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Truth is the wind in the sails of our life in Christ. All truth is the light that clarifies the next correct step to take, the signal fire which guides us securely to our journey's end. Nobody who believes in Jesus has any desire to walk in blind confusion. Jesus Christ is the true light of the world! All of His ways are mercy-filled and up-lifting. At the same time, we all live by the partial light of our own thoughts, seeking as hard as we can manage to make sense of life, to figure out what just misfired and to work out the best way to go. Into this potential for complication the the master of deception loves to capture us with misrepresentations aimed to make us feel guilty, doomed, and plundered of inner peace. The Spirit assists us by "convicting" us of our errors and "convincing" us of the right way to go. Regretably, the "Accuser of the brethren" is unflinching at lumping condemnation on us anytime we get it wrong. Both of their "voices" sound like our own thoughts being uttered within us. How should you know the difference between conviction by the Spirit and condemnation by the Accuser? Grasping these 10 differences will help you gain more victories! 1. Conviction reveals the problem, disconnects us from it and reveals the way out--while all throughout it is letting us know that we are loved in any event. Condemnation ties us to the trouble, comes up with no separation between us and the error and discloses no way of recovery--at the same time spooking us with displeasure. It is vital that we learn to discern the difference! 2. Conviction administered by the Spirit calmly underlines authentic guilt. The evil one, on the contrary, delights to pour on invalid guilt--making us feel condemned even when we haven't done anything wrong. Not content with stopping there, even in situations of true guilt where there is no question with us that we have sinned, the enemy dumps tons of worry, regret and odium on us seeking to make the whole way of repentance feel ugly and undesirable and to make God look like an enemy. 3. The Spirit knows grace exists. Our Helper is the "Remembrancer" who enjoys helping us recall who our Mighty Savior is and what He has done for us. The enemy, however, insinuates that no grace exists--certainly not for these sins. Don't lend an ear to him! 4. Conviction generates contrition. You become sorry that you went astray and that people you loved were hurt by your wrong-headed ways. Such sorrow engenders spiritual health and results in change and growth. Condemnation, on the other hand, causes feeling worthless. Accusation wants to have you think of yourself as a "sorry sinner." It keeps you embeded in an unhealthy cycle of guilt and self-rejection. 5. The Holy Spirit pin points your sin. He talks to you as a friend and delicately says, "That was wrong." The adversary reviles you as a person. He addresses you as an enemy and constantly brings charges that "You are bad.". 6. The Spirit lights up your steps in life by clarifying, persuading and bringing correction. The deceiver strives to cloud up your mental focus with self-condemning thoughts to ensure that you can lose your direction. 7. The intention of conviction by the Spirit of God is to teach and guide you. His desire is for you to enter your true freedom in Christ. You feel reassured about your progress and your spiritual life. The deceiver uses condemnation to reproach you and to get you feeling discouraged and despairing. He hungers for you to quit. 8. The Holy Spirit switches on the lights. A definite error is invariably illuminated. This brings repentance. However, our enemy cloaks everything he does in darkness. A haze of general wrongness settles in. This increases mental confusion. 9. Pure conviction always feels delicate and absolutely right. You may not be prepared to repent, but you are pretty much agreeing with the truth the Lord is making known to you. Condemnation always feels top-heavy and wrong. You might be ready to confess to anything, but you still can't get loose. 10. Turning from actual sins brings release from authentic guilt. We are set free by owning up to the sin and by accepting God's grace and mercy. Standing up to the accusation of erroneous guilt creates freedom from condemnation. We are loosed by professing the truth and by withstanding the devil every time we feel wrongfully accused. Can you see the difference? That's discernment! Condemnation is a fallen way of the world and it's toxic. Conviction is the enlightening way of the Lord. It restores inner peace and builds up our life in Christ! Steve Evans seeks to help people recover their inward peace, so their life in Christ can flow like a healing stream. The primary teachings from his popular course, Matters of the Heart, are free on the web. Go there now and receive your free copy of his unique ebook, An Illustrated Guide to the Spiritual Life.
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life in Christ, spiritual life, inner peace, spiritual health, feel guilty, self-hatred, light of the world, accuser of the brethren, condemned, contrition,
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