared a personal story of a struggle that he had when he was in his early 20's which caused him a great deal of shame. He spoke about seeking a Christian counselor and the level of shame, guilt, self-condemnation and self-hatred that he was feeling in that situation. The counselor used Romans, Chapter 8, verse 1, and he did so in a unique way. He focused on the word "now," emphasizing that this was the most important word in that verse. Here is the first verse of Romans, Chapter 8: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (ESV). We thought this was a very special way for this counselor to approach this issue and we wanted to share it with you.
Breaking Free
Thank God we don’t have to live from our past, current or future sins and regrets. Jesus came through His death and resurrection to help us heal and ultimately experience His grace and forgiveness and live from a place of freedom. We CAN break free from whatever holds us back! I (Jerry) know this personally. However, we often have to humble ourselves and seek help--sometimes from a Christian counselor. First, we must lay our lives before Christ and place our faith and trust in Him so that "His power may be made strong in our weakness." (paraphrased from 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, verse 9). Admitting that we cannot do something (or anything) on our own and acknowledge that we need someone's help is definitely not easy . . . again, I speak from experience!
View this Testimony to help you or someone you know break free
We strongly encourage you to view this 5-minute testimony by clicking HERE.
If you would also like to view the excellent teaching from Lee McDerment, named “Romans Chapter 8, The Bible's Greatest Chapter, click HERE. (Note: This 32-minute message also includes the 5-minute testimony referenced above.)
Blessings,
Jerry and Denise Basel
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