Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice

Moved Our Blog

2010-05-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

Thank you for subscribing and reading the blog. We have moved to a more interactive site that we have free audio, video and pdf books along with the blog. Please check out and bookmark

www.promisedgrace.com

The Holy Spirit Convicts Us of Our Sins??????

2010-04-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is an unfortunate lie taught in many churches. It keeps people in bondage and portrays God out to be someone that He is not. The devil is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10) NOT the Holy Spirit.

It’s all Greek in 3 - Obedience

2010-03-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

Many times when the New Testament is translated from the original Koine Greek into English we lose some of the depth of the word. These lessons are set up to teach us what the word mean including details

Obedience isn’t in the New Covenant is never devoid of relationship because that is what eternal life is…knowing intimately our God (Joh 17:3). Thus obedience in many mindsets is a matter of following the rules, a list of right and wrongs. But that is not what the word obedience in the original language portrays…it is relational. Obedience gives the picture of us listening to the voice of the One who paid it all…below is our Greek in 3 lesson today.

Rom 6:16 Do you not know that if you present (3936) yourselves to anyone as obedient (5218) slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey (5219), either of sin which leads to death, or of obedience (5218), which leads to righteousness? (ESV)

G3936 - present

παρίστημι, παριστάνω

paristēmi paristanō

par-is'-tay-mee, par-is-tan'-o

From G3844 and G2476; to stand beside, to assist

G5218 - obedient

ὑπακοή

hupakoē

hoop-ak-o-ay'

From G5219; attentive hearkening,

G5219 - obey

ὑπακούω

hupakouō

hoop-ak-oo'-o

From G5259 and G191; to hear under (as a subordinate), that is, to listen attentively;

Dave’s Paraphrase from the Greek.

ROM 6:16 - - - Don’t you understand that if you stand side by side with anyone you are yoked with them. If you stand beside and listen attentively to sin, then you miss the mark and you wander from the path of uprightness well then that leads to death, or your can listen attentively to the One which leads to righteousness; correctness of thinking, feeling and acting

A Question on the Body of Sin

2010-03-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

What is the right translation on Romans 6:6 Is the "body(slave) of sin removed or is it being made immune to the power of sin? I came to the conclusion that the old man/nature is removed but it's not a part of man being removed but a spiritual condition (slaver under sin)...Is there really a part of man called flesh (when it doesnt refer to the body) or is it a principle of self-effort?

Rom 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Let's define a few terms.

Old Self - Adamic Nature/ Sin Nature. This has passed away, been crucified with Christ and no longer exist. It is replaced with a new nature (2Cor 5:17), one that is totally righteous in the image of Christ (Rom 5:19)

Body of sin - This is where sin (sin=living independent of God) resides. Since you have been given a new heart, new mind and a new spirit that are in Christs likeness, that are holy and righteous sin can only reside in our bodies. Our body has gotten use to living in this "sin" manner, our feelings have gotten use to living contrary to trusting in a loving heavenly Father. We have gotten our significance, security and happiness from the world, the flesh and thus the devil instead of God and because of that we have trained our "body of sin" to live in that manner. But now we don't have to because of the finished work of Christ. Now we walk by faith and not feelings.

Flesh - This is living off of a lie. The lie is the self-sufficient "I" which in reality is not self-sufficient but is yoked with satan...so it is the "I/Satan" combination. The truth is we have now been united with Christ and anytime we live different then our new nature our "I/Christ" union then we are living in deceit instead of the truth or reality. When we live out of this lie we walk back into the flesh...flesh can be lascivious (Gal 5:19-21) or it can look good on the outside (Php 3:3-11)

As you read these chapters (Rom 6-8 and Gal 5) and you get to these references try using these definitions. If you need further clarity please let me know...

You may have not sinned enough yet

2010-03-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

If you are born again and are defeated by sin almost daily then it possible that you have not sinned enough yet. One reason you are sinning is you still think that there is some good in you or if you just pray and resist harder you will overcome. God wants to use your sin to teach you once and for all that you are truly rotten to the core, He wants you to see that you totally incurable without any possibility of improvement.

When a Christian sins he feels ashamed, embarrassed, guilty and condemned. He may experience joy when he finds the forgiveness of God but, this joy does not last long. Many believers find themselves stumbling over and over again in certain sins. Now their previous joy once more is gone. Then they find themselves committing the same sin they just committed before. Sin seems to have power over them and It seems so natural for them to keep sinning. It is as if a power from within has overpowered them in an instant; they are led uncontrollably to speak the wrong words and do the wrong things. Under such a condition, the believers invariably want to do better. They invariably make many vows and resolutions before the Lord. They set up for themselves many ordinances to bind themselves, in the hope that they will not commit the same error again. At the same time, they ask for the cleansing of the Lord's blood afresh and seek for another filling of the Holy Spirit by the Lord. After this, they seem satisfied and think that their last sin is behind them, that from now on they are on their way to holiness. However, the fact always turns out contrary to their wish. Soon, perhaps a few days later, they fail again! Once more they fall into deep remorse, bemoaning their own failure and feeling sorrowful at heart; their hopes for holiness have been dashed. All their resolutions and regulations cannot help them. Although they may receive the Lord's forgiveness after this, it becomes difficult for them to believe that they can keep themselves from sinning again. Although they still pray that the Lord would keep them, their heart is full of doubts. They begin to wonder if the Lord can really keep them from sin.

All our failures are caused by the tenaciousness of the sinful nature; we sink to such a low condition because of it. Hence, whether or not we will overcome depends on whether or not we are able to deal with this sinful nature, which is the flesh. Thank God that though we are helpless, He has the way. He has prepared a way for us on the cross. When the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, not only did He die for us, but He crucified our flesh with Him on the cross. Hence, all those who belong to Christ Jesus and are regenerated have their flesh crucified. When He died on the cross, our flesh was crucified there as well. Both the substitutional death and the identifying death have been accomplished by the Lord Jesus. Both are fully accomplished. Formerly, we believed in His substitutional death and were regenerated. Now, in the same way, we believe that our flesh is crucified with Him, and we are brought into the experience of the death of the flesh.

Many Christians try to overcome sin. Some think that if they try hard enough to renounce sin, they will eventually be free from sin. As a result, they try their best to reject the temptations of sin. Some realize that sin should be overcome, and they continually wrestle with sin in the hope of overcoming it. Others think that sin has made them a captive and that they must strive hard to free themselves from its bondage. However, all these are man's thoughts; they are not God's word or teaching. None of these methods lead to victory. God's Word does not tell us to struggle with sin by our own efforts. It says that we should be delivered from sin, that is, be released or freed from sin. Sin is a power which enslaves man. The way to deal with this power is not by destroying it ourselves but by allowing the Lord to free us from it. We have sin, and there is no way to separate ourselves from it. The Lord's way is not to vanquish sin. He is saving us from sin's power by moving us away from it. New believers should know from the start the right way to be delivered from sin. There is no need to travel a long and tortuous path to find deliverance from sin. We can take the way of freedom as soon as we believe.

New believers should accept what the Word of God says. If you have to wait to find out for yourself, you may have to commit many sins. Even after sinning repeatedly, your eyes still may not be opened. You will have to come to the point where you see that all your battles are futile. Paul said in Romans 7 that it is useless to battle, for who can overcome a law? Thus, at the start of Romans 8 he says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death" (vv. l-2). You have seen that sin is a law. You have also seen that it is not possible for man's will to overcome that law. Where, then, is the way of victory, the way of deliverance?

The way of victory is here: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." The word "condemnation" in the original Greek has two different usages, one legal and the other civil. If the word is used legally, it means "condemnation" as found in the English translation. But in its civil usage, the word means "disabling" or "handicap." According to the context of this passage of Scripture, probably the civil usage is clearer.

We are no longer disabled. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ has given us deliverance. It is something the Lord has done. But how does He do it? It is very simple, for it is explained by the second verse: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." This is the way of victory. Can you alter Romans 8:2 and read it this way: "The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from sin and death"? I suppose ten Christians out of ten would read the verse this way. But what does it say? It says that "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." Many have seen only the Spirit of life setting them free from sin and death, but have failed to see that it is the law of the Spirit of life which sets them free from the law of sin and of death.

To learn the lesson that sin and death is a law may take years. But even as it may take a great deal of time and resolution and failure to realize that sin is a law, so it may take years for many believers to discover that the Spirit of life is also a law. Sin has followed us for years and we have had a close association with it; yet we still do not know that it is a law. Likewise, we may have believed in the Lord for many, many years and have known the Holy Spirit in our lives, yet not known Him as a law.

It is a day of great discovery when our eyes are opened by the Lord to see that sin is a law. It is a day of even greater discovery when we are given the revelation that the Holy Spirit is also a law. Only a law can overcome another law. The will cannot overcome the law, but a higher law can overcome a lower law. We can never overcome the law of sin by our human will, but the law of the Spirit of life can set us free from the law of sin and of death.

We know that earth's gravity is a law which holds us. We know too that there is a thing called density. If the density of a thing is exceedingly low, such as in the case of hydrogen, then earth's gravitational force cannot hold it down. By pumping hydrogen into a balloon, we can make the balloon rise. The law of earth's gravitational force is a fixed law, but it only operates within a certain range or degree of density. If the density is too low, the law of gravity does not apply. Then another law takes over, even the law of buoyancy, which sends things upward. This upward surge needs no hand to push, no fan to stir. You just let go, and up it ascends. This law overcomes the other law. It is equally effortless. In a similar manner, the law of the Holy Spirit overcomes the law of sin.

Let us say it another way. To see sin as a law is a big thing, for it makes you decide against battling sin with your willpower. Likewise, seeing the law of the Holy Spirit in your life is another big crisis. Many seem to understand how the Spirit of life gives them life, but have yet to learn that the Holy Spirit in them, that is, the life which God has given them through Jesus Christ, is also a law. If you let this law operate, it will naturally deliver you from the law of sin and of death. When this law delivers you from the other law, it does not require an ounce of your strength. You need not make one resolution, spend any time, nor even lay hold of the Holy Spirit.

May I ask, does anybody need to hold onto the earth's gravitational force? Does someone need to pray that this force will quickly pull things down? No, there is no need to pray, for the earth most spontaneously attracts things downward. It is a law. All one needs to do is to remove his hand, to not purposely hold onto things. When the will is not working, then the law is manifested. When the will is not interfering, the law operates. In a similar way, the Spirit of the Lord in us does not need our help. If you are afraid that the Spirit of the Lord in you may not be responsible and so you rush to help when temptation comes, it shows that you have not seen that the Spirit of the Lord in you is a law.

May new believers see that the Holy Spirit in them is a spontaneous law. If anyone is to be delivered from sin, he has to come to that deliverance naturally. Should he try to get deliverance by exercising his willpower, he will again be defeated. But now those who are in Christ Jesus are no longer handicapped, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made them free from the law of sin and of death. It is all so simple and so natural. We have been given another law which naturally delivers us from the law of sin and of death.

Someone may ask how this comes about. I do not know, but have you not had some such experience? For example: someone comes to you; he scolds you, quarrels with you, and even beats you. He is utterly unreasonable in all that he does. You should be very angry with him, but somehow you let everything go without knowing why. Afterward you begin to wonder why it was that when you were scolded you forgot to get angry. After that person did so much, you ought to have lost your temper. If you keep on remembering all that he did to you, you will no doubt be very angry. Yet, to your own amazement, you just unconsciously let everything pass. Let me tell you, victories are all won unawares.

Why is it that you overcome without being conscious of it? It is because a law is working. If it were a matter of your will, you would have to think and hold on. But what the Lord does is to give the victory without your awareness. Such victories are real victories. If you have experienced this even once, then you will understand the revelation that the indwelling Holy Spirit is able to keep you from sin. He is able to make you victorious without the help of your resolves. You do not need to make resolutions, for the law in you will deliver you from sin. If you really see before God that since you are in Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life is also in you, then you will find that the Lord puts His Spirit in you in order to carry you through to victory quite naturally. You do not need to will or to grasp; you will just surprisingly be brought into victory.

To overcome sin does not require an ounce of strength, for it is the work of the law. There is one law which makes me sin without my effort, and there is another law which sets me free from sin - also without my labor. Only that which requires no exertion is true victory. I have nothing to do. Let me tell you, we now have nothing to do but to raise our heads and tell the Lord, "Nothing of me." What happened before was due to law; what is now happening is also due to law. The former law did a thorough work, for it made me sin continuously; this new law does an even better work because I am no longer handicapped by sin. The law of the Spirit of life has manifested itself; it is far superior to the law of sin and death.

If new believers can be brought to see this from the first day of their Christian life, they will then walk the road of deliverance. The Bible never uses the term "overcome sin"; it only uses the phrase "made free" or "delivered from sin." It is said here in Romans, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." The law of the Spirit of life has pulled me out of the realm of the law of sin and death. The law of sin and death is still present, but I am no longer there for it to work upon. The earth's gravitational force is present, but if things have been removed to heaven, there is no object for it to act upon.

The law of the Spirit of life is in Christ Jesus and I am also now in Christ Jesus; therefore by this law I am made free from the law of sin and of death. "There is therefore now no disabling to them that are in Christ Jesus." The man in Romans 7 is labeled, "disabled." But this disabled person who is so weak and always sins is now, Paul says, no more disabled in Christ Jesus. How? By the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus which has set him free from the law of sin and of death. Therefore, there is no more disabling. Do you see now how this problem of deliverance is completely solved?

The Way of Deliverance and Freedom

The earlier a new believer knows the way of deliverance, the better it is for him. There is no need for a delay of several years before he can know deliverance and freedom. Within a few months he can have many experiences of learning. It is not necessary for him to suffer many wounds before learning. It is possible for a Christian not to be defeated. So, when you are faced with a difficulty, do not strive, using your willpower. If you are defeated, do not turn back. Learn the way of deliverance step by step. The first step is to see that sin is a law to you; the second, to see that the will cannot overcome the law; and the third, to see that there is another law which does overcome the law of sin. Upon experiencing these three steps, the problem is wholly solved.

May all Christians be able to sing the victory song of praise. How many miles are walked unnecessarily; how many tears are shed because of defeat. If believers see this way of deliverance and freedom from the beginning of their Christian lives, they will be saved many sorrows and tears. What is the way of deliverance? It is that the law of the Spirit of life has set me free. It is a law, perfect and powerful. That law is able to deliver me to the end. It does not require my help. As the law of sin in the world causes everybody to sin, so now the law of the Spirit of life in us naturally leads us into complete victory over sin. It naturally makes us holy, full of life, and full of its power.

You have already received life. Never think that the Holy Spirit sometimes manifests life and sometimes not. If this is your case, you do not know the Holy Spirit as a law. Since He is a law, He is always the same. He is the same wherever, whatever, and whenever it may be. He is the same, not because you make Him so, but because He is so. Do you believe He is a law? I have no way to persuade you to believe. If you have not seen this, you will not believe what we have said. May God open your eyes that you may see this. We have in us not only the Holy Spirit, not only life, but also a law. Thus we shall be delivered.

Having seen this law, our problem is resolved. It is not enough to see the indwelling Holy Spirit; we must see Him as a law in us. Then we shall begin to praise. Hereafter, we shall live a transcendent life. How wonderful it is.

We have already seen that Christ is our victory; but to let Him be our victory has its condition, and that is, we must first recognize that it is impossible with us. If you insist on saying in your heart that you are able, then Christ cannot live for you nor can He overcome for you. For victory is possible only to those who are completely defeated. Now, here is another problem: "Impossible" is one thing, "Not trying" is another. When is a leper cleansed according to Leviticus chapters 13 and 14? It is when leprosy covers all the skin of him who has the plague from his head even to his feet then he shall be pronounced as clean (see 13.12-13). Recall that our Lord called a dead man to arise, not a half-dead half-living man to arise. We must truly see that apart from Christ we can do nothing. So, the conditions for victory are first, seeing ourselves impossible, and second, ourselves not trying. For impossibility and trying are two different things. Some people know they cannot, but they still try. For example: Here is a weight of one hundred pounds, but you can only lift fifty pounds; yet you insist on trying to lift the hundred-pound weight. This is a vain attitude. God knows that we are so corrupted that to be crucified is the only way for us. Nonetheless, our corruption is so deep that we still want to try. So, we spend much time trying. Such people will never be delivered. "Try not" means that henceforth you not only acknowledge that it is impossible with you but also cease trying to use your own strength. You know that Christ is already living in you and that He will do what is impossible to you. His strength is not used to supplement your lack in work. His life does not serve to mend your hole in life. He desires to live in you and for you. Whenever you exert your own strength, Christ is unable to live for you. Hence, we need to see not only "impossible with us" but also to decide "not trying to do" ourselves.

The Lord wants us to fully realize that it impossible to overcome sin by any effort of ours. Many who are saved are able to overcome many of their old sins, except a few. Why could they not overcome their few old sins? The Lord allows this to happen in order to teach us the lesson of realizing that such overcoming is impossible with men. It can be likened to running a race of high hurdles. You can jump over every hurdle except one or two. God knows you cannot, but you do not realize your inability. You may be able to keep the Ten Commandments, but the Lord places before you the eleventh commandment which you are unable to keep.

With respect to us all, there seems to be one or two sins that we cannot overcome. Such sin or sins become our special problem. We seem to encounter the same sin frequently. We sin the same sin today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. We are so familiar with the same sin. Our sins seem to be special, not general. A hard person is always hard. A woeful man is always woeful. A proud man is always proud. A worrying man always worries. A despiteful man always despises. A man with a quick temper is always quick to lose it. Each person lacks at least one thing. And God wants us to see that it is impossible with men.

Many have prayed for victory over certain sins but do not find the victory over them. The Lord is using these sins to show us that It is impossible for us to overcome and that we are completely helpless in this matter. When you truly know that it impossible for you, you can thank God. You should understand that the Lord has allowed this impossible task, as it were, to remain in your life in order that this may serve as the litmus test of your victory. Let me tell you this: The Lord wants you to see your impossibility. When you realize it is impossible with you, then God will show His possibility to you." Do you see the principle here? Impossible with you, but possible with God.

As long as we think it is possible for us to overcome we will continue to try and fail. The reason why we fail is we are not trusting in HIM. This lack of trust is sin. If the Lord allowed us to overcome sin in this state we would believe that we did it and that would only further separate us from Him.

Here is a way to test yourself to see if you still need more schooling. If you sin and return to your old habit or lust once more, do you promise God that you will never sin this way again? Do you wallow in self-examination, trying to find some new measure of commitment to recover and move on?

If this is the way you react to a failure or sin, you are still living under the Old Covenant. Your cry may come directly from your flesh, not from God's Spirit in you. Your flesh feels sorry for itself because it did not accomplish the deliverance. And now it is asking for one more chance begging, "Hang in there with me God, let me try one more time."

This is an ongoing problem with many Christians. We look to the Holy Spirit as some kind of booster shot, to empower or energize our human will. We expect him to build up our power of grit and determination, so we can stand up to temptation the next time it comes. We cry, "Make me strong, Lord. Give me an iron will, so I can withstand all sin." But God knows this would only make our flesh stronger, enabling it to boast. Before we can really be strong in the Lord we have see how weak we are without HIM.

If the Old Covenant had truly done its work in you, you would already be "dead." You would not have any tears left, any strength to cry out, any confidence in your flesh whatsoever. The truth is, most of our weeping, begging and striving come from our continuing expectation that something good can rise up out of our human nature to offer the Lord. But that is simply never going to happen. We are always going to be too weak and frail in our flesh to produce holiness. Yes, we are commanded to be strong, but only in the power of God's might, and not our own.

Your prayer to God daily should admit, "Lord, I confess my inability to obey your commandments. I acknowledge my total helplessness to deliver myself from sin's dominion. In all my strivings to get free, I have failed again and again. So, now I come to you as a dead man, in full surrender. I confess my need to be delivered from my sin, and I admit I cannot do it on my own. Oh, Lord, your Old Covenant has accomplished in me two important things. I know in my heart I want to be free. I truly want sin's dominion over me to be crushed. I do not want to excuse my sin anymore, and I do not want to be given over to it. My heart's desire is to walk holy and blameless before you. Whatever it takes, father, I want to be delivered. I want to live wholly dependent on your power. I now abandon all hope of ever getting free by my own strength. I realize my only hope of freedom from slavery rests in YOUR mighty power. I come to you now by faith, Lord, casting myself into your loving hands. Show me the blessings and provisions of your New Covenant. I need a new revelation, a new plan. The old one has only brought me to despair."

This article is taken from the teaching of Watchman Nee.

Wonderful Question and Answers with Steve McVey

2010-03-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

1. Is the term "natural spirit" synonomous with "sin nature?"

2. What did Jesus mean in Matthew 7 about some who say, "Lord, Lord" not going to heaven?

3. As a staff person in church, how do I approach my pastor about the message of grace?

4. How do we approach evangelism under grace?

5. How should we respond to an authoritarin, overbearing pastor who insists that we obey what he says?

Just click the link below to a video where Steve answers these questions.

http://www.fliqz.com/aspx/permalinkblank.aspx?vid=05a1dd88338d4640a58dc6bde89868a8

Deception Revealed

2010-03-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

There was a show on TV not that long ago that showed the "behind the scenes" magic...I think it was called magic revealed. What they would do is perform a magic trick, which was usually pretty amazing...then they would show you how the trick was performed...it was usually something very simple yet very tricky that made the illusion look real to the audience. Now satan is a master deceiver...much better then any of those illusionist and he makes things seem real, even feel real by deception and desires to steal, kill and destroy the abundant life that God has placed in His children.

One of the first things we have to realize is that our flesh (our soul and body living independent of God) has gotten use to living off of lies...it is like it's default setting. For years it has believed lies and lived according to those beliefs, it has gotten comfortable living in that which is a lie. We are like that proverbial frog sitting in the water that is about to start to boil taking little note of the heat. Let me give you an example…

For years I lived with the mentality of performance based acceptance…and the deceiver knew it. So when I became a Christian I brought that same mindset (fleshly pattern) into my relationship with God. I believed that I had to perform in order for Him to be pleased with me. I am sure it started back when I was a child and brought home a good report card and was praised for my “good work” but when I did something bad I was shunned. This created a sort of flesh pattern that must be broken by the truth. This played into other relationships also from high school to the job market to marriage these deep-seated patterns are just part of our “normal” life. Today, I realize that I am God’s beloved despite my behavior. And I am fully accepted in the beloved because of who God is and His great love for me. That there is no condemnation even when I fall and fail, and that He is right there with me in spite of me. Now when I go back to that “perverted default setting” God reminds me that it is a lie and that He has overcome that in my life and by faith to submit to the Truth. The truth is so much better then the lie even though our flesh fights against it because it has gotten use to sitting in the heated water.

Some of these fleshly patterns, if not most, are so deep-seated in us that we don’t even realize that we are doing something abnormal. In fact society perpetuates many abnormal things depending our cultural background and what is the norm of society at any given time. The good news is that we have a Counselor that wants and wills that we will walk in the victory that Christ has already purchased on Calvary. He has already overcome them in us and now, as we walk in the light (1John 1:7) He works with us and shows us these perverted fleshly patterns. He does so with love, which is patient, kind, is not irritable or resentful, and all that 1Cor 13:4-8 tells us about the nature of love thus the nature of God. He implores us to put on the new man and to renew our mind of the truth of who we are in Him and who He is in us. This is a process that each person is going through with the Lord and as their relationship with Him in it deepens they get to know Him more and more intimately (John 17:3).

As I pray I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me where I am living a lie. What part of me is living independent of God and believing the lie that I am not in union with Him. This may take some time and wrestling with God over such matters because the flesh doesn’t give up easily. Many times you may want to have victory in a certain area of your life but you are not willing to have the Holy Spirit shed light on it because you “like” the certain aspects of the fleshly pattern. I have found that it gets to a point that I actually hate the fleshly pattern before I am willing to let it go and walk in His victory. It never ceases to amaze me how deep these patterns run in our lives and what strongholds they have on us. After the lie is exposed and I stop believing it I then ask God to teach me the truth and start believing the truth. When I fail to believe it I simply repent and run back into the arms of God or as John says I abide in Him. The process is on going but I can honestly say that there is victory over that inward sin and that God desires for us to walk in it.

1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 Thought Provoking Quotes

2010-03-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

"I am on a journey from fear to love, from rules to relationship, and from religion to freedom." Chad Estes

"Religion is insidious and satanic. Thanks be to God that Jesus' grace is enough to cover even the very legalism within us which seeks to work against the very grace that saves and keeps us!" Jeremy White

“Focusing on our sin causes us to be sin-conscience, guilt-conscience and to pursue self-righteousness. Exactly, 180 degrees out!” - Ted Nelson

“If love doesn't propel your obedience to Christ all that people will ever see is lifeless, stale, putrid religion cloaked in "Jesus name"...aka Road Kill Religion” - Dave Geisler

"Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon." - Jason Cole

"The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still." A W Tozer

“I am not a sinner saved by grace in the hands of an angry God but now I am a saint that sometimes sins in the hands of a loving God” Neil T. Anderson

"Far too often, presumption is what clouds the clear light of the truth" Don Feazelle

"Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved. Now choose what you want." Martin Luther

“Grace does not place us in denial of our problem of sin. Grace points to the finished work of Christ as the solution to the problem” John Madden

“You don't need to Turn Away from your sins... Jesus has already turned your sins Away from YOU! His Blood did the job Once and for All” Cayce Talbott

“Authentic agape love does not have as its source guilt and shame. The source of all spiritual fruit is the Vine itself - Jesus/Spirit - who produces love in and through us, from Love itself.” Joel Brueseke

“Of course God knows what will happen if we use our freedom the wrong way. Apparently He thinks it's worth the risk” – CS Lewis

"A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down." Arnold Glasow

“Faith isn't believing without proof – it's trusting without reservation.” William Sloane Coffin

What is Biblical repentance?

2010-02-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

This is taken from a recent FB conversation about repentance and how much of the modern day church teaches that we must "repent from our sins" and what the Bible actually says. Jeremy White is pastor of Valley Church in California - www.valleychurch.com

Jeremy White - The Greek verb "to repent" is metanoeo - a compound from meta (meaning "to change") and gnosis (meaning "mind, perspective or knowledge"). Etymologically, the biblical definition of the verb "to repent" is clearly "to change one’s mind or perspective." The etymology of a biblical word is always where we begin our journey in seeking to understand its meaning.

Once we have identified this, we then begin to consider the various ways in which the word or concept is used Scripturally - since context ultimately determines meaning. It is clear that Scripture sometimes links repentance to a turning from sin. For example, the rough Hebrew equivalent of the Greek metanoeo is used to describe the Ninevites who "repented" at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3). There is no doubt that turning from sin can accompany repentance. The big question is whether or not "repentance" and "turning from sin" are in fact synonymous. This may sound like a technicality, but it is hugely significant in our understanding of the true Gospel of grace.

Much of the debate over "repentance" revolves around two theological "camps" within evangelicalism – The "Lordship Salvation" camp and the "Free Grace Salvation" camp. I once vigorously supported the former (which Greg Laurie also supports), and have since moved toward the latter as I’ve come to what I believe is greater clarity on these matters.

The Lordship Salvationists claim that "repentance" (defined as "turning from sin and surrendering to Christ as Master and Lord) is synonymous with what they call "saving faith." The most outspoken proponents of this view over the past 20 years include teachers like John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Kenneth Gentry and others.

Free Grace salvationists like myself point out that if "turning from sin" were a requirement or ingredient of authentic "saving faith" - this would combine works as part of the Gospel, making Christianity essentially no different from any other legalistic religion. The Lordship theologians (most of whom come from a hyper-Calvinist viewpoint that I once espoused) get around this by their conviction that since salvation includes nothing of the will of humans, then "turning from sin" cannot be considered works-based salvation. In other words, since God essentially "forces" the turning from sin and submission upon the elect individual as a work of his elective process, it’s not really the human "turning" of his own volition – and therefore cannot be considered a human "work."

The bottom line is that the New Testament word "repent" literally means "a change of mind." It is always desirable that a change of lifestyle would accompany biblical repentance. This is why in the very first occurrence of the word in the New Testament, John the Baptist challenges the religious Jews to "produce fruit in keeping with (their) repentance" (Matt. 3). If repentance were synonymous with a changed lifestyle as Lordship Salvationists claim, then John’s words would seem a rather redundant since he in essence would be saying "change your lifestyle in keeping with your changed lifestyle." Clearly, it seems more reasonable to define repentance for what the word actually means rather than reading a pre-conceived theological idea into it that was not originally there. A change of lifestyle can (and should) accompany a change of perspective about God and Jesus and life – but it is dangerous to imprecisely use these terms in relation to the Gospel. If there is anything we MUST get right as Christians – it’s the Gospel!

When someone exercises faith in Christ (which the Scriptures repeatedly teach is the sole condition for salvation) - in essence, that person has repented by the true definition. They have changed their perspective. They have gone from unbelief to belief – from not trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross to trusting in Him alone for their rescue. However, if repentance (defined as turning from sin) is part of the Gospel offer - then it is no Gospel at all and no different from the basic ideas of Islam, Mormonism or any other legalistic faith.

When Paul was asked "What must I do to be saved?" he thunderously responded "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!" (Acts 16:30-31). Jesus and the Apostles were united on this point - and we should be also. In his first edition of "The Gospel According to Jesus", John MacArthur makes the terribly inaccurate statement "True faith is humble, submissive obedience." (p. 140). I have benefitted from many of the works of Dr. MacArthur and those who espouse his views, and I choose to believe that he was not trying to be deliberately dishonest when he wrote this and other shocking statements like it throughout his book. But this is at best a gross misrepresentation of what biblical faith is. To be fair, MacArthur softened his words in subsequent revisions of this book.

The Bible repeatedly affirms that changing one’s perspective (repentance) often involves turning from sin. Often the very change of perspective itself is related to the emptiness of living in sin as opposed to living for God. It is also commanded and desirable that all people – including believers – exercise a lifestyle of repentance (which would include, but not be defined as "turning away from a sinful lifestyle wherever possible and living for God.") There are often horrible earthly consequences connected to living in rebellion against God.

I will conclude by stating that I am mindful of the fact that many sincere brothers and sisters in Christ disagree over this issue of the meaning of repentance. While I am presently convinced of my understanding as opposed to the "Lordship Salvation" camp, I respect much of what those theologians have articulated in other areas of theology.

Thanks for considering my lengthy (but hopefully helpful) thoughts... :) Keep the discussion going...!

Dave Geisler - Here is a simple illustration that I give on repentance.

If I am traveling South on I-75 to Naples from Tampa and I repent (change my mind) of going to Naples there becomes a point where I simply get off of the interstate and turn the other way. If this doesn't happen then did I really repent?

The fruit in keeping with repentance (change of mind) is now believing the gospel (not a partial gospel of forgiveness but the complete gospel of forgiveness and union with Him) and abiding in Him, allowing Him to bear fruit in and through you (Joh 15).

Question on 1Corinthians 5:9-13

2010-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Dave,

I just wanted to get your opinion on a passage from scripture such as I Corinthians 5:9-13, in terms of the grace message. You're an intelligent theologian, so I thought I'd get your feedback on this. There are some passages in the Bible that seem harsh in terms of the grace message, and this is one of them.

My feeling is that Paul is not so much condemning those believers because of their sin, but because they're proclamation of being a follower of Christ gave a wrong impression to outsiders ... Is that how you see it? Or what are your thoughts, if you have time to comment?

The passage is below, for your convenience:

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (New American Standard Bible)

⁹I wrote you in my letter ^(A)not to associate with immoral people;
¹⁰I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with ^(B)idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
¹¹But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called ^(C)brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or ^(D)an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.
¹²For what have I to do with judging ^(E)outsiders? ^(F)Do you not judge those who are within the church?
¹³But those who are outside, God judges. ^(G)REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

Here is my response
When someone is living in sin and it is open (as it was in the Church of Corinth) then we have a clear, grace filled mandate to restore that brother to his true identity...it is the most loving thing to do. Jesus gave us the specific steps to doing just that...

Mat 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Mat 18:16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Mat 18:17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Paul calls this man a "so-called" brother because of his lack of accountability to the other members of the body, the church. It would seem that the church was being pulled in all kinds of directions and seemed to be siding on the side of love without truth. Grace is a message of truth in love (Eph 4:15) so that each person will be who God has made them to be. Just a caveat on that though...we are not to go looking for hidden sin as that is God's role. But when sin and living a sinful lifestyle becomes a matter of personal (Mat 18:15) and then a matter of open sin we must confront it.
So many metaphors could be drawn with a father, son - son relationship. If you knew your brother was going in the wrong direction (using heroine) then would it be more loving to confront him in love and help him or to allow him to self-destruct. All confrontation in the body is always aimed at restoring that brother or sister to their true identity in Christ which gives them the opportunity to stop believing the lies that are stealing His abundant life in them (John 10:10)

New Video Teaching on Mat 7:21-23

2010-02-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Involuntary Spirituality

2010-02-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

I have hundreds of sincere friends who are dealing with issues from their past that they are desperately trying to get healing from. Some of them are going the "self-help" route, some are taking classes on spiritual healing. Some are in full time counseling, while others are following the traditional formulas by attending every church service they can with notebook in hand and a journal under their arm. I think everyone has a different method of dealing with painful memories in the past. To some degree, each and every one of us have been abused or hurt in one way or another.

Many Christians feel like they're waiting in line for an emotional healing that they probably won’t ever find. They become like the chronic overweight person who has tried everything from low-carb diets to overnight miracle pills, and after being let down half a million times, they finally collapse into a world of utter hopelessness. The mere mention of emotional healing catapults them into a world of self-loathing depression. They forgave every person they could remember being mad at. They’ve visited their inner child more times than they care to remember. They’ve quoted all the formula prayers, stood on all the right scriptures, and even had the in-house deliverance expert walk them towards the light, but come Monday morning they found themselves right back where they started.

Over the last twenty years of my life I have watched a growing trend in Christianity. If you attend some churches you would think that Christ came for the sole purpose of fixing us all and helping us all get over the pain of our past. He’s presented as the supernatural Dr. Phil and the ultimate life changer rather than the life GIVER. I honestly think that American Christianity has re-marketed Christ to appeal to the masses of emotionally wounded people in the world. We have used people’s issues and spiritual ailments as hooks to draw them into our churches and ministries, by making statements that simply are not true and promises that we can’t possible fulfill. We market Jesus as the "inner healer," whose healing formula is given only to the leaders or the super spiritual people above us. We create a mob of emotionally broken people who hobble from one service to the next hoping to finally persuade Jesus to give them the emotional healing they so desperately need. When it doesn’t happen, they’ve been trained and programmed to blame themselves. Over time, that self-blame eventually drives people even deeper into emotional brokenness and dysfunction then they were to begin with.

One of my close friends has read every spiritual healing book on the market. She’s attended conferences, listened to teaching series and she’s even written the world’s most famous healing evangelists in an effort to get her healing from the past. The day she and I met I could immediately tell that in her mind the purpose of our meeting was to hopefully find that healing. That had become the purpose of her life, the only thing she ever talked about when it came to spirituality. She thought that perhaps if she met with me, I could give her the exact formula that would finally detonate the power of God and give her the healing she had sought her entire adult life.

I told this young lady what I want to say to every person like her who is reading this article.

When you cut your finger, you wash it out and put a band-aid on it. Once that simple act is completed do you sit around and try to figure out ways to get it to heal? Of course not. Nothing you do beyond those initial first few steps will make any difference in the healing process. You won’t speed it up or slow it down. You can read books on cut-healing and goto cut-healing conferences, but in the end, all that energy is a waste of time because your cut will heal itself with or without your help.

God created this healing capacity within each and every one of us. We don’t do silly things like read books and call experts when we scrape or cut ourselves. We don’t squint our eyes and grit our teeth trying as hard as we can for a healing because we know that healing was created within us and it happens on its own.

Christianity is known for taking the things that happen naturally in the course of life and claiming authority over them. Then, when what would have happened on its own, happens; we claim responsibility and call ourselves powerful. If we would just learn to keep our noses out of the areas in life where we are not needed, we might find that Christianity is amazingly easy. I have come to believe that 90% of the stress and difficulty in the modern day Christian life, is self induced. We are praying about things that don’t need prayer. We’re claiming authority over things that don’t need our authority and leadership. We spend our time asking God for things that aren’t even on the menu and we spend all our faith on things that happen naturally.

Several years ago I found myself awake at about 2:00am, and I couldn’t get back to sleep. As I laid in bed listening to my wife snore away, I began to listen to my breathing patterns. Something didn’t sound right when I would inhale. I began to get worried that I wasn't getting enough oxygen, so I started to nervously monitor my intake of air for the next several hours. By 5:00am I was convinced that I needed to be taken to the hospital. My lips were numb and I was having chest pains. I felt dizzy and fear was literally pulsing through my body to the point where I could hear my heart beating out loud. I went to wake Angie up and just before I did, I got this revelation. It was probably just a thought, but looking back on it today I definitely think it was revelation.

“Don’t monitor your breathing. That’s something that happens on its own.”

I am not kidding you. In less than five minutes I was completely back to normal and snoring in unison next to my lovely wife. Breathing is an involuntary action that the body does completely on its own. The decision to monitor it and take authority over it, only led to panic and disaster.

This is precisely what Christians have been taught to do with most of the AUTOMATIC functions in life.

We think it’s precious and adorable when a four-year-old child clinches her fists and

scrunches her face because she is “trying to grow.” It’s funny because adults know that you can’t “try” to grow. Growing happens naturally over time and completely on its own. Ironically, I can visit almost every Christian church in Arizona and find full grown adults doing the exact same thing concerning their spiritual growth. Like naive little children, we scrunch our faces and clinch our fists during prayer, “trying” with every spiritual muscle we have to grow. We talk obsessively about growing in the Lord. We ask each other what they’re doing to grow in the Lord. We tell people that if they aren’t growing they need to be doing this and thus. We pride ourselves in saying that spiritual growth is the number one thing our church or ministry cares about. Silly, silly, silly, and it’s not nearly as cute when we do it as it is when a four-year-old child does it.

As Christians we have a responsibility to LIVE LIFE. Our life is set up by God Himself in a way that naturally brings forth things like inner healing, growth and maturity. These things are the responsibility of God; NOT US. I honestly believe that we’ve driven ourselves crazy because in our own arrogance and unwillingness to enter into life, we’ve hijacked God’s responsibilities and have foolishly depended upon ourselves to carry them through.

I had a pastor tell me once that he was committed to my spiritual growth. I told him thanks but that makes about as much sense as me committing myself to his fingernail growth. I just think there are better things in life to commit ourselves to, especially when growth happens by itself. We neglect things where we actually can make a difference, and then pay special attention to the very things that don’t need our attention at all.

I think the average Christian needs to take a course in “involuntary spirituality.” We need to get reacquainted with what happens on its own and what actually requires our assistance. I think most people would be surprised and relieved if they knew the truth. We could finally leave things like salvation to God rather than take it upon ourselves to “get people saved.” If you need an inner healing, just know in your heart that it’s happening. You can’t make it happen any faster than you can heal your finger if you cut it. YOU WILL HEAL! Know that and live life. YOU WILL GROW! Nothing you do will make yourself grow any faster. Growing isn’t up to us; it’s up to God.

I honestly have come to believe that the reason why Christianity has focused so much on this ridiculous stuff is because it’s a subconscious way of avoiding life and intimacy with God. I think our religion has made Him so unattractive and detestable, that we’ll stand outside and count blades of grass in the lawn just to get out of being alone with Him. I think it’s a combination of us not wanting to be close to him, and us feeling like He’s going to abandon us. Part of the grace and love message is about getting a proper view of who He really is. Once you get that, you look back at your life and laugh at yourself for all the silly stuff you did. I think I’ve dropped more stuff off of my to-do list since I’ve become a Free Believer than I ever thought possible. The last time I looked at that list I think there was only two things;

Love God and love people.

From Darin Hufford - The Lord Your God is in Your Midst - Free e-book

Free E-Book for you and your friends

2010-01-29T07:05:00.000-08:00

Free e-book: The Lord Your God Is In Your Midst - The Grace Book vol 1. It consists of 80 grace articles from 31 authors, spanning from established authors to bloggers. Feel free to share! When you have followed the link; click on the file and then choose "Download" which is "Last Ned" in Norwegian.

Get The Free Book Now

If you have any problems I can send you the book via email as an attached PDF...please email me at info@promisedgrace.com

The divided heart

2010-01-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

As we go about our lives Jesus

is either at the center or He isn't. He is either the "filter" that every thought, every word and every action is brought through (as He lives in us Col 1:27) or He isn't. He is

either the closest friend, confidant and lover that we have or He isn't. He is either the One we live for or he is at arms length.
One of the things we have been able today to do is to separate out belief and the act of trusting. For many an intellectual belief in Christ as the man who lived or even as

the Savior of the world is not the same as receiving Him nor trusting Him. For instance if I said you won the lottery and you believed me...would you just believe me and go on with your day or would you trust me and act on it appropriating the winnings into your life? With Christ we have much more than any lottery could ever give us...we have God Himself.

These two statements of Jesus are fact: where your treasure is there your heart will be. The heart is the deepest part of a person and what we tend to hold most preciously. And it can be many things: cars, houses, the way you look, the way people think about you, your husband or wife, your kids, whatever it may be it cannot share the space with Jesus. To many people Jesus is just a part of their life instead of the one that gives life and if this is the case you cannot (not a matter of desire but a matter of ability) share that space between Jesus Christ and things.

A.W. Tozer puts it very succinctly in his book "The Pursuit of God"

Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply "things." They were made for man's uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him.

But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul. Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and "things" were allowed to enter. Within the human heart "things" have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.

This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble.

I pray that all that read this will come to the bread of life and be satisfied…to the living water that they will never thirst again. It is not about doctrine or religious ritual but about Christ Jesus and a living vibrant relationship with Him. Jesus summed up eternal life in those specific terms.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

What if we took off our mask - the truth of the Gospel

2010-01-18T09:52:00.001-08:00

This is an incredible video and well worth your time in watching it. It shows the utter hypocrisy that most people have in church each week and how it has perverted the gospel of Christ. Feel free to comment on here or facebook.

Struggling in sin

2010-01-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

For years I ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17) instead of the tree of Life (Gen 2:9). I was constantly gauging whether or not my behavior was good or bad and would meet with the requirements that God wanted for me. I tried and tried to walk in line with what I thought God commanded me to do…live my life by the Ten Commandments.

I thought that I should monitor my every behavior and for the most part I found that I was not committing sin, whether by repression or suppression my behavior on the outside looked good. Yet I struggled with the words of Jesus to the Pharisees (Mat 23:27) because I knew that my heart was still dirty and the more I compared my thoughts, intentions, words, and actions (both or omission and commission) to the law and to right and wrong, the more I knew that something was drastically wrong.

I had been told a half-truth of the gospel…yes, I knew my sins were forgiven but I did not know “The Rest of the Gospel”. In fact, the more I tried to live the Christian life the more I seemed to fall into more desperate acts of sin and even had a greater desire for it. I would read verses that said I was no longer a slave to sin (Rom 6:18) yet I still felt like a slave to sin because I continued in it (John 8:34). I wanted to be set free and to know what that freedom was like to live in but my entire belief system was set up to keep enslaved to sin. I tried and tried to do all I could do to gain victory over sin but continued to fail.

I was living in unbelief and I didn’t even know it. The victory was already won and given to me as a free gift…not just our salvation but our sanctification too. The more I tried to win the victory by living by right and wrong, the more I was telling God that I don’t believe that you want to give me Your victory and I can do it on my own by my own will and works. I didn’t know the Gospel in it’s entirety…it had been subjected to just being a “get out of hell free” card. I think the world sees Christians as hypocrites because that is all it really is to them…because they don’t know the complete Gospel or realize who they are in the New Covenant.

You died (2Cor 5:14) with Christ on the Cross and He bore all your sins (1Pet 2:24) in His body…past, present and future, He alone suffered and paid your penalty for sin. But that is not even the good news…if it were He would leave you free from the penalty yet still locked in the dungeon of your own carnal nature. In fact when you receive Christ (Joh 1:12) you receive His very Life (2Pet 1:4) in you. You were once spiritually dead (Eph 2:1) and hostile (Rom 8:7) with God but He reconciled (Rom 5:10) you to Himself by His very life, the blood (Luk 22:20) of the new covenant. And when He was raised from the dead you were in Him and you too were raised to newness of life (2Cor 5:17). He has come to give you His life (Joh 10:10) and to give it abundantly…it is finished, it is yours, now simply receive and believe this Good News.

As I understood this Gospel, the true Gospel, the Bible made complete sense. Look at every verb tense that is taught about what happened to us on the cross…here are a few to consider.

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Rom 6:2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?Rom 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Rom 7:4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Rom 7:5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. Rom 7:6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--Eph 2:6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

2Ti 2:11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

Rom 6:7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.Rom 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Col 2:12 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. Col 2:13 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

Now I would ask that you look at the scripture…all of this is pointing back to a place and time in which a cosmic miracle in Christ took place. You were in Christ, all of your perverted personality and junk was laid upon Him and He bore you in His actual body. He did this so that we could have eternal life, His life, which starts at the moment of being born again.

Now our adversary walks about wanting to steal His very life (John 10:10) from us and put us back into bondage. He does so by deception and lies (John 8:44) wherein we give him authority in our lives when he actually has none. Hudson Taylor called this “The Exchanged Life” and what an exchange it is…the saddest part is that many will not believe the truth (John 14:6) because it is too good to be true.

How much do you live off of the world instead of Christ

2010-01-07T06:19:00.001-08:00

As we take the time in prayer this week, ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal to you how you are relying on the world for security, significance and happiness. To prime the pump here are a few thoughts on it.

If I have a good enough job or enough money in the bank then I will be secure during this recession
If I lose some weight then I will feel better about myself
If I get a compliment today on something I did or the way I look I will feel a sense of importance
If others recognize the spiritual gifts that I have then I know that I am doing the right things for God
If I can just get a new car/clothes/house etc. then I will be happy

We have been sucking off the worlds system for so long many of the things that we do become so subtle that it is not even noticeable. Sociologist call it the "plausibility structure", the puritans would call it "the vestiges of sin" or Paul in his letter to the Ephesians called it "the old man" - it is a conditioned way of living based on our past beliefs. It is crucial that we get with God, in prayer and allow Him to guide our conscience into the reality of our true condition, for years we have been deceived by the subtle lies of Satan that has stolen the very life of God (John 10:10). The "Christian" that does not get alone with God and allow the Life of God to live through them is only bluffing or playing at Christianity (ironically we get the word hypocrite from the theater).

2Co 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Cleave to Christ knowing that satan, the god of this world, is out to destroy you and your faith. The deception and lies that satan wants you to believe are endless and usually fit right into your selfish way of life and many times come as good things (2Cor 11:14). Can you like Paul say:

Gal 6:14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (look at the tense...past tense)

Is the world crucified to you? The answer is an absolute YES but even though it is you may not believe it and thus live in the prison of your false beliefs. Are you still dependent on others for significance, security and happiness.

There is a move of God in America today but not amongst the unsaved...It's amongst the redeemed who are determined by the grace of God to be part of the Bride and to be part of the Bride you have to be divorced from everything in the world. (Leonard Ravenhill)

Receive Him – The truth of John 1:12

2009-12-31T07:56:00.000-08:00

It is almost cliché to say that you have a personal relationship with Christ considering most people know the Christianese language if they have been in church, even for a short while. Yet what does the Bible say…is it speaking of a relationship or something more. Personal relationship falls short of what the Bible teaches, and what many people have experienced in their life with God. The truth is the Bible teaches so much more and by keeping us blind to the truth the abundant life that Christ promised is seldom grasped by many well meaning, God fearing Christians.

God is Life…Christ is Life (John 14:6) and when we come to Him and receive Him we receive His life, which is eternal. That is why the Bible always speaks of having eternal life (John 3:36) in the present tense not in the future tense. We have union with Christ and now He is our Life (John 20:31) and He is in us and we are in Him (1John 5:20)…it is His life that He gives us (Gal 2:20) so that we are new creations in Him (2Cor 5:17). And in being in Him we are now Free (2Cor 3:17) because He completely purchased that freedom by His once and for all sacrifice (Heb 9:28).

Yet God will not force Himself on anyone…it is a personal decision that each one must receive or reject Jesus Christ. The Bible makes it clear that it is not a “intellectual assent” to a set of doctrines but so much more. You are the recipient of God’s eternal life…take a look at how John 1:12 puts it.

Joh 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

receive

λαμβάνω

lambanō - to take, to get hold of, to grasp

believed

πιστεύω

pisteuō - to have faith (in, upon or with respect to, a person or thing), to entrust, to put in trust with

the right

ἐξουσία

exousia- ability, privilege, freedom, liberty, power

John 1:12 But to all who take hold of him, who entrusted him…he gave the privilege and freedom to become children of God.

This is the door that Christ comes into union with you (Rev 3:20) yet who is responsible for opening it…He is knocking to be more then just a Savior; He desires to be your very source of life. When Christ is your life then freedom begins to reign in the person’s life. Not some religious routine but real freedom and victory because He promised and He delivers it. You will never be free if you do not believe because your beliefs have limited your ability to be free.

Humans devised a way to tame the most powerful land animal on the planet -- the elephant. They start by securing a baby elephant firmly with a strong rope and a sturdy stake driven deep into the ground. The baby elephant struggles to break free, but struggle as it will, it cannot escape its bonds. The young elephant eventually tires and gives up trying. Thereafter, as soon as it reaches the end of its rope, it goes no further. It has been trained always to think that it cannot break free of its bounds; its spirit has been broken.

As elephant grows it becomes stronger, while the rope becomes thinner and the stake smaller. Yet every time the elephant meets resistance from the end of the rope, it stops. It thinks it can go no further because it has been trained not to try to break free. Eventually the elephant reaches full size and, having learned the behavioral lessons of infancy so well, it can be easily restrained by only a thin rope and a tiny stake. It has long given up trying to break free of its bonds of captivity.

Could that elephant pull that stake out? Of course it could! Then why doesn’t it? Because it has been conditioned to believe that the stake will hold it, since it was a baby. Knowing the truth begins to set you free (John 8:32) but it is Christ Himself that sets you free indeed (John 8:36) because His life in you breaks every false authority that has been placed into your life.

Satan only has the authority that you allow him to have and he comes to steal, kill and destroy that abundant life in Christ (John 10:10) so turn to Christ for real freedom…acknowledge Him as living in you and your source of divine life (2Pet 1:4).

Happy New Year 2010

Merry Christmas to All

2009-12-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a moment and tell each one of you reading this how much I appreciate your love and friendships. It is so easy to take many things for granted, especially other people so I wanted to just tell each one reading this: Thank You. May God's love and life shine brighter in this new year.

Lord we reflect with thankful hearts
On the wonder of your birth
The love you expressed when you left
Your glory to come to earth

For your life was like a beacon,

Lord Shining brightly in the night
Filling the world with the radiance of
The Father’s glorious light

And we, too, long to have inside
Your light for others to see
The beautiful reflection of your grace
And the wonder of your majesty

For as your life indwells our hearts
We can shine wherever we are
And arise to take hold of each new day
With your light ablaze in our hearts

So rekindle the flame within us Lord
So it will not flicker nor dim
Ignite us with the light of your love
So you will shine brightly within

© By M.S.Lowndes ~ 2007

How to overcome sin and live an abundant life

2009-12-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

This series is from Paul White ministries and has helped so many that are truly seeking God. One thing that used to bother me when I was living under religion, was that the Pharisees had so much in common with me...especially the inward sin. There outward behavior was good and they professed to love God but inwardly they were unclean...are you? Have you been struggling in sin? Listen to this message to be set free and live the life that Christ promised...the abundant life.

Are You Actually Free?

2009-12-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

Many times when I am counseling people I will ask if they know what they should do to fix whatever problem they are facing. Almost inevitably they will say “I need to pray more” or “I need to read the Bible more”…these are the two most common answers to one who is struggling with some sort of sin. This is a common theme in much of religion today and as such people are not finding the rest and freedom that the Christian life first promised. In fact many feel bound again by becoming a Christian where they cry out: The good that I want to do is not what I do but the evil I hate is the very thing I do. Ironically the etymology of the word religion is: re- meaning, “return” and ligare – meaning, “to bind”; in other words “to return to bondage”. Yet Jesus spoke out against religion and as such promised to set people free…so how does this happen?

God’s ways are different then the ways of the world…in fact they are opposite in many respects. We know that Satan is the prince of this world (Eph 2:2) and his way is to pervert God’s ways. In fact Satan usually uses seemingly good (2Cor 11:4) methods in order to hook mankind back into bondage (2Tim 2:26) and take our eyes off of Christ and the gospel of peace (2Cor 4:4). Satan is pleased to have a person on the religious treadmill, struggling with sin, not knowing who they are in Christ…in fact that is his purpose, to steal, kill and destroy the abundant life (John 10:10) that we partake of in Christ.

Who are we in Christ? Can victory be real in my life? How come most people that go to church don’t live in victory and struggle just like me? What is God’s way or method to make this victory real in my life? These were questions I had for many years and struggled within the church to find answers. But there are answers. I will attempt to answer these very questions in this note.

God’s way in bringing the reality of victory in our lives is the opposite of what is being taught in most well meaning, bible preaching, churches today. In fact most pastors are quick to say how they continually struggle in sin and that it is the normal Christian life…they have bought into the lie that is stealing the abundant life that Christ promised by His grace.

Most Protestant churches teach a “salvation by grace alone” message, similar to what Paul taught in Eph 2:8-9 but then turn right around and say that sanctification is by works…that you now have the duty, as a servant of God, to pray, read your bible, tithe, go to church or any other myriad of works related methods. This is not God’s way, they haven’t brought a complete, new covenant (Eze 36:26-27), salvation message. Many only focus on sin and God’s forgiveness of sin and fail to tell you about all that accompanies faith in Christ

For more on salvation see my video message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etsR0G3J6xk

Victory in the Christian life is a gift from God (1Cor 15:57) and as such any works to receive this gift brings about unbelief. Many are quick to resolve that in their understanding of salvation (that any work is a refusal to accept salvation as a gift) but fail to see this as God’s method in receiving His victory. Instead, they put themselves back under the law, struggling with sin and their Christian life becomes one of guilt, pride, hypocrisy and many times debilitating aggravation. So what is one to do that finds themselves in this situation?

My suggestion is to take a few weeks and try doing it God’s way instead of a way that seems right (Prov 14:12) and is being taught in many mainline churches.

Repent – This is so commonly misunderstood in the church today, many believe it means to have sorrow for sin or to turn away from sin. The Greek word is actually metanoeō and is formed from two words. Meta – meaning, “change” (where we get the word metamorphosis) and Noeo – meaning, “mind or thinking”, therefore it is a change of thinking or a change of mind. From believing one way to another…Without thinking differently you allow the enemy to continue leading you with lies, stealing and destroying the life of Christ in you. This is why Jesus said to repent and believe the gospel…the good news (Mark 1:15).
Understand (John 8:32) what happened at salvation…you died (2Cor 5:14) with Christ and were raised up to new life in Him (2Cor 5:17). You “exchanged lives” with Christ and you are now the righteousness of Christ (Php 3:9) and your life is hid with Christ (Col 3:3) and you are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6). You no longer live but Christ lives in you and through you (Gal 2:20)…much more could be said so please watch the video, even if you have heard the message of salvation before.
Stop monitoring your life for sin. Stop comparing yourself to God’s law (Rom 5:20) because all the law does is arouse more sin (Rom 7:5) you are actually dead to the law (Rom 7:4) and now alive to Christ. Do not form for yourself any religious rules, even if you think they may be good…for they are powerless (Col 2:23) against the flesh.
See Christ Jesus for who He is…He is your friend, your brother, your intercessor, your kinsman redeemer, your beloved husband, your protection full of Grace and Mercy…He is your all in all. Focus your time, talent and energy on Him and Him alone…sadly many religious people are willing to do many things but not come to Him (John 5:39-40)
Believe what He says about you and who you are in Him:

You are righteous (Eph 4:24)
You are the temple of His Holy Spirit (1Cor 3:16)
You are a partaker of the heavenly calling (Heb 3:1)
You have the divine life in you (1Pet 1:4)
You are a son of God and one in Christ (Gal 3:26)
You are dearly loved by God (1Thes 1:4)
You are one spirit with the Lord (1Cor 6:17)

Receive (John 1:12) this “exchanged life” as a gift from God (John 10:10) and that your identity isn’t based in behavior but being born from above
Ask the Holy Spirit to make this real in you, that you are a new creation (1Cor 5:17 and Eph 4:24), and to reveal to you where you are still holding on to the “old self” that is dead (Eph 4:22). The Holy Spirit has come to convince you that you are holy and righteous in Him (John 16:10)

Don’t let the enemy steal the life of love, joy, peace, patience (Gal 5:22-23) and more from you today…God has made it so simple and beautiful. He loves you (John 3:16) and desires for you to know His love (1John 4:8) and to experience the reality of Him everyday (John 10:16; 17:3)

The feeling of importance and significance

2009-12-11T18:35:00.001-08:00

This is a brief presentation of what Christ accomplished on the cross based on Galation 6:14. People need to have a sense of security, significance and happiness and all of that was changed on the cross of calvary. Find out how you have been relying on others or the world and have thus become a puppet to the worlds system instead of free in Christ. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy the life of Christ in us (John 10:10) but knowing the truth we are made free (John 8:32)

The way I lived brought me to the brink...

2009-12-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Every time I turn the TV on it seems there is another commercial for some sort of pill that can take away anxiety, relieve depression, bring some sense of happiness, help you sleep and the list goes on and on. It has even gotten to the point that the first prescribed pills are now minor dosages compared to the newly prescribed ones and even that there is now add on pills that can extend out the desired feeling if the original prescription does not give one the desired outcome. This is the ways of the world in which rest and peace is always fleeting so new methods have to be developed in order to bring some sense of relief to many finding themselves on the hamster wheel of this vicious cycle.

I should know, before I became a Christian, I was diagnosed with as having manic bipolar disorder so true rest was not part of my life. Sure alcohol and other things would medicate it for a short time but it never brought real peace. There was little joy in life and for a while many around me were worried that I was going down the road to suicide. I remember thinking that if this is all there is to life then there becomes a tipping point when the pain and stress of life make it not worth living. My worldview was that of an atheist or jaded agnostic thinking that there is no real purpose to living thus if eating, drinking and partying were not giving me the desired happiness then why continue. Although many would give me advice and list of things I should be happy for it was always ridiculous when filtered through my atheistic worldview in light of my pain and the pain and suffering of billions in the world. Although death and especially suicide were extremely frightening to me it seemed a viable alternative.

Ultimately, I was rescued out of it by the only One who promises rest (Mat 11:28-30), Jesus Christ. Yet that started me on a different path where I knew God, and the purpose and plan for which he brought me to earth, but the true rest I had hoped to find was still not real in my life. It was definitely not like before, where I was having these enormous ups and downs, but it was always a sense of “I need to do more”. I was now on the religious treadmill instead of the worlds and there are many things these have in common. I could never be good enough, read my Bible enough, pray enough, be at church enough…religion (a set of rules) was being used to control my life instead of the Life of Jesus.

I remember the day when I was speaking to a brother over seas and told him of the problems I was having, what he said changed my life, he said:

“The way it works for me is that the more I believe in the reality of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross the more substantial the Spirit becomes in my thoughts and desires.

The main aspects

of what occurred on the cross that increases my faith is all condemnation has been removed from me and placed on the cross. In the reality of this accomplishment I no longer look at my past.

As for apprehensions for an uncertain future, since I am now born-again, an adopted son of God the provisions that myself and my family needs is no longer for me to be concerned about. Simply receive what is offered or follow holy desires and God provides our needs on the paths that He leads us on.

That allows me to not look at the past or at the future. I am able to live in the present moment. In the present moment without fear of an uncertain future or guilt and shame because of a life of depravity is where we can abide in the Spirit”

I had known Christ as my forgiver even as my Savior, the one bearing my sins, my guilt on the cross yet I did not know Him as my life. My trust of Him was limited in what I understood of Him, in fact I was living a life of Christ plus my own goodness. No wonder I didn’t know rest, how could He give me (as a gift) the rest and peace of Him if I thought I could still obtain it by my works of righteousness. In fact the simplicity of living the Christian life was

swallowed up by thoughts of…if I could just get more knowledge about Him then I would have peace etc. Isn’t that works? Although I believed that justification was by grace alone, I then believed (as the judaizers did) that I needed to do something to attain from God. Isn’t that the ways of the world in a nutshell? Plain and simply that is not the ways of God.

God grants us peace, rest and all the fruits of the Spirit not by how hard we work or how much we learn but simply by abiding in Him (John 15:4-5). In fact the more we try and do on our own and work from our own power the more dead works (Rom 8:8) we are manifesting, the more religion we propagate (Col 2:23), the more we look just like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time.

The answer is simple; Trust Christ moment by moment, just like my friend stated, and you recognize more and more of His finished work in you (Col 1:27). The fact is you already have all the Spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3) now just believe Him and live (obedience) in the faith of Christ. Stop striving to do more and be more but allow Christ to live in you (Gal 2:20) and through you and you will find all that you could have ever wanted and more (Eph 3:20-21).

The Lord does not need me to “do”

2009-11-30T12:36:00.000-08:00

The crux of religion is always “do”…it is a performance based relationship to God that always weighs a person down or as the word religion means “binds them”. The answer is simple, you can never do enough, never pray enough, never read the Bible enough, never tithe enough, never be at c

hurch enough etc. And even if you do fulfill a man-centered, self-imposed law all that springs up is a spiritual pride that smells just like a modern day Pharisee.

So what does God want? Simply You. He died for you, He lives to make intercession for you, His Spirit searches the deep things of you…He wants you! When the world looks upon someone on that “do” treadmill they must see our God as weak and feeble needing humans to do for Him and unfortunately many in the church give just that impression. They say that God is omniscient and omnipotent but have the mindset that God needs them to fulfill something. That is a lie from the pit.

God does not need us to do anything (Acts 17:25) , in fact in Him we live and breath and move (Acts 17:28) and without Him there would be less then nothing. The truth is that we get to partake in the divine life (2Pe 1:4) of Christ living in us (Col 1:27). So then with this in m

ind what does God want, what is eternal life…Union with Christ – a relationship.

Joh 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

As we spend time with Him and get to know Him and understand who we are in Him, this

born again (John 3:3) new creation (2Co 5:17) of God we begin to see the vastness of His love (Rom 8:39) and our identity in Him (Gal 2:20). As we trust in Him (Prov 18:24) by faith (Rom 14:23) our intimacy increases and thus our character becomes more like Christ (2Co 3:18). What a wonderful plan, what a wonderful Savior.

Yet what we have done is to live in unbelief and have desired to do things the world’s way instead of God’s way. We live in a world plagued by PBA (performance based acceptance) and have now brought that way of living right into the church. It falls right into line with the devil’s plan which is to steal, kill and destroy the life of Christ in us and falls right into line with our religious desires – to be accepted by God based on our performance. Even many who understand salvation is of grace and not works (Eph 2:8-9) still can find themselves back under this “law of doing good” instead of “living the life of Christ in us”. They want to do good (Rom 7:15) and willingly put themselves back on that law (Col 2:23) of performance based acceptance instead of living a life of walking after the Spirit. (Rom 7:6)

What kind of relationship would I have with my wife if all I did is to try and please her by my “doing” and lacked the personal intimacy that comes from just being with her? At first she may find it great and rewarding but over time she would just want me to sit and talk with her, to give her time to share her soul (thoughts, will and emotions) and for me to do the same…to be still (Psa 46:10). God promises that we will hear Him (Joh 10:16) and know Him (Joh 17:3) and be moved by Him (Psa 32:8) and He will cause us to walk in His ways (Eze 36:27). Too much of our activity is being done “for the Lord” instead of “with the Lord”, this in turn brings strife, aggravation, a sense of never being fulfilled instead of the promised rest (Mat 11:28) that is found in Him.

The Pharisees found themselves in this same predicament. They were the ultimate religious folks. They were much more obedient and pious then most people found in today’s church. They fasted 3 times a week, some not even swallowing their spit. They prayed 3-5 times a day, most prayers lasting at least 15 minutes. They were zealous for evangelism even having to expand the court of the proselytized in the temple. They were fundamental in their belief, pious in their acts and yet missed Jesus because of their desire to do to be accepted, instead of just resting in the finished work of Christ.

Many find themselves in this same situation that Jesus spoke about in John 5:39-40. We are so willing to “do” all kinds of things but being alone and speaking and waiting to be spoken to by God is alien. And yet without coming to Him, daily, you will not have life but a religious treadmill that will wear you and those you love out.

Working out your salvation

2009-11-28T05:38:00.000-08:00

Php 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This area of scripture has been used many times to manipulate people into doing all sorts of things. From walking up Mt Croagh Patrick on their knees in order to really show God they are serious to keeping a set of man-made rules and laws set up by those in religious authority. Either way it is spiritual abuse and many have felt the sting of it.

What is the work of God, if we are to “work out” our own salvation…as always the words of Jesus bring great clarity

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

In much of society, especially the West, we have come to define the word believe as just a mental ascent. And once you believe something it is not an ongoing basis yet that is not at all what the word for believe means. Let’s look at the definitions given for this important word (From Strongs Dictionary):

G4100

πιστεύω - pisteuō -pist-yoo'-o

From G4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ): - believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.

It does not denote a once for all belief but more of putting trust in or having faith in…both are a moment by moment trust on the person of Jesus Christ thus the Gospel of God. Jesus even makes it more clear just another couple of verses down

Joh 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Look at what the will of the Father is…to have (not will have but present tense) eternal life and to live off of that life as the source for all that we do, think and say. In fact that lines up exactly with what God promised in the New Covenant, in Eze 36:26-27, that He (God) would give us a new heart (2Cor 5:17) and put His (God) Spirit within us and cause us to walk in His ways.

Last summer I was teaching my son to jump in the water off of the side of our pool. He was just starting to swim and didn’t like to get water on his face…it would freak him out as he thought with even just a little water he couldn’t breathe. Now I knew different and even showed him time and time again how getting water on your face wouldn’t hurt you and how jumping into the pool was fun. But he was still scared to get water on his face. My son had a belief problem, his incorrect beliefs were sending faulty signals to his brain thus imprisoning him from this fun activity, even though he saw his sister and other kids doing it and having a great time.

Now I could have invested in years of psychological counseling for him to find out why he was having these “issues” but instead we cut to the chase. I worked with him slowly to build up his tolerance for getting water in his face all the time holding him and helping him when he struggled. It soon got to the point that he could jump off the step in the pool and get a little water in his face but he wasn’t willing to go all the way. So, like most Daddy’s, I kept working with him and showing him over and over that he could trust what I was saying. Then the day came that he finally could do it, he was probably a bit scared but knew he could trust in what his Daddy said…and either way I was in the pool for him to jump into my arms

Now isn’t that what our “Abba” Father says to each of us? God is working in us to trust Him all the more and as we walk in the light that trust continues to grow. The unfortunate thing is many in the Christian world don’t understand that “IT IS DONE” and that we have the victory. Many are still bound in their chains trying to gain victory over sin when all the while God is saying: “Trust me it is done”.

God works in us to do His perfect and pleasing will yet taking that step of working out the salvation that he has given us will require us to take another step in faith and obedience toward Him. All the while our Father is so patient with us, even when we throw a hissy fit, to keep working with us until we are able to trust where He is taking us. The Christian life is such an adventure and full of so much fun when we believe Him for all that He is and walk out the plan that He has for each and every one of us.

5 Reasons you are living the defeated Christian life!

2009-11-24T05:56:00.000-08:00

Col 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Scripture states a very clear and undeniable fact…you have died. Who has died? All have died because Jesus Christ died for the world.

2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Salvation has come to those who receive His life and His payment for their sins, it is a gift of God for all who will come. When we are born again, born from the Spirit, we have the ability to partake in this divine life, but the sad thing is many born again will never take their position, their inheritance of this divine life (2Pet 1:4) for a myriad of reasons:

They simply will not come to Him for divine life. They know that living the Christian life requires His divine life but they are not willing to come to Him to receive it…instead they try the old Pharisee route (John 5:39-40)
They are still trying to live the Christian life by their own power. Many think that fighting sin is the main thing in the Christian life yet the new covenant doesn’t even speak of sin but life (Eze 36:26-27). The more the Christian focuses on sin the more sin is aroused in them because they are putting themselves back under law and cheating on Jesus (Rom 7:4-6)
They don’t believe the Bible. Many will pick and choose what verses to believe and what verses not to believe. Or worse they filter the Bible through a set of beliefs that looks lofty and even pious yet has no power over the flesh (Col 2:23)
They love Jesus and they love their sin. Jesus made it very clear that you cannot serve two masters (Mat 6:24). Many want to live just for Jesus but their love and lie of sin, usually just one or two specific sins makes them unwilling. God will not be mocked (Gal 6:7) and as such will allow greater and greater consequences as you sow to your flesh.
They simply do not know the truth. Although they have been set free and have divine life in Christ they are still bound by the lies of the devil, many perpetuated within the church walls. Although they know that something is wrong with their walk with Christ they are under the assumption that more work is needed, more effort on their behalf to have victory in this divine life yet many, many scriptures have to be twisted and skewed to render that false belief (Joh 8:33)

In the third chapter of “The Pursuit of God” by AW Tozer he offers a prayer at the end. As I end this short message I think it is best to cut to the chase and offer you this powerful prayer…it is one that each of us can pray, if we are willing.

“Lord, how excellent are Thy ways, and how devious and dark are the ways of man. Show us how to die, that we may rise again to newness of life. Rend the veil of our self-life from the top down as Thou didst rend the veil of the Temple. We would draw near in full assurance of faith. We would dwell with Thee in daily experience here on this earth so that we may be accustomed to the glory when we enter Thy heaven to dwell with Thee there. In Jesus' name, Amen.”

Their came a day that I died.

2009-11-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

For a good part of my Christian life I was still struggling with God. I wasn’t willing to accept my place on the cross and believe that I have been crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20). I believed it intellectually and even in the religious circles I could put on the face of the victorious Christian but God knew, as did I, that I was still living the defeated Christian life. I wanted all of God but I wanted it on my terms…there is a vast gulf between being willing on God’s terms and wanting on my terms.

I had many teachings on living the “Exchanged Life” but each time I thought I could start living it God made it abundantly clear that I still wasn’t willing to receive His life by His terms. I would live 95% off of God but still held that little 5% back for myself…I was still my own idol because I would make the final decisions on everything and not God.

Some may call it “The baptism of the Holy Spirit” or “Complete Consecration to Christ” or “The Surrendered Life” doesn’t matter what you call it what matters is that you deal with God on that matter. Ask the Holy Spirit where am I not willing to be totally yours…and He is so gracious to show you. Or ask Him where am I living in unbelief…show me how to believe the truth of who I am in Christ. I remember the day before God in His eternal patience finally brought me into the fullness…it was almost 10 years after I had been saved. I wrote this in my journal:

“I find it to be at the height of hypocrisy when I bid people to “come to Christ” so that they can have life, so that their sins can be forgiven, so they can be new creatures but I am not willing to come to Him…I am not satisfied with Him. I continue in sin yet cling to my religious routine and traditions and shake my head at the world because they love their sin and want nothing to do with us who call ourselves “Christians” – Christ bearers. Life is only through Him and in Him abundant life but I am preoccupied with everything else, even my sense of duty in religion whether it be studying the Bible, praying, giving, going to church etc.

So I shake my head in disgust at the Pharisees but act just like them. Where I think I will find life and answers in the scriptures but I am not willing to spend time with God incarnate Himself…I really don’t want to know what He wants for me because I am not willing to accept it. Oh, that I would be satisfied with God alone and longing after His very presence.”

I can honestly say that since that day everything has changed…I finally got real with God and real with others and accepted my place on the cross with Him. The deceit I was under for so long was such a lie…I now know the abundant life. I believed Satan that I would hate being fully identified with Christ and that it would be a great burden but since the beginning he was a liar and his wiles were just that…trickery.

I think of the many loved ones that are so willing to do anything in their church and are being run ragged because they are not willing to come to Him for abundant Life. Don’t let Satan deceive you one more day, come to Christ and be fully identified with the Cross and nothing else…then Christ will give you His Life but only if you are willing.

What does it mean to be Crucified with Christ?

2009-11-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

"I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20

I love what Oswald Chambers has to say...(From Nov 3 My Utmost for His Highest)

These words mean the breaking of my independence with my own hand and surrendering to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to the point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot put me through it. It means breaking the husk of my individual independence of God, and the emancipating of my personality into oneness with Himself, not for my own ideas, but for absolute loyalty to Jesus. There is no possibility of dispute when once I am there. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ - "For My sake." It is that which makes the iron saint.

Has that break come? All the rest is pious fraud. The one point to decide is - Will I give up, will I surrender to Jesus Christ, and make no conditions whatever as to how the break comes? I must be broken from my self-realization, and immediately that point is reached, the reality of the supernatural identification takes place at once, and the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable - "I have been crucified with Christ."

The passion of Christianity is that I deliberately sign away my own rights and become a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I do not begin to be a saint.

Taking your place with Christ on the cross is something that very few are willing for...they will not fully identify with Christ because they still hold back something. of the world, sin or self. I remember my own struggle with willingness and although I wanted to live the victorious Christian life I wasn't willing to come to Christ for that life. I tried all the different methods and tricks in order to live a life of victory but I always failed, which was be God's grace. My act of unbelief in His finished work kept me from the abundant life and the lies of satan who steals that life (John 10:10) made me think that being fully consecrated with Christ was going to be less then desirable. I would say I was 95% His and still 5% my own yet the words of Jesus would cut me with the accuracy and truth of this particular verse.

Mat 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Mammon. (HNV)

What are you going to do today? Can you go on and on living and struggling with the skewed Christian life that many churches teach where many well meaning Pastors are still struggling with sin or are you going to come to Christ for life and live the "Normal Christian Life" where the struggle with sin is no longer a problem because you are now living in the new covenant(Eze 36:26). The New Covenant where God promised that He would cause us to walk in His ways (Eze 36:27). Take the time today to go to the Holy Spirit and ask Him why you are not willing to be fully identified with Christ...then rest in the goodness of God and stop struggling against Him and be freed from the entanglement of living under the weight of sin, self and the world's system...but only do so if you are willing.

My First Video Teaching

2009-11-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a video that I just put together to start teaching the Bible. I am still in need of a few supplies which should be coming in the mail to make the videos look a bit more professional. Give it a view and see what you think.

Test and Trials

2009-11-10T12:41:00.001-08:00

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 1Pe 4:13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (ESV)

It was now about 10:00 am and I knew that after the two-hour wait we should be next on the schedule. I hate waiting at All Children’s Hospital…not so much because of the time but because of seeing the different families going through a multitude of trials. It always seems worse when things are happening to a child, no matter the situation. Another half-hour rolls by and they finally call our name and escort us into the examine room.

Before I get to what happened let me explain what has already taken place. Our youngest girl has been having problems with her fontanel closing properly and as such our pediatricians have been keeping a close eye on it. At this point in her development things should have advanced at a normal rate like our other two children but our youngest seems to not be closing properly. The doctors decided to order a number of test to try and get a grip on what is going on. That takes us to ACH where we are awaiting the lab to take some blood and urine to move forward with the testing.

As we enter the sterile but inviting room I glance over at the supplies the technician has pulled out to get the needed fluids. It is always so heart wrenching to see such small IV’s and other medical devices and reminds me of the many pains these wonderful people must endure daily in the course of doing their jobs. My daughter had fallen fast asleep in daddy’s arms and I hated to wake her but knew that it was needed. As I lay this beautiful little sleepy girl down on the crackling sterile white paper she isn’t too happy, and the test haven’t even started. But all I can do is try and comfort her by stroking her hair and speaking softly to her all the while knowing what was coming.

Needless to say the nurse put the IV in her arm and started to draw the blood. All I could do is try and comfort her in the process…the test are needed and this trial for her is part of the test. I couldn’t explain to her the reasons why she must get the test nor could I draw the charts of the anterior and posterior fontanel and show her how they needed to fuse properly for her to continue growing properly…she could have never understood. Yet I comforted her during the process and did all I could to make the needed trauma less uncomfortable then it had to be. If I could have taken the pain upon myself I would have…I think most parents would do the same.

After the testing was over and we could finally make our way out of the hospital I was able to comfort her again and even make her smile. On the way home she fell asleep in the car and now a few hours later she doesn’t seem to even remember what has happened.

God cannot and will not explain the “why” we go through trials and test but He gives us His perspective to keep in mind and heart while we are going through them. Not only that He gives us His joy and His peace in the midst of the trials…if we will look to Him and receive what He has for us. Although this life will have trials and test we can rejoice knowing that not only do we have a Saviour that has felt and can understand the trials (Heb 4:15-16) we have a Saviour that transcends time and space to be there with us, stroking our hair and speaking softly to us. We know that trials and test have purpose and that it is to our benefit to go through them, if not God would not allow them in our lives. Trusting in Him for all we need, have and ever will be makes the trials a lot less burdensome to the point where we can thank Him for allowing the trials and test in our own life (1Thes 5:18). My baby girl may not be able to understand the reason she had to be at the hospital today but she can look to me and trust me that I do and that it was for her good.

Doctor Cures the Cancer of a Dead Person!

2009-11-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

Dr. Juste claims he has found the cure to cancer in people that have already died and he has the science to back it up. Mr. John Victime died of bone cancer at 9:25 am on Friday, November 6, 2009 and his body was sent to the office of Dr. Juste immediately after his death. Dr. Juste then proceeded to take a special balm and rub it all over the body of Mr. Victime and sent the body back to the hospital where Mr. Victime died just hours earlier. The body underwent a series of test and it is confirmed that Mr. Victime’s cancer is no longer present, in fact not even a trace of it was found.

Dr. Juste has been curing the cancer of the dead for years and has become quite famous for it. Mr. Victime was at his prime in life when the cancer slowly ate away the inside of his body to the point he couldn’t even feed himself anymore. Scientist monitored him as he slowly succumbed to the deadly disease. They tested him in ten different ways to verify what was actually killing him and there was no doubt it was the deadly cancer. When the scientist tested Mr. Victime’s dead body they were amazed at the complete eradication of the cancer and every test verified that he was cancer free at his burial.

Of course the story is fictitious but it is an allegory of the modern gospel that is being preached. The modern gospel teaches that sin is the culprit and it is sin that must be dealt with and they will say Jesus came to die for your sin…that is true but not the whole truth. Sin must be dealt with and it was on the cross but so much more has happened, so much more needed to happen.

The bible says that we are dead in our trespasses and sins…dead spiritually (Eph 2:1). Sin is the cancer that is killing us (Rom 6:23). Sin is our attitude of independence from God and the results of sins is what you see because of this independence. Sins manifest themselves in different people in different ways. Sins might consist of something like adultery, lying, stealing, pride, gossiping, anger, covetousness, blaspheme, and a whole list of other things that many do in their daily life. Sin (in the singular) is the attitude towards God of independence of Him and thus dependence upon ourselves and the world’s system to get our needs met…sins (in the plural) is what happens as a result of this attitude. Jesus not only died for our sins and bore them in His body (1Pe 2:24) we died with him (2Cor 5:14) to sin and were raised to newness of life (Rom 6:6, 2Cor 5:17).

There are so many well meaning Christians that have come to Jesus to have their sins forgiven so that they can be with Him in heaven one day…but that is not the gospel. Paul said if I preach a different gospel it is no gospel at all (2Cor 11:4). What is being preached is a powerless gospel (2Tim 3:5) that has the appearance of godliness but denys its power. They are powerless against sin and have taken on the motto of the “defeated Christian” (which is not what that verse is speaking of) from Romans 7:15…the bible says have nothing to do with them.

They have gotten away from the reason that Christ came as the bread of Life, as the Way the Truth and the Life, so that we could have Life and Have it abundantly (John 10:10). What we have today is a bunch of Dr. Juste’s curing the dead of cancer and not telling them where or how to have Life. The New Covenant is all about Life in abundance not about sin (Eze 36:26)…it is about walking with our God in close relationship and being moved and directed by Him (John 10:16). We have today many frustrated Christians because they are still blind to the truth (Joh 8:32) and as such play right into what the devil desires to do, which is to steal, kill and destroy that divine life (Joh 10:10). Oh, I pray that God will continue to open the eyes of the people to His divine life that they can have by just repenting (changing their mind and understanding) and believing the gospel (John 14:20)

Wonderful Gospel Explanation

2009-11-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

Paul White gives the complete gospel message which many in the modern day church do not know and thus have never been set free (John 8:32) and are not living the restful, abundant life that Christ promised (John 10:10 and Mat 11:28)

The Exchanged Life - J. Hudson Taylor

2009-10-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

I just listened to an audio book on my way up and to Atlanta (yes about a 9 hour book) on the biography of James Hudson Taylor. What a man of God...so humble, so full of love and yet it wasn't until he was 37 (which is my age) that God opened his eyes to the reality of the exchanged life. It came about by a missionary that Hudson trained and brought from England to China...the letter from his younger friend was the catalyst that God used to open his eyes to this wonderful truth.

So much in his letter could be said by me and the fact that for over 10 years I tried and tried and tried to achieve what was already done, oh what unbelief. Unfortunately, we have many today that do not understand their union and identity with Christ. They try and try and try hard to do what is already done. Victory is a gift of the Grace of God and our job is to stop striving for victory (which is an act of unbelief) and rest in the finished work of what Christ has ALREADY accomplished. Below is the letter that Hudson wrote his sister after God opened his eyes to the truth, by the way, was 20 years after he trusted the Lord and after about 17 years of serving him on the mission field. The question must be asked...what will you do with this truth...believe it and rest or not believe it and keep striving for what is already yours.

"I feel as though the first glimmer of the dawn of a glorious day had arisen upon me. I hail it with trembling, yet with trust- as to work, mine was never so plentiful, so responsible, or so difficult; but the weight and strain are all gone. The last month has been perhaps the happiest of my life; and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul- Perhaps I shall make myself more clear if I go back a little- My mind has been greatly exercised for six or eight months past, feeling the need, personally, and for the mission, of more holiness, life, power, in our souls. But personal need stood first and was the greatest. I felt the ingratitude, the danger, the sin of not living near to God. I prayed, agonized, strove, fasted, made resolutions, read the Word of God more diligently, sought more time for meditation and prayer - but all was with effect. Every day, almost every hour, the consciousness of sin oppressed me- each day brought its register of sin and failure, of lack of power- then came the question Is there no rescue? Must it be thus to the end - constant conflict and instead of victory too often defeat? How, too, could I preach with sincerity that to those who receive Jesus, to them gave He that power to become the sons of God (i.e. God-like) when it was not so on my own experience?-

I hated myself. I hated my sin; and yet, I gained no strength against it. I felt I was a child of God: His Spirit in my heart would cry: 'Abba Father'; but to rise to my privileges as a child, I was utterly powerless."

"All the time I felt assured there was in Christ all I needed, but the practical question was how was I to get it out?- I knew full well that there was in the Root abundant fatness; but how to get it into my puny little branch was the question. As the light, gradually dawned on me, I saw that faith was the only prerequisite, was the hand to lay hold on His fullness and make it my own. But I had not this faith! I strove for it but it would not come; tried to exercise it, but in vain. Seeing more and more the wondrous supply laid up in Jesus, the fullness of our precious Savior-my helplessness and guilt seemed to increase. Sins committed seemed but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief, which was their cause, which could not, or would not, take God at His Word, but rather made Him a liar. Unbelief was, I felt, the damning sin of the world-yet, I indulged in it.

"When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never know it before. McCarthy, who had been exercised by the same sense of failure, but saw the light before I did, wrote: 'But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.' As I read I saw it all, 'If we believe not, He abideth faithful' (2Tim 2:13). I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed!) that He had said: 'I will never leave you.' (Heb 13:5) Ah, there is rest I thought! I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I'll strive no more. For has He not promised to abide with me?

"But this was not all He showed me, nor one-half. As I thought of the vine and branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured direct into my soul- I saw not only that Jesus would never leave me, but that I was a member of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. The Vine, now I see, is not the root merely, but all- root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit; and Jesus is not only that: He is soil and sunshine, air and shower, and ten thousand times more than we have every dreamed, wished for, or needed. Oh, the joy of seeing this truth! I do pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given us in Christ."

"Oh, my dear sister, it is a wonderful thing to be really one with a risen and exalted Savior; to be a member of Christ! Think what it involves. Can Christ be rich and I poor? Can your right hand be rich and the left poor? Or your head be well-fed while your body starves? Again, think of its bearing on prayer. Could a bank clerk say to a customer: 'It was only your hand wrote that check, not you,' or 'I cannot pay this sum to your hand, but only to yourself?' No more can your prayers or mine be discredited if offered in the name of Jesus (i.e. not in your own name, or for the sake of Jesus merely, but on the ground that we are His members) so long as we keep within the extent of Christ's credit - a tolerably wide limit"...

Yielding to the Holy Spirit

2009-10-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy lately but wanted to give all of you who follow my blog some great teaching. This one is from Joseph Prince and he is speaking about yielding to the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit works in us to bring the reality of the victory we already have into our daily walk.

Are you under Grace or Law?

2009-10-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

You choose what to believe...here is the truth, make a decision? Any questions please feel free to email me, connect on facebook or place them in the comment section...thanks for watching

Jeremiah 1

2009-10-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

Chapter I The Calling

In Jer 1:5 we find a very familiar verse and one that has been used to defend the life of an unborn baby…or as the pro-death side would say a “fetus”. God lives outside of time and space and is not bound by either since He created them. We sometimes forget the size of our God and limit Him to a super powerful type of human…that is a mistake. Time and space are relative but our God reigns now and forever more. So in verse 5 we see that Jeremiah was chosen, set apart and appointed to be a prophet.

But Jeremiah rejects the call of God and blames it on his youth and his inability to speak for God. Now in many of our views of God we would have Him striking Jeremiah down with lightning for disobeying or questioning what God would proclaim…but that is not our God. In fact in Jer 1:7 we see God building him up not in Jeremiah’s ability but in God’s ability and in Jer 1:8 we see the beautiful promise that Jeremiah receives “I will be with you”…and if God is with us what else would we need?

Notice in Jer 1:9-10 the tenses of the verbs…I have filled, it is done now live by faith and take God at His Word. He also says I have set you…God has set him over nations what does he have to fear? Nothing as long as his eyes are upon the Lord and he walks believing the truth of what God has already done.

In Jer 1:11-15 we see that God is telling Jeremiah what will take place and how His word will accomplish what He desires it to accomplish because God is watching over it. We are to be faithful and God will accomplish what He will as we follow His leading. It is a great promise we can take on ourselves right now…God loves us, watches over us and will accomplish all He wills in our lives so it is not up to us “TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN”.

In Jer 1:16 God knows all the evils ever done and each one will give an account. It is a very scary thing for people outside of Christ…God will judge them for every evil thing done in thought, word and deed. Although it may seem today that evil doesn’t get judged and even flourishes (the old proverb of no good deed goes unpunished is apropos) yet God knows and not one thing will escape His omniscient eye.

And finally in Jer 1:17-19 we see the final words to Jeremiah about this calling from God. It is a sobering call, God will do incredible things through Jeremiah so He wants him to be fully consecrated to do God’s will. And God is so generous to tell him the humiliation he will endure if he is not obedient to God’s will. Jeremiah is Gods ambassador and must stand in the gap as the man of God yet again we see the gentleness of God to tell Jeremiah what He has already done in him…Jeremiah would have no ability on his own and would have to be as far from self-sufficient as he could be because he needed his sufficiency to be in God alone. And again God says…I am with you and what more do we need then that?

God is with each of us that are in Christ…what more do we need then that? Get rid of all the junk that hinders all the good that God wants to do through you and you will find that more of Him is more then sufficient. I love what Paul said…2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,

Jeremiah part 1

2009-10-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

I will be writing some of my thoughts on the book of Jeremiah especially as it relates to the people, the church, and the nation today. It is not meant to be an exposition of the book nor is it meant for doctrine but mainly I am writing here for personal and practical reasons. Please feel free to read through this important prophets book with me. As always a little historical background will be good to understand the context especially in relation to today (there are many similarities).

This is taken from http://www.abu.nb.ca/ecm/Jer00b.htm

Ashurbanipal, died in 627 B.C. as the last of the Assyrian rulers. Nabopolassar, King of the Babylonian empire began his rule in 626 B.C. This was the year in which Jeremiah received his call from the Lord. (Jeremiah 1:1) Nabopolassar took control of the Assyrian empire capturing the capital of Ninevah in 612 B.C. Egypt tried to help their Assyrian allies by marching north to lend military support but to no avail.

Josiah, King of Judah tried to stop the Egyptians advancing north but at a battle at Megiddo in 609 B.C., Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco II. (2 Chronicles 35:20-24).

At this time Jeremiah is not well known as a prophet in Jerusalem as Josiah's servants go to the prophetess Huldah for insight from God. (2 Kings 22:14ff) But over time Jeremiah grows close to Josiah as is evident from his grief at his death at the hands of Pharaoh-Necho, in 609 B.C. at Megiddo.

Josiah (640-609 B.C.) came to the throne, after the murder of his father Amon, in the eighth year. 2 Kings 22:1 He was a Godly king who sought the Lord and in the twelfth year of his reign began to clear the land of heathen idols. (2 Chronicles 34:3-7) While the temple was being cleaned up the book of the law or Torah was found and read by Josiah who proceeded to carry out a strict reformation of worship in keeping with the Word of God which was found. (2 Kings 22, 23)

Jeremiah prophesied mainly in Jerusalem at the feasts of the Temple although he did visit other cities. (Jeremiah 11:6) As is often the case he received fierce opposition in his home town of Anathoth, which resulted in a dangerous plot against his life. But God warned him of the dangers and he was preserved. (Jeremiah 11:18)

Jehoahaz, who reigned three months is only mentioned in Jeremiah 22:11 under the name of Shallum. (2 Kings 23:31) Jehoahaz will not return to Jerusalem from his journey to the Egyptian camp at Riblah, where he was taken prisoner and carried off to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco II. (Reigned 610-595 B.C.) It was during this time that the royal court turned on Jeremiah and he suffers severe persecution and several imprisonment's. (Jeremiah 20:1-2; 32:2-3; 37:12-21; 38:6-13)
Jehoahaz's older brother, Jehoiakim, is appointed as the king of Judah under Neco and reigned eleven years. (609-598 B.C.) He was originally passed over by the people but raised to the throne by Pharaoh-Necho who changed his name from Eliakim to Jehoiakim. Unlike Josiah his father, Jehoiakim turned away from God and favoured the heathen gods and practices. (2 Kings 23:37)

Jehoiakim did not like Jeremiah or his messages and on one occasion when one of Jeremiah's prophecies were brought to him to be read, he cut it into small pieces and threw it into the fire. Jeremiah 36:21-32 God told Jeremiah to simply dictate the message over again through Baruch his scribe.

In 605 B.C. the course of history changed when the Egyptians were crushed by the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish. Jeremiah 42:2 Pharaoh-Necho returns to Egypt defeated and the Babylonians ruled western Asia without resistance for the next 70 years. Jehoiakim had submitted to the Egyptians but three years under Nebuchadnezzar's rule he conspired against him. In this way Jehoiakim brought about the devastation of the land by Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites. They gladly acted as the tools of the Chaldeans until Nebuchadnezzar under his successor came to Jerusalem and revenged himself by plundering and carrying away the people. (605 B.C.) Jeremiah severely rebuked the kings conduct and even prophesied personal punishment which was brought upon him by God. (Jeremiah 21:11-14) Jehoiakim is humiliated by God. Daniel 1:1-2 At the same time Daniel and his three friends are taken into captivity in Babylon. (Daniel 1:3-6)

Jerusalem is attacked again in 598-597 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and Jehoiakim is killed. His son Jehoiachin is prophesied by Jeremiah to be taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar Jeremiah 22:24-30 which is fulfilled in Jeremiah 29:1-2. In 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar puts Josiah's son Mattaniah on the throne of Judah and renames him Zedekiah. He was a puppet king who sometimes asked for Jeremiah's help while at other times allowed Jeremiah's enemies to persecute him. However Jeremiah did arrange for his own personal safety in exchange for revealing the will of God to Zedekiah. Jeremiah 38:15-27 The safety often took the form of house arrest which he was under until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (Jeremiah 38:28)

Zedekiah was overrun by the Babylonians as he fled the city of Jerusalem . His sons were executed before his eyes and then his eyes were removed by Nebuchadnezzar. (Jeremiah 39:1-7) Nebazaradan, who was the commander of the imperial guard advised Jeremiah to go and live with Gedaliah the governor of Judah. (Jeremiah 40:1-6) Gedaliah was assassinated and because he was a friend of Nebuchadnezzar some of the Jews fled to Egypt for safety. Jeremiah and Baruch went with them. Jeremiah 43:4-7 His last words are recorded in Jeremiah 44:24-30. The only place Pharaoh Hophra is mentioned in the Bible is found in this passage. He ruled Egypt from 589-570 B.C.

The theme of Jeremiah's message is one of judgment against Judah. God would punish his people for their sins of idolatry, spiritual adultery and trusting in Egypt rather than Jehovah. The punishment would come by means of the Babylonians from the north. But God also brings grace as well as wrath and so there is found intersperse throughout Jeremiah glorious Messianic prophecies. They form a part of the prophets pleading with the people to repent. (Jeremiah 3:14-17; 23:5; 31:31; 33:16)

So please get your bible and start with me for a journey through this wonderful book. We will start with Jeremiah calling which is found in chapter 1. After that we will pick up on chapter 2 and 3. I will be using a Holman Christian Standard Bible to quote from which is free with my software from www.e-sword.net and is a very good translation.

The Holy Spirit part 5 (Final)

2009-09-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

Many times in our minds we tend to put the cart before the horse and get confused when the horse cannot pull the cart. Let me explain. The New Testament, especially the epistles, are written much differently then our modern western mindset. Our thoughts are…cut to the chase and tell me what to do! Take the letter to the Ephesians, it starts our for the first 3 chapters teaching us of all that we have in Christ and who we are as a result of the death and resurrection, then leads the rest of the letter telling us how to live out our “New Creation (2Cor 5:17) Self”. And that is why Paul starts off chapter four in this manner.

Eph 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

The “therefore” refers back to all that has been said in the previous three chapters. If we don’t understand who we are then doing the rest of what Paul is instructing will either be a heavy burden, and chain us into some will powered religious routine or put us on the guilt treadmill as we don’t do the things our conscience tells are good and right to do. Either way it is not the Christian life. Understanding who we are and living out our internal nature is a free life and one filled with the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Our job is to abide in Christ and walk in the Spirit.

Joh 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Joh 16:14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Holy Spirit is given to us to guide us into the Truth (Joh 14:6) and to share or declare Christ living in you. As we rest in Christ and look to Him and the Holy Spirit to guide us a new relationship begins to blossom. Christ is living today, just as He was when He walked the streets of Jerusalem. In fact He lives to intercede (Heb 7:25) on our behalf to His Father…what a wonderful High Priest that continuously watches over us. We can are now participants (because we are in Christ and He is in us) in that miraculous relationship between our triune God. Now our “to do” is to simply live out our nature…as Paul puts it here

Eph 4:22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
Eph 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
Eph 4:24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Now we are to put off our old self and the manner in which we lived not to grow in holiness but because that old nature was crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20) and is reckoned dead (Rom 6:11). It is not a hope that it happened or a possibility that it has taken place…it is a fact, 2000 years ago God put you into Christ and your old self was crucified there (2Cor 5:14). And now because of what has happened you are to put on the new self…and not fall back into the old fleshly patterns that you are so accustomed to. When our eyes are on Jesus and we are abiding in Him we will not fulfill those fleshly desires instead we will produce fruit. It doesn’t get anymore simple then that old hymn…

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus :
O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free:

Chorus:
Turn you eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu'rors we are!

Chorus

His word shall not fail you He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well.
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Q&A - Did Christ walk in faith?

2009-09-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

1st... If faith is believin in what we haven't seen then Jesus never lived by faith seeing how he has seen the father and heaven both! He's askin us to do somethin he never did... 2 live by faith. See Jesus was indeed made into a human with every emotion of a human and lived just as we do, sharing every aspect of a human except for 2 things... His diety and his first hand expirience of heaven. If the very foundation of our belief in Christ wasn't faith then this wouldn't bother me but faith is the foundation of our belief. So how could god ask us to do something he didn't do? Either Christ never lived by faith or our definition of faith is wrong

You are diving into some deep waters when you try to understand the hyperstatic union of Christ (He is 100% deity and 100% man). On top of that you are asking a questions pertaning to the understanding and defintion of faith, something that men of God have been plunging since the beginning of time. I say that to say I may not have a sufficient answer for you but I will give it a try.

Faith is a moment by moment trust on and in the character of God. So in that respect although Jesus had an intimate knowledge of God He was still fully human and had to walk by faith. Faith is never blind and there are four "steps" (although I don't like to give anyone a prescribed method apart from the Spirit of God giving them light on the subject) that I see in walking in faith.

1. Believe a promise found in God's Word (the Bible, logos) or God's Word (directly to you, rhema)
2. Take God at His Word - if there is doubt or double mindedness refer to the book of James
3. Reckon the Bible to be true - the word reckon is an accounting term meaning to account, to meditate, to think about (found in Rom 6)
4. Step out in obedience continually

I love what William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army had to say about faith and works...

Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again—until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.

I also think that this video may be helpful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noyfvhUy-ao&feature=related

We also know that Christ was tempted just as we are...so in his moment by moment walk it had to be mixed with Faith, just as we see in the garden of gethsamane...not my will be done but yours.

Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Thanks for the questions...If anyone else has something to add please do so...With His Great Love - Dave

Q&A - Memories in heaven and hell

2009-09-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

If there's nothin good in hell and nothin bad in heaven then we can really only have half of our memory, the good or the bad depending on where u end up. What do you think about this?

All of scripture from Genesis to Revelation points to one person, Jesus the eternal son of God. In the beginning God made all that can be known by us and for us.

Col 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him

And in the end the finality to the Bible it points to Jesus as our redeemer and as a picture of the original tree of life

Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Rev 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

And Jesus points us to the overall reason for our existence, which is…

Joh 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

As that as the basis heaven is as much a place as it is a relationship with the eternal God. Our mind, where we have memories, is an imperfect fallen vessel for remembering things and as such our memories start to go quick and sometimes all together in the case of Alzheimer.

Many theologians believe that we will have no memories while in heaven because of Jesus wiping them away as in Rev 21:4 or they point to Isa 65:17 and some contend that our memories will be wiped cleansened and restored and not wiped away…to be honest the Bible is somewhat silent on the matter.

As for the dead that reside in hell many people look to the story of the Rich man and Lazarus found in Luk 16:19-31 and point out that the Rich man had memories of his family and possibly even the justice of God on his sin, as he did not asked to be released from hell. Either way hell is an existence, eternally away from the goodness of God and his gifts thus God allowing and giving the volitional choice each human has made for themselves…what more could God do. It would be good for each of us to contrast what is said about heaven and about hell and to look to the goodness, grace and love that God has for each and every soul.

Mat 22:13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

1Co 2:9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--

Short Succinct Gospel Message

2009-09-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

Joh 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

What tool does Satan use to steal, kill and destroy the life that God has for us?

John 8:44 says that He is the Father of lies and that He uses deceit…remember the Garden of Eden?

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"
Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
Gen 3:3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
Gen 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
Gen 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Even more deceit)

What was one of the consequences of living independent of God?

Gen 3:22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever--"

Satan lied & deceived man, man sinned (which is the outworking of living independent of God) and thus the relationship of man and God was lost…and death entered the world.

"As a result of Adam and Eve's sin, their descendants today still live by the choice they made. Every society defines right and wrong according to its own standards, and people's lives are judged on the basis of conformity to those standards. Yet God's purpose for mankind has not changed from His design in the Garden of Eden. He still wants us to find our source in His life, not in laws dictating right and wrong." Steve McVey, Grace Walk pg 107

Satan’s battle is always with God and your are a tool or a pawn to him…He wants to deceive you of the life that God has for you.

So the question to each of us is…how do we know if we have been following Satan’s lies? The answer is given in our attitude toward God and what flows from our hearts

Have you ever lied? Have you ever taken something that didn’t belong to you? Have you ever dishonored your parents? Have you ever hated someone? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? These are all sins

These actions show our relationship to God…Our source for living is the world, our selves or in some cases Satan. But here is the good news…God desires to give you grace and mercy…he says

Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He wants us to have real life…an abundant life, walking with Him in relationship…Creator and Creation

1Jn 5:10 .. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
1Jn 5:11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1Jn 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Joh 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Mar 1:15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent (turn from sin and turn to God) and believe in the gospel."

And your response to His amazing grace is to simply repent (turn away from living independent of God thus living for self, sins and following the lies of Satan )and believe the gospel. What is stopping you from doing this today...for most it is pride, they want to do it on their own or they don't want to admit that they have lived following lies for all their life. Don't let that get in the way of what God has for you...He is good, gracious and merciful.

If you don't desire to come to Christ during this time of grace then there comes a day when you will face God and give an account for every thought, every word and every deed. God has a place for people who desire to live apart from Him...and in the end He gives them they justice they desire. That place is called Hell and it is worse then anything you could ever imagine. Just as Heaven is a real place enjoying God for all eternity, Hell is a place apart from Him for all eternity. The most often described state in Hell says that there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mat 8:12, 13:42, 25:30)...So come, come to Him who died and gave it all for you...

2Cor 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

How many times does Jesus need to be crucified?

2009-09-02T07:38:00.001-07:00

Please watch this video as it explains something that is so lost on the modern day church.

The Holy Spirit part 4

2009-08-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Joh 16:8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
Joh 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
Joh 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

The difference between verses 9 and 10 that most people miss is the “they” and the “you”. So we know that the “they” are those that do not nor will not believe in Jesus thus rejecting the gospel. The word “believe” that is used comes from the Greek word “pisteuō”, which means “to have faith” or to “entrust”. Believe is not talking about intellectual assent to just some sort of idea, James stomps on that in Jas 2:19. Now who is the “you” in verse 10? The disciples. They had already made a declaration of trust (Mat 16:16) in Christ and now Jesus is teaching them how the Holy Spirit will deal with them because Jesus would no longer be physically with them.

Joh 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

When I first became a Christian I lived much of my life as one that believed that I needed to act righteous and that this verse was proof that when I didn’t the Holy Spirit would convict me of my sin so that I would start acting right. Oh how far from the Truth that is and yet how often that is taught in many well-meaning churches. And as I was living my Christian life it was one of duality, I was trying to always do the right thing so that I would be righteous and in doing so put myself back under the law. But how can I be under the law if I have been delivered and set free from it? I would cry out like Paul did in Rom 7:15, I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. And as such my Christian life was full of joy at times but also full of condemnation and shame at how I acted.

The word in verse 10 is not about “my righteousness” but Christ’s righteousness. The word speaks specifically of justification. Justification is NOT “just as if I haven’t sinned” but now I have the righteousness of Christ in me. The Holy Spirit convicts you of who you are…you are righteous!

Rom 5:17 If, because of one man's trespass (Adam’s), death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
Rom 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Our righteousness is a gift from God through Jesus Christ (Php 3:9) and we saved not by anything we have done but by Him alone (Tit 3:5). Many of our problems come through ignorance of the truth and the deceitful lies of the devil. Many are still on a “religious” treadmill trying to do for God what has already been done. YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS, stop trying to establish your own and thus putting yourself back into bondage to the law. The Holy Spirit directs us to now live out our identity.

Rom 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Is Lot a righteous man? Lot lived in Sodom, he was a judge in Sodom, at one point he offered his two virgin daughters to the perverts of Sodom to have their way with them and in the final end He had children by these daughters that started great pagan generations that continually made war against God’s people the Israelites. But what does God have to say about Lot?

2Pe 2:7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked
2Pe 2:8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

He calls him righteous 3 times in these 2 verses. Why? Because righteousness does not come by what you do but by who you are. Just as Abraham believed and it was accounted to him as righteousness (Gal 3:6) so did Lot. Now they lived their lives much differently and here we even have a little insight into how Lot lived daily (tormenting his righteous soul) but it always goes back to salvation…we are saved and thus made righteous by faith (Eph 2:8-9)

The next step is to live out who you are and in doing so living in a manner succinct with your nature. I will go right into this next time, until then think or reckon on your identity in Christ.

A video showing the correct use of the Law

2009-08-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

This should help bring light to the post below on the Holy Spirit. It is why Wesley said to preach 90% law and 10% grace...Also, pray that this man will see, understand and come to Christ before it's too late. I hope this is helpful.

The Holy Spirit part 3

2009-08-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

Joh 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

The whole race and racism by color is a lie perpetrated by the father of all lies, satan, to take our eyes off of the truth that we all came from Adam and Eve. There are two and only two races of people those in Adam and those in Christ, those that the wrath of God abides upon and those that have eternal life (John 3:36). All other attempts at dividing mankind are self-imposed, world directed attempts at taking our eyes of the one who gives us life. Now the Holy Spirit deals very differently with those that are in Christ and those that are in Adam. In the next post we will look at how the Holy Spirit deals with those that are saved by the shed blood of Christ, that have been justified in God’s sight and have eternal life but for today let’s look at how the Holy Spirit deals with those that are not in Christ.

Joh 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

Now who is Jesus speaking of here…those that do not believe. Is that the one’s that are in Christ, that have repented and believed the gospel (Mark 1:15)? Absolutely Not! The “they” are those that either will not or have not believed on the one that God has appointed to bring life and salvation (1Thes 5:9). Now God deals with them in a much different way then He does His own children. God’s desires them to come to the knowledge and repent, which is to turn from sin, self and satan and turn to God, and believe on the one whom He has sent.

Rom 2:4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Now the Holy Spirit is that internal witness convicting the world of sin so that they might come to God. Sin is the transgression of God’s law. The knowledge of sin is brought through the law, which God has written on the heart of each of His creation (Rom 2:15). This law has a purpose that of course is centered around God incarnate, Jesus Christ.

Gal 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

The laws purpose is to show us that we cannot and will not live up to God’s Holy Standard and it is the measure that Paul speaks of when He says:

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Now the Holy Spirit works through the law written upon our hearts (the internal witness) and the external preaching and teaching of the law (the external witness) to convict the world of sin. And this is why that great evangelist and preacher John Wesley would say:

“Preach 90% law and 10% grace”

Never get in the way of the Holy Spirit convicting someone of their sin and need of a Savior, that is heavenly business and loved ones need to deal with God directly about the state of their salvation. The Holy Spirit is so good to show us the need for us to come to Christ to have life, forgiveness and to be born again of the Spirit, without which we cannot even see the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3). Understanding the work of the Holy Spirit is essential and next time we will look at how He deals with the believer.

A Truth that Satan Does Not Want You to Believe

2009-08-21T05:48:00.000-07:00

Rom 6:2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Rom 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Rom 6:7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

This is a fact, no matter what you believe, what you experience or what you feel, that you have been (past tense) baptized into his death and that your old self was crucified (past tense) with Him, if you are in Christ Jesus. It always amazes me that so many of us understand that we are saved by faith and that is where it stops...but it is faith in the finished work of Christ that has sanctified us. Now it is up to us to walk in that fact that Truth that has set us free. I love what the great bible commentator Martin Lloyd Jones had to say of these passages

"This is, to me, one of the most comforting and assuring and glorious aspects of our faith. We are never called to crucify our old man. Why? Because it has already happened - the old man was crucified with Christ on the cross. Nowhere does the Scripture call upon you to crucify your old man; nowhere does the Scripture tell you to get rid of your old man, for the obvious reason that he has already gone. Not to realize this is to allow the devil to fool you and to delude you.

What you and I are called upon to do is to cease to live as if we were still in Adam. Understand that the "old man" is not there. The only way to stop living as if we were still there is to realize that he is not there. That is the New Testament method of teaching sanctification. The whole trouble with us, says the New Testament, is that we do not realixe what we are, that we still go on thinking we are the old man, and go on trying to do things to the old man. That has been done; the old man was crucified with Christ. He is non-existent, he is no longer there. If you are a Christian, the man that you were in Adam has gone out of existence; he has no reality at all; you are in Christ."

Now if that news does not make you want to jump up out of your seat and thank Jesus Christ for the victory that we already have I don't know what will! Your identity is sealed in the savior...you are no longer bound and chained to that old sin nature. Your sentence has been nullified and your chains have been shattered...so stop today living like a bound man or woman and live in the victory that Christ has already paid for in full.

The Holy Spirit part 2

2009-08-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Before we look at how the Holy Spirit applies these truths to our lives let’s first look at two statements of truth that satan wants to hide from you. We have seen that satan uses deception and lies in order to keep you from Jesus who is life, abundant life. The first of the two truths almost everyone has heard yet only a few apprehend it for themselves. It is summed up in one beautiful passage in the book of John

As Jesus is speaking to His disciples, specifically Thomas, he sums up this beautiful reality

Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Joh 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

The truth is not something we can sit on a mantle nor is it something that we figure out by education…the Truth is a person, the Truth is God incarnate. He alone can give life for He alone is life. He will not show you the way because He is the way. This beautiful fact comes into fullness in the only begotten Son Jesus Christ. I love how Peter sums it up as he speaks to a group of religious people.

Act 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Salvation isn’t a way or a system or even a belief…salvation is a person. One of the many misleading things being taught today is salvation by works. Many a person has come to an alter and been asked a myriad of different questions pertaining to the doctrines of Christianty and as long as the man or woman says “Yes, I believe those things” we pronounce them saved. Saved by what? Saved by a magical prayer or a saying you believe a few fundamental things about Jesus. It is backward…salvation is not only of the Lord but it is the Lord.

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

The next truth that many well meaning Christian men and women have never come to know is essential to understanding who we are in Christ. Christ came to set us free yet many have had a sort of religious bondage when they come to Christ by the grace of God. They are saved by grace yet run right back into the “you need to’s”. Now that you are saved by grace you must read your bible, you must pray, you must give, you must evangelize and you must come to church. Yet it almost seems as if it is a bait and switch. I am not saying that the five things listed above aren’t profitable for those in Christ, no they are very profitable but we get the mindset that we have now come to Christ and must work to please Him.

The truth that satan wants to hide from you is that God is well pleased with you. When one comes to Christ and is born again the old has passed away and they are new creations in Him. Their sins are not only forgiven but they now have the righteousness of Christ. Justification is not “just as if I haven’t sinned”…it is so much more! Justification is that not only are all my sins taken away but the Lord Jesus is my righteousness because I am in Him.

1Co 1:30 But from Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption;

I love how Steve McVey put it in his book Grace Walk, pg 42

For many years I didn’t really know who I was. I knew that I had trusted Christ when I was eight years old and that I was going to heaven. But I lived my life under an assumed identity. It was a false identity that I accepted because of the power of suggestion that came to me from the world, the flesh and the devil. I knew that I was a Christian, but I really didn’t understand just how much my identity had changed when I was saved.

Understanding our identity is absolutely essential to our success in living the Christian life. No person can consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with the way he perceives himself. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who we are is by far the most important truth we can possess.

So there you have it two truths that satan does not want us to get our hearts around. The truth of Jesus and who He is and how much His love for you right now can save you, transform you and give you abundant life. And who you are in Christ…you are fully loved, fully accepted. Your identity doesn’t rest in what you do but who you are. When at once we realize who we are in Christ we will work from the point of “grace and peace”.

Stop believing the lies of who you are that satan bombards you with and start believing the gospel of who you are in Christ…and in believing and understanding you identity that will propel you to love Him and serve Him all the more.

Col 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Knowing the Holy Spirit part 1

2009-08-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Joh 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
Joh 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
Joh 16:10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
Joh 16:11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Here again we see Jesus leading us into the truth. In these passages He is helping us to understand why He had to go and the truth of what will actually come to pass because of His victory. The devil’s goal it to have us follow him and give him authority thus giving him power in our lives. The devil is the father of lies and is a master of deception but he only has authority when you believe the lies that he has perpetrated on the human race and in believing the lies follow what you believe to be truth.

Most people would never follow the “Hollywood” devil, you know the one, with the pitchfork, horns and pointy tail. We would see him coming a mile away and run to Christ. But just as the devil is described in the garden of eden as more subtle, more cunning and more crafty the Bible alerts us to how he will manifest himself from time to time.

2Co 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

You see it is the Truth that satan hates and it is the truth that he desires you not to know. He leads us by things that fit right into our nature…things that seem may even seem good as the 1950’s French novelist Albert Camus said

“The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.”

And since that day in the garden when we desired to know good and evil and be like God we have fallen into satan’s trap many times. And just like Simon Peter we too are at war with satan when we come to know the truth and that truth sets us free but we have an advocate…

Luk 22:31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,
Luk 22:32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

So the first step in knowing the Holy Spirit is to know that He bears witness of the Truth. And in that most famous passage Jesus tells us that He is Truth (John 14:6) and now our job our purpose is to allow the truth of Jesus to save us, to sanctify us, and to satisfy us in every facet of our life and to tell that same story of the power and love of God, just as Paul did in the book of Acts

Act 26:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God, in order for them to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'

Next time we will start to look at how the Holy Spirit reveals and applies these truths to our lives and how He deals with three different groups of people; unbelievers, believers and the spiritual forces of darkness.

Where are your eyes?

2009-08-03T10:33:00.001-07:00

This just hit me like a brick wall...our eyes are too often on our own experiences, even looking at our own Spirituality. It is time we took our eyes off of self, sin and the world and put them on the One that is worthy.

Is Jesus within or without?

2009-07-29T04:56:00.000-07:00

There are many scriptures that we tend to funnel through our own societal norms. This is dangerous and defies all the rules of hermeneutics. It leads us into an idolatrous religious experience, just as the people in Jeremiahs day. When scripture says something it is a fact and should be weighed as just that: Truth.

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luk 16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

As we go about our lives Jesus is either at the center or He isn't. He is either the "filter" that every thought, every word and every action is brought through or He isn't. He is either the closest friend, confidant and lover that we have or He isn't. He is either the One we live for or he is at arms length.

One of the things we have been able today to do is to separate out belief and belief or intellectual assent to believing something verses believing the truth and acting upon that truth. For instance if I said you won the lottery and you believed me...would you just believe me and go on with your day or would you appropriate the winnings into your life? With Christ we have much more than any lottery could ever give us...we have God Himself.

These two statements of Jesus are fact: where your treasure is there your heart will be. The heart is the deepest part of a person and what we tend to hold most preciously. And it can be many things: cars, houses, the way you look, the way people think about you, your husband or wife, your kids, whatever it may be it cannot share the space with Jesus. To many Jesus is just a part of their life instead of the one that gives life and if this is the case you cannot (not a matter of desire but a matter of ability) share that space between Jesus Christ and things.

A.W. Tozer puts it very succinctly in his book "The Pursuit of God"

Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply "things." They were made for man's uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him.

But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul. Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and "things" were allowed to enter. Within the human heart "things" have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.

This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble.

So what should you do if this is the situation you find yourself in? Confess (agree with God) that this is and has been sin in your life and that you have put things before Him. Repent - turn away from the act of doing those things and turn to God in truth...ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what is getting in the way of living the life of victory. And persist in faith...God wants those that will love Him with all of their heart, mind, soul and strength.

A few quotes to ponder

2009-07-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

I have collected a great deal of quotes from many different people. Here are a few to ponder from many different people that all shared a love for Christ.

"There are two sides to this Baptism: The first is, you possess the Spirit; The second is that the Spirit possesses you." -- Smith Wigglesworth

A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing. --Martin Luther

I am perplexed at the stupidity of the ordinary religious being. In the most practical of all matters he will talk and speculate and try to feel, but he will not set himself to do. --George MacDonald

The human race in the course of time has taken the liberty of softening and softening Christianity until at last we have contrived to make it exactly the opposite of what it is in the New Testament... --Soren Kierkegaard

The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. --E. M. Bounds

Isn’t it strange that people place so much emphasis upon going to church when there is not one command from Jesus to do so, and yet neglect the basic duties of our ordinary life which are commanded on every page of the Gospels? —William Law

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair. --G.K. Chesterton

Are you willing to be free?

2009-07-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

Many people look on religion as a crutch or something that enslaves the person. In fact there is a large secular movement, started in the UK, that if you were baptized you may declare and receive a statement of "debaptism". If this wasn't such a sad thing it would be almost funny. The problem is that they are caught in satans trap and are captive to do his will (2Tim 2:26), they give him authority and power (Acts 26:18) over their lives and are blind (2Cor 4:4) to the fact that they serve and do his will. Satan is not this red horned iconic hollywood devil but actually he comes as an angel of light (2Cor 11:14) deceiving you into doing things that "seem" good (like Eve in the garden of Eden) but ultimately serve his purposes.

The question is do you want to be free? Are you willing to come to Christ so that you may see clearly and be set free? Are you willing to let go of all that is of sin, self and satan and come to Christ to give you life?

Look at the difference between satan (the thief) and Jesus Christ

Joh 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

It reminds me of the story told of the blind man in Luke:

Luk 18:35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
Luk 18:36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.
Luk 18:37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
Luk 18:38 And he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Luk 18:39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Luk 18:40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
Luk 18:41 "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me recover my sight."
Luk 18:42 And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well."
Luk 18:43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

The blind man was crying out to God even to the point of desperation. He knew he wanted to be touched by Jesus, God in the flesh, and to have his sight. Even after many "well meaning" people told him to be silent he cried all the more. But Jesus heard his cries, just as He hears us when we cry out to Him, and the blind man got an audience with God Almighty. Then the question of all questions, what do you want me to do for you? That same question is asked today to each and everyone of us...what do we want or are we willing for God to do.

It is like another blind man that Jesus healed where the man said in Joh 9:25, all I know is that I was once blind but now I see. That is one of the verses that mean so much to me. It is so true of where I once was to where I am today. I thought I could find my way but being blind I was only fumbling in darkness, led to and fro by the prince of this world, satan. Jesus still bids us to come, and in such a time as this the greatest question is are we willing.

Mat 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Such a short but needed message

2009-06-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

If you have never heard Leonard Ravenhill speak then this is a must hear...you will probably want to listen to it many times as you examine yourself (2Cor 13:5)

The Christian Must Die! Part 8

2009-06-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

The fact that we have been crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20) and raised to newness of life (Rom 6:5) is sound and true because it is the Word of God. We walk by faith which is based on the character and faithfulness of God not of our experiences of feelings. Now knowing the truth what is our right response to God? Let's go to the source and find out what God know desires of us in light of the miracle on Calvary.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

It is your responsibility to present your body, soul and spirit to God and allow Him to transform you. Are you willing to live like Christ and to be changed into His image? Or are you only willing to do what you want thus retaining control and being your own god?

This is done by "putting on" and "putting off" certain habits and behaviors

Eph 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Sin no longer has power over you (Rom 6:2) if you are in Christ Jesus thus each and every time we commit sin we do so volitionally. If this is not true then we are believing the lies of satan over the truth of God's Word (1Cor 10:13). I am not talking about sinless perfection but about the sin or sins that God has given us light on yet we continue to "jump" into them taking the grace of God and using it for an occasion of the flesh.

Rom 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

So the clear command of God for those that are in Christ Jesus is to continuously present yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness. Now what do you need to put on and to put off? Are you willing to lay your life down for Christ? What change are you willing to make today?

Gal 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Are you willing to serve others? What is God asking you to do?

Well Done Gospel Presentation

2009-06-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

This is a short but well done gospel presentation on you tube. Use it to the glory of God.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Three questions everyone must answer

2009-05-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

A Christian Perspective:

Why are we here? 1John1:3

And what do we do while we are here? Col 1:10, 2Cor 5:9

And what happens when we die? Rom 14:8

The Christian Must Die! Part 7

2009-05-25T07:02:00.001-07:00

Throughout the Old Testament we see story after story of how God is teaching His children to rely on Him. From the story of Noah and the flood and how God sealed the door shut after Noah believed then acted upon that belief. Or when God led Moses to a geographic point where the Israelites were made to solely lean upon God and therein God parted the red sea and the Israelites were saved. Or the story of David and Goliath where David in His love, trust and zeal for God did what the whole nation of Israel thought was impossible…he slew Goliath with a sling and a stone.

Many people don’t know the story of Jehoshaphat, who was the king of Judah, at a time when all the surrounding nations were simultaneously coming to make war on Jerusalem. To put it in perspective we have the small nation of Israel today that is almost totally surrounded by Muslim nations and it would be as if many of those nations were coming to make war on Israel (see map, Israel is about 1/6th the size of Florida).

Now what could the king do? If you were the king what would you do? At this point the nation need to be saved so they call upon the Lord

2Ch 20:3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
2Ch 20:4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

So the people gathered to seek the Lord, they fasted, prayed, confessed their sins and stood upon the Lord’s promises that He made in the past. And…

2Ch 20:14 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah…a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.
2Ch 20:15 And he said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.

It was only when they were at the end of what they could do that they stood upon the promises and the truth of God. The direction God gave them was foolishness to the natural man but to the spiritual, to the one’s that knew they could trust their great Jehovah God, it was the power of God.

2Ch 20:17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you."

Here is where the story gets even better, where I think that God has a great sense of humor in dealing with His people and His creation but you’ll have to pick your Bible up to get the rest of the story.

Beloved, don’t you know that salvation belongs to the Lord (Jon 2:9), it is His battle and the war has already been won…we have the victory that He has given us! Now our response to such great news is to simply repent and believe (Mar 1:15), to turn from believing the lies of Satan and believe the truth of the Word of God. To turn from sin and self and turn to the Savior that has loves us and demonstrates that love, even why we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). And to believe the truth that we were crucified with Christ and now rest or abide in Him (John 15:10)

Rom 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Rom 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

The Christian Must Die! Part 6

2009-05-19T05:13:00.000-07:00

“There was a day when I died;

died to self, my opinions, preferences, tastes and will;

died to the world, its approval or censure;

died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends;

and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God." George Muller

Can you say the same? When Paul is writing the book of Romans he takes a look back at what many believe was his struggle living under that old covenant.

Rom 7:15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Rom 7:16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
Rom 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Rom 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (ESV)

Notice the continuous “I” that Paul refers to…He wants to do good but cannot. Oh, how many well meaning Christians have taken this verse and have agreed that they could not do the good they wanted to do, and they are correct. In verse 18 we see that “in his flesh” he cannot do the good he wants to do and Paul goes on to say it even stronger in the next chapter and in Corinthians

Rom 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Notice also that it is a matter of ability, not a matter of desire, you CANNOT please God in the flesh. If so then we would be able to work our way to God and the propitiation of Christ Jesus on the cross would have been a vicious, needless death.

There is no life in the flesh and if we do not appropriate what God has already done in Christ Jesus by crucifying us with Him we will continue to try and please God by our works; by praying more, giving more, going to church more etc. And God in His infinite goodness will not allow us to continue to try and please Him in the flesh…there will be no joy, no peace in fact we will cry out like Paul saying the good that I want to do I do not do but the evil I hate is what I do.

Instead of God being “light and life (2Tim 1:10)” to us, the things of God become rote and routine. Instead of us having victory over sin and abiding in that victory we try and stop sin in the flesh by repression or suppression…and have, in a sense, a white knuckle relationship to our God. Our relationship to God is one of love and an obedience that flows from that love and understanding of all the riches we have in Him

1Jn 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

In the Philippines I heard a local pastor use the following parable to illustrate Christ’s offer of rest (Matt. ll:28) and the response of people who won’t trust Him completely: The driver of a caribou wagon was on his way to market when he overtook an old man carrying a heavy load. Taking compassion on him, the driver invited the old man to ride in the wagon.

Gratefully the old man accepted. After a few minutes, the driver turned to see how the man was doing. To his surprise, he found him still straining under the heavy weight, for he had not taken the burden off his shoulders.

Christian, don’t make the same mistake…learn to rest in the fact that you HAVE been crucified with Christ and now set your mind on things above, just as the Bible instructs us to do.

Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Next time we look at a great and mighty example out of the book of Chronicles. Remember, the battle HAS been won and now rest in the victory we have in Christ.

The Christian Must Die! Part 5

2009-05-06T05:17:00.000-07:00

Have you taken the opportunity to consider the you HAVE been crucified with Christ, have you meditated upon the fact that you are seated in the heavenly realm, have you considered that the world, the flesh and the devil have no authority over you and that you have complete victory IN Christ?

Gal 5:1 Christ has liberated us into freedom. Therefore stand firm and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery

If not ask yourself why you haven’t done so…are you too busy bound in your prison cell to notice that the door has been ripped off its hinges, the chains tossed aside and that you now have complete freedom, unless you choose to still live in the prison cell. Look at what the Psalmist says…

Psa 31:6 I hate those who are devoted to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.

Psa 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words.
Psa 119:148 My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.

Therefore meditate on these promises day and night. I like what Thomas Brooks says in his book “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices” about meditating on the Word...

Remember, it is not hasty reading, but serious meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that make them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee’s touching of the flower that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian.

So take the time to “reckon” what you are reading and hearing. I think many of our problems stem from our priorities. How much time, effort and money do we give to the temporal things verses the eternal things from God. No one said it better then Jesus on the sermon on the mount:

Mat 6:19 "Don't collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
Mat 6:20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don't break in and steal.
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mat 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Now earnestly examine your life. For many these next passages will be light and life as they desire the things from above and God is giving them light but for others they will be condemnation and will not be well received.

Jas 4:3 You ask and don't receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.
Jas 4:4 Adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy.

1Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

So the first step is to reckon or continuously consider that you HAVE been crucified with Christ and that you have been raised with Him. This is an eternal absolute truth whether or not your life reflects it, it is yours to do with as you desire. The next step is to set your heart on things above and not on this passing world. The fact is that you can only have one master and that God is a jealous God and desires all of you.