Listening to shame
Brene’ Brown does it again, but this time she’s on the big stage. Her follow up to her TEDx talk on vulnerability is once again a surgically precise analysis of what haunts the human heart. While she does not wax-theological it is not difficult for those of us who are determined to free the world from the power and curse of sin to see the connection. Shame is sin’s executioner that kills the soul slowly. When Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead He not only defeated death and sin, but He freed us from the executioner’s grasp.
To quote Brennan Manning, “God loves you as you are, not as you should be.”
I am a victim and an assailant. I have been abused and have been the abuser. I have been lied to and I have been the liar. On one hand I can point out the road you should travel and on the other hand I can choose a different road. I would rather hide than be seen, and yet wish to be known and loved. Many come to ask for my advice, and I am often the last one to take it.
The good news is that Jesus died for me anyway.
He died for you anyway.
We no longer must die at the hand of Sin’s executioner, but can live abundantly joyful even in the face of death.
Thanks be to God!
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God as Protector
“9 Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” Numbers 14
How often do you fail to see God as your protector?
I am not sure if I have ever seen God as my protector. I’ve seen Him as my judge. I’ve seen Him as my Redeemer. I’ve seen Him as my father, but never as my protector.
I wonder if that is why it is often hard for me to venture into the unknown. I wonder if that is why I am unable to take financial risk. I wonder if that is why I’ve never found a church to serve as their leader.
This pathway of excruciating vulnerability that Jesus calls us to follow does not go unprotected. That’s good news, isn’t it?