You are currently browsing the daily archive for March 21, 2012.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39
Who shall, what shall, who can, what can?
Nothing.
Not today, not tomorrow, not yesterday.
Not any power or spiritual force
Not any distance in land or distance in relationship
No one. Nothing.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God, demonstrated in Christ Jesus.
You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. Colossians 1:19-23 MSG
This is the message. That Jesus came and lived and died to redeem us and make us acceptable to God, to bring us back into the family, forgiven and beloved.
This is the message. That He gave His life, and now we live our lives in response to His gift and His love. That we have a constant faith, and a life that outworks our inward belief and trust in God and His salvation.
This is the message. There is one way to God, and that way is Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
This is the message. Without Jesus and His sacrifice and without faith in Him we are lost and separated and guilty and rejected for eternity.
This is the message. With Jesus, you are loved and accepted and rescued and redeemed.
This is the message. There is hope because of Jesus. There is life because of Jesus. There is love because of Jesus. There is family because of Jesus.
You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message. Colossians 1:19-23
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
I am fully forgiven and free from all shame and condemnation (Romans 8:1-2, Ephesians 1:7-8, 1 John 1:9).
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7-8
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
i so love that. i am free from shame. forgiven. set free. released. cleansed. made whole and innocent and not guilty and new.
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You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. Colossians 1:21-22
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How far has the LORD taken our sins from us? Farther than the distance from east to west! Psalm 103:12
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Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18
Jesus totally sets me free from sin and the guilt that goes with it.
He removes my sin from me. a saying i’ve heard often says He throws it into the sea and posts a sign saying no fishing.
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Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! Micah 7:19
i am free. free from guilt and shame and condemnation.
my sin is GONE. removed. taken away. not mine anymore. its been exchanged on the cross and i now have the righteousness of Christ.
i can live clean and whole and pure.
though the consequences of my sin may be outworked, because of the way life is, our sin has impact, that sin does not belong to me if i confess it and receive forgiveness. it is no longer on my record. isnt that GOOD NEWS.
so we no longer need to live burdened by our sin.
we need to live holy and responding lives to God (because of His great love poured out on the cross to us when we were enemies of God and not even aware of our need or thinking about Him)
we can with total confidence draw near to God because of this righteousness and freedom from sin. we are his beloved children. holy and acceptable.
So Paul warned them,"Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also." But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Acts 27: 9-11
How many times do we discount the voice of God and listen to the voice of “an expert”?
How many times do we allow ourselves to be influenced by others instead of the One who holds the universe in His hands?
Lets be people who listen to God’s voice and guidance?
Even though it may run contrary to the expert opinion or the buzz of the crowd HE IS THE ONE WHO KNOWS
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Psalm 118:8
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Commit your way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:5
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. Acts 16:6-7
how often do we blame the devil for the things in our life when it is in fact JESUS who is guiding our steps and ordering our ways, including the door closing unexpected ways.
my sister sent me this text this morning: we must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.
the funny thing is my sister isn’t a Christian, yet, and i had looked and thought about buying her a card this morning with the exact same thing on it. seriously. a bit of a divine moment. she has been going through an incredibly difficult year and i’ve been praying for her and encouraging her. in a way, she HAS had to let go of what she had planned out for her life, to embrace the now and the opportunities today and the new potentials for tomorrow.
sometimes it is Jesus closing the door, to show you a better plan.
in the moment:
- keep trusting
- keep praying
- keep seeking
- keep moving
keep trusting God, even when you don’t understand. Don’t pull away but push forward and position yourself at His feet.
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