Today's Word -- What The Law Reveals

 

The Law Cannot Give Life (eternal)

Galatians 3:20, 21

Now a mediator is not for just one person, but God is one. Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law. 

1 Timothy 2:5, 6

For there is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all—The Testimony that was given at just the right time. 

 

MEDIATOR: intervenes to restore peace between two parties, especially as it fulfills a compact or ratifies a covenant.  

Hebrews 8:6

Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. 

Law Cannot Make Perfect 

Hebrews 7:19

(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. 

Law Does Not Justify

Acts 13:39

And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Law Cannot Give Life

1 Corinthians 15:56

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Romans 3:20

Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

Law Reveals Sin And Sin Brings Death

Romans 7:9-11

Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.  So I discovered that the very commandment that was meant to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through the commandment put me to death. 

Law Reveals The Need For A Savior

Galatians 2:16

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

Romans 5:18

So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. 

Isaiah 53:3-8

He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Do you see your need for a Savior? for this Savior which God has given us? Do you see your need for a Mediator between you and God? I do. I need Jesus to intercede on my behalf to God. Every day. 

Seeing The Pigsty..

...For What It Is

Luke 17:15-20


You can tell your kids to clean their rooms. You can show them how to clean and take care of their rooms. But until they realize that their room is filthy, according to your standards, they will just not see the filth for what it is.

Us Moms and Dads know that a clean room is more than just a nice room. The child/children sleeping and playing in there are happier, the room smells fresh and clean when you walk into it and the child is learning a basic need for him or her self: responsibility for one's own needs. 

It is the same way with a sinner. We are told we need to be saved from the penalty of sin. We are shown the way to salvation. But until we see the need for salvation, until we recognize that we are sinners and that our thoughts, our actions, our words are sin, we will not obtain said salvation. 

We need to see sin for what it is before we can be declared set free from sin. Which begs the question, What is sin?

SIN IS ANYTHING GOD SAYS IS SIN. 

What is the penalty of sin? 

Death. Twice dead. 

How do I escape the penalty for my sin?

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth on Him, should be saved.". John 3:16 

GOD STILL LOVES. It is not a past tense, it is a current frame.

"For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The LORD shall be saved". Romans 10:13

WHOSOEVER MEANS ANYONE. God's love is not restricted to the color of our skin, nor the culture into which we are born, nor our gender, nor our citizenship. GOD LOVES. EVERYONE. 
Even the people who hate God, God loves. Why? Because GOD IS LOVE. 

What does God hate? Sin. Not the sinner, not the one committing the sins, but sin itself. Sin is disobedience to God. It is what keeps us from God's presence, because God is holy and sin is not. 

Are you seeing the pigsty yet? The Prodigal son saw nothing but despair and hopelessness when he sold himself into slavery to slop pigs. It is only when he realized where he was and what he was doing that he ran to his father and begged for forgiveness, expecting only to be a paid servant.

But what happened? His father ran to meet him, when he saw him coming. He forgave him immediately and wrapped him in the family garments, threw a huge party and welcomed his son home. 

It is in this way that God sees us. He waits for us to see sin for what it is, to recognize that we need His forgiveness on our sins because it is against Him we have sinned. He wraps His arms around us, throws a robe of righteousness across our shoulders and gives us only His best. 

That's what a heavenly Father does. 

Our hearts are our rooms. It is this room Jesus enters, when we believe. It is dirty and needs to be cleaned. Jesus washes our sins away with His blood. He cleans our hearts when we believe that He is who God says He is. 

I believe. 

In Jesus' Name - Is All Righteousness [Part Two]

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU. The Lord is Righteousness.

What is sin?

 

 

     Sin seperates us from God. And when we are separated from God, we cannot hear Him speak. Nor can we see Him. He is a far away God instead of an ever near God. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. The Lord is Present cannot be seen or known when sin has its way.

 

Genesis 2:1 Records the first time God said "Don't".

 

Genesis 3:1-7 Eve listens to the serpent, the medium through which Satan worked, and disobeys God. When Adam saw her eat it and not die, he ate it, too.

 

     The primary sin would be not listening to God. Disobedience, rebellion. We now have an inherent sin nature within all of us. We have an awareness of what is right and what is wrong. But in order to grow in righteousness we need more than just a whiff of right and wrong. We need a Teacher to direct us in our ways and help us mature in the righteousness of Christ.

     We are created by God with another inherent ability: the power of choice. We can choose to do right or we can choose to do wrong. When we choose sin, we are turning our backs on God, and and closing our ears so as not to hear Him speak. In our sin, we become arrogant and prideful. Just like Lucifer was before he got thrown out of heaven after he lost the war against God. Lucifer is the reason sin exists at all.

     God created a beautiful angel and named him Lucifer, meaning brightness, the morning star. Isaiah 14:12 describes his downfall from heaven and the reason he attacked his Creator. Ezekiel 28:11-19 describes how God created this creature. God did not create evil. Lucifer looked upon his own beauty. He knew he was the anointed cherub. He knew God had covered him with every precious jewel, and gold. Also, the music within Lucifer was placed there by God on the day in which Lucifer had been created. The purpose for which he was created was to worship his Creator, God. Instead, Lucifer chose to worship himself.
     He set himself above God; he willfully and deliberately desired to be worshiped and declared war against God after convincing one-third of God's angels that he deserved all the glory instead of God. He was wise in his own eyes because he was corrupt. His light was corrupted because his wisdom was corrupted first. And he was corrupt because evil had corrupted him. Evil was born in Lucifer; pride filled his being and arrogance ruled him. A multitude of evil was found in him; he was filled with violence and sin [Ezekiel 28:16].
     He was profane and God threw him out of the mountain of God. The day is coming when God will fully destroy him publicly. Lucifer's sanctuaries are defiled: his word is broken (liar), his music is polluted and profane, he prostitutes and slays. A sanctuary is a holy place, a hallowed place, a consecrated place. And, yet, his are defiled making his sanctuaries unholy, unhallowed, unconsecrated. Every thing he was when God created him, he has defiled and ruined because of his evil ways and wickedness in high places.
     Ephesians 6:11 The devil is wily. He is sneaky, deceitful, cunning. Ephesians 6:12 He is a principality, a power, a ruler of darkness of this world; he is spiritual wickedness in high places. Matthew 4:1 is the first time he is referred to as 'devil', which means false accuser, slanderer, traducer.  Traducer is the opposite of praise. He was created to praise; but in every thing he does and every word he says, is the opposite: he deliberately misleads they who listen to him.
     1 Peter 5:8 The devil is our adversary, he walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. What is a roaring lion? Why is the devil referred to in this way? [for Christ is also known as a lion: The Lord is The Lion of God, He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.] A roaring lion is one who makes his presence known, that those around him would be fearful and wary. A lion roars when on the hunt, instilling fear in his victim, his prey, making it harder for said victim to escape; where can you run to, when you are fearful of every direction. For the roaring of the lion lingers and makes escape almost impossible. And if the roaring lion is able to overcome you, he will take you with him. Satan knows his destination and wants to take you with him. He would rather see you in hell suffering and screaming for all eternity than see you believe God and accept Christ as Lord.

     In the animal kingdom a lion's roar can hit 114 decibels, equivalent to a jet engine and louder than a jackhammer. It can be heard as far away as 5 miles [8Km]. Fear brings the sound closer, making a person believe that death is nearby and that there is nowhere to turn. This is an illusion created by the devil. There is only one way out of this illusional maze: and that way is up. The only way to go up is to go to your knees and cry out to Jesus to save you. And He does.
     1 Peter 5:10 BUT GOD (two of my fave words). But The God of ALL GRACE, Who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after we have suffered a while, makes us perfect, established, strengthens, settles us. We have a Savior, He will keep the lion at bay.
     1 Chronicles 21:1 Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel, which was a sin against God's Word, as David was reminded in verse 3 by Jo'ab. A census was taken and the people were numbered and God was displeased and smote, or punished the nation of Israel. Though the king had ordered, because the people complied, all of them were punished for disobeying The Word of God. When man's laws go against God's law, God's law is to be obeyed first.
     The name Satan means adversary, the arch-enemy of good, the opponent, withstand. God is good all the time. Satan is wicked all the time. God is Love. Satan is hate. God is Righteous. Satan is unrighteous. God is Holy. Satan is unholy. God is Judge. Satan will be judged. God is Sanctifier. Satan is unclean. God is Shepherd. Satan is a thief. God is Truth. Satan is a liar. God is Strength. Satan is weakness. God is The Banner Over Me. Satan is a worm beneath my feet. God is Healer. Satan is deceiver. God is Redeemer. Satan is destroyer. Every thing God IS, Satan is the opposite.
     He is real. You know this, for you see the world around you. We are in our predicament because of the sinful nature in every person. There seems to be an abundance of hate every where you look. Your fingers take you around the world or into your own backyard via the internet. You and I are able to view, from a distance, the chaos that is increasing in our world. Leaving this world for another is not an option for the majority of us. And burying our head in the sand like an ostrich is not a good solution either. 



     If you want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem, you will need to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. You will need to make a decision for Christ instead of a decision to ignore Christ. It is a lack of integrity that prevents many from making the choice to acknowledge that God is and that God is holy. You may think you are without options in the midst of chaos and destruction, but you are not: Jesus died for you that you would not continue to be separated from God. It is sin that prevents you from getting near God. It is sin in your life that prevents God from hearing your prayers. If your prayers are getting answered, it is not the God Who created the universe and everything in it that is answering your prayer: it is the god of this world, Satan. He is determined to continue to deceive you.
      Why does Satan want to deceive you? To prevent you from knowing God. To prevent you from seeing God or hearing God's voice or knowing God's heart. Satan will do every thing and any thing he can to convince you that the only god you need is the god that is within you. This is a lie. There is no god within you. It is not your energy that will heal you, nor can anything in nature or the heavens bring you peace. The power of positive thinking will only take you so far; you need Jesus Christ in your life to take you all the way to God. Without Jesus, you are lost in the dark.
      Why continue to walk a dark and lonely path, when there is a Light waiting for you to turn on your heart and believe that He is real? Yes, life is hard. And being with Jesus is hard, too. But He takes most of the burden on Himself and gives us His strength to hold us up. All you have to do is ask Him. Ask God to forgive you of all your sins. Turn from your wicked ways and begin to live a holy life, a life of integrity and morals, and reasoning. Seek The Holy Spirit of God to receive the power He has to lay on you, that you, too, may search God's Word in power and humility, asking Him to reveal God to you. I do. I ask Him to reveal Himself more and more when my Bible is open. I get lost in The Word.Not the kind of lost where you can't find yourself, but the kind of lost where a person loses track of time. Time does not stop when I am reading my Bible; it is that time ceases to exist.

O Lord my God, You are my Strength and my Love, In You I rest and am blest,

     Be Gracious to me, O G-D and have mercy on me when I fail You. You are my desire and I live to please You. Be not far from me when I am weak, but stay near me JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. The Lord is Present. You are my JEHOVAH, my God. You are my Love and my Law; in Your Word I live and speak and walk. Bow low Your ear to hear my prayers, O Lord, for I love to listen to You when You speak. Your voice is as thunder to the distant crowds, but when You are with me, Your whisper is close to my ear. Stay near me Lord, for fears are making themselves known. Make Yourself known Lord and keep me near Your heart and in Your hand.
     You are my Strong Tower; none can tear You down: and in You I am safe and sound. You have given me a sound mind and a broken heart. Raise up a standard in me that I may ride forth and defeat the enemies that have beset me on every side. For You, O Lord, are my Savior and my Strength. In You I bear witness that Your Testimony is everlasting and for ever more.
     In Your Word is Light and Life. You have given Your Word to me that I might have light and life, also. And, Lord, I love You for keeping me, I love You for saving me and I love You for staying near me and instilling within my heart Your Peace and Your Hope. Thank You for choose me and calling my name out of the darkness. I will praise, O my Lord, for all of my days. I will preach Your gospel when ever and where ever You call me, open my mouth and fill my mouth with Your Words. For while I hunger for more, there are many who hunger for crumbs.
      In Jesus' Name, the Name Above All Names, the Name of The Only Begotten Son of God,
these things I ask and give Your praise and glory for. Amen. And Amen.


In Jesus' Name is ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. ALL POWER. ALL STRENGTH. ALL WISDOM. ALL HEALING. ALL FORGIVENESS. ALL GLORY. CREATOR OF ALL. LORD OF ALL.



 

More Than A Conqueror

Romans 8:37

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conqueror gives a detailed one dimensional description of the word 'conqueror'. On the surface, it is implied we are not victims, we are victors; we are not survivors, we are defeaters. But our God tells us we are MORE THAN conquerors. We have risen above and beyond victory and defeat THROUGH Him that loved us.

So, what does that mean to me? How can this be possible? Questions that need to be answered to know who I am and where I am in my relationship with Jesus Christ.

So, if a conqueror is a victor and a defeater, then one who is 'more than' is increased in size, in degree, in scope. My victory over this world, this mortal life is obtained in Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is both a personal victory and a shared victory. For everyone who receives Christ as Savior becomes a partaker in conquering sin and death in their lives. The Body of Christ is not fat, it is strong; designed for endurance.

But my Bible also tells me here that it is THROUGH Him that loved us. How is that possible? Christ no longer walks this earth in the flesh. No man, or woman for that matter, has ever laid eyes on Him in nearly 2000 years. How do we obtain the power to overcome temptation and defeat the devil? The Holy Spirit of God is given to all who earnestly seek Him. To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to receive power from God which will enable us, on a daily, moment by moment basis, to overcome the various temptations and sins which are put upon us. Everyday life is not meant to be lived without God.

The Holy Spirit takes up living quarters in our hearts and our minds. He begins immediately to pull weeds out of the empty lot we call 'ourselves'. He 'power-washes' our attitudes, our emotions, our secrets. The more the Holy Spirit does in us, allows Christ to work through us, making us more holy. Why do need to be holy, though? What's wrong with the way we are now? Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Wow. I know my heart is not pure. And I know that I would like to see God and live. God also tells us that without holiness no one can see Him. His desire is for us to be holy. Exodus 19:6 and 1 Peter 1:15-16 reminds us to "be holy, for God is holy."

Sin cannot be in the presence of God. Sin is disobedience to God's Word, it is rebellion as opposed to obedience. Sin is disgrace, unrighteousness, unholiness. When Christ was upon the cross, dying for our sins, the skies darkened and the light failed to shine for three hours in the mid-afternoon of the day (Matthew 27:45, 46) and Jesus cried out to God asking why God had forsaken Him. But He knew. It is because every sin ever committed by every person who ever lived, or would live, was laid upon Jesus. He died for us, in our stead, because we would never be able withstand the punishment for disobedience to God's Word by or in and of ourselves.

Now, when Christ left this world and returned to His home, He didn't leave us alone. He sent the Holy Spirit to help us, to aid us on our journeys, until we are ready to answer God's final call. His call to "Come Home". We are, indeed, more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For He loves us still. And we, who earnestly desire to see Him face to face, love Him in return.

Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Believe and Receive

or

Doubt and Go Without

It is not true that faith is unreasonable or illogical. In Isaiah 1:18, God is speaking to us also, when He says, " Come now, and let us REASON together,though you sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." God offers us a logical and reasonable answer to our sins. But what is sin?

Sin is rebellion against God and God's will. The root of all evil is pride. It was pride that filled Lucifer after God created him. God covered him with every precious jewel, he was adorned. But this angel wanted to be adored, above God, and chose to war against God. Lucifer lost and was thrown out of heaven, out of God's eternal presence and light. His pride and arrogance in who he thought himself to be enticed one-third of God's angels to fight with him; they too were kicked out of heaven. Now known as Satan, Lucifer uses pride to lure people away from God's Word still.

Exodus 20 outlines the Ten Commandments which God wrote and gave to His people:

• Verse 1-3 God speaks/reveals Himself as our deliverer and our God
• Verse 4-6 God forbids idolatry and grants us mercy
• Verse 7 God tells us not to swear using His name
• Verse 8-11 Reminds us to honor the 7th day of the week, for that day is holy
• Verse 12 Honor our mother and father and our days will be long upon this earth
• Verse 13 Do not kill each other
• Verse 14 Don't have sex with anyone but your wife or your husband
• Verse 15 Don't steal from each other
• Verse 16 Don't tell lies about people
• Verse 17 Don't be wanting something that belongs to someone else

Now, breaking any one of these commands, tells us we have sinned against God. But many people choose to deny God's existence, and therefore His Word is not adhered to. We bring the consequences of our actions on ourselves by choosing to disobey God's Word. We have a choice when it comes to God, God's will, God's way, God's Word. He created us with the power of choice, or 'free will.' God is not a dictator nor a tyrant. He is the Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and the universe and everything therein. So, He gives us the choice: choose God and receive grace or deny God and lose grace.

The logical thing to do here is choose God. By choosing God I have entered into a contract, both binding and legal, to submit myself to God's will for my life. I choose to serve God and live my life under His authority and blessing. My will, what 'I' want is no longer of importance to me. What God wants for me far exceeds any desire I may have. And what did He do when I made that choice? He filled me. He filled me with His Holy Spirit and I began to sing in a heavenly language. He filled me with song and I began to write songs to Him and for Him. He filled me with hope and joy and love. God daily fills me with Himself more and more. Why? Because I let Him.

I know my Redeemer lives. He lives in me. I live in Him.

Just Because It's Legal...............

Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's moral.

Moral standards are found in the Bible.

When a government sanctions immoral acts as rights of the people,

it makes sin legal.

I would rather strive to live by God's standards,

than lower myself to wallow in man's standards.

It is a harder road to traverse,

but worth the journey in the end.