I was looking through some old documents I saved on my computer and ran across this. It shows Jesus in every single book of the Bible! It is all about Jesus even from Genesis! The world and everything in it belongs to God, and I am so thankful that He allows me to partake in His kingdom!
In Genesis Jesus is the ram at Abrahams altar.
In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus He is the High Priest.
In Numbers He is the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
In Deuteronomy He is the city of our refuge.
In Joshua He is the scarlet thread outside Rahab's window.
In Judges He is our judge.
In Ruth He is our kinsman redeemer.
In I and II Samuel He is our trusted prophet.
In Kings and Chronicles He is our reigning king.
In Ezra He is the faithful scribe.
In Nehemiah He is the rebuilder of everything that is broken.
In Esther He is Mordecai sitting faithfully at the gate.
In Job He is our redeemer that ever liveth.
In Psalms He is our shephard and we shall not want.
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes He is our eternal wisdom.
In Song of Solomon He is the beautiful bride and groom.
In Isaiah He is the suffering servant.
In Jeremiah and Lamentations He is the weeping prophet.
In Ezekial He is the wonderful four-phased man.
In Daniel He is the fourth man in the midst of the fiery furnace.
In Hosea He is the love that is forever faithful.
In Joel He baptizes with the Holy Ghost.
In Amos He is the burden bearer.
In Obediah He is our Saviour.
In Jonah He is the foreign missionary that takes the Word of God into all the world.
In Micah He is the messanger with beautiful feet.
In Nahum He is avenger.
In Habakkuk He is the watchman who is always praying for revival.
In Zephaniah He is the Lord, Mighty to save.
In Haggai He is the restorer of our lost heritage.
In Zachariah He is our fountain.
In Malachi He is the Son of righteousness with healing in his wings.
In Matthew He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
In Mark He is the miracle-working God.
In Luke He is the Son of man.
In John He is the door in which anyone must enter to know the Father.
In Acts He is the shining light that appears to Saul on the way to Damascus.
In Romans He is the justifier.
In I Corinthians He is our resurrection.
In II Corinthians He is our sin bearer.
In Galatians He redeems us from the law.
In Ephesians He is our unsearchable riches.
In Philipians He supplies our every need.
In Colossians He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
In I and II Thessalonians He is the soon coming king.
In I and II Timothy He is the mediator between God and Men, the man Christ Jesus.
In Titus He is our blessed hope.
In Philemon He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
In Hebrews He is the blood of the everlasting covenant.
In James He is the Lord that heals the sick.
In I and II Peter He is the chief shephard.
In I, II, and III John He is Jesus the tenderness of love.
In Jude He is the Lord, who is coming with 10,000 saints.
In Revelations He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Spiritus Sanctus
This a prayer from "The Valley of Vision" which I absolutely love!
O Holy Spirit,
As the sun is full of light,
the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory,
so may my heart be full of thee.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and redemption wrought by Jesus
except thou work within,
giving me eyes to see Jesus,
showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me thyself without measure,
as an unimpaired fountain,
as inexhausible riches.
I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision, languid service,
prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Suffer me not to grieve or resist thee.
Come as POWER, to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and keep me thine;
Come as TEACHER, leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as LOVE, that I may adore the Father, and love Him as my all;
Come as JOY, to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Come as LIGHT, illuminating the Scripture, moulding me in its laws;
Come as SANCTIFIER, body, soul, and spirit wholly thine;
Come as HELPER, with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step;
Come as BEAUTIFIER, bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me thy glory by being magnified in me, and make me redolent of thy fragrance.
O Holy Spirit,
As the sun is full of light,
the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory,
so may my heart be full of thee.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and redemption wrought by Jesus
except thou work within,
giving me eyes to see Jesus,
showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me thyself without measure,
as an unimpaired fountain,
as inexhausible riches.
I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision, languid service,
prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Suffer me not to grieve or resist thee.
Come as POWER, to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and keep me thine;
Come as TEACHER, leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as LOVE, that I may adore the Father, and love Him as my all;
Come as JOY, to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Come as LIGHT, illuminating the Scripture, moulding me in its laws;
Come as SANCTIFIER, body, soul, and spirit wholly thine;
Come as HELPER, with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step;
Come as BEAUTIFIER, bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me thy glory by being magnified in me, and make me redolent of thy fragrance.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Living in His Presence
“What a stupid world this would be if one never did anything different for fear of criticism.”
Living constantly in awareness of the presence of God is not a common thing for the average Christian, although I wish I could say it was. If we truly lived in constant communication with Christ, it would shape our lives. We would look completely different than we do right now. This should be our desire. If we are going to start to live in the presence of God, it is going to take a conscious effort to keep Christ on our minds at all times, praising God without ceasing and praying without end. As we go through the day, we should open our souls and entertain the glory of the Lord in everything we see.The only problem is that we fail. We fail often. No matter how hard we try to make every thought about Christ, we still get distracted oh so easily. It is okay to fail with this though. If you think about it, we are already living in failure as we spend a majority of the day thinking on temporal things which will not matter in eternity. Christ is always faithful to pick us up and get us right back on track though. After a while of living in constant awareness of God's presence, it will become habit.
“If we are so impoverished that we have nothing to reveal but small talk, then we need to struggle for more richness of soul. Money, praise, poverty, opposition, these make no difference, for they will all alike be forgotten in a thousand years, but this spirit which comes to a mind set upon continuous surrender, this spirit is timeless.”
My prayer is that we will be in constant fellowship with the Lord to the point where small talk is boring to us, where everything that the world strives after seems completely pointless. I want my life to be all about living in the Spirit and letting God use me to advance His kingdom! This is the purpose of the church! Why are we so easily distracted? Let us ask ourselves at the end of each day, "Was my goal to glorify Christ today or did I live selfishly?" Let's be real, this is so hard for me. It is easy to be in Christ's presence during church or during my time in the Word and in prayer, but it's hard for me to live a Spirit-filled life all day long. I want to look at people using God as my glasses, colored with His love for them.
The disciples spent 168 hours a week with Jesus. They were with Jesus 24 hours a day for 3 years! What would happen to us if we spent our every moment in fellowship with the Lord? Our minds would be transformed, our spirit renewed. Our words would be streams of fresh water in a world that is cast in the desert. Think of all the times we think to ourselves about the things going on around us. What if we talked to God in those moments instead? Our hearts would be filled with the joy of the presence of the Lord. Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks. Let us seek Christ passionately in every moment to fill us up and send us out. In this process of seeking the Lord at every moment, we will not always have a deep emotional feeling, but we will have a peace that passeth all understanding. The emotions will have their moments too.
The disciples spent 168 hours a week with Jesus. They were with Jesus 24 hours a day for 3 years! What would happen to us if we spent our every moment in fellowship with the Lord? Our minds would be transformed, our spirit renewed. Our words would be streams of fresh water in a world that is cast in the desert. Think of all the times we think to ourselves about the things going on around us. What if we talked to God in those moments instead? Our hearts would be filled with the joy of the presence of the Lord. Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks. Let us seek Christ passionately in every moment to fill us up and send us out. In this process of seeking the Lord at every moment, we will not always have a deep emotional feeling, but we will have a peace that passeth all understanding. The emotions will have their moments too.
“The greatest pains or pleasures of this world are not to be compared with what I have experienced of both pain and pleasures in a spiritual state. Therefore, I am careful for nothing and fear nothing, desiring only one thing of God—that I might not offend Him.”- Brother Lawrence
I pray that our love of the Lord grows stronger each day and that our desires are only towards things of eternal value. Perfect love casts out fear. May our pains and pleasure only be in the spiritual realm. Let nothing of this world cause us distress and our only fear be of the Lord. Let us take pleasure fully in delighting in the Lord. It may mean surrenduring even harmless pleasures if they take any affection away from Christ to whom all glory is deserved. Let us live in the presence. Let us die in the presence.
“The Lord is not outside of you, pouring down favors. The Lord is within you. Seek Him there, within… and no where else.”
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Can You Lose Salvation?
A big question in the church today is "Can you lose salvation?". Let's see what scripture has to say about it.
First off, let's look at the passages that people use to say that you can lose salvation.
Galatians 5:11-6:12
"Cncerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.
*For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. * (the verses everyone uses to say you can lose salvation)
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that acco mpany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
First off, if this verse is saying you can lose salvation, then it also says it is impossible to be saved again after losing it. You must look at the context of this verse. It completely changes the meaning. I have put in bold some of the major things which tell the context of this passage. The writer here is talking about the fruit of salvation, not the root of salvation. When he says repentance, he is talking about repentance from dead works. Also, he goes on for a while about the christians having to be fed milk instead of meat. Unsaved people do not need milk. They need life. This passage is talking about saved people in need of growth. I put in bold the phrase "being burned". This phrase points us to the conclusion that the writer is talking about works. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, we see how God tests our works with fire. Also in Revelations, it talks about how Jesus eyes are like unto fire which represents judgement of works. All Christians will be judged when we enter before the throne of Christ for every work we do. This is what this passage is all about. Once you do sinful works, it is impossible to be renewed unto salvation (from dead works) again. What is done is done. God will judge us for our sins, and that cannot be undone.
The next controversial passage is Hebrews 10:26
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins"
Again at first glance at this passage, it looks as if it is saying you can lose salvation, but context completely changes the meaning. In this passage, the writer is speaking to Hebrew Jews who were still going to the temple to make sacrifices under the Mosaic law after Jesus had already died on the cross and changed everything. Continuing in the Mosaic law became a "willfull sin" because it denies Jesus, and Jesus Christ himself said "No man can come to the Father but by Me". Therefore, if they continue going on in the Mosaic law after receiving knowledge of the truth of Christ, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, Jesus' sacrifice.
The last passage many use to say you can lose salvation is Galatians 5:4
"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."
The term "fallen from grace" does NOT mean losing God's grace unto eternal salvation. This passage again is talking about Christian living. If once you have been saved, you choose to live in a lower way of living, you are fallen from grace. This is a matter of sanctification (Christ making us holy), not salvation. We know from the Bible that our best works are still filthy rags in comparison to Christ's standards. This is where grace comes in. We cannot live the Christian life through our own efforts. Christ must impute His righteousness on us himself. Later in this chapter we are introduced to the fruits of the Spirit which God gives us by grace. This verse is clearly talking about those who try to do good works by the law and not by God's grace. Christ has no effect on them. They still use their own power and the law to justify it.
Here is a list of verses which support the assurance of salvation.
1 John 5:7-11: In this passage we see the trinity testifying that we are saved.
Hebrews 10:17 : God remembers our lawless deeds and sins no more.
1 John 5:13 : This says we can know we have eternal life.
Ephesians 4:30 : "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." This speaks for itself. We are sealed.
All of the verses thus far give biblical truth to "once saved, always saved", but there is still a problem. What about passages that say "faith without works is dead"? These kinds of passages make us think that works are involved in salvation, but this is not true. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Therefore salvation has nothing to do with works. It is completely God's grace that we can have eternal life. Works are just evidence of true salvation. If you are really saved, you will produce fruit. This is why I like to say "Once saved, always saved, IF saved." It is a heart change which brings about a change in the way you live.
First off, let's look at the passages that people use to say that you can lose salvation.
Galatians 5:11-6:12
"Cncerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.
*For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. * (the verses everyone uses to say you can lose salvation)
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that acco mpany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
First off, if this verse is saying you can lose salvation, then it also says it is impossible to be saved again after losing it. You must look at the context of this verse. It completely changes the meaning. I have put in bold some of the major things which tell the context of this passage. The writer here is talking about the fruit of salvation, not the root of salvation. When he says repentance, he is talking about repentance from dead works. Also, he goes on for a while about the christians having to be fed milk instead of meat. Unsaved people do not need milk. They need life. This passage is talking about saved people in need of growth. I put in bold the phrase "being burned". This phrase points us to the conclusion that the writer is talking about works. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, we see how God tests our works with fire. Also in Revelations, it talks about how Jesus eyes are like unto fire which represents judgement of works. All Christians will be judged when we enter before the throne of Christ for every work we do. This is what this passage is all about. Once you do sinful works, it is impossible to be renewed unto salvation (from dead works) again. What is done is done. God will judge us for our sins, and that cannot be undone.
The next controversial passage is Hebrews 10:26
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins"
Again at first glance at this passage, it looks as if it is saying you can lose salvation, but context completely changes the meaning. In this passage, the writer is speaking to Hebrew Jews who were still going to the temple to make sacrifices under the Mosaic law after Jesus had already died on the cross and changed everything. Continuing in the Mosaic law became a "willfull sin" because it denies Jesus, and Jesus Christ himself said "No man can come to the Father but by Me". Therefore, if they continue going on in the Mosaic law after receiving knowledge of the truth of Christ, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, Jesus' sacrifice.
The last passage many use to say you can lose salvation is Galatians 5:4
"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."
The term "fallen from grace" does NOT mean losing God's grace unto eternal salvation. This passage again is talking about Christian living. If once you have been saved, you choose to live in a lower way of living, you are fallen from grace. This is a matter of sanctification (Christ making us holy), not salvation. We know from the Bible that our best works are still filthy rags in comparison to Christ's standards. This is where grace comes in. We cannot live the Christian life through our own efforts. Christ must impute His righteousness on us himself. Later in this chapter we are introduced to the fruits of the Spirit which God gives us by grace. This verse is clearly talking about those who try to do good works by the law and not by God's grace. Christ has no effect on them. They still use their own power and the law to justify it.
Here is a list of verses which support the assurance of salvation.
1 John 5:7-11: In this passage we see the trinity testifying that we are saved.
Hebrews 10:17 : God remembers our lawless deeds and sins no more.
1 John 5:13 : This says we can know we have eternal life.
Ephesians 4:30 : "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." This speaks for itself. We are sealed.
All of the verses thus far give biblical truth to "once saved, always saved", but there is still a problem. What about passages that say "faith without works is dead"? These kinds of passages make us think that works are involved in salvation, but this is not true. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Therefore salvation has nothing to do with works. It is completely God's grace that we can have eternal life. Works are just evidence of true salvation. If you are really saved, you will produce fruit. This is why I like to say "Once saved, always saved, IF saved." It is a heart change which brings about a change in the way you live.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Jordan River or the Dead Sea?
Maturity doesn't come with age; it comes with acceptance of responsibility. --Ed Cole
In the book Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray, he says "Babyhood at the proper time is the most beautiful thing in the world, but babyhood that continues beyond the first few months is a burden and a sorrow, a sign of disease or disorder".
This parallels with christians in that when a believer first comes to Christ, it is an awesome thing! The believer usually just soaks in God's Word to learn more knowledge about it. This is great for the new believer, but after the first few months it is time for a change. Our role transitions from being discipled to being an apostle.
Matthew 28:19-20- Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
The Bible doesn't suggest that we make disciples. God commands us to! It is what we are made to do. When we share Jesus with others, our joy is made complete.
1 John 1:3-4- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also so that you may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write so that our joy may be made complete.
"You have to do things you don't want to do to acheive thing you want to achieve."
Discipling believer who do not know as much as you may not sound very fun, but when we obey God, he blesses us. When we read the Bible, listen to a sermon, or read a book so that we can reproduce it in someone else, God will bless our efforts. The more God reveals to us, the more responsibility we have to share what He has revealed to us. Once we are faithful in the little things that He reveals to us, he will show us bigger and better things to share. Discipling others not only helps the person we disciple, but it also helps ourselves because God will reveal more to us.
As you can see in this picture, the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. The Jordan River contantly has water pouring into it, and it flow into the Dead Sea. It is being renewed and doing its job. The Dead Sea is being poured into by the Jordan River, but it doesn't pour into anything else. This affects the water tremendously. The Dead Sea is too salty and has too many chemicals in it for any fish to live. The new water just evaporates and the chemicals sit at the bottom, unmoved. Likewise, many Christians get poured into their whole christian life and never share what they learn. When they learn something new, it just evaporates instead of flowing through them. They are stuck with chemicals at their core. So ask yourself this week "Am I a Jordan River or a Dead Sea?"
In the book Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray, he says "Babyhood at the proper time is the most beautiful thing in the world, but babyhood that continues beyond the first few months is a burden and a sorrow, a sign of disease or disorder".
This parallels with christians in that when a believer first comes to Christ, it is an awesome thing! The believer usually just soaks in God's Word to learn more knowledge about it. This is great for the new believer, but after the first few months it is time for a change. Our role transitions from being discipled to being an apostle.
Matthew 28:19-20- Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
The Bible doesn't suggest that we make disciples. God commands us to! It is what we are made to do. When we share Jesus with others, our joy is made complete.
1 John 1:3-4- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also so that you may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write so that our joy may be made complete.
"You have to do things you don't want to do to acheive thing you want to achieve."
Discipling believer who do not know as much as you may not sound very fun, but when we obey God, he blesses us. When we read the Bible, listen to a sermon, or read a book so that we can reproduce it in someone else, God will bless our efforts. The more God reveals to us, the more responsibility we have to share what He has revealed to us. Once we are faithful in the little things that He reveals to us, he will show us bigger and better things to share. Discipling others not only helps the person we disciple, but it also helps ourselves because God will reveal more to us.
As you can see in this picture, the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. The Jordan River contantly has water pouring into it, and it flow into the Dead Sea. It is being renewed and doing its job. The Dead Sea is being poured into by the Jordan River, but it doesn't pour into anything else. This affects the water tremendously. The Dead Sea is too salty and has too many chemicals in it for any fish to live. The new water just evaporates and the chemicals sit at the bottom, unmoved. Likewise, many Christians get poured into their whole christian life and never share what they learn. When they learn something new, it just evaporates instead of flowing through them. They are stuck with chemicals at their core. So ask yourself this week "Am I a Jordan River or a Dead Sea?"
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Redemption and Reconciliation
What is redemption?
REDEMPTION: Deliverance upon payment of ransom; rescue.
Ephesians 1:7- In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
Colossians 1:13-14- For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Romans 3:23-24- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
In comparison to the holiness and righteousness of God, we are nothing but filthy rags.. YET Christ sees us as His creation and loved us enough to send His only Son to die for us! This is where redemption starts.. at the cross, where Jesus shed His pure blood as the ransom for our sins. So now that He has payed the price, we are redeemed. He looks at us and sees his own righteousness! This means we can have straight access to God! No more sacrifices..
So what does it mean to be redeemed?
Once you have been redeemed, you are FREE.
Galatians 5:1- It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
1 Peter 2:16- Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves.
Romans 6:20-22- When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefiit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
This is one of the most wonderful things about being a Christian. FREEDOM. To people who do not know much about the Word of God or being a Christian, that statement is probably confusing. Many people think that being a Christian is just a bunch of rules and regulations. Ironic.. It's the opposite. It is freedom from our sin and freedom from death! Those who are not in the Word or do not have the holy spirit living in them will not understand this. They are so caught up in their sins, that they don't even understand the concept of freedom from it. They do not realize that they are slaves of sin. God is the one who opens our eyes to how awful we really are. He does this by showing us His glory. There really is no comparison. This freedom is the freedom to have unbroken prayer to God. It is the freedom to serve God. It is the freedom from the law of the Old Testament. Can you imagine making a sacrifice every time you sinned? That would be miserable! BUT let me tell you what freedom is not..... It is not the freedom to say "Ok God. thanks from saving me from hell but I'd like to live however I want. See ya in heaven. Peace." That is so not what God has saved us for and is completely missing the point of freedom. When God saves us and we start to taste of God's goodness, it transforms us. He empowers us with His spirit and we become a bond servant to Christ. A bond servant is a servent who is not required to be in submission to his master but does it anyways just because he wants to. Paul called himself a bond servant of Christ and that he was! He preached the Word of God to thousands and got heavily persecuted, yet still chose to serve the Lord because of his deep love of the Lord. It is NOT easy to be a christian so I don't want to sell anyone a false gospel saying it's just like a joyride. In fact, it would be easier to sit back in your comfort zone and drown in your sin. But there is just something about being right with God that gives you a joy and peace that passes all understanding. It makes sense though because glorifying God is what he made us to do. He literally crafted us from the dust with His own hands to glorify Him and bring praise to His name.
Reconciliation: an element of salvation that refers to the results of atonement. The end of the estrangement, caused by sin, between God and humanity. Being in agreement.
Colossians 1:22- But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Romans 5:11- Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
God has not only reconciled us to himself, but he has also given us the ministry of reconciliation. It is now our job to minister to other and reconcile other to Him. We are to be ambassadors of Christ. We are to be a picture of Christ. We are to represent Him in EVERYTHING we do. That means in every single thing we give our time to, we should represent Christ. That can range anywhere from work, school, activities, sports, entertainment, or more. Giving our all is very important, but representing Christ goes so much further than that! It is having your mind so focused on Jesus and the kingdom of God, that in everything you do you are finding a way to make an impact. Entertainment is probably a little different when it comes to that matter though. You can't really say "I watched that movie with my full 100% attention so therefore I glorified Christ".. Sorry doesn't work that way in this field. When it comes to entertainment, it is the question of what do I use for entertainment? It is key for us to remember that we have the holy spirit in us and whatever we are putting in front of us, we are letting enter our minds. The holy spirit does not dwell where sin is! If we have a separation between our spirit and our mind, we cannot be an ambassador for Christ. Our entertainment shouldn't be feeding out flesh. It should be feeding our spirit. This can be hard sometimes, but I have found that when I'm seeking God and in the Word, then that's what my desires are for! The more you build your relationship with God, the more you enjoy the christian life and get your satisfaction in Christ. I would like to end with this quote I heard in a podcast from Donna Gaines..
"God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him."
REDEMPTION: Deliverance upon payment of ransom; rescue.
Ephesians 1:7- In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
Colossians 1:13-14- For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Romans 3:23-24- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
In comparison to the holiness and righteousness of God, we are nothing but filthy rags.. YET Christ sees us as His creation and loved us enough to send His only Son to die for us! This is where redemption starts.. at the cross, where Jesus shed His pure blood as the ransom for our sins. So now that He has payed the price, we are redeemed. He looks at us and sees his own righteousness! This means we can have straight access to God! No more sacrifices..
So what does it mean to be redeemed?
Once you have been redeemed, you are FREE.
Galatians 5:1- It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
1 Peter 2:16- Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves.
Romans 6:20-22- When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefiit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
This is one of the most wonderful things about being a Christian. FREEDOM. To people who do not know much about the Word of God or being a Christian, that statement is probably confusing. Many people think that being a Christian is just a bunch of rules and regulations. Ironic.. It's the opposite. It is freedom from our sin and freedom from death! Those who are not in the Word or do not have the holy spirit living in them will not understand this. They are so caught up in their sins, that they don't even understand the concept of freedom from it. They do not realize that they are slaves of sin. God is the one who opens our eyes to how awful we really are. He does this by showing us His glory. There really is no comparison. This freedom is the freedom to have unbroken prayer to God. It is the freedom to serve God. It is the freedom from the law of the Old Testament. Can you imagine making a sacrifice every time you sinned? That would be miserable! BUT let me tell you what freedom is not..... It is not the freedom to say "Ok God. thanks from saving me from hell but I'd like to live however I want. See ya in heaven. Peace." That is so not what God has saved us for and is completely missing the point of freedom. When God saves us and we start to taste of God's goodness, it transforms us. He empowers us with His spirit and we become a bond servant to Christ. A bond servant is a servent who is not required to be in submission to his master but does it anyways just because he wants to. Paul called himself a bond servant of Christ and that he was! He preached the Word of God to thousands and got heavily persecuted, yet still chose to serve the Lord because of his deep love of the Lord. It is NOT easy to be a christian so I don't want to sell anyone a false gospel saying it's just like a joyride. In fact, it would be easier to sit back in your comfort zone and drown in your sin. But there is just something about being right with God that gives you a joy and peace that passes all understanding. It makes sense though because glorifying God is what he made us to do. He literally crafted us from the dust with His own hands to glorify Him and bring praise to His name.
Reconciliation: an element of salvation that refers to the results of atonement. The end of the estrangement, caused by sin, between God and humanity. Being in agreement.
Colossians 1:22- But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Romans 5:11- Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
God has not only reconciled us to himself, but he has also given us the ministry of reconciliation. It is now our job to minister to other and reconcile other to Him. We are to be ambassadors of Christ. We are to be a picture of Christ. We are to represent Him in EVERYTHING we do. That means in every single thing we give our time to, we should represent Christ. That can range anywhere from work, school, activities, sports, entertainment, or more. Giving our all is very important, but representing Christ goes so much further than that! It is having your mind so focused on Jesus and the kingdom of God, that in everything you do you are finding a way to make an impact. Entertainment is probably a little different when it comes to that matter though. You can't really say "I watched that movie with my full 100% attention so therefore I glorified Christ".. Sorry doesn't work that way in this field. When it comes to entertainment, it is the question of what do I use for entertainment? It is key for us to remember that we have the holy spirit in us and whatever we are putting in front of us, we are letting enter our minds. The holy spirit does not dwell where sin is! If we have a separation between our spirit and our mind, we cannot be an ambassador for Christ. Our entertainment shouldn't be feeding out flesh. It should be feeding our spirit. This can be hard sometimes, but I have found that when I'm seeking God and in the Word, then that's what my desires are for! The more you build your relationship with God, the more you enjoy the christian life and get your satisfaction in Christ. I would like to end with this quote I heard in a podcast from Donna Gaines..
"God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him."
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
First Blog!
Well I'm not a writer at all but here I am blogging! For those who do not know me I guess it would be smart to give some information on who I am. My name is Marlene and I'm a devoted follower of Jesus Christ! That will probably be evident in my blogs considering the reason for making this blog is mainly to share what the Lord is teaching me. I'll most likely end up blogging about random things during the day too. I was born and raised in Memphis, TN and absolutely love it. Most of my mother's side of the family lives here so Memphis is definitely home to me. I'm currently living in Memphis but will be moving to Jackson, TN for college at Union University in about six weeks. In college I will be majoring in Math and minoring in Education and Spanish. I feel like God is calling me to teach middle/high school kids and wanted to minor in spanish 1. because Memphis has many hispanics who can't speak English and 2. because I LOVE mission trips and would love to be able to speak to the spanish speaking people while i'm on them. Now that you know a little about me i'll tell you my reason for blogging. As I said before, this is mainly to share what God is teaching me. I have grown up in a Christian home my whole life and got saved at a young age. I didn't truely understand what it meant for my life though until early in junior year of high school. I feel like many Christians are living defeated today and not just young teenagers or children but also adults who haven't tasted of the Lord and seen His goodness. There is no greater joy than the unbroken fellowship with the Lord. So I hope that as I share what God is teaching me, it will encourage those who haven't tasted to taste a tiny bit of what God has to offer and for those who are whole-heartedly seeking the Lord, I hope it encourages and blesses you. Enough of the introductory blog though! I'll start blogging the real stuff soon! :)
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