Creating New Beginnings & Moving Beyond Our Struggle with Guilt – Purity 1911
Purity 1911 03/14/2026
Purity 1911 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of my canine pal, Harley, looking to the east as I set my I-phone’s camera’s lens north to the “tree of life” at the end of “Freedom Road” comes to us from yours truly as I captured this serene scene during my one and only walk down my favorite country road thus far this year, on January 16th before all snow came.
Well, It’s Saturday and although the snow has mostly melted away in my part of upstate NY, I was overcome by a blizzard of creative activity yesterday as my participation in day 2 of Tony Robbin’s Unleash the Power Within event resulted in making a decision that led to immediate massive action: the release of a new audio podcast for the “Christian Recovery: Celebrate Freedom with M.T. Clark” series that I want people to hear.
One of the activities in yesterday’s UTPW event had its participants reflect on what they loved, what they hated, what they were passionate about, and what they really wanted to do. When I reflected on these things, my loves, passions, and desires became very clear in my mind. When the subsequent exercise in the seminar directed us to reflect on the decisions we have previously made that led to transformation and growth and then prompted us to make some short term and long term decisions, based on our loves, passions, and desires, that would shape our future, I made the decision to launch my Celebrate Freedom Recovery teaching as its own podcast to further establish “my brand” as a Christian Life Coach, and to fulfill my passion for helping others to be set free from their hurts, habits, and hang-ups through their faith in Jesus Christ. I want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of the power and freedom that we can have in Christ Alone with as many people as I can, and I am praying that this immediate action will be used by the Lord to help others.
When Christ sets you free, you are free indeed, but people have to know the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ first, and then they have to be able to believe that freedom and victory over their sin, shame, and guilt are possible. Speaking of freedom and victory over guilt, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today speaks about that topic, and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage all of us to ask for God’s help and to use the strength of the Lord to leave our guilt behind as we live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“Our Struggle with Guilt
Through Jesus, we can live without guilt, free from the weight of past mistakes.
1 John 1:5-9
For some of us, guilt is a constant companion. We live under the weight of past mistakes and the fear of future wrongdoing. Even if we try to move forward, self-reproach tags along.
Guilt that results from breaking biblical or man-made laws is legitimate. When we transgress, the Holy Spirit points out what is wrong and how to correct it. Then, in response to our confession, God offers us forgiveness and cleansing from guilt every single time (Psalm 32:5).
But some guilty feelings we experience are false. Where do they originate? There are several answers. Through lies and accusations, the enemy seeks to replace inner peace with turmoil and joy with discouragement. Legalism, too, can be a source of guilt. God’s Word establishes the way we are to live, but some Christians and churches impose additional rules. Childhood experiences can also bring out the negative emotion of guilt. Whether this stems from the aftermath of traumatic events or the feeling that we didn’t meet parental expectations, the experience can prompt us to judge ourselves harshly.
Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” If you struggle with false guilt, ask the Lord to help you remember who you are in Him. – Charles Stanley
Amen. After being lost and living according to my own values and sinful desires, the Lord used a gospel radio message to wake me up to the truth of His love, to convict my heart of my sin, and to offer the gift of His grace to forgive my sins, to give me eternal life, and to take away my shame and guilt forever.
Talk about a deal! Talk about an irresistible offer!
However, there was one condition: to put my faith in Jesus, my Lord and Savior.
To truly receive God’s grace, I had to acknowledge that Jesus was who He said He was and that His life, death, and resurrection were not only facts but were also the means by which God’s justice was satisfied and by which we could have peace with Him. Also implicit with the decision to make Jesus Savior and Lord was the understanding that I would follow His ways and share His truth.
That’s the part where most people will refuse to go, and that’s why there is so much guilt in the world – the presence of sin and the refusal to surrender fully to the Lordship of Christ.
As Stanley points out, whether we put our faith in Jesus or not, if we are sinning, we should feel guilty. Sin is missing the mark – failing to live according to God’s ways. When we sin, we aren’t living as we are supposed to.
The cure of sin is to trust in Jesus for your forgiveness and then to lean on God’s strength to turn away from it and to keep going to God for forgiveness and His help until you are free from sin’s temptations.
But there is also fault guilt, where we forget or refuse to fully accept our forgiveness in Christ and continue to condemn ourselves. The remedy for this is to know the truth of God’s word and to discern when we are either condemning ourselves for things we are not guilty before God for (legalism) or we are refusing to fully accept God’s forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.
Our guilt and shame have been dealt with at the cross of Christ, and all we need to do to experience the joy of our salvation and freedom in Christ is to trust in the finished work of Jesus and to follow Him into the new life He has for us – in spirit and in truth.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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The MT4Christ meditation verses for today come from The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Kruis. We are in the section on the Providence of God. Today’s verses are:
Genesis 50:15–21 (Joseph reassured his brothers of his forgiveness toward them.)
Genesis 50:19–21 (NASB) But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I am in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Today’s verses are the second of two passages of scripture that fall under the fourteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on the Providence of God.
14. Joseph acknowledged God’s providence in being sold into slavery.
Today’s Bible verses are the reassuring words of Joseph to his brothers that simultaneously exalt God for His sovereign plan and show the humbling grace and power of forgiveness.
Because of God’s faithfulness to provide time after time, Joseph trusted that all the sufferings he had gone through were for a higher purpose, and because he knew the goodness of God, he was able to let go of any thoughts of revenge on his brothers who had wronged him, and actually seek to bless them instead.
That’s God. When we see the big picture, we realize that all our little dramas in life are not as important as we think they are and that what seems to make no sense in our minds has a meaning and purpose that is part of a larger epic story. So, remember to stay grounded in the truth of God’s word and understand that your story is a part of His and He is working all things for good.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today, we continue sharing from “Pause for Power” By Warren Wiersbe.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Wiersbe’s books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 45 – Spiritual Exercise – Read 1 Timothy 4:7–16
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8
Clergyman and author Phillips Brooks said, “The great purpose of life—the shaping of character by truth.” Godly character and conduct are far more important than golf trophies or home-run records, though it is possible for a person to have both. Paul challenged Timothy to be as devoted to godliness as an athlete is to his sport.
As an athlete must control his body and obey the rules, so a Christian must make his body his servant and not his master. When I see high school football squads and baseball teams going through their calisthenics under the hot summer sun, I am reminded that there are spiritual exercises that I ought to be doing (Heb. 5:14). Prayer, meditation, self-examination, fellowship, service, sacrifice, submission to the will of others, witnessing—all of these can assist me, through the Spirit, to become a more godly person.
Spiritual exercise is not easy; we must “labour and suffer reproach” (1 Tim. 4:10 kjv). A Christian who wants to excel must really work at it, by the grace of God and to the glory of God.
Something to Ponder – What are some of the ways you labor and strive in your spiritual endeavors?[1]
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[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Pause for Power: A 365-Day Journey through the Scriptures, 2nd Ed., Year in the Word Series (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010).
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