Self-Acceptance Series
Self-Acceptance

God's View:
Rom. 7:18 ; 8:12-13
; Lu. 9:23-24 -Nothing good lives in our sinful nature. We are not to look to our past, to change or heal, or to reform past memories through self-realization or self-actualization. We are to put the diseased memories to death with Christ on the Cross. Look to Christ, forgive others or be forgiven, then we find healing for past memories.

We are not called to self-realization but to identification with Christ. Our true self at any stage of becoming is in Christ. All the wounds we suffered in the past, accept as a reality and see Jesus take these wounds on the cross. There He took upon and into Himself our darkness and depression and gives us in exchange His light and life.

Hope:
Eph. 4:17-24 ; 3:16-19
-Failing to love ourselves aright, we will love ourselves amiss. Concern over our sins 'inferiority' or shortcomings are examples of the wrong form of self-love. Our reactions to the past must be identified, recognized and come to terms with. Our grievous and subjective reactions to the shortcomings and sins of others against us, must be accepted and not denied, and forgiveness extended. Once these are identified, we take them to God the Father and with Him we deal with the situation. His truths begin to flow into our being and our souls and we become that which God says we are in His Son.

2Cor. 13:5 ; 3:16-18 ; Gal. 4:19 ; Lu. 10:19 -You have the nature of God, and the great and mighty Holy Spirit, and you are the son of God. You have the authority that is in heaven, all you have to do is to go and practice it, the practice of who and what you are in Christ Jesus, not what you were or have done or what was done to you in the past.

2Cor. 5:21 ; James 4:10 -We cannot become good enough on our own, we can't heal ourselves by our reasons or feelings or self-effort. We must live from a new center, Jesus Christ. It is He Who will lead and direct us and make our lives significant.

Change:
Isa. 55:1-3 ; 61:1
-Self-hatred in the christian is a substitute for humility, It belongs to pride. We are to repent of this focus on self, go to the Lord, listen to His words and grow into His image. We bring dysfunctional, sinful, prideful patterns in the thought life and imagination into submission to Christ. In listening prayer, every thought of the mind, every imagination of the heart, is brought captive to Christ.

Gal. 5:16-18 -To walk in the Spirit is to live in the present moment, always looking to Christ, always practicing His Presence, always moving in tandem with him.

Ps. 51 -No matter how deep the wounding and horrendous the sin, the acknowledgement of ourselves as sinful from birth, the reception of Christ's forgiveness, and the extending of this forgiveness to others releases us from self-hatred and shame. We are to train our minds to think, to think through all the issues of our lives with God. Then, as we learn to hear God, we will receive from Him the true word, and we replace our old diseased negatives with the positive word He is always sending.


HOMEWORK
Memory/Meditation/Prayer :
Ezekiel 36:25 , 27 .
Devotions :
Read Ps. 84 , and practice the Presence of the Lord.
Put-off and put-on:
Review Rom. 6 , sit or kneel quietly before the Cross of Christ. Ask the Lord to reveal to you the repenting you need to do, and the changes you need to make in your life, make notes and plan to accomplish these changes. Pray this: "Lord, I have hurt others, I have not loved You or others as I should; forgive me, O Lord, even as I forgive others, even as I forgive all the circumstances of life".

Forms and Worksheets
BSAF: Bible Study & Application Form
Think and Do
Love Is
VOSWS: Victory Over Sin Worksheet
Dying to Self
Problem Solving
PSW: Problem/Solution Worksheet
Freedom from Anxiety
Contingency Plan
Change Is a Two-Factored Process
Scheduling Worksheet

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