Mountain Moving Faith?

Jesus said in Luke that the kingdom of God is within us.  God’s address is found within those who believe on the finished work of the cross….where the veil was rent in two.  No more distance between God and man.   God incarnated Himself in man redeeming us unto Himself…. undoing what Adam had done; re-presenting us back unto Him from the fallen state we found ourselves in.   Jesus went to the cross to remove every lie that we have believed about ourselves.  

That through the incarnation, every document of guilt has been shred….every principality and power employed by the do-it-yourself tree (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) had been eliminated. 

Many of us know Mark 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

  

I once believed that the mountain was a car, a job, a home, overcoming a health issue, etc.  and that I had to pray and believe those things into my life.  But Grace (God's Divine Influence)  tells me that the mountain is the activity that goes on between my ears telling me I don’t qualify for God’s goodness.  The mountain is represented in the earth that God doesn't love all of mankind; only those who have joined the Christian club

The mountain is represented in the heart that says, “I have a sickness that will lead unto death”. The mountain is found in the heart of the parent whose child wants nothing to do with them and their God.  The mountain is represented in the lie that I cannot find a job because I am too old….too young…..too inexperienced…..over qualified….

But Grace is telling me that the faith which will move mountains is the PERSUASION that Christ has already done it all.  Jesus met all the requirements of the law needed to secure for us the victory God intended for us to walk in from the foundation of the earth.  The victory being His life, His peace, His joy and His contentment!

So when circumstances of life or the meditation of my heart begins  to conflict with the Truth, I remind myself of Who I am and of Whom I belong… and from that platform, His peace and His rest moves those mountains on my behalf.  

Sin Defined

GRACE - A MISUNDERSTOOD MESSAGE - PART 4

In the last post I talked about our understanding of "sin"; how we needed to understand sin in the context of the true Greek definition of this word:  (The word “sin” in most instances of the new testament all come from the Greek word “hamartano” which means to be separated, to miss the mark, or to be estranged or mistaken in such a way as to not have a share in the prize.) rather then Websters definition of sin ("wrong deed or thought; a wrong attitude; a wrong action or inaction).

When God created Adam, He formed him from the dust of the earth and breathed His breath into them (Gen 2:7) and brought him to life. God said, "Let us make man in our image and likeness".  So from the first breath, Adam was fashioned like God.  Man was created in God's image and likeness (Gen 1:26).

After having named all the animals and Adam not finding one made "like him" (Gen 2:20), God said it was not good that man had no "aid" or "mate", the literal Hebrew says.  So God created Eve from Adam. Then God had commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if he does, he shall surely die (Gen 2:17).

What I want to focus on is the fact that Adam and Eve were already made "like God"....in His image and likeness.....then the serpent comes along in Genesis Chapter 3 and says to Eve, "Yea, hath God said , Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden"? and Eve tells him that they aren't allowed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die.

And the crafty deceiver says, "Ye shall surely not die. For God knows that in the day ye shall eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil".

So what does this have to do with sin?  Well, as you know Eve ate of the tree and gave to Adam to eat as well.....Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.  You see, knowing good and evil seemed like the way to be like God.  Adam and Eve, by partaking of that fruit were basically saying that by knowing good and evil their eyes would be opened and thus be like God. They already were made to be like God but they chose to become like God by their efforts.....their doing.

God said they would die and they did.....spiritually speaking, they died. God's plan or His "mark".....His "target".....His "prize" for mankind was to live the life He created for us....that ZOE life (God's life full of His vitality and animated, brought to life in us). The Life God breathed into man's nostrils is life given by God freely.  The only way to experience His life is in gift form.  It doesn't come about by us trying to work principles. This is the point of departure, not the end goal.  By experiencing His Life, this is the point from where we begin....begin to know His Love, experience His peace, begin to see others, both the righteous and the sinner from His perspective.

So when Adam and Eve chose to have life by knowing good and evil, they sinned....they missed the mark; they became estranged from God, separated from Him causing them to no longer qualify for a share in the prize.  What prize?  The prize of experiencing the Life God had intended for mankind to walk in.

But that is not where we were left.  More on this later.  For now, let us know that God's plan was for us to "hit" the mark.....qualify for the Life He created us to experience.....all the vitality and peace that accompanies Him living in us as was the case when He breathed HIS breath into man's nostrils.

Through faith in Christ, we can experience this life.....this love....this peace....not based on us knowing good and doing good but by our acknowledging what God has made right through Christ!

Grace - A Misunderstood Message - Part Three

Once again, the purpose of these posts is to bring clarity to what I believe the "grace of God" means and how to experience more of the life God designed us to walk in.

I described how the word "grace" in Strong's Greek Concordance defines the word as gift, favor, mercy, and especially the divine influence in the heart of man and it's reflection in the life as a result of his goodness toward us.

I mentioned that when we look at Romans 3:24 (being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ) and understand grace to be a "gift" from God or mercy or favor granted us, the inference is that we became justified (made righteous) by Jesus' sacrifice and this justification became a reality in our life around  the event of us accepting Christ as our Savior; the event being that we became aware of Christ's sacrifice and "believed" on Him.

There is a truth in this belief however it leaves us with the understanding that upon our acceptance of Christ the slate of sin has been wiped clean and we are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17 "therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation"....) only to find ourselves gathering the stain of sin again with the passing of time. If we are going to be honest with ourselves we know we will sin again.  And so when we do, we have been taught that there is something we must do again in order to be cleansed of our sin and become righteous again (1John 1:9)

The prevailing thought here is that "sin" has been defined over the centuries as a "wrong deed or thought; a wrong attitude; a wrong action or inaction.  And as such we find ourselves on the merry-go-round of sin and repentance...sin and repentance.....over and over with the hope that some day we will be sinning less and bearing more fruit.

For years, we have understood the word sin to be defined as above. What has become muddy to us is the issue that Jesus paid the price for our sins once and for all, yet we still sin.....we still have wrong deeds or thoughts; wrong moral reasoning's; bad actions or lack of good actions....yet the bible says sin has been done away with.  Because of this, many have said that we can walk free from sin when we understand God's Grace.....and that we won't want to sin once we yield to this love and grace while at the same time, those who disagree with the message of "grace" say that this sort of belief lends itself to the notion that we are granting a license to sin.

Let's be real about this.....as long as we live in these flesh and blood bodies, we will always have misdeeds, wrong attitudes bad actions and so on.  We don't want to do these things but like the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15 "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate". ESV.

What we need to do is to reorient our understanding of the word "sin".  For too long we have understood sin as the dictionary describes it.  But keep in mind, the definitions in our dictionary change with time, keeping in line with the prevalent thinking of the day.  For instance..... in the early 1900's if you looked up the word "gay" in the dictionary, you would find the definition "happy, excited, exuberant; having high spirits".  Today, the first thing that comes to mind is "sexually attracted to someone of the same sex:.  Another example is the word "wicked".  Several years ago this word meant "morally bad; evil, disgustingly unpleasant".  But today the word can mean "going beyond reasonable limits; of exceptional quality of degree (he throws a wicked fastball".

Now, imagine what can happen to the understanding of a word over several centuries.  The word “sin” in most instances of the new testament all come from the Greek word “hamartano” which means to be separated, to miss the mark, or to be estranged or mistaken in such a way as to not have a share in the prize.

What mark are we missing?  What prize are we not sharing in? What is it that causes us to be estranged from God? There is much to be said about this, but for the sake of ending this post for now, suffice it to say that because we are unable to walk free from mistakes; misdeeds; wrong attitudes; "less than stellar" acts of love and compassion toward others produce in us the concentration on our shortcomings, thus challenging our belief that we truly have been made righteous. It obstructs our capability of recognizing that what we "do" or "do not do" has no bearing on what Christ set out to do on the cross.....to defeat the penalty of sin and restore us to the original design God created in Adam and Eve before the fall.

Next post, I will go into this discussion of sin a little deeper.  But for now, know this.....that the blood of Christ has covered all our shortcomings and we now are able partakers of the divine nature God breathed into man from the beginning of time.  It is His desire that you tune out the misdeeds of your day and open your heart to God who loves you with a love that is always contending for the highest possible good in every situation and relentlessly contending for that good until it becomes a present tense reality in your life.

May you experience the enrichment of His divine influence in your heart today.
Jim

Understanding Grace

Grace - A Misunderstood Message - Part Two

Grace - "the Divine influence upon the heart of a person and the acting out in ones life because of His merciful kindness toward us"

Much like the word "love", we can use this word for a variety of meanings. The nice thing about the Greek language is that there are multiple words characterizing the different uses for the word "love". Example:

Eros - erotic love
Stergein - a natural affection as in members of a family
Philos - More of a liking, affection or fondness - brotherly love. The city Philadelphia is known as the city of "brotherly love".
Agapao or Agape - The highest form of love - unconditional love - the kind of love that is always contending for the highest possible good in every situation and relentlessly contending until it becomes a present tense reality.

We use the word "love" very loosely in this country. " I love football, I love pizza, I love my wife and children, I LOVE THE BUCKEYES! It's no wonder we are birthing a generation that will be challenged to define love.

Just like "love" has several meanings so too does the word "grace" - this word can mean, favor, mercy, gift, as well as the definition I have given from Strong's Greek Concordance, above.. So, when it comes to the word grace, we need to have an understanding of which definition we are referring to.  Think for a moment if I told my wife I loved her and used the word Philos (brotherly love).  What kind of response would this generate in her heart?

Let's apply this now to Romans 3:24 - "Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus". So, now, when it comes to the word "grace", we could use the word "favor" and we could use the word "gift" in the translation of this verse and be correct.  I too could use the word "affection" or "fondness" when telling my wife that I love her, but if she understood that my love toward her was "agape" love, not only would this encompass the fact that I have an affection or fondness toward her but when she understands my love is "agape" our love would be much more deeper and organic (always changing; striving for the highest good as new and challenging situations arise in our lives).

So we could say that our justification through Christ Jesus is a grace (gift) from God....something He freely gave to us and given out of grace (mercy), but to me, that tends to center around more of an event. In other words, our justification is a GIFT from God, a MERCIFUL act toward us. However, when I come to the realization that my justification comes by way of His Divine Influence in my heart, this takes on a whole new perspective of how God does a work in us; how we can be born of God.

The long and short of that is this - when it comes to areas in my life where I am not walking in His best for me, whether I am missing the mark in my attitude, actions, be it through behaviors or heart attitudes, I can ask (pray) for His Divine Influence to work in my heart.  Then, instead of me using self effort to experience the fruit He desires enriching my life with, I find Him changing my heart by influencing me with His Agape love.  This results in lasting fruit.  The fruit that comes by self-effort only lasts as long as the effort is being put forth. Contrary to that, when God does a work in our heart, the fruit it produces is more real and lasting because it is fruit produced after its own kind - God fruit, if you will.

Another way of explaining it is this: As we raise our children what would produce more fruit in their life; them knowing how we feel about what is right or wrong and then having them do what we tell them or they themselves having right thinking? There is a big difference. One is them trying to act like us and the other is us being born in them.  I believe we have all seen people, whether children of others or fellow believers in church who know how to "act" right. in front of us or the pastor but their actions and attitudes in their home or workplace reveal a different kind of being. This usually means that what they are trying to appear like is born from self-effort.   However, when their heart is right, the fruit that comes forth will produce right behavior. More on this to come.

As you go about your day, take that one area of your life that you would like to see changed and begin to ask God to influence you.  Don't try to change yourself.....let Him work the change in you or your situation and watch the fruit that comes forth.

Agape,
Jim

GRACE - A MISUNDERSTOOD MESSAGE

There is a lot of talk these days about the message of grace. It seems to be the latest "craze" if you will.  Some ministers have adopted this into their message as though it is a new "focus" or revelation God has given them. Others speak strongly against it, citing that it is a new way to reach the lost with an "easy" gospel; a gospel that accepts any lifestyle as is, without need to change....also touted as a "license to sin" gospel.  I must admit, I understand both sides of this argument.

When I first discovered God's love for me, I was being taught the "message of faith". The rise of this doctrine began long before I began my walk with God but from what I have heard, it mirrors the beginnings of this doctrine of "grace".  I imagine that over the course of church history, there other such doctrinal encounters that swept the nations.  Since I am not a scholar in this regard, I won't attempt to identify any such history of the church. What I do know in my limited understanding is that there are those "for" the faith doctrine and those "against" it.....there are those for the "grace" doctrine and those "against" it.

For folks outside the pursuit of God, church, religion, faith etc., we must look rather strange with our divisions and varied doctrinal leanings. For others who are seeking to discover God for whatever the reason, this could be a point of discussion where "positioning and argument" find its breeding ground.

My heart in posting this blog is to give a little insight from my perspective on what I believe God's heart is towards mankind with the ultimate goal of revealing His undying love for us and to show us that His desire is for us to experience His life....a life of peace, joy and contentment. I'm not desiring to compare any such doctrines or to come against anyone's belief.

I will need to break this down over a series of postings in order that these are not too long for any one sitting. I don't know how many or how often these will come forth but I hope you would find life in these words and encouragement for the day. Please feel free to share these with others that may need a lift.

I will end with the beginning.....an understanding of the word "grace" to springboard from.  The word for "grace" in the New Testament is the Greek word Charis (kar-eece) meaning "the Divine Influence upon the heart of a person and the acting out in ones life because of His merciful kindness toward us.

Get to know this definition for it will be the foundation on which you will discover a fresh perspective on God's love for you!

Jim Donadio
GraceLifeMinistry@neo.rr.com
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WHAT IS FAITH?

Faith.....now here is a word that can bring about all sorts of emotions. To some, faith is a system of religious beliefs...to another it is something that is believed with strong conviction. How we interpret this word AND apply it to our life can make a huge difference in our response to a Loving God.

 The bible says "Without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" Hebrews 11:6 The Greek word in this passage is the word "pistis", meaning a persuasion.....especially a reliance upon Christ for salvation..... When I used to hear the word "faith" what I understood it to mean is that it was "my ability to appropriate God's promises, His word over circumstances that may appear contrary to a life of peace, joy, provision, and so on.

 Somehow the emphasis in my mind came back to the subconscious belief that it was based in "my ability". And so, my role was to memorize enough scriptures and strive to carry myself in a manner worthy of Christianity. This would include but is not limited to being kind to all, love my enemies, don't lose my temper,confess a bible verse frequently that pertains to whatever situation I found myself struggling with, remain positive in a negative environment, don't speak ill of anyone, check my giving records because my checkbook truly revealed my heart, reflect on the way I have been treating my wife/children/co-workers/boss and so on and so forth.

 Sure sounds like a whole lot of work and responsibility on my end. And why shouldn't it? I mean think about it, God did His part.....He loved me when I was yet a sinner....He sent His only Son into the world to die upon a cross for me....and then if that wasn't enough, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in me...to teach me....to guide me...the Comforter as the bible describes Him....One called along side to help me in times of distress.....sure seems as though God has done His part so c'mon.....I have the easy part, all I have to do is believe and behave!

 Yet, at times that can seem to be an daunting task. Why is that? Well I believe that somewhere along the line I came to a fork in the road....and that fork was the understanding and application of FAITH. One way leads to my persuasion in Christ, and the other speaks of my persuasion of self. By what basis am I forming my "persuasion". Remember, faith is a persuasion.....especially a reliance upon Christ for salvation. If my persuasion is based upon my ability to POSSESS AND PERFORM all the characteristics of what we believe Christians should portray constantly, my persuasion is going to falter quite frequently. For to be persuaded of a matter, one must hold no conflict in mind that rises against that belief....in other words, if I believe that God is love and I also believe that God will take a young child from it's mother through disease, then I won't find myself persuaded that God heals. There is a conflict in my beliefs and therefore, my faith or persuasion about a matter is compromised.

 So how can we please God by our faith? Our faith must be founded in God's word, not man's circumstances or experiences. If if you say that God's word seems to contradict itself, simply look at the Gospels and the life of Jesus.....Jesus said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father". I don't recall any time that Jesus took a life....or refused to heal, deliver or provide for anyone He came across. Start there....start by trusting in Him.

 He didn't come to this earth to teach us how to live....He came to offer Himself as the wages for our iniquities so that we can boldly come to God's throne of Divine Influence (Grace) and receive help in time of need.

 God loves you....be persuaded of that fact today!

New Updates To Be Installed

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Our heart is like our "operating system". Much like your personal computer or your mobile phone, each one has an operating system which enables the device to work as it was created to function. I like the "Easy To Read" bible version of this verse of scripture, "Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life". What we believe will form how we function. If our heart (our belief system) understands that our Creator is a Loving Father who created us in His image and likeness, in order that we may experience the Life, the Peace, the Joy that He has in His Son and the Son has in the Father, we will operate in the design He purposed for us to experience. This is called the ZOE or GOD kind of life. That life was given us as a free gift...breathed into man at the time of creation...intended for us to experience for eternity. Then the deceiver came along and told Eve that if she and Adam would eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they will be "like God". At this point, man had determined by eating of the forbidden fruit that he would experience the God kind of life by knowing good and evil...by knowing what is right and what is wrong,purposing in his heart to do what was right and avoid that which is wrong. Adam believed that he would be able to "perform" correctly and thus be like God. In short, this belief is still prevalent in the church today. The enemy wants us to believe this so that our consciousness is focused on our sin...our performance... or our ability to do right and avoid wrong. But One greater than Adam came.....the last Adam Who would defeat death.....who would put an end to what Adam had done, forever defeating the law of sin consciousness by fulfilling the law on our behalf and thus establishing a new law....the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:2) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.(Rom 5:19) So, if we believe in our heart (our operating system) that God is love.....that He lures us into this ZOE life by His love, freely giving us the life He designed us to experience....a life filled with His peace......His Joy.... despite what circumstances may appear to say....if this is the design of our operating system, we will then be able to function as He designed us to function. It is from this platform that His love will work in us and flow through us to a lost and dying world. This is the Good News that we are to preach to all the world! The news that One came to restore man to the operating system by which he was originally created. A system free from viruses....a system that includes " de-fragmentation software" which will sort out those fragments (pain, hurt, disappointment) accumulated in our hard drive by the experiences of this life and rearrange them into healthy segments that empower us to operate more efficiently. His design is one where we can rest in Him...the True Developer of a life where we can fellowship with Him in the cool of the day...where we can tap into His unlimited potential by GRACE (by the Divine influence in our hearts). So.....check your operating system.....what version are you running? The old version that says "By what I do, I will become" or the New Invitational Version that says, "By What He has done, I have become"! Click here to upload......

Forgiven!  

 

 

 When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he wrongly assumed His God would be angry but instead God came looking for Him to take His regular evening walk.

When Abraham sent his wife, Sarah, into Pharaoh's tent to protect his own life by allowing her to have sex with another man, God told Pharaoh that he was on dangerous
ground and that he'd better get her out of there right now. The next words out of God's mouth to Abraham were to reassure him of the covenant He had made with him. Not a word about his sin.

When Elisha was depressed and afraid and angry and prayed to die, God sent an angel to feed him so that he might regain his strength. No shame or blame.

When Peter denied Jesus, our Lord made sure when he arose to mention Peter by name and said to make sure he knew Jesus was alive. No reference to what Peter had done.

These were giants in the Bible - giants who made horrific choices. In each instance, the love of God swallows up their sins and foolishness in one great gush of grace. It's absurd. What have you done that causes you to think God may be disappointed or perturbed toward you? Whatever it is, you need to set it aside because that's what He has done. As absurd as it sounds, God isn't interested in what you've done in the past. He lives with you in the now and wants you to live in this moment of grace and accept His forgiveness.

Jesus showed us our Father's heart when He had the Father of the prodigal son throw him a party when he returned home without so much as a mention of what the boy had done. That's your God.

Refuse to accept His acceptance and you'll lock yourself inside a prison of your own making. Accept His acceptance and you'll run in the joyful freedom only known by those who know their sins never appear on God's radar-- never.

You've messed up? Welcome to the world of great children of God. It happened. So put it aside now. Don't insult the finished work of Jesus on the cross by insisting on trying to share in dealing with it through your own gnawing guilt and spiritually suicidal self-consciousness. You are forgiven. You are free. You are one with the One who keeps no record of wrongs and promises to never remember them again.

So dance. Run. Laugh. Play. Celebrate. That's what the Father, Son and Spirit are doing and He asks you to join in right now.

This is a repost from "Grace Walk" by Steve McVey.  It was so good I thought I would share it.  

WHAT IS THERE TO BE JOYFUL ABOUT?



Psalm 100:1-4  Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 
Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

Verse 5: For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.


We should start by reading verse 5 first. For once we get a revelation of this verse, will we freely, out of our own heart and not as an act of obedience, do verses 1 thru 4. 


The revelation I am referring to is a deeper understanding of the Hebrew in this text.


Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is GOOD (Hebrew word for good is"tob": meaning bountiful, cheerful, at ease,  (causes us to be in) favour, graciously, joyful, kindly, (full of) kindness,  merry,  most, pleasant, (full of) pleasure, precious, prosperity, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favoured]).


His MERCY is everlasting (Hebrew word for mercy "chesed" meaning  (His)  kindness; piety  (loyal reverence to a person or thing) beauty: - favour, good deed (-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness),

His TRUTH endureth to all generations. Truth is the Hebrew word "emunah" meaning firmness, security, moral fidelity (the quality or state of being faithfull; exactness), faithfulness, stable, steady.

So, in context, we could read verse 5 this way:

Psalm 100:5  For the Lord is bountiful, cheerful and at ease toward us, He causes gracious favor to be upon us because He is kind, most pleasant; full of pleasure and prosperity. His mercy, His loyal reverence to His children and His loving-kindness is everlasting, without end. His truth; that is His firmness, His security His quality or state of being faithful to us; His exactness) in being stable and steady endures to all generations.

And with this understanding we will :

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

So be it.

Romans 14:12 - So then each one of us will give account concerning himself to God.

When I used to read this scripture, it made me a little uneasy.  Kinda like, "Oh no, what have I done that God is going to question me about when I get to heaven". I'm sure there have been many things that I have said or not said, done or not done that I would not want reminded of on that Great Day when I stand before God.  In fact, I could see this process taking a long time as God rolled out my "laundry list" of failures. I pity the fool who is in line behind me that day.

The GOOD NEWS of God's Mercy (His unmerited favor toward me and you) and His Grace (His Divine Influence in our heart) tells of a different story.  You see, when you look at this scripture in the original text, the Greek word "account" is actually the word LOGOS. 

Logos: something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension a computation; specifically (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (that is, Christ):

This word LOGOS is also found in the first chapter of the Gospel of John 1:1; In the beginning was the LOGOS (word), and the LOGOS (word)  was with God and the LOGOS (word) was God.... vs 14 and the LOGOS (word) was made flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us....

See, when you look at the 14th chapter of Romans and read from verse 1, Paul is talking about Christians judging other Christians for their beliefs about what they eat or don't eat or different days they celebrate or don't celebrate.  I believe there are even more distinctions today that can fall under this category, but the bottom line is that one day we will all stand before God and give a "reasoning", a "computation" about what we did or didn't do in our body....and the Good News is that the reasoning is CHRIST!  All of our deeds and misdeeds have already been judged in Jesus Christ!  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

Does this give us a license to sin or to act anyway we want with no consequence?  That is the fear that many Christians and Pastors experience preventing them from preaching this Good News. I look at it this way, there will always be those who, when confronted with someone gracious and kind, that will want to take advantage of that kindness. I, like many of you reading this feel compelled to love and serve that person more freely.

It is the love of God that brings men to repentance (turning and going in the opposite direction of our sin). Be encouraged today that when you stand before God on that day, you will be able to say, "I'm with Him (Jesus). He paid to get me in.  Hallelujah.

Resurrection Empowerment

Resurrection Empowerment

The greatest thing that keeps people from understanding and accepting God’s grace (His Divine Influence in our hearts) is the mentality of “What I Do I Will Become”.  This idea has infiltrated the church in so many ways.  It has been called the “Law of Moses”; Laws which govern the church; or even more recently, “Spiritual Principles”.

The Good News is that we don’t have to live by spiritual principles but we can live by the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said He came to fulfill the law and so we no longer live under a set of “do’s and don’ts”. We simply identify ourselves with Christ and the finished work of the cross, realizing that He has redeemed us from destruction or from eternal damnation. The word “redeem” means to “buy us back”. When Adam sinned, man became separated from God. As the bible says in Romans 5:15, by one man’s offense sin entered the world, so too by one man’s obedience (Jesus’ sacrifice) many were made righteous.

What empowers us to live a godly life is not accomplished by us exercising our will to modify our behaviors. If that had been so, man could have accomplished this by simply being obedient to the Ten Commandments and Jesus wouldn't have had to shed His blood for us.

No, God did not give us the Ten Commandment to make us live holy but to show us our inability to achieve righteousness through our human effort, yet churches today seem to emphasize the need to live by “spiritual principles”. The Ten Commandments were called "The Law Of Moses". The bible tells us that Christ came not to abolish the Law but to fulfil it. (Matt 5:17)  We must acknowledge the need for a Savior, Jesus Christ to satisfy or complete the law on our behalf.

Through faith in Christ, as we accept Him to be our Lord, the One who we believe in, rely upon and trust in, leaning our entire personality on Him, then and only then are we empowered to see ourselves as righteous in God’s eyes, enabling us to be influenced more and more each day by His will and His Presence. He becomes greater in us which in turn will diminish our focus on our humanity in exchange for His Divinity. Don’t get caught in the trap of “doing the do’s” or avoiding the “don’t's”. This is the basis for “self-righteousness” and we know that the bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags. Walk in the power of knowing that God loves you beyond your wildest dreams and He has exchanged your sin for Jesus’ righteousness!

Let the Resurrection of our Lord empower you to walk in the righteousness purchased for you by Jesus Christ. Happy Easter!

Understanding Faith

 When I first came to know Christ as my personal savior, the word "faith" was exciting! God had performed a new work in my heart and I watched how God turned my life upside down for the good.  Then, as I walked with God and was being taught "the word of faith" I ended up hearing so many different "reasons" why faith wouldn't work for some as it would for others. Or there we be some new revelation on how to work the principles of faith.  

I came to the place where hearing the word “faith” would make me tired.  It left me feeling like “faith” was something that I had to DO… a muscle I had to grow.  I was taught from the word that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  This message was pounded in me many times over the years. Some preachers took this scripture to the point of saying, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing….” In other words if we heard “enough” someday our faith meter will rise to the top and we will finally receive what we were believing for.  This can tire a soul out. 

 Well, I was one of those people who "heard and heard" to know avail. It seemed as though repetition didn’t work for me but because well-intentioned preachers of the bible taught this, I believed it was true.  When my faith seemed weak, I took on the responsibility…the blame.  I would think things like "I must not being hearing enough" or " I need to study God’s word more".  "I need to meditate more in His word" and so on.  Well, after 26 years in the word, I have discovered that faith is not what I thought it was.

Faith is a persuasion. Faith is not some sort of resource that grows with the advent of repeating and repeating a verse of scripture.  It is simply coming to a place where we are persuaded about a matter... fully persuaded. 

The word “faith” found many times in the gospels where Jesus was referring to "one's faith" that made them whole (Matt 9:22, Matt 15:28) is the Greek word “pistis” which means persuasion; credence, moral conviction of the Truthfulness of God, especially the reliance upon Jesus for salvation; a steadfastness of mind professing our reliance upon Jesus. These women identified in the above scriptures were “fully persuaded” of what God was willing and able to do for them through Jesus.

  What enables us to have faith is the level of persuasion we have about God’s truthfulness…God’s perspective of a matter.  When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, the bible tells us that God’s voice from heaven was heard saying, “this is My Son in Whom I am well pleased”.  Jesus was persuaded of the fact that He was the Son of God.  He was full of faith and never doubted Who He was.  So when Satan came to Him in the desert and three times attempted to get Jesus to DO something to prove He was the Son of God, He didn’t respond to Satan’s request.  He knew He was God’s son and didn’t need to do anything to prove it. God’s word spoke it and He believed it….end of subject.  He was fully persuaded of Who He was.

So how does this impact our ability to believe or have faith today?  Well, Jesus was called the “Lamb of God”.  In the Old Testament, once a year, the High Priest was commanded by God to pick out a lamb that was without blemish. This lamb was to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. The High Priest would lay his hands on the lamb signifying that the sins of the people were being imparted to the lamb and the perfection of the lamb was in turn being imparted to the people. Then the lamb was slaughtered as was the sins of the people along with the lamb. This ceremony was a “type and shadow” of what was to come.  Jesus was the one True Lamb Who Took Away The Sins of the World.  Our sins were imparted to Him and His perfection was imparted to us.  So now, when God looks at us, it is Christ’s faith He sees, not ours.  In other words, Jesus’ perfection has been imparted to us and when our faith is based in Christ, we will experience His victory. Our righteousness or right standing in God is in Christ and so too our ability to receive all of God’s promises are in Christ.

 However, if we are looking at our righteousness or what we do or don’t do as a “qualifying factor” in receiving from God, then our faith is not founded in Christ. It is founded on our ability to believe we have “performed well enough to qualify for God’s promises.  This is a form of “self-righteousness” that we are looking to…and faith established on our performance will always bring about doubt and unbelief. 

So when it comes to faith, our ability to access the promises of God is based our how “persuaded we are in what God has freely given us through our faith in what Christ has accomplished on our behalf at the cross.  We must come to the place where we are seeing ourselves qualified through faith in Christ.

You might say, "Why is it so hard to have faith? Well, I can tell you that we can make our faith “inactive” when we have a competing belief; two or more thoughts about a matter that are in conflict with one another. These incongruences can steal away our ability to be fully persuaded.

For instance, we read in 1Peter 2:24  “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed”.  We know this scripture having heard it for years.  Then suddenly circumstances come against us in the way of sickness,. Maybe we get a bad report from a doctor. First thing that happens is fear grips our hearts.  Then we pray and meditate on 1Peter 2:24…some time may pass and we don’t see any change.

 Lo and behold we come across a message from a minister who takes Isaiah 55:9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” and he states that it may not be God’s will to heal us.  He will say that we aren’t to question God because His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts Higher than our thoughts.

These competing beliefs produce doubt in our hearts… to the extent that we are no longer fully persuaded. Our faith turns into hope and over time, the bible tells us that "hope deferred makes the heart grow weary".  We have these competing issues which feed doubt and unbelief in our hearts. Well, in God’s economy, faith in Christ and what He has accomplished for us through His death, burial and resurrection is what enables us to receive what God has provided for us.

So what do we do?  We look to God for His Grace.  Grace is the Greek word “charis” which means “especially the divine influence in our heart and its reflection in the life of the believer including gratitude”.  We ask God for His grace….His influence to flow into our heart in a greater way as we keep in mind that our ability to believe and trust Him is based on what Christ had done for us.  We must take every thought captive…those thoughts that would be in direct contrast to the work of the cross and bring it into the obedience of the Gospel (which means GOOD NEWS) of Christ.

Let this word grow in your hearts!  You already have enough faith to move mountains when your faith is based in Christ and your identity is found IN HIM.

Blessings.

God's Attitude Towards Us

One of the most well-known verses in the bible is John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Not only does God love us but 1 John 4:8 states that ..."God IS love".  It is one thing for Him to love us, but it is yet another for Him to actually BE love towards us.

What is the bible definition of LOVE? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity. but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

In the past, when I read this passage, I always looked at it as instruction on how I was to act towards others. I don't believe I ever gave much thought about these characteristics as ones that describe God's love toward me but God is love and Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit described God's love.

God suffers long toward us...toward our inability to "get it right" the first time...the second time...the third time. He is kind toward us. This word in the Greek means to be benevolent or one who is disposed to doing good. God is disposed to doing good to us and for us. We are talking about the Creator of the Universe ... disposed to doing good toward us. Wow!

Here is some more good news. God is not provoked towards us. That means he is not incited to anger towards us. No sir, He is not. He does not rejoice in our iniquities or shortcomings, but rejoices in truth; the truth that we are His children and that Jesus Christ Who IS Truth, dwells in us.

Finally, God's love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. The bible says there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Nothing we did, nothing we didn't do....nothing can separate us from His love.

Once we understand the Love of God towards us, we can then display that love which dwells IN us. We don't have to work at loving others. We simply seek to know His love for us and then we are empowered to express that love, a genuine love towards others.

Walking in the Spirit

Today's scripture reference is Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Did you know that  you can walk in the spirit all day, every day?  Does that sound like a daunting task to you?  It used to sound that way to me.  Of course the reason why it did was because I misunderstood what walking in the flesh and walking in the spirit meant.

I used to think that walking in the flesh pertained to sinning. In other words, if I had a sin of commission ( I did something wrong) or a sin of ommision ( I didn't what God's word instructs me to do ) I was walking in the flesh.

Furthermore, I thought walking in the spirit meant that I went through my day with an attitude of love, peace and joy. That I would have a positive attitude in all my communications with those I came in contact with; that I would pray many times during the day in the spirit as I felt led and that I was disciplined in all matters or cravings of the flesh.   So for me, to avoid walking in the flesh meant to avoid walking in sin and walking in the spirit meant to be this victorious Christian, always being polite and positive, fully displaying a Godly attitude.

Of course, I am not suggesting that we can walk around any way we desire but now you can see why this seemed to be such a daunting task to me. Basically, I never felt like I qualified for being able to walk in "no condemnation" as verse 1 states. When I looked further into this verse I found out what "walking" in the flesh means which set me free.

The Greek word here for "walking" is the word "peripateō" which means "to be occupied with". Paul is talking about us being "occupied" with the flesh and the spirit.

 If we read further in this passage of Romans, the apostle Paul goes on to say, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,

Basically what Paul is telling us is that walking in the flesh is walking around occupied with the matters pertaining to the law; the system of do's and don'ts, which leads to death.  Paul said in 2 Cor 3:7 that the law engraved on tablets of stone was the ministry of death. And so when he says that Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death, he is saying that Christ fulfilled what the law couldn't do...he condemned sin in the flesh and made us righteous by His blood. 

So walking in the flesh is walking around being occupied with the law of do's and don'ts. On the contrary, we are to be occupied with the fact that Christ has qualified us in every aspect of our life through His sacrfice. This is summed up in verse 9 of this text, " But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." 

When you and I accepted Christ as our personal Savior, His spirit came to live in us. We need to be occupied with the fact that Jesus lives in us and we in Him. As you and I become more mindful of this fact, we are empowered to display the fruits of His spirit, which is love, joy and peace.

The works of the flesh demand that we "do" .  The works of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus dictate who we are.We are not to struggle in and of ourselves to "do" love, joy and peace, but to "be" love, joy and peace.  We are not human "doings" we are human "beings"

We are who God says we are and the more we can see ourselves as God sees us in Christ, the more the light of the gospel will shine in our lives.  As we occupy ourselves with the mindset that we are in Christ, this is what it means to walk according to the spirit. When we are occupied with being justifed by what we do, then we are walking according to the flesh. 

It is through this revelation that we can walk in a knowledge that "there is therefore now no condemnation for us who believe on Jesus Christ, the Messiah! 

Peace With God

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ...

There is more to this passage of scripture but I want to expound a little on the first three verses of Romans, chapter 5. We have learned from my previous blogging that faith is a persuasion (refer back to blogs between Jan 19 & 21).  Paul states that we have been justified or made righteous by the persuasions of our heart and those persuasions are based on knowing what God has done for us through our Lord Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

This persuasion causes us to have "peace" with God, as Paul declares in this passage. The Greek word for "peace" here is "eirene" which is from the primary verb "eirō", which means "to join"; (literally or figuratively); by implication prosperity: - one or oneness, peace, quietness, rest; set at one again.

 This faith or persuasion that we are justified (made right with God), joins us to Him, setting us "at one again" with Him, like it was before Adam sinned.  He walked in the cool of the day with God, fellowshipping with the One Who created the universe. 

Paul goes on to say that through Christ we also have access by our persuasions of God's goodness into this GRACE.  The word "grace" here is the Greek word "charis"  which is "the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life of the individual".  In other words, because of what Christ did for us, we are at peace with God and this revelation has a divine influence of gratitude in our hearts which is reflected in our lives as we remain aware that we are in right standing with God; the fact that He loves us and gave His all for us. This is what "walking in the Spirit" is referring to. Walking in the awareness of God's Spirit indwelling us and being mindful of our righteousness in Christ and not our sin-nature (flesh).

Furthermore, verse two goes on to say this divine influence produces a hope in us. You may recall that the word hope means "a joyful, confident, expectation of good.  Of course this grace would produce a joyful confident expectation of good. God said that He has established in us, a New Covenant, a better covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6)

Now the next part is what I like. Paul goes on to say that this hope causes us to "glory in tribulations".  I used to have trouble with this. Who wants to look forward to pain and hurt and trouble?  That is what I thought "tribulations" were. Well that word "trribulation is also translated as "pressure". Now I can handle pressure much better than pain and hurt and trouble. Jesus said, in this world we will have tribulations (pressure) and then He said BUT.... But what?  BUT - BE OF GOOD CHEER FOR I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD. So, He is saying that He has overcome these pressures for us. 

Now verse three goes on to say that pressure produces patience. Okay, here is another word that doesn't sound like it would be fun.  Patience can produce more troubling thoughts because it usuallly means we are learning to wait for something that we wish would arrive sooner than later.  Well, once again, if we look at the word "patience" in the context of this verse which is talking about faith and grace, and joyful, confident expectations of good, we find that the word "patience" is the Greek word "hupomone" which means a cheerful or hopeful endurance or constancy. A cheerful; hopeful endurance or constancy?  I never thought of patience in so positive a light as this. But this kind of patience manifests in our hearts when we know that God is on our side and He has already sent His son to pay the price for us so that we may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10)

 Let's go one further; this cheerful or hopeful endurance produces an "experience"; the Greek word here for "experience" means "trustiness"; proof. 

In other words, when the persuasions of our heart reveal our right-standing with God it produces a peace  in us and this peace produces a divine influence in our heart that causes us to have a joyful, confident expectation of good in our lives. Paul goes on to say that this expectation of good manifests in our hearts when pressure tries to come against us. And as we remain confident in our expectation of good, the divine influence in our heart is a cheerful and hopeful endurance against that pressure which sets the stage for an experience that proves out God's goodness and trustworthiness!

We no longer need to fear tribulations or God's plan to develop patience in us.  Why?  Because His Yoke is easy and His burden is light. He has made a way of escape for us from the pressures and trials of this life and His word promises us a good outcome!  Hallelujah!

Who Turned On The Light?

2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I was sitting and meditating on this thought.  Light dispels darkness. If you walk into a dark room, the only way to be able to see is turn on the light. So what happens when we turn the light on?  It shines in the room and chases away the darkness.  We couldn't expel the darkness by focusing on it and trying to move it out of the room. All we need do is to release an energy that opposes the darkness. Darkness is the absence of light.  We can't "will" darkness out of the room. We need to engage that which is absent....light.

When it comes to love and hate.  Hate is the absence of love. We cannot guilt hate out of a person. We cannot convince hate out of a person. It's simliar to expelling darkness...we need to employ that which is absent - love.

I believe sin and righteousness have a similar polarity as do light and darkness, love and hate.  Sin is produced out of the absence of righteousness.  Paul encourages us in Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,^[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The word "walk" is the Greek word peripateo meaning "to be occupied with". So Paul is telling us not to be occupied with the flesh but be occupied with the Spirit.

Paul said there is therefore now no condenmation for those who are in Christ and the way we avoid condemnation is by being occupied with the things of the spirit - the knowledge of our righteousness in Christ. 1 Cor 3:7 Paul tells us what brings condemnation ... Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, (the Law of Moses/The Ten Commandments) brought glory ...vs 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! Paul said earlier in verse 6 that the letter kills but the spirit gives life.  What is the letter?  The Law of Moses. He referred to the Law of Moses as the ministry of death; the ministry which brought condemnation.

 1 Corinthinas 15:56 tells us "the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law."

So if we want to walk free from sin, we cannot do it by focusing on our sin and trying to "will" it out of our lives, trying to not sin.  Paul told us in Romans, chapter 7 that the very thing he didn't want to do, he did.  And that which he did want to do, he couldn't. Trying to avoid sin is like trying not to allow darkness in a room.  Darkness is made alive by the absence of light.  Sin is made alive by the absence of our knowledge of righteousness brought about by faith in Christ.  The law was given to reveal our sin, not to do away with it.  Only Jesus can dispel the sin in our lives. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!

Turn on the light of the Good News; the Gospel of Jesus and let that light shine!

Remove the Veil - Reveal The Glory

2 Corinthians 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Paul is telling the church in Corinth that the god of this world, Satan has blinded the minds of those who are perishing. Who is it that is perishing?  Those who do not believe in the gospel; the good news of Christ.

He refers to this knowledge as light.  What light? The light that Christ is the image of our God.  We don't need to IMAGINE God any longer. If you want to see our heavenly Father, study the Son. He came to do the will of the Father. He came to reveal the Fathers' love.

In the previous chapter, Paul explains what this veil is.  2 Corinthians 3:6 ...for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7. But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance,  which glory was passing away, ⁸ how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.  verse 14...For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 

What veil is that? It is Law of Moses. The Law which Jesus came to fulfill. Paul refers to the Law of Moses as the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones. He said that the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. When we live under the Old Covenant; the Law of Moses, it is like a veil over our eyes.  We don't see the life giving power of Jesus' blood, washing us and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. All we see is our deeds done in the flesh. We are blinded to the fact that God has called us Kings and Priests in this New Covenant and that He calls us the righteousnes of God in Christ.

What removes the veil from our eyes? vs 14 says Christ takes away that veil.  Romans 8:2 For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death. The Law of Moses is the law of sin and death or the ministry of death as Paul called it in verse 7.

The enemy wants to keep us in the dark. He wants us to live conscious of the law and of our deeds.  The bible calls him the accuser of the brethern.  But the Light of Life has come to the world. And as we walk in the knowledge of all that Christ purchased for us, it causes His glory to shine in our hearts. We are no longer to walk in a consciousness of sin...being ever so mindful of our flesh and sin nature.  We are to walk in the light of the gospel of Jesus.  We are to walk in the knowledge of His light that He is our righteousness...the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ.

He took on our sin and nailed it to His cross so that sin would no longer have dominion over us.  That debt was paid once and for all and now we can rejoice; walking in a righteousness consciousness - for this ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 

Why do you think Paul said that this ministry exceeds in much more glory?  My guess is because once there was a man; one man; Christ Jesus who walked this earth revealing the Glory of God the Father. But now, through faith in Christ and walking in the knowledge of our righteousness in Him, that veil is removed enabling the Glory of God to shine from all our hearts to a lost and dying world. All believers, united in Spirit revealing God's glory!

Remove the veil brought about by sin consciouness and reveal Christ in you, the hope of Glory!

Reigning As Kings in Life

Romans 5:17 For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God's] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ ( the Messiah, the Anointed One). Amplified version.

It is because of Jesus' sacrifice that we are made to be in right standing with God enabling us to reign as kings in life. Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines king as "one whose position is hereditary and who rules for life. Reign is defined as one who posseses or excercises sovereign power.

Get a hold of this...before Christ died, death reigned or excercised/possessed sovereign power over our lives. 1Corinthians 15:56 tells us that "the sting of death is sin".  So sin reigned in our lives. Before we gave our hearts to Jesus, that old sin nature ruled our hearts.  However, because Jesus gave His life as a ransom for us, we have been made righteous [in right standing with God] and now we have "inherited" a position of rule for our entire life, excercising sovereign power over death through faith in Christ. The sin consciousness has no authority over us...no dominion over our hearts and lives.

Colossians 1:22 states, Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence. Amplified version.

WOW!  The Word of God says that we are holy...Jesus says we are faultless and irreproachable in the Father's presence.  Let me ask you...Do you see yourself as holy, faultless and irreproachable in God's sight.
Or are you more conscious of your sins; your failures? 

Between our own minds and the enemy of our soul (Satan), we can go through life being more conscious of our mistakes.  Maybe it was a sharp word spoken to a loved one; we may have copped an attitude with someone who cut us off on the road;  or feared sharing the Gospel with someone because we didn't think they would accept it; maybe we misjudged a co-worker...the list can go on. 

We can beat ourselves up for this....or maybe it's more subtle...we just feel unworthy...lacking confidence in God's love for us because we see our failures.  Focusing on the works of the flesh only steal away our joy and our confidence before a holy God. These issues can impact our entire attitude towards others; towards ourselves. 

Jesus said that we are holy; He said that we are faultless and irreproachable in God's sight.  We need to be more conscious of His Grace. As we take our focus off of ourselves and meditate on what our Heavenly Father says about us will we be able to reign as kings in this life.

Galatians 2:20 For the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Let the GRACE of God - His favor towards you be the guiding peace in your heart and mind today because His love toward you is so much greater than you can imagine.

What Law Are You Under?

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

What is the law of sin and death?  The law of sin and death is the law of Moses or better known as the Ten Commandments. In Romans, Chapter 7 Paul explains that until he knew the law, he didn't know what sin was. But once he knew what the law said, sin had dominion over him.  Romans 7:5 NLT When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.

Paul is referring to "spiritual death" not physical death. He went on to say in verse 7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin...At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, ¹⁰ and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 

 Corinthians, 15:56 states, "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law."  Let me put it this way, we all understand how the bee functions.  That little critter has a stinger on it and when he lands on you and puts that little stinger in your flesh it causes pain.  Paul was telling us that the pain or stinger of death is sin.  And what is it that causes sin?  THE LAW!

 Okay, so we now have a clear understanding that sin is strengthen by the Law - the system of "do's and don't's" and that system produces spiritual death or separation from God. 

The Good News is that the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law or the system of "do's and don't's".  What is the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, you ask? Faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son sent to this earth to redeem us or "buy us back" from what Adam's sin produced.

I want to keep driving home this point that our works or our ability to do all the right things and avoid doing all the wrong things is not what saves us. I don't believe we can ever hear this message too much.  Why?  Because for too long religion has taught us otherwise. The church has been too "sin conscious" instead of "grace conscious".

Christians who have failed at times are cast aside; treated as lepers, looked down upon by the brethern. The unchurched don't want to hear from us either because they say that there are two things we are known for, 1. telling them what they are doing wrong and 2. asking for money all the time. This is their perception of Christianity.

Jesus commanded us to go and spread the Good News. He said Himself that He didn't come to condemn the world but to fulfill the law. In other words, what the Ten Commandments couldn't do for us, He came to complete. 

So which law do you think is the Good News to be spreading? 

Salvation Unearned

In the second chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul reveals that we have been saved by grace through faith. He goes on to say that this is a gift from God and it is not of our own works, lest anyone should boast. 

Salvation isn't something we earn...it is a gift from God...and it comes by way of His Grace or favor. Favor he bestows on us out of His love for us.

Many of us have no problem with receiving the gift of salvation-as it relates to the promise of eternal life but this is only one aspect of salvation. The word salvation in this passage is the Greek word "sozo" which means to deliver, to protect, to heal, preserve, make whole.  Every aspect of our being; our spirit, our body...every need we have is met through the shed blood of Jesus. He died to make us whole; whole in every area of our life...and this is a gift from God - it is not based on our works or our abilities.

But like any gift, we must "receive" it in order for us to benefit as recipients of such an awesome gift. One of the problems we face when it comes to "receiving" this gift is the fact that we don't feel worthy of such extravagance.  I'm not referring to money or wealth as the extravagance but the value of the gift itself.

Paul said, "while we were yet dead in our sins".  He said that God's favor was toward us while in this sinful, ungodly state. Paul went on to say that it isn't based on our works. In other words, there is nothing we did to deserve it.  Consequently, except denying Jesus as our Lord, there is nothing we can do to disqualify us from this gift.  All we need to do is simply receive Christ as our Lord and Savior and know that this salvation is meant to give us the victory in this life and for eternity.

The enemy of our souls doesn't want us to know this powerful truth because he doesn't want us walking in the divine gift, to its full, as Jesus has provided us.

We must understand that the same faith we exhibit in receiving eternal life through Christ is the same faith applied to all God's promises. And the most important part is that we cannot earn it. It isn't something we qualify for by our actions but are made available to us because of His action, having laid down His life for us.

Trust Christ today to deliver you; no matter what the need may be.