Guilt-Free Boundaries

By Kim West PhD Mdiv

Unveil the Life You're Meant to Live-Unapologetically, in Christ.

Are you trapped in a cycle of uncertainty when it comes to setting boundaries in your life? Hav

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bold Faith Press
• Release date: Jul 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798990457164

Book preview

Guilt-Free Boundaries

How to Set Healthy Christian Boundaries and Have Peace Without Apology

Kim West PhD MDiv

Bold Faith Press

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Contents

Introduction

1.In the beginning...

1. Our Holy God

2.God Sets the Course...

2. He creates the boundaries

3.The Boundary is Love

3. God, ourselves and others

4.Love With All Your Heart

4. Boundary #1.

5.Love With All Your Mind

5. Boundary #2.

6.Love With All Your Soul

6. Boundary #3.

7.Love With All Your Strength

7. Boundary #4.

8.Love Yourself

8. Boundary #5.

9.Love Your Neighbor

9. Boundary #6.

10.Our Boundaries Come From His

11.Yes is Yes, No is No

12.Love and Boundaries

13.Your Sweet Spot

14.Set Boundaries For Yourself

15.Spiritual Boundaries

16.Physical Boundaries

17.Mental Boundaries

18.Emotional Boundaries

19.Time Boundaries

20.Resource and Rest Boundaries

21.Fun Boundaries

22.Love Boundaries

23.Guilt-free Boundaries in Christ

About the Author

Also By Dr. Kim West

Introduction

When you read Guilt-Free Boundaries did it sound like an impossibility but something you definitely need?

This book is a different kind of book on boundaries. Really different. Here we are going to define boundaries from the Lord’s perspective and examine how God has set them before we try to implement boundaries for ourselves.

Why we have this progression from God to your daily life will make total sense here soon.

By the time you finish this book you will know exactly what, when, where, why and how to set boundaries from your life in Christ. AND you will feel great doing it.

We will start at the boundaries of God's creation and then zoom in to your life today. From the big picture to small details, God's boundaries to creating yours. This is the perspective you need in order to have guilt-free boundaries.

If you don't know me yet, you will find that I believe everything centers on our Lord.

I firmly believe that by integrating boundaries into our lives, we can bring glory to Him and align our actions with His divine plan. Boundaries become another avenue in which we can live in harmony with His teachings and purpose.

So we're going to be looking at how God sets boundaries and take a look at Christ’s summary of God’s boundaries – love. Then, our study is about how Christ set His love-based boundaries and how He lived them out.

After that, you will be setting boundaries for your own life and growth. You will create specific, guilt-free boundaries for your everyday life that fit you perfectly and that you feel great about.

The new boundaries you set will emanate from a rock solid, Biblical foundation.

No guessing. No wondering if your boundary is okay. No listening to anyone who tells you that you are selfish or that you don't have the right to create a powerful life in Christ. Your boundaries will be guilt free when they come from the heart of God.

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Chapter one

In the beginning...

Our Holy God

God is the source for all of our lives. He sets the standards. He shows us the why and the how of living life before Him. Therefore, we're going to start our study of boundaries looking first at God, the great I AM. All of life and all boundaries start with Him.

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God's boundary, His only boundary, is His holiness. Holiness surrounds God, it defines Him. He IS holiness. Unlike us, He has no other constraints upon Him. He is absolutely free to do as He pleases, how He pleases.

God’s holiness means that He cannot sin. This is what a boundary does, it defines what is inside of it as well as what will stay outside. It tells us what can and cannot be within and what will be outside the boundary.

His holiness separates Him from everything else.

God lives in eternity which has no beginning and no end. It has no boundaries. So, when God set about to create the universe He had to create physical boundaries to contain it. Those first, new boundaries were time and space.

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Time and space could only be created with boundaries. They are necessary for its existence. Time itself is a boundary that has a beginning, continues on and will have an end.

Within the boundary of time and space, God created the universe. The universe has a lot of boundaries, it is run on boundaries. Physics, mathematics, the speed of light and the various forms of matter, gravity, quantum mechanics and so much more are the boundaries that maintain the universe. The boundaries that God put in place are why it functions so well.

The universe, as far as we currently know, is not endless. While we continue to discover galaxies farther and farther away, we do believe that God set a boundary that contains the whole universe. It has an edge and we continue to seek it.

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God set all the original boundaries. He created the universe designing where it would start and end and how all of it would function. When we look at the sky at night, these heavens declare His glory and power and majesty.

Then, within the universe, God created the earth. Now, on the earth, again, there are many, many, many boundaries.

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God created a boundary for the oceans that can come only so far onto the land and no farther. He set up mountains as boundaries that separate areas of the earth. He has set up the atmosphere of the Earth in layers. The Lord decided where the earth needed to have deserts as well as oceans, tropical rain forests and glaciers. His boundaried design works.

On the earth, He created different animals and told them to stay within their boundaries. Some animals are only in Australia, for example. Mosquitoes seem to be everywhere on the planet. I don't know why he didn't set a boundary for them.

If we examine the earth from the perspective of boundaries we find that there are so many different kinds of boundaries that God has made. All of them are necessary and good for the earth to function as God designed it.

God has no guilt over the boundaries He has set in creation for each is necessary to function well. And, without those boundaries there would be chaos.

This is where we start our study, with God and His boundaries.

We must first learn to live within the boundaries our God has set for us. Then we can set our own personal and practical boundaries within them based upon His ways, not ours. And, only then can we set guilt-free boundaries with others.

In the beginning was God and He created the cosmos and all that exists inside it. That's a boundary. It was something different than God. Outside of God. He created both time and space and they operated within the rules He set for them.

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Chapter two

God Sets the Course...

He creates the boundaries

In the cosmos, within the time and space He had made, God created the earth. Within its balance and boundaries, He made a garden.

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He created humans and placed them within the garden. He gave them physical boundaries in terms of their shape, size, hormones, strength, and sex.

He gave them further boundaries when He placed them in a specific garden; they didn't get the whole planet. It was a specific garden that he created for them.

And, then, he gave them a few more boundaries in the form of three mandates—you both are to rule, you both are to subdue the earth, and you both are to multiply. This boundary established that they should work together to fulfill God's will. God gave them boundaries so that they could live a good and holy life with Him. His boundaries were a way for Him to love them well.

He told them that of all in the garden, one tree was off limits. This was the only negative boundary, and everything else was positive. They had all that they needed; they had His presence,