Guest Post By: Sam KD

In our society it is somewhat easy to guess why we put on masks. We want to hide the raw things that are within us that we don’t want people around us to see or even God because our conscience is always yelling at us,” Yooo, what would a Holy God want have to do with a sinner like you?” and such make us cringe and shrink behind masks that we think will bring security. If these masks we put are so effective, why are they incapable of dealing with the pain we have? Let’s explore the nature of this man called Jesus who takes our shame away….
 

John 8 gives us a story of the loving kindness of our Lord Jesus. We are told of a woman who was caught in adultery by the pharisees( what were they doing there in the first place?) The Bible calls them her accusers. John 8:5,’ Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned.’ It is clear what their intentions were, to kill her for her sin. Look at what Jesus told them John 8:7,” Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.’‘ This statement caused them to depart one as their own conscience convicted them because none of them was perfect in their personal lives. Once Jesus is left with the woman you would think because He is Holy, He would condemn her, well, NO! Why? because He is Gracious and Merciful at heart. The son was sent into the world to save it NOT to condemn it and anyone who believes in him, receives freely this free gift of salvation! (John 3:17-18)
 

Jesus: ”Woman, where are those accusers? Has no man condemned you?”
Woman: No, Lord.
Jesus: Neither do I condemn you: Go and sin no more.

John 8:10-11

So, the next question for us to answer is, how do we make this profound truth, applicable into our lives? You may be having a mental conversation in your head, whereby on one side you’ve always known that Jesus is loving and gracious, but on the other hand here is your heart condemning you and harbouring all this guilt from things you’ve done in the past( as some would say it, we have skeletons in our closets). You may look at your sins and think that this is just too big, I’d rather just give up cause nothing has ever worked for me, I’ve been prayed for, I’ve prayed for myself, I’ve fasted, I’ve read the Bible but nothing seems to change.
 

It is important we grasp that Jesus paid for our sins, past, present and future and the payment has fully set you free from the judgment of God.(Heb 10:14) There is no charges against you for sin because you believe in Christ. The devil will try to get you to pay for sins that are already paid for. Jesus is our payment and He has made us right with God. Well, you may ask? Why do I still feel guilty? Let’s get one thing out of the way, Christians do NOT have skeletons in their closets, why, The Old has Gone, The New has come and we are new creations through Christ.(2 Cor 5:17) Two, you are in the flesh and not in faith. Your feelings are NOT always right, but the word of God is sure and true ALWAYS. The good fight of faith, is the fight to believe in God’s perfect word even when your heart and feelings are saying otherwise. We are not trying to get the word to fit our hearts, we are believing in faith that our hearts will align in the word. Once your heart is in alignment with God’s word, you’ll notice an assurance and the fruits of the Spirit will begin to manifest. To put things into perspective, you need to assure your heart that you are forgiven and that’s the final report. Additionally, we are NOT supposed to think we can earn anything from God through works like prayer and fasting. Our relationship with God is established on the basis of faith in a saviour. Our works are fruits of faith in a saviour NOT offerings to earn favour from God! The greatest decision in your life, is to uphold and believe God’s word even when circumstances don’t look ideal or your feelings are saying otherwise.
 

Beloved, this is my call to you, drop to your knees, take off the mask and be raw with God. He never despises a broken a contrite spirit. No point hiding, He knows everything and plus, holding on to this pain is not worth it anymore. You can’t fix yourself( I know you’ve tried and truly is hasn’t worked ), He is the only one who can fix you. He is calling you to believe in His love and salvation that He is already pouring towards you. Christ came so that you may have the fullness of life. He is faithful and just to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Let go and let God. The call, is the call to believe!
 

John 6:40
And this is the will of Him who sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him may have everlasting life.