I Am Blameless Before Him

Hello friends! I am really excited about what I have to share today, so excited that moments ago I was texting a dear friend about how excited I am to write this. I think it's something that everyone can relate to - boys and girls. It's something that has been weighing so heavy on my heart for a few weeks now. I hope that it speaks to you the way it did to me, I hope that the Lord starts to transform your heart as you read this. I think theres a lot of power in what I'm about to explore. So lets jump right into it!

blamelessbeforehim


Shame is one of the biggest killers in our world. Shame destroys people, it destroys dreams, it destroys lives, it destroys families. It kills our confidence, it kills our relationships with people and it kills our relationship with Jesus. Shame is a killer. We let our mistakes ruin our lives. We also have a tendency to label others by the mistakes they've made, we won't let them forget about the bad things they've done, the mistakes they've made. We hold their mistakes over their head like a rain cloud. No wonder shame runs so rapid in our culture today. How are we ever supposed to let go of our mistakes, to learn and move past them if we can't forgive ourselves, if we can't let others around us rid themselves of the shame.

I think the greatest travesty is that we have convinced ourselves that our shame removes us from the love of the Father. 

I am no stranger to these thoughts and feelings. Its something that has plagued my life and the lives of so many people around me. A few weeks ago, I was at a youth staff retreat and we took some time to meditate and respond to Colossians 1:15-23 and there is a part that says, "...He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him." This is where this idea sparked. These words hit me like a wall. It was during conversation at that retreat in that moment when it all started to make sense to me.

It's one of the hardest concepts to accept - that He loves us despite our mistakes. In fact, He died, so that He could be in relationship with us even though we are riddled with sin. He died so that he could bridge the gap between a sinful people and His love. He died for us - how stupid is it that we don't get that. He died so He could be in relationship with us, so that He would rid us of our sin. 

We are blameless before Him

There are multiple verses in the New and the Old Testament that talk about us being blameless before the Lord and there can be different interpretations of the word blameless, but I really believe that the Lord sees us as blameless before Him in the simplest form. He saved us from our own sin, He doesn't want us to be paralyzed by shame and guilt. He wants us to learn from our mistakes. He wants to help us avoid those mistakes, but He also knows how imperfect we are. He goes before us, He knows our every move, our every mistake before it even happens and He's already forgiven us for them before we even make them. There is nothing that can separate us from the love the Father has for us.

 Its time we stop shaming ourselves.

Its time that we stop shaming our friends, family and even strangers. 

Its time that we begin to release ourselves from existing shame, and allow the Father to heal our hearts. 

I wonder what our lives, churches and communities would look like if we all really embraced what Jesus did for us on the cross. I wonder how it would effect our relationships with others and most importantly our relationship with Christ. If we really grasped what grace and mercy looks like. I think our churches would be healthier. I think our lives would be richer, I think that we would see a growth in churches and in Christians around the world. Im not saying that we can just abuse grace and that we shouldn't feel some sort of frustration or sadness when we sin. Sin is wrong and there needs to be some sort of negativity attached to it. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't dwell on it, we shouldn't let our sin ruin our lives. There comes a point in which we need to move past it, to heal. We do ourselves and the Father a great injustice when we don't allow grace and mercy to flow in our lives. When we allow shame, sin, mistakes to control our lives and we don't accept the grace the Father has for us, we literally spitting on the foot of the cross, in a sense we are saying what Jesus did for us on that day wasn't good enough. 

I don't know about you, but I want to live a life worthy of what He did for me. I want to be released of shame. I want to live a joyful life, a life that is full of His grace so that others can see how flawed I am, but how He makes me whole again. That because of Him and His grace and mercy, I am blameless. 

I love each and everyone of you, and I am praying that you can forgive yourselves, and that you can really embrace grace of the Father. That you know you are blameless before Him.

you should also listen to this song, I think its an accurate representation of this topic 

- Melissa

#HerStory - Holly

Hi friends!

     When I first started dreaming up My Beloved, one of the things I really wanted to incorporate was the opportunity to have other girls share their experiences and their relationship with the Lord. Testimonies and experiences can be overwhelmingly impacting - We can't deny someone of their story. This is where the series #HerStory came from! 

Today we are lucky enough to have one of my favourite people in the world share on identity and what that has looked like in her life.

Everybody meet Holly

#herstory - Holly

I met Holly at the beginning of my freshman year at Summit Pacific Bible College. We were both freshmen and were both in the same program called Omega - a one year discipleship program focused on serving in the local church and missions. Anyways through a series of events we ended up becoming roomies!

Let me tell you, Holly is by a landslide, one of the coolest girls I have ever met. 

Holly has been one of the most constant people in my life. She is always challenging those around her and is always calling out the good that she sees in those around her. She lives her life fearlessly and is always taking on new opportunities and challenges. She is one of the funniest people I know and I can't go a couple hours without laughing my butt off when I'm around her. Holly has a beautiful, flourishing relationship with Jesus and it is very evident in how she lives her life. Im telling ya, this girl is completely captivated by Him and is figuring out daily, ways to live out His love.  Holly is unique and she really embraces that part of her! She's not afraid to stand out in a crowd and challenge social norms. Holly loves metal music and has the best style! I love that she doesn't chose to wear what everyone else is wearing or whats trendy, but instead she wears what she loves! As cliche as it is, she's one of the most beautiful girls - inside and out (she's also single, if any boys are reading this). I am so thankful that she's apart of my life, let alone one of my best friends. I wouldn't trade her for anything and I'm so excited you guys get to hear from her today!

#herstory - Holly

 

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect”

 

YO. My name is Holly, and I’m PUMPED to chat with you. One of my favorite activities ever is hanging out with my friends while coffee is present. Which it is for me at the moment, so if it is not for you, go grab some coffee, then come back.

 

So, something that I’ve always struggled with is knowing exactly who I am. I went through all the stages you could imagine. I went through my ‘scene’ years in middle school and a bit of high school where I hid myself in dark clothes and watching titanic every night. I had a few years in high school where I tried to act more girly than I actually am.  When I got into the older grades of high school, a lot about my life started becoming hard and fast. Things got really difficult when I was around 15 and then I became even more confused as to who I was. 

 

When I entered into college I got wrapped up in the lie that my confidence came from whether or not a boy was interested in me. This took me a long time to get over, and if I’m being real, I did not get over this idea until recently. There are plenty of reasons I could potentially peg to be the root of this problem, however I believe the reason for the problem is not as important as how I overcame it.

 

Something that is a reality in my life at the moment is that everyone around me is either dating, getting engaged, getting married, or even having babies. Therefore, I began to think that because I was lacking in all of those departments, what did I have going for me if nobody was showing interest in me? This was such an unhealthy outlook on life, and not fun at all! I went through a couple of bad relationships over the past few years; situations that were just not healthy and were not centered on Christ.

 

At the end of a hard semester this past spring, I decided that I was going to hang back on the whole dating thing. I can honestly say that since then, I have genuinely never been happier, as I simply haven’t been living to please anyone other than my homie Jesus Christ. This summer and these past few months have been a time where I focused completely on myself and have been learning what it means to be confident on my own, and I quickly learned that there was no such thing as being confident on my own, but only confident in knowing I am God’s creation. 

 

1 Corinthians 15:10 says “But by the grace of God, I am what I am”. This brought me to the reality that the only thing I need to feel confident in myself is the assurance of grace, in which I am living proof that this has already been given to me. 

 

I have made many mistakes in my life, which my friends and family could attest to, however I know that by the grace and love of God alone, I can be confident in every part of who I am. The fact that I am loved with a relentless love from the Creator of the universe is more than enough reason for me to wake up everyday and feel stoked about the adventures in the life that God gave me! 

 

This summer I learned to love myself in the least annoying way possible, I promise.  I found so much enjoyment in uncovering more layers to the spiritual gifts I feel God has blessed me with, trying to better my musical abilities, and just trying to be a better person all together. What this does not look like is trying to be the best version of myself, rather trying with every fiber of my being to look like Jesus Christ. 

 

I have found so much enjoyment in simply being who I am, strengthening my relationships with friends, deepening my relationship with God, and then getting to pour that out onto my youth students, family, and my friends. 

 

I am definitely not and never will be perfect. Some days I don’t really understand myself. For example, one night I will be crying in front of my TV watching the bachelorette, and another night I will be falling asleep peacefully while listening to heavy metal. I don’t really understand exactly what label I would have, and I have learned that that is okay. Who keeps the labels on things anyways? Aren’t we supposed to throw those things away when we purchase something? God made so many layers to all of His children, and what a privilege it is that we can uncover more about ourselves as we grow up!  

So my advice to you is to fall in love with your life, stay real, and keep God at the center of your life. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

If anything I said today resinated with you and you want to chat about it you can find me on Instagram or you can email me at holly@rossroadcc.ca

 

STAY RAD!

 

Holly