Faith Heals Shame

As you begin this process of healing, you’ll begin to feel the love of Jesus. Shame will cause you to doubt this love. Shame will block out the power and the love of God. Shame will block out the healing grace of God. That is why encouragement from other believers is so important. Reading the word of God will help you understand the new information needed for your paradigm shift. The Bible is full of God’s promises and words of encouragement. I’ll begin with Jeremiah 1:4-5 NIV - “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you part; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” This establishes that God has a direction for your life from the beginning. Your paradigm shift will allow you to see yourself through new spiritual eyes. Being born again gives you a new life. 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV tells you that “we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV gives you your new image. You are shifting your paradigm from a world view to a view of what God’s will is for you. Romans 12:2 NIV tells you that you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Hope Heals Shame

Shame tells us that we are sinners with no hope. Right now, I’m telling you that there is hope. You may be in a place where that is hard to believe. All I am asking is that you be open to the hope that is available. This will take a paradigm shift of whom and what you believe in. This will take a paradigm shift of where your security is based. Any paradigm shift is overwhelming. Paradigm shifts are not events. Paradigm shifts are a process. Many times I find my personal spiritual journey overwhelming. That’s because I am constantly being challenged to continue to change my paradigm to being more spiritual. A paradigm shift takes willingness and effort to embrace new concepts. It takes repetition and emotional impact. Emotional impact occurs when you actually see and feel new techniques working. You need to become educated and develop new awareness. You need to develop a complete understanding of new information. As I discussed in the previous articles, shame-based people look to other people, places, and things to make them feel good. I will get right to the point. The paradigm shift I’m asking you to make is to put your hope in Jesus. That is where your security needs to be based. Jesus is who you need to believe in. The word of God is what you need to believe in. It is imperative to remember that a paradigm shift is a gradual process. You will be challenged. However, there is support and resources along your journey to help.

Find out more about healing shame through hope, read FEBRUARY 2012 Love in Action Newsletter @ http://bit.ly/nNyPn6

Grace Releases the Bondage of Shame

You may be in a desperate place in life regarding a relationship. You may be in a desperate situation in regards to your finances. You may be desperate in both of these areas. If you are there now, it is because you have relied on yourself. Even though self-reliance hasn’t worked in the past, you have continued to do so. That is all part of your self-defeating, shame-based cycle. There are numerous accounts in the Bible of people being in desperate places and situations. When they stepped out of the way, God’s grace took over and provided the victory. God defeated Goliath through David. Samuel Chapter 17 NIV. Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, did battle with the devil, and when he came out began his work - the redemption of the world. Matthew Chapter 4 NIV. What are the Goliaths in your life? What are the desert experiences you are facing? I realize that the pain of life is overwhelming. You probably are experiencing many disappointments. You may be walking with disillusionments. Your days may be dark and long. You think things will never change. I implore you to take a risk. This may be the biggest risk of your life. Trust in God and receive the full measure of his grace. Ignore the false promises of the world. Trust in the truth, which will set you free. John 8:32 (NIV) - “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This truth is grace. It is grace that will set you free from the bondage of shame.

Find out more about healing shame through grace, read January 2012 Love in Action Newsletter
@ http://bit.ly/nNyPn6

Grace Heals Shame

God’s grace is necessary and sufficient to take release us from the bondage of shame. You are probably asking, how can that be? The apostle Paul says that ...”in great endurance; in troubles, hardship and distresses; . . .”yet we live on”. We are alive not dead, we are rejoicing and posses everything. 2 Corinthians 6 NIV. Let me begin by explaining what grace is. Grace is God’s favor upon you that you will never deserve. You cannot earn it. You cannot buy it. Anything you do to earn God’s grace, makes it less than it is. God loves you even though you are undeserving. God loves you even though you are unworthy. God loves you when you are unlovable. This is probably not congruent with how you feel on the inside. It goes against every shame-based blueprint you have developed. God views you through the blood of Jesus. God favors and blesses your life. The world tells us to measure ourselves by achievements and material worth. This is just another form of legalism. Remember that the law kills and the spirit gives life. When you are born again, you put off the old and put on the new. The new is Christ’s new life for you. You are redeemed and freed from the bondage of shame. You don’t have to carry the old of the past with you. Why would you chose to live in the shame and guilt and ugliness of your past life? Why would you when you were given grace for free. Romans 5:15 American Standard

Find out more about healing shame through grace, read January 2012 Love in Action Newsletter
@ http://bit.ly/nNyPn6

Affirmations Help Heal Shame

Affirmations - positive self talk - are a useful self motivation tool. Identify the negative shame messages that are conditioned responses to situations in your life. Replace them with uplifting, positive messages to yourself. There may also be certain people, places, and events that you need to stay away. Part of your self care is not exposing yourself to shame producing stimuli. Obviously you may not be able to avoid everything that produces shame in your life. However, there are many situations that you can just stay away from. For those situations that you can’t avoid, use your new self awareness and be mindful of your situation. When someone or some event gives you a ticket for a ride on the shame bus, you now have the choice to not take the ticket. If you unexpectedly take the ticket, you don’t have to get on the bus. If for some reason you get on the bus, you can get off any time you want.

Find daily affirming meditations - Christian Parent Wisdom @ http://bit.ly/mVZggY

Healing Shame by Following Through

Most shame-based people I have talked to know what they need to do different. The problem is that they do not follow through with a decision that has a potential positive outcome. There are two components of not following through. A shame-based person’s internal definition is not congruent with success. That incongruence keeps a person from following through. There is too much unconscious resistance to taking that first positive step. The second component is a spiritual battle. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:15 (NIV) - “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do but what I hate I do.” As Christians we also know that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. - John 10:10 (NIV). Pray about all your decisions and ask others to pray for you. “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:13 (NIV). Identify a task that you believe you can realistically achieve.

Find out more about healing shame, read December 2012 Love in Action Newsletter
@ http://bit.ly/nNyPn6

Jesus and Healing Spiritual Shame

Belief in Jesus means that there is a power greater than yourself that you can rely on. Jesus said in John 14:6 NIV “I am the way and the truth and the life.” That is not to the exclusion of others but that Jesus is the ultimate power. That is very scary for shame-based people because of their lack of trust. Their lack of trust is based on their human experiences. It is natural and normal to place human characteristics on God. Our human experiences dictate our perceptions. Therefore, we expect God to treat us like others have. If you did the work suggested in the first four articles, then you should be developing a new support system. I strongly recommend that this include a church community or church family. As you begin this process of healing, you’ll begin to feel the love of Jesus. Shame will cause you to doubt this love. Shame will block out the power and the love of God. Shame will block out the healing grace of God. That is why encouragement from other believers is so important. Reading the word of God will help you understand the new information needed for your paradigm shift. The Bible is full of God’s promises and words of encouragement.

Learn more by reading February 2012 Love in Action Newsletter @ Newsletter Archives