Lord, please help me to change - Judith Couchman

LORD, PI.EAS E HEL P M E T O CHANG ESince shame stand s a s a fundamental barrier t o transforma -tion, i t captivated th e core o f Christ's missio n o n earth . Pau l tol dthe Hebrews : "Le t u s look onl y t o Jesus, th e One wh o began ou rfaith and wh o make s i t perfect. He suffere d death o n th e cross .But he accepted the shame as i f i t were nothing becaus e o f the joythat Go d pu t befor e him " (Hebrew s 12:2 , emphasis added) .When Jesu s bore th e punishment fo r sin, H e als o accepted th eshame. S o when w e la y our sin s at Hi s feet, we can abando n ou rshame there , too .When Chris t forgives , H e als o heals . An d th e healin g o fshame release s us t o change wha t bind s us , i f we replace hidin gwith persevering .'Think abou t Jesus' example, " Pau l continued. "H e held o nwhile wicked peopl e wer e doing evi l things t o him. S o do not ge ttired an d sto p trying " (12:3) . And d o no t hid e from th e joy H eplaces before you.mPERSONAL CHECKPOIN T1. What shame d o you hide within ?2. Ho w does this shame keep you from changing ?12SIsaiah foretold Christ's shame-bearing mission :Who would have believed what we heard ?Who saw the LORD'S power in this ?He grew up like a small plant before the LORD,like a root grouring in a dry land.He had no special beauty or form to make us noticehim;there was nothing in his appearance to make usdesire him.He was hated and rejected by people.