His Back-Our Sins

John 1:29 "The next day John seeth Jesus comming unto him,and saith,Behold the lamb of God,which taketh away the sin of the world."

Look what God did to secure forgiveness for us once and for all.To insure we would have the right relationship with him.It starts with Jesus' execution. He was lifted up in the same way that the snake was lifted up on a pole in Moses' day so that the people could look upon it and be forgiven for their sins.He was disfigured and marred beyond recognition.Jesus allowed his flesh to be crushed, ripped and torn.And in spite of His God-given mission to bring redemption to the world, He was despised and rejected by men, he was one from whom men hide their faces.

Jesus mission was to remove the sins off the backs of men and put them on His own.He took upon himself the punishment we deserved for our sins,and he suffered on behalf of us.Suffering that included being whipped all night long by a band of soilder, he was spitt on, slapped with an open hand, mocked and pierced in his side.He endured the excruciating pain of his execution knowing that his death would result in spiritual restoration, and in some cases physical healing, for those who put their trust in him. All of us are sinners,and all are in need of spiritual redemption.Jesus secured that redemption with the shedding of his blood,for without the shedding of blood ,there is no remission of sin.Jesus didn't open his mouth and complain about his treatment, although by many standards he was treated unfairly.Like a lamb being led to slaughter,he yeilded to his fate without resistance. He was the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus was God's sacrificial lamb, a lamb slaughtered on the altar as an atoning sacrifice. He was also the scapegoat, the one who separates sin from the sinner so God can look at us sinners and see us as sinless.Because Jesus took on the sins of all mankind and was sacrificed on our behalf, God's demand for justice was satisfied.

Now he sits at the right hand of God, where he intercedes on the behalf of all believers, when the enemy makes accusations against us.What was needed to purchase redemption for man was done through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross, where he bore our iniquities,  and poured his life out unto death to secure forgiveness."behold the love of God! 

Praise The Lord Everybody

Psalm 145:2"Every day will I bless thee;and I will praise thy name for ever and ever."

Jesus is worthy to be praised.It is impossible to overstate the worthyness of the Lord to be praised,for he is both the giver and substainer of every living thing.All of creation owes its glory,strength,and honor to God.Even the lions seek their meat from God, and who provides food for the raven.Man and beast, the blade of grass, the valley,and the sea all find purpose and presence in God; even the rocks will cry out if we fail to do so.

Gods greatness is so vast that it cannot be understood or measured.God's goodness and compassion is extended to all people,even the unbeliever, the wicked, the atheists, and the agnostics have received God's patience and grace,if only they would turn and repent. God shows compassion and mercy to all, acknowledging the simplest prayer,and the faintest cry that is made to him. Every living thing benefits from the sun and the rain, seasons, and his substance.He is worthy to be praised, it is the responsibility of all believers to declare God's glory,to their children,to strangers,and to an unbelieving world.All his creation, including his saints,will praise him.Not with the ritualistic hand clap or empty lip service praise, but by living a life before men that tells all who see, that he is worthy to be praised.His praise should be proclaimed in our walk and our talk by all who know him, and can testify of his goodness.As good as God has been to us, how can we afford not to praise his name.

God has placed each of us where he wants us in order to be his witness. There are people we can talk to that no one else can reach.We have unique relationships with some people, family members, friends, neighbors,and co-workers; people who look up to us, and value our input. God expects us to tell them what he has done for us, our assignment from God is to live a life worthy of the name by which we are called, that others will seek the salvation of the Lord. Let us live a hallelujah life,which gives God the highest praise.For He is worthy,so praise the Lord everybody. 

My Delieverer

Luke 1:74-75 "That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life."

 God promise Abraham the entire world would be blessed through his seed. The redemption of man  and the fulfilment of Gods promise would involve three things.The first is to be delivered from the hands of our enemies. Through out this life, we are threatened and sometimes over taken by the false gods we've created.We are in constant conflict with the flesh,eventually we are over run by our various lust, and taken into captivity by mass confusion.In these times we have a new enemy which has taken many prisioner; power, prestige and prosperity. But the soul of man is longing to be made free from all ungodly rulers. God promised us a delieverer which would free us from all and show us the way to an eternal rest in the land of promise.

The second aspect of redemption is spiritual, see at times we have a good relationship with God, and we benefit from that relationship.But at times we turn our backs on God and suffer the consequences. God wants a personal relationship with his people, one where we will be totally devoted to him. Jesus is the power to bring us into this type of relationship with God.It is through His blood that we have been delievered from the nature of the old man,and ave been born of the spirit of God.

Then the third aspect of redemption is moral.We need guidance in right living, but more than that, we need a change of heart. Jesus brings about a redemption of the heart, one that would allow us to have love for our fellow man, a sacrificial love which will seek the good for others over the good of ourself. A heart which will allow us to serve God without fear but with holiness and righteousness.God fulfilled his promise to us, he gave us Jesus, and Jesus protects us from all our enemies, he is the way back to the right relationship with God, a relationship which will deliever us from death and deliever us to eternal life.....

Changed

Philippians 3:21"Who shall change our vile body,that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,according to the workings whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself ".

We use the word changed or converted quite alot in religious circles,but what does it truly mean to be changed.Is going to church,singing in the choir, or preaching in the pulpit evidence of change. And if we are in fact converted or changed what is it we are changed from, or more important what are we change into.The scriptue says Jesus will change our vile body, that it might  be fashioned like his glorious body. Well biblical change is represented as a miraculous life transforming process,a process that is impossible without the direct,active intervention and participation of God. In fact he must initiate the conversion process. No man can come to Jesus unless the spirit of God draws them.He first opens the mind of those he is calling, or inviting to change so they can begin to understand the scriptures with a clarity and depth they could never attain on their own.This wonderful miracle of transformation usually begins when those God is calling hear the truth of God 's word accuratelly from one of his true servants( faith come by hearing, but how can they hear without a preacher,and how can he preach unless he be sent). Our creator begins to open their minds at that time to comprehend the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God to salvation.God's words now begin to make sense,just as a picture emerges when a puzzle is put together.Now the once lost soul begins to grasp the holy scriptures and thus be part of the miracle of God's calling.

What follows depends on the choices they make when they hear or read God's truth. They can respond to God and ask for His help to implement what they learn,or turn their back on the understanding of the truth they have received.Even though God encourages us to choose life, He will not force this choice on any of us. But as we will soon see, the consequences of our choices are enormous.The process begins with God's calling,followed by the key steps of repentance,baptism,the receiving of the Holy Spirit,and  climaxing with the return of Jesus Christ when those that are his will be resurrected to immortality and given eternal life.That is the ultimate transformation being change from this vile mortal body, and fashioned into a glorious immortal being! 

Just Trust and Believe

Job 14:14"If a man die,shall he live again?all the days of my appointed time will I wait,till my change come."

Job lived with an expectation that even when he died, a change would come;that's faith.Faith in God is more than a wing and a prayer,more than a wish for God to do something for us.Faith in God is trustful waiting when nothing makes sense,when everything is dark,when there seems no end in sight. This kind of faith places its confidence in God's goodness,even though everything in life seems to shout to the contrary.

But how do we remember to hold on to God in faith, when all of our circumstances seem to be tearing us apart? Here are somethings to help us remember God when things seems hopeless.We must trust in the truth of His word; remember to cry out to him in our day of trouble,instead of excluding him because of anger, mistrust, fear, or neglect.He tells us in His word to "call upon on me in your day of trouble and I will deliever you". We must remember to speak truth into the lies of our enemy. When doubt and fear tells you God don't care about your situation, rebuke the lie with the truth of God's word"to cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you." Then remember God requires times of thanksgiving.We must give thanks in all circumstances.If all seems hopeless,everything falling apart,if we have nothing else in life,our God has made a way for us to have eternal life through his only begotten son.Friends may try to offer explanations for our suffering and struggles. Many will have word of advice or insights,some of it good, some will be bad, but only God knows the content of our heart.It is his truth, presence and revelation we need to seek.As we look to him and call out to him,as we read his word and meditate on his promises, we will find hope rising up in us, and in this hope we will find the faith that will carry us through.

Remembering God during hopeless times will carry us through them,but learning to remember him before those times come, will strengthen our faith in him, and prepare us for the "dark nights" of our lives. "For we know that all things work together for the good,to them who love God,to them who are the called according to his purpose."

In Spirit and In Truth

John 2:19 " Jesus answered and said unto them,desroy this temple,and in three days I will raise it up"

Jesus has all power,He has supremacy over God's house,that is over the temple of God it is because of  Jesus that we can enjoy God.It is through the blood of Jesus that we are made the righteousness of God. And it is in Jesus that we can worship God in spirit and in truth,for he is the way to God the truth from God and the spirit of God we are born into

They that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth,these are the word Jesus sope to the woman at the well when she spoke about where she worshipped God.Many today seek to worship God in places,things and buildings made with hands.But the true worship of God takes place in the temple not made with hands.Jesus told the religionist if they destroyed the temple ,he would erect it in three days.Jesus had the power to erect a new temple, although His authority to do so was questioned by the religionist.They wanted to know what right did He have to do what He was doing.They were to destroy Him( kill Him), but He would raise from the dead after three days.His death and resurrection was to provide a new temple,a meeting place for God and man.It would be in Him that man would thereafter meet God.The temple of His body was to become the temple of men,the temple whereby men would worship and be reconciled to God.It is in Jesus that we are able to worship God in spirit and in truth.

 Let us cleanse our temple of all that might hinder a true worship experience with the Lord.We must empty it of all malice,envy,greed, and self-righteousness, and allow Jesus the righteousness of God to abode in your temple that we might worship the true and living God in spirit and in truth........ 

A Life That Bears Witness

Matthew 10:32 " Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven".

Does your life confess Christ before men?Does the life you live world bear witness that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God? Does it tell a dying world there is a Savior who loves all and who can save all.Does your life bear witness that Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation?

Jesus wants the world to know we belong to Him.He said they will know us by the love we have one for another.He wants us to confess Him openly,like the children of Israel when they openly placed the blood  of the lamb over the door post so the death angel would know they were of the Lord.We to must confess our alligence to Christ openly.We must openly walk in obedience to His word,do His will, and lead a lost world His way.Our life must put the savior on display.The world must see His love working in us, His mercy coming from us, and His power keeping us on the path of righteousness.It is so easy to confess Him with our mouth, for with our lips we do honor Him but our hearts are far  from Him.He wants us to live a life before men that will lift Him up and not put others down.To live a life that will draw lost souls to Him to be saved.To live a life before men that will produce fruit and fruit that will last.

Many who confess Christ with their mouth ,deny Him with the way they live their lives.True to deny him one time will not make you unworthy,but living a life which deny's His love,grace,mercy and power, is not the life of a true believer.Let us do a self examination and honestly ask if the life we live in the real world,that truly bears witness that there is a Savior who can save anybody.Live a life that bears witness to Him.Confess Him before men,that He will confess you before His Father.Put Him on display with your life.