John 3:17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Many people have a very hard time “keeping their heads above water”. They feel as though they are drowning in problems, injustice, and negative thoughts – even though they are Christians.

Many believe they have given their lives to Jesus, but actually they really want to control their own lives – and then what is left of what they gave to Jesus? They might be okay with Jesus having a little say-so, but they want to keep the control and decide whether or not they want to obey. Some even want to sort through the Bible, selecting those passages that “fit best” into their own lives and with their own morals, open-mindedness, lies, believes about heaven and hell, etc….

…but that being said, you obviously know that if you have truly received Jesus and have submitted to Him in EVERYTHING… only one problem remains: You!! We are often our own worst enemy…!

In John 10:10, it says about Satan: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Sure, Satan can easily plant all kinds of negative thoughts and nonsense in our heads – so many that they can destroy us. Thoughts of inferiority, guilt, self-condemnation, anger, jealousy, envy, rebellion, etc. – and did you know that it is actually a “sin” to entertain to those thoughts? You see, Jesus wants to protect us, and precisely these types of thoughts contribute to harming us and, in the worst-case scenario, destroy our relationships with other people. …but the only problem is that you are really the one who chooses whether you will give in to all the thoughts and feelings that are planted in you, or if you stamp the thought “return to sender.” In no way am I saying that you can always prevent a thought from coming, but it is your choice if you will allow it to live in you and become rooted in you. Just as it is not always up to you who rings your doorbell – but it is your choice whom you will let in.

I once heard a saying: “Sow a thought – harvest an action. Sow an action – harvest a habit. Sow a habit – harvest a permanent behavior”. For a seed to grow, it must be nourished. So, once you have a negative thought and you subsequently go from word to action, you have a problem. On the other hand, if you have a negative thought, which you ignore and don’t nourish, it will wither and die!

Romans 8:6
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Look at this rather trivial example, which I actually experience quite often when it comes to “condemnation”: Personally, I am an active Christian believer who experiences the most amazing things with God, and I testify about Jesus anytime I can. Many who follow me on FB or hear the amazing testimonies we experience, often think, “Well, that Andreas guy probably doesn’t think I’m good enough” or “I’m no good, and something is wrong with my Christianity”. The (self-)condemnation starts piling on immediately. But do you really think those are my thoughts about the person? No, not at all, but frequently these thoughts actually develop because a person isn’t resting in who God created him or her to be – or because the person has a relationship with God that is actually a little rickety, or which may be based on culture or social fellowship rather than on a personal relationship with Jesus.

So, if you feel condemned, there are two things you need to do:
1. If there is some truth to it, then do something about the thing you are feeling condemned over, so you can let the feeling go.
2. If there is no truth to it, then why are you feeling condemned? Toss out the feeling with the garbage as  “problem junk” – “return to sender” – “no such addressee”.