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Are You Living Eternal and Abundant Life?

9/26/2020

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The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10   http://www.donnalcampbell.com/salt--light-devotionals/are-you-living-eternal-and-abundant-life
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10
​Recently I had the great privilege to be invited on to the Where Grace Abounds podcast with Eric Vaughn Floyd. I was honored because I have often listened to it and it has always been uplifting and edifying. I have never come away from it without some new treasure of wisdom. I have had the pleasure of knowing Eric for many years, he is one of the most humble and wise men of Christ I have ever known. His life displays a tangible love of Jesus, a perseverant pursuit of knowing the One True Living God and a steadfast walk in the Spirit. The writer and host of Where Grace Abounds lives what he claims to believe. Those beliefs are spelled out in the program’s description.
Where Grace Abounds is described as “A program dedicated to promoting the complete Gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ. Meaning, the Gospel is not just about putting faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection so that we can go to Heaven when we die. See additionally, the Gospel is also the good news that Jesus came so that His followers could have life and life more abundant while they live out their days here on Planet Earth. Moreover, this program also aims to celebrate individuals who are being perpetually transformed for the better by both the Gospel message and the balance of what is contained in God’s Holy Word.” You can subscribe to Where Grace Abounds wherever you listen to your podcasts.
I am excited by this because for one, I hope to be the kind of person Eric describes. But moreover because I believe wholeheartedly that there is more to the Gospel than many Christians live and if we would all hold onto the fullness of the Gospel and the awesome grace of God, we would walk in such great love, victory, and power that the Kingdom of God would grow exponentially and the world would quake with the glory of Jesus Christ.
What is the complete Gospel of Jesus Christ? It is manifold yet simple and absolutely beautiful. When we first accept the Gospel, most of us receive it with joy and enthusiasm. We hear it, we believe it, and we declare it. Romans 10:6-13 in The Living Bible tells us,
But the salvation that comes through faith says, “You don’t need to search the heavens to find Christ and bring him down to help you,” and, 7 “You don’t need to go among the dead to bring Christ back to life again.”
8 For salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is what we preach—is already within easy reach of each of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths. 9 For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation.
11 For the Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed. 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect: they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all those who ask him for them. 13 Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Salvation doesn’t come from following laws and rules, a step by step program, or even repeating a multi-part prayer. It says quite simply that “anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is the Gospel of Grace, Ephesians 2:8-10 describes it this way,
Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. 10 It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.
In the ESV verse 8 reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”
So very often, some well-meaning but mixed-up person steps in and gives the new Christian a different message and that joy and enthusiasm ebbs away. They say now that you’re saved you must follow this list of rules, do these acts of service, give this amount of money, and stop doing this list of ‘sins.’ Paul did not take kindly to people stepping in and messing with the Church like that. When people came into the church in Galatia and told them they had to be circumcised, follow laws, and observe various feasts and festivals, Paul had some strong things to say, Galatians 1:6-10 reads,
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Do you know what freedom and joy there is in the Grace of Christ? This is not only the beginning of the remarkable journey with Christ but the inspiration to living that life in victory and hope rather than defeat and despair. It is grace that allows us to exclaim, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!” (Galatians 5:1). We cannot do anything to earn Salvation, nothing at all! There is no score keeper in Heaven keeping track of the ‘good’ things you do versus the ‘bad’ things you do. There are no divine scales of justice. It is simply this question “are you covered by the blood of Christ or not?”
You cannot do anything to make God love you more than He already does, and oh, how he loves you! There is nothing you can do to cause Him to love you any less either. He is Love (1 John 4:8) and so His love is perfect and complete. It lacks nothing. Love doesn’t keep track of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5).  The freedom of living in Christ is that His Grace means there is no such thing as sin in Christ, nothing is sinful for us, Believer (1 Corinthians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 10:23, Romans 14:14 ). We don’t have to live a sin-conscious life, instead we can live for Christ becoming all we were meant to be, glorifying the Lord, and revealing the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness (Ephesians 2:6). How do we show God’s infinite grace and kindness if we are trying to earn points with Him by following impossible laws, living meager lives, or constantly punishing ourselves for sins we perceive we have committed?
No, we reveal the immense riches of grace and kindness by living the abundant life Jesus came to give us. Eternal life does not begin the day we die and ‘go to Heaven.’ It begins the moment we declare Jesus as Lord and Savior. In John 5:19-24 Jesus says,
Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Jesus has the authority to grant life and the authority to judge and He said that whoever believes, (Believers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ) will not come into judgement but has passed from death to life. He declares that we are passed to life at that moment, not eventually, but at the time of salvation. There is no judgement but rather a new and wonderful life that reveals the will of the Father in the work and the works of Christ.
So many of us walk through our lives on earth aware of every wrong thing we do, every mistake we make, and every sin we choose. How can we walk in the freedom of Christ, displaying God’s immense riches of grace and kindness if we are not walking in that grace and kindness? That is not the life that Jesus intended, it is the life the enemy wants you to live, it is a life that reveals a lie. The lie is one believed by so many lost, that the Christian life is about self-righteous hypocrites forgoing happiness and living insubstantial and paltry lives. Even many who call themselves Christians have come to believe they must live these meager lives. But that is not what Christ means for us! In John 10, Jesus is describing Himself as the Door and the Shepherd and in verses 9-11 He says,
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Who is the thief? The thief is the enemy of Christ, it is Satan and all who would do his work by trying to destroy the life Jesus came to give. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” An abundant life is not a sin-conscious life but a God-conscious life. A life of awareness of God with us. A life where we walk not with a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control (1 Timothy 1:7).
Let’s read about this freedom from sin. Many people who declare grace, do so using grace as an excuse to continue living the way they always have, not a changed new free life, but as a slave to sin and basal desires. There is such a big difference between trying to live by the law and living under God’s perfect forgiveness!
Let’s begin reading in Romans 5:15-21 in The Living Bible.
For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this one man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God’s mercy. 16 Adam’s one sin brought the penalty of death to many, while Christ freely takes away many sins and gives glorious life instead. 17 The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to be king over all, but all who will take God’s gift of forgiveness and acquittal are kings of life because of this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam’s sin brought punishment to all, but Christ’s righteousness makes men right with God, so that they can live. 19 Adam caused many to be sinners because he disobeyed God, and Christ caused many to be made acceptable to God because he obeyed.
20 The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws. But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us. 21 Before, sin ruled over all men and brought them to death, but now God’s kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The ESV of verse 20 reads, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,” This beautiful verse is one that so many people have twisted to use as permission to sin. It is not. God’s grace is so much more than undeserved forgiveness of sins; it is unwarranted favor, unearned blessings and gifts and unmerited adoption as children of God. Let’s keep reading Romans as Paul continues his discourse in Chapter 6:1-8 in The Living Bible.
Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness?
2-3 Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. 4 Your old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism when he died; and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy.
5 For you have become a part of him, and so you died with him, so to speak, when he died; and now you share his new life and shall rise as he did. 6 Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; 7 for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you. 8 And since your old sin-loving nature “died” with Christ, we know that you will share his new life.
The power of sin is dead, we don’t live by laws and rules which cause us to be always aware of we cannot do and therefore desire to do those things. Do you get that? Consider a room with lots of buttons and flashing lights, and thick beautiful curtain that hides something. In the center of all those buttons is a large red one with a sign that reads, “Do not press the red button.” Which button will you desire to press? That big red button. Without the sign, pressing the buttons was allowed but with the sign, not only do you desire to press the button but you then somehow decide you are not allowed to pull back the curtain see what might lay beyond it. You have set up more rules that you also wish to break.
But our new life in Christ doesn’t have those laws; Jesus fulfilled all of them! We don’t live in bondage to those laws or the sin of breaking them, we live in freedom of new life as we now become the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
I want to continue looking at this new, eternal, and abundant life Jesus has given us. There is so much to it that we it will need to be continued in a series of devotionals. So in our upcoming devotionals we will look at the amazing relationship we get to enjoy with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the amazing transformation God grants us as His children, the power and authority experience and exercise in in that relationship, and the blessings He gives us in that relationship.
Please listen to my interview on Where Grace Abounds by clicking on the link below. Don’t forget to subscribe, listen to the other inspiring interviews Eric has done, and share with those who need some encouragement to live abundantly and victoriously in Jesus Christ.
Where Grace Abounds: An Edifying Exchange With Acclaimed Author Donna Campbell
Where Grace abounds is on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Tune-in, iHeart Radio and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts! 
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Romans 11 God Loves the Lost as Much as He Loves the Saved

5/16/2016

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For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29
​Romans 11
It is a privilege to be saved, but it is not a reason to be arrogant. We may boast, but we cannot boast in ourselves. We can only boast in Jesus Christ. He saved us, we didn’t. It was God’s great boundless grace which saved us, not our work but His.
Yet, I have seen and maybe I’ve felt it at sometimes, Christians who act as if the world is made up of fools and that as God’s children they are better than the world. I get weary of seeing the hateful messages from people who proclaim Christ yet elevate themselves and degrade the lost. It is not love to demean people and we are supposed to love (John 13:34-35). Some people who claim to be Christians use religion as an excuse for anti-Semitism and other bigotries. God is not an anti-Semite, He does not hate the Jewish people. He chose them. He calls them His treasured possession. Look what He says about Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
 
If we truly love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, then we will cherish what and who He cherishes. Some people claim God rejected Israel when they rejected Him. But that is a fallacy. It is a lie to keep our focus on honoring ourselves and dishonoring others instead of honoring The LORD. Paul says it like this in verses 1-6,
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
 
The Lord has always kept a remnant of Israel for Himself. From Elijah and the seven thousand to Paul, Peter, James, and John to people like me the Jewish believers who live today. God chooses and calls whom He will and He will show His grace and mercy on whom He chooses (Exodus 33:19). Salvation is His. The Lord has His reasons, His ways are not our ways; His thinking is much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). He has a plan. He is the beginning and the end and He knows the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13, Mark 13:32). Isaiah 46:9-11 reads,
  remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
    the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
    I have purposed, and I will do it.

 
It is wonderful to be saved, but we didn’t save ourselves. Our part in salvation was submitting to God. God did and does the rest.  God called us and opened our eyes to the Jesus. Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead for us. The Father adopted us. The Holy Spirit indwells and transforms us. Do you know that even the people who rejected Christ, who couldn’t see the truth of who He is played a part in making the way for salvation open to you? Verses 7-16 read,
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that would not see
    and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
    and bend their backs forever.”

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
God adores us and He chose us, but He loves the lost too. We are not more worthy than they are. We are not better. God allowed us to come to know Him and He wants them to come to know Him too. He is calling them. They are lost in unawareness of who The Lord is. Their eyes are closed and their hearts are hard, just like ours used to be. Was it hate and humiliation that brought you to God? Did someone argue about how right they were and wrong and stupid you were to tell you about the love of Jesus? Did name calling bring you to the point where you called on Jesus’ name? Of course not. It was love in action that broke your stone heart. It was the Word of God lived out that made the scales fall from your eyes.
We were not always adopted into God’s family. God transplanted us from the princedom of the world into the Kingdom of Heaven. He made us a part of Him. In John 14:18-21 Jesus described the unity with God like this,
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
The Son is in the Father, believers in the Son, and the Son in believers. It is a concept that is beyond our human thinking, one that hurts my head when I try to envision it. Paul used one of Jesus’ favorite illustrations to describe it, that of the branches and the vine (Matthew 21:33-46, John 15:1-11). Verses 17-24 say,
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
 
God grafted you in. He didn’t have to. He broke of some of the natural branches and put you in their place. Do you realize that He could have made salvation come by birth if He had chosen that way? He could have said all of Jacob’s descendants and no one else would be saved. But He gave the whole world the opportunity for salvation through Jesus Christ. It is God who made the way for you to know Him. It was not and is not us. Verses 25-27 read,
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
    he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

If some of Israel had not rejected Jesus as Messiah, would the Gospel have ever made it to gentiles? If the Pharisees had not been so set on saving themselves through the law, would the apostles have spread the Word of God to the world? Verses 28-32 read,
As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
 
God chose Israel and called them His treasured possession; He has not changed His mind. God cherishes them. We are not better than anyone else. Our salvation has nothing to do with our own efforts. The Lord cherishes you as well. He has chosen to heap grace and mercy on you. He has called you a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9). He has called you friend (John15:15). He has called you sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). Do not forget that. God has not and will not change His mind! We may not understand why God does what He does, but we don’t have to understand it, we only need to trust Him. Verses 33-36 read,
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
 
You were made from God, through Him and for Him and so was Israel, every lost person, every single person on this earth. Give God the glory for who you are, not yourself.
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Romans 5 Born Again to Live Life

5/10/2016

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and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 2 Timothy 1:10
and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 2 Timothy 1:10
Romans 5
Believer, you and I have been justified. Have you ever considered what that means? Justified means to be pronounced righteous and approved; to be conformed to an upright standard and to be shown as honorable. We have been found and declared innocent. We have received justice. We were not justified because we deserved it. We were justified because God gave us His grace. He chose to forgive our sin. His forgiveness is not like ours. My forgiveness removes my anger but the sin remains; God’s forgiveness not only takes away His wrath but it eradicates the sin. When He looks at us, our sin no longer exists. That is an amazing gift. It is a gift we could never deserve nor earn. It was given to us because we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, God with us and we called on Him to save us.
Our justification, our salvation from the wrath of God and the wages or results of sin (which is death) has a purpose. We do not receive a gift as wonderful as life and just let it collect dust. We let God’s proclamation of our righteousness conform us to righteousness. Verses 1-5 read,
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
 
Peace with God is a relationship with Him. We are no longer at odds with Him, working against His desires for us and for the world. We are with Him, living in His will and working with Him for His will. What is His will? It is for our sanctification (being made more and more in Jesus’ image of righteousness) and purity, for all people to be saved, and for us to know Him and love Him. (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 2 Peter 3:9, Hosea 6:6). Faith allows us to trust God and submit to Him and that changes the way we deal with life. Without faith when suffering comes our way, we fight alone to lift ourselves above it or we lament and worry and we look for solutions to end the distress. But with faith in God, we are not alone and we understand that He will change us through the suffering, we will develop the character of Christ. We rejoice for that reason and we rejoice because His love is so apparent. I know when I suffer, one thing that brings me through is faith and the hope that faith gives me. Hebrews 11:1-3 describes it this way,
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
The hope of faith is not a wishy washy hope, it is an absolute certainty, a sure knowledge that God’s promises are true, that eternal life is mine, that my home is in Heaven with Jesus, and His home is here in me.
Christians use a vernacular that the world doesn’t fully understand and sometimes Christians don’t fully understand it either. We say things like born again, saved, and delivered and the lost do not know what we mean. Do we know what we are saved from? We are saved from God’s wrath, the consequences of sin which is death and eternal damnation (Revelation 14:17-20, Revelation 20:15). What are you born again to? You are born to a new identity and eternal life. Isaiah 62:1-5 describes it beautifully,
 
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
    and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
    and her salvation as a burning torch.
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
    and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
    that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
    and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
    and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
    and your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman,
    so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
    so shall your God rejoice over you.

 
Eternal life is not only for the future, it is for now! We are not called Forsaken anymore; we are called Righteous, we are called My Delight is in Her! God’s delight is in us, consider that; God’s delight is in you, believer, you! You are no longer condemned to death. You have been given life, peace with God so much so that His delight is in you. Seeing you live makes God happy. Verses 6-11 read,
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Once you were God’s enemy, sure to experience His wrath but now you are alive in a relationship with God who loves you more profoundly than you can begin to fathom. It is Jesus’ sacrifice which freely and generously gave us life and reconciliation with Him. We can’t let that gift sit unused and unappreciated. Death exists in the world. It is rampant. But the gift of life is waiting for anyone willing to accept it. Verses 12-19 in The Message read,
12-14 You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.
15-17 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man’s sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God’s gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There’s no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?
18-19 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. (Or read it in the ESV here).
Adam’s sin brought death to the masses. Everyone was born with sin instilled in them after that and so everyone was born dead. But Jesus willingly gave up His life. He died and that brought life to anyone who will believe He is the Christ and that He died and resurrected. He took our death sentence from us by laying down His life. He took on our crimes, our sin and in doing so made us innocent as if we have never been sinners. When we chose to believe God, we were born again, but this time we were born to life and so we were born to live. What should that mean for us? Should we just sit on a swing and think happy thoughts about how good it is to be alive and how nice it will be in New Jerusalem (where we will spend eternity united with God after Judgement Day)? No! We are meant to live and by doing so let others know this wonderful gift is for them too. We are meant to live and snatch people away from the death that grips them. Verses 20-21 read,
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is waiting. He wants to pour His grace and love out on everyone. He wants everyone to have eternal life, know Him, and be justified. Isaiah 30:18-19 says,
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
    and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
    blessed are all those who wait for him.

19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
Let your life glorify God (reflect God and make Him known). Shine life to the people living in the darkness of death. Bring them to peace with Him though the gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 10:14-15 encourages us to live that way.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
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Romans 4 Saved by Faith in Jesus not Obedience to the Law.

5/9/2016

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For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8
​Romans 4
We know from what we have been reading that the law has a purpose, but that purpose is not to save or make anyone righteous. The law reveals God and His righteousness to us and it proves our inability to be righteous, it exposes our sin (Leviticus 20:22-26, Romans 3:20). The law demonstrates God’s grace because God knows we cannot keep it but promises to put the law in our hearts and give us new hearts and spirits (Deuteronomy 6:5, Ezekiel 36:26). God said, “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine” (Leviticus 20:26). But how can we be holy as He is holy when we are incapable of keeping the law? It is because when God writes the law on our hearts and that moves us to trust in Him to give us new hearts and spirits, it is called faith. He makes us righteous not because of the law but because of the faith, the relationship with Him because we want to know more about who Holy God is.
Being righteous doesn’t mean being pious or good. Being righteous means we are forgiven of our sins, it means God no longer counts our sin against us because it no longer exists. Paul explained it by using Abraham as an example for us. Verses 1-8 read,
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Abraham was not counted as righteous because he did anything. He was counted as righteous because he believed God. The Lord saved Abraham as a gift, not because he obeyed God and went where He told him to go, but because he believed God. Abraham’s belief manifested in obedience to go where He was told, but it was his faith which was counted as righteousness, not the obedience. The obedience was the product of Abraham’s faith. Verses 9-12 explain it using the example of circumcision.
Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing. It is our new hearts, our new spirits, our new selves which show our faith and God’s perfect Righteousness and Grace. Galatians 6:15-16 reads,
For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Faith is not something we sit in, it is not invisible or fruitless. Faith is something we walk in, it shows, and it has results. Faith results in obedience. Faith compels us to obey God, obedience proves faith. The law does not result in our transformation, it is the faith we exhibit in God to keep His promises which allows Him to change us. The Law makes us aware of God and our inability to be who He created us to be. We were created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). That means we were made for eternity, for holiness, with the desire to be in a relationship with the Eternal God, though most of us mistook it for a desire for our own divinity. When God made His covenant with Abraham, He made the way for all of us to live in relationship with Him as Abraham lived in relationship with Him. Verses 13-16 read,
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
 
Do you imagine that what Abraham believed was easier than what you or I are asked to believe? I mean Abraham audibly heard God speak, who wouldn’t have faith in God after that? God spoke audibly to many people who didn’t have faith. He spoke to face to face to Adam and Eve but they didn’t believe Him and their disbelief resulted in their disobedience (Genesis 3:1-7). When God spoke to Abraham there were not a ton of people around who followed God, prayed, or even acknowledged Him. For most people the God of the Universe was a legend or a myth but at least one family line had continued to teach the Truth; they were the exception and not the rule. God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations. That was not an easy promise to believe. Abraham was an old man, closer to death than the prime of life but he believed. Faith is rarely easy.
What has God promised you? How long have you waited? I have waited years and I am still waiting, not with hope that maybe it will be, but with assurance that it will be because God has already made it so. It isn’t easy. Sometimes I am so sick, I can’t gather the strength to walk to the bathroom. Sometimes the pain makes me so weary I wonder if I can bear it one more day. Sometimes I feel so inadequate for my lack of health that I want to give up. But God reminds me of His promise. Brothers and Sisters encourage me with His word and love. Abraham didn’t have the body of Christ surrounding him. He didn’t have the wonderful Holy Spirit within him strengthening him. He was the one who had to speak God’s word to the people around him like Sarah and Lot. He had to exhibit his faith for them and he only had God. Of course God is enough. God is able. That is faith. Verses 17-25 read,
as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness. That means God called Him righteous because He believed. That is for us too! All we have to do is believe God that He gave us Jesus Christ who laid down His life to pay the price for our sin and raised Him from death to save us.
Are you trying to earn salvation by being good enough? Are you hoping your good deeds outweigh the mistakes you’ve made? How unfair would it be if the way to Heaven, the way to know God was based on some secret scorecard? How wrong would it be for us to have to stand on a scale after we die and hope that our charity and kindness outweighed our self-indulgence and malice? God is love! He loves you! He doesn’t base salvation on being good and never has. It has always been faith in Him that causes Him to say “You are forgiven, You are mine.”
If you want to know how to be saved, if you have questions you want answered to make understanding this easier, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will gladly talk to you honestly and without judgement. You can also click on this link for more information. There are not many roads to God, there is only one way; He is Jesus. John 14:6-11 reads,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
​
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How to be Saved by Jesus

10/27/2015

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​God loves you very much! He adores you!
God loves you so much that He gave His Son to us, so that we could live forever in relationship with Him. (John 3:16-17).
John 1:14 says,
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
The Word is a name for Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God stepped out of Heaven and became a person and lived as a person, but He never once did anything wrong. Those wrongs we do like lying, complaining, stealing, gossiping, and killing are called sins. Jesus never did. But every one of us has. (Romans 3:23).
The Bible says the payment for sin is death. (Romans 6:23). Jesus took on all our sins, (2 Corinthians 5:21),  and paid the price for us, and He gives us eternal life for free! We can’t earn it, no matter how hard we try. We just can’t be good enough to earn salvation from death and go to Heaven forever with Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Romans 10:9-10 tells us what we need to do to receive that wonderful gift.
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Really! All you have to do is say as a commitment that Jesus is now in charge of your life, He is your Lord God and believe that He resurrected from the dead. That is all and you are God’s child, saved. If you did that, I would love for you to please contact me and let me know. But more importantly you need to connect with a Christian church so you can learn all about Jesus and grow into who He created you to be.
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Garments covered in menses blood or washed clean by the blood of Jesus

10/20/2015

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​We cannot be righteous without Jesus. We can never be good enough for God without His saving grace.
Isaiah 64:4-7 reads,
“From of old no one has heard
    or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
    who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
    those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
    in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls upon your name,
    who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
    and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.”

Isaiah says God meets him who works righteousness and remember Him in their ways. Under the Old Covenant when people worshipped and sacrificed as The Lord has prescribed, there was peace between them and God. When they had faith in Him there was peace between them. The people sought God through works, but their works were empty without faith. The Lord is happy over good works, yet they are worthless to Him. Verse 6 says, our good works are like a polluted garment. The Hebrew word for polluted is עִדִּים, ed. It means the garments are stained with menstrual blood. The Israelites understood that women were unclean during their menses and that anything touched by menses was untouchable or else the person who touched it became unclean as well.
Good works apart from Jesus do not lead people to Jesus. But when we glorify The Lord through all our deeds, we become a testimony to Jesus. (Hebrews 13:20-21).
We can do countless good works but they mean nothing if we are not doing them in Jesus’ name. Good works cannot save us. Titus 3:4-7 says it this way,
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
We can do amazing great works, prophesy, cast out demons, and even save countless lives but those works do not save us. (Matthew 7:21-23, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3). If we count on good works to save us or earn us favor with God, we may as well be wearing robes covered in menses. But if we call on Jesus, He covers us with His blood gives us and gives us His righteousness. Our filthy robes are washed in Jesus blood. (Revelation 22:14). We are no longer clothed in menses covered filth and sin but in Jesus’ righteousness.  Isaiah 1:15-18 reads,
“When you spread out your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17     learn to do good;
seek justice,
    correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
    plead the widow's cause.

18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.”

Pilate tried washing the blood from his hands to remove his guilt, but only Jesus can take our guilt away. We can do good deed after good deed to try and erase our sin or balance our “karma” but it will do no good. 1 John 1:8-9 says,
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Good works are good if they are done with the right motive. God does after all meet him who joyfully works righteousness. (Isaiah 64:5). Colossians 1:10-12 says,
“so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
We are not saved by good works but faith. We do good works because we are saved. Ephesians 2:4-10 reads,
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Our good works apart from Jesus may as well be menses covered rags. So Believer, do good works, but do them in Jesus name and for His glory. Do them because they are the natural outpouring of the Spirit and a result of your transformation.
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JEHOVAH-TSID-KENU The LORD is Our Righteousness

10/3/2015

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The LORD is Our Righteousness. Jehovah-Tsid-Kenu
Jeremiah 33:14-16 says,
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.”
Think on that today. This is God we are speaking of. This is His plan for you and me. This is one of the names He gave Himself. The LORD is Our Righteousness.
We are not righteous because we are so good. No, we have all sinned. Everyone has fallen short of being who God created him to be. Romans 3:21-26 says,
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
We are righteous because Jesus is righteous and gave us credit for His goodness through His death and resurrection. Nothing we could do could ever earn the title of righteous. We cannot earn salvation 1 Corinthians 1:26-32 says,
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
It is in Jesus Christ that we are made good, we are redeemed and sanctified. To be sanctified is to be blessed, made holy, consecrated, set aside for a divine purpose. Isn’t that amazing? And we didn’t earn it! It is a gift from the Lord. Ephesians 2:1-10 reads,
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Is the Lord your righteousness? Have you considered the magnitude of your sin? Have you been forgiven? It is easy. There is no magic trick, no special charm or recitation. You simply acknowledge you need Jesus, remember everyone has sinned, everyone needs Jesus. Once you’ve admitted you have sinned, you repent (that means are sorry and you choose not to continue sinning), make Jesus your Lord (the one in charge of you) and believe that He resurrected from the dead for you, and proclaim it, shout it to the world. Romans 10:8-13 puts it this way,
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Are you already a believer is Jesus your righteousness? Then love people enough to tell them about Jesus. Romans 10:14-17 says,
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
The LORD is our Righteousness! Righteousness is being virtuous, moral, just, and honest. To be those things, implies you are doing good, acting in a fair and appropriate manner, and telling the truth. We do not do to earn salvation, we do in response to salvation. The Holy Spirit is making us more like Christ every day. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says,
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Thank you Lord, for your salvation. Thank you for forgiveness and redemption, justice, security, and eternal life. You God are my righteousness. It is only because of you that I can be blameless. You are my LORD. I praise you Lord and I am so deeply grateful for your never-ending love and sovereignty.
In Jesus’ Name Amen.
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Titus 3 Saved by Faith for Good Works

4/21/2015

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Titus Chapter 3

Who were you before you were saved? What were you like before you were born again? What you’re your desires, your plans, and your hopes? They were likely different from your current desires. You were probably a very different person. But when you recognized Jesus as your savior, His Spirit entered you and made you new. He changed you and He continues to change you. Your will aligns more closely to God’s will.

We must be diligent about standing out from the world and being the image of Christ to them. They are lost and we can be the light that leads them to the Truth, the Life, and the Way. Paul encourages us to be different and live out our salvation, and to always be ready to do good for people. Verses 1-2 read,

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”

What if the other person is mean, rude, or a really bad sinner? Do we have to be kind to them? Do we have to do good for the person who is trying to con old ladies out of their pensions or the drug addict? Paul tells us to show perfect courtesy toward all people. Everyone needs Jesus, no one deserves His grace and mercy. You were once lost. What was it that brought you to Jesus? Did someone argue with you, judge you, and tell you to turn or burn? Is that what brought you to redemption? I doubt it. Or did someone lead you to Jesus with love, kindness, and truth? Verses 3-7 say,

“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life”

What He did for us, is not meant to be kept for us alone. He washed us and renewed us. He changed us. He poured Himself into us lavishly. We are saved by grace and now have the hope of eternal life for a purpose. We can’t continue living the way we used to live anymore because we are no longer the people we used to be. We are saved by grace but we are saved so that we can do good works. The good we do doesn’t justify us. It doesn’t make up for any sin. But it does give an expression to the Holy Spirit. It does testify to the greatness of The Spirit, the power of Christ, and the love of The Father.

The lost are lost because they’ve been led astray by the prince of this world. Jesus gave us the authority to show them the way to salvation. We show them the Way, the Truth, and the Life through good works, which is God’s love expressed and God’s word manifested. Faith saved us. Grace justified us. But it is good works, the exercising of our spiritual gifts and the fruit of the Spirit that builds the church and leads the lost to Jesus. Verse 8 reads,

“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.”

Good works not only include working outside the church building but within it. Good works include using our gifts to edify one another, grow in knowledge and love, and become more like Jesus. Building up of the church and loving one another makes us more unified. Unity is a sign of maturity and shows the Holy Spirit in us. Union allows Him to work within us as a group and be manifested even more powerfully than He is as individuals. When Jesus was teaching about church unity and how to handle sin among the brethren He said,

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

How He wants to do great and good things with us and through us! Jesus’ promise is not a little thing. He promised that our unity would make anything we ask happen. He promised that even if only two of us come together to agree that He would grant us our request. He promised that even if only two or three of us come together in His name (that is as His representatives doing His will) that He is there with us.

So it is very important to maintain unity. It is extremely important to ensure no one among us is teaching lies, starting arguments, and causing dissention. The dissident causes us to look like the world. He makes us take our eyes off God’s work and puts our minds on foolishness. We are not able to do good works if we are busy arguing over the size of the church bell or whether eating pork is a sin. Verses 9-11 read,

“But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”

We are not saved by good works. We are not saved by our behavior. We are saved by faith. It is His grace that redeems us. But following Christ means we will do as He wants. We want to obey Him. We want to love as He loves. We want to communicate our gratitude. We want to express the Holy Spirit within us. We are not saved by our good works. We are saved by Jesus’ good work. We were led to Christ because a brother or sister did good works and we saw Jesus in them.

Verse 14 says,

“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

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Colossians 2 You are Saved by Jesus Christ, not Self-discipline.

3/24/2015

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Colossians Chapter 2

Believer, you are saved. You are saved by Jesus Christ once and for all. Your salvation is a miracle. It is huge. You don’t have to fall prey to a list of rules, rituals, or regulations to maintain your religion. You don’t have to question your salvation because someone says that if you’re saved then you will do this or do that. You have a relationship with God. Your salvation shows itself and you can be confident in it, because you can be confident in Christ.

Are you part of a local body? Believer, you are part of the body and in order to experience the wholeness of that, you need to be part of a community of believers. Paul put it like this in verses 2-3,

“that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

When you are with other believers you are with people who reflect Christ, who are filled with the Spirit, who are seeking the same thing as you are, the Kingdom of God. You are knit together with them. You are interwoven with them inextricable from them. Being with others who share the same Spirit, the same goal, and the same Lord creates an environment where you are free to grow and mature in Christ and where you get to know God more intimately than you could ever get to know Him walking the path alone. And you are less likely to fall for wacky doctrine.

The Gospel is the gospel. It doesn’t change after you’re saved. Nothing gets added to it. Jesus Christ doesn’t change. You were saved by grace. You won’t lose your salvation due to hidden rules or rituals. Hebrews 13:8-9 say,

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.”

Stay rooted in the truth. Keep walking in truth. Get to know God more and more. Let your relationship with Him grow deeper, not broader. Pulling beliefs from religions, adding philosophies that sound good or make us more acceptable to the world make for a wide shallow relationship. Traditions, festivals, and ceremonies have nothing to do with grace, truth, or faith. Verses 6-8 read,

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

There are people out there who feel the need to force wacky doctrines on others. They’ll tell us that you must pay attention to this spirit or that spirit, that we must give up all material possessions, seek prosperity, punish ourselves, follow a set of strict rules, or live liberally without caring about how our actions affect others. We’ve seen people who drift from belief to belief, trying this one on, checking that one out, and trying to get to know God by following a worldly religion.

To know God, we only have to follow Christ. He is God. To know God we only have to realize we are have His Spirit inside us. He is God. He saved us by a miracle. He changed us wondrously. He didn’t just say, “You’re saved. Good luck with that, see ya in 60 years, hope you do well.” He made us a new creation. He transformed us and transforms us. He is with us. We were sinners, now we are blameless, forgiven, and righteous in His sight. We were dead, now we are alive. We are saved! Verses 9-15 read,

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

It doesn’t say, we were dead, raised to life and now have to stay on life support, following rules in order to stay born again. It says we were raised to life by faith in the powerful working of God! It says all our sins are erased. It says our debt is paid and we have no legal demands on us. God saved us supernaturally, He circumcised our hearts. No physical ritual can trump that or do what God has already done. Why beat ourselves up for sins that God has expunged? Why give license or power to the devil, demonic powers and worldly spirits when we have already triumphed over them through Jesus Christ?

Jesus is our Lord. We follow Him. There is one command. 1 John 3:23-24 puts it this way,

“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

Don’t give in to someone telling you that you must follow a set of rules or customs to be saved. Follow Christ. You have His Spirit. Your Brothers and Sisters have His Spirit. Follow Jesus. Verses 16-19 read,

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

People come to us and say, “You’re doing it wrong! Christians can’t drink that, eat that, or go there.” They follow customs and philosophies. They follow ideas that sound good but are not from Christ. The Pharisees added rules and traditions in an attempt to ensure they were keeping the law and they ended up worshipping the laws and traditions instead of the Lord. Verses 20-23 say,

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

Following all those rules, might make us look more “Christian” but they won’t makes us more Christ-like. Severe self-discipline and forgoing all pleasure like asceticism seems right, but Jesus didn’t tell us to never enjoy life or to live in perpetual punishment. Where is the joy in that? There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We are set free from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-2).

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