Month: March 2012

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

The Lord wants our relationship with Him to grow in increasing measure every day living in victory through Him. Having a dynamic Christian walk cannot be realized apart from a developing close walk with our Savior God, Jesus Christ. We are called to reign in life through Him, but because of Adam’s sin, spiritual deadness rules the lives of men who are not born-again. Where they can only draw from Adam’s fallen sinful nature which proves to be an inadequate life source. Our enemy is Satan, who Jesus likened to a thief. “The thief does not come except to steal,and to kill, and to destroy, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). A new and greater relationship is needed and is found in Christ. In fact, much more of an abundant life is what is needed and what is given to the Christian saint who comes to Him in faith, and has his sins forgiven and receives the gift of righteousness which God gives to every repentant sinner who comes to Him for forgiveness. This allows us to stand accepted before a holy God, and be found in Him, a righteousness which is through faith in the One who gave Himself for our sins. Every believer is given this gift of righteousness, but sadly not every believer is living victoriously. So the key to this passage comes down to receiving “abundance of grace” every Christian has been given grace, yet many of God’s people are living daily lives but not relying upon God’s grace. They walk according to their own flesh, thereby drawing from their old life of Adam’s natural and spiritual bankrupt resources. Living by grace takes humility and faith, for God “gives grace to humble” (James 4:6) and will always oppose the proud.

Dear friend, Stay encouraged in your walk with the Lord, receiving from Him the abundance of grace which is rightly yours. As you grow in maturity as a Christian, you will find that Christ dependancy in every activity of life is the essential key to having victory over this world’s system that opposes God and His Son, Christ the Lord, and His written Word, the Bible. Following His written Word is how we attain victory.

May the Lord bless your walk!

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:38-39).

Jesus’ anguish had nothing to do with the fear of man, nor for that matter the brutal pain of the capital punishment of a Roman cross. His sorrow came upon Him as the hours drew near of taking upon Himself the full cup of divine wrath against the sins of man. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand (Isaiah 53:10). Though the Servant Christ didn’t deserve to die, it was the Lord’s will for Him to do so. The price for our debt was high, but Jesus paid it in full, His cry of anguish is for us to know that it’s bitterness He endured was so that we would not have to. Not as I will, but as You will – This does not mean there was conflict between the Persons of the Godhead. Rather, it graphically reveals how Christ in His humanity voluntarily surrendered His will to the will of the Father in all things, even if it meant being seperated from His Father, as a holy God cannot look upon sin, even if it is His own Son. That’s the good news of the gospel, Christ paid the punishment for our sins even though Himself was without sin, and was separated from His Father, for a time that we know through the Scripture “When He ascended on high, He led capitivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” Now this, “He ascended” what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all heavens, that He might fill all things (Ephesians 4:8-10).

Dear friend, The Lord Jesus is our Savior and King. Who willingly went to the cross for us to set us free, He will return for us, until then, He asks us to deny ourself take up our cross and follow Him. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can do all of His will.

May the Lord bless your walk

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” (Matthew 26:31-34)

The statement Jesus made “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me” needs to be looked at from from His vantage point. The word for stumble: the Greek word is the same word Jesus used for “offended” in Matthew 24:10, describing the falling away and spiritual betrayal that would occur in the last days. Here, however, Jesus spoke of something less than full and final apostasy. In a moment of fear and weakness the disciples disowned Christ, but He, all knowing, prayed that their faith would not fail (John 17:9-11) which prayer was answered. Jesus promise to go before them – Whenever we find ourselves in fear or in trouble, how much safer is the follower of Christ then when He is right beside them? But in this case, Jesus was refering to His resurrection which afterward He would have been seen by many (Matthew 28:7), The prophecy would need to be fulfilled, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered ( Zechariah 13:7) Jesus had not yet been resurrected, and thus the disciples were meant to abandon Him.

Dear Friend, The good news for us is, We will never be abandoned by our Lord, His promise to us is to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and His death and cruxifixion and resurrection guarantees our inheritance and salvation are secured by Him. We can have rest in Him who goes before us in every situation of life.

May the Lord bless your walk today!

 

 

 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them “I am He,” they drew back and fell on the ground. Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke. “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” (John 18:2-9)

Here is the start of Jesus’ arrest and trial and seen here is Jesus’ supreme courage to go to the cross, where His innocence and purity would be grossly interogated and violated as He would bore the wrath of the penalty of our sins. John who wrote from a eyewitness account, set out to present Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, by producing evidence such as Jesus declaration “I am He, ” a designation He had used before to declare Himself God (John 8:28). And to write of Jesus’ knowing all things that would come upon Him, by asking them twice about whom they were looking for, which they replied “Jesus of Nazareth”, He was forcing them to acknowledge that they had no authority to take His disciples, in fact, He demanded that they let His disciples go. This was His prayer to the Father, Jesus was already interceding for them even before His passion week would start (John 17:12). He knew that their faith was still untested and that to face being arrested and perhaps imprisoned, it might be too much for their young faith. All of His believer’s are weak and vulnerable unless protected by the Lord. But He will never let us be tempted beyond what we can bear (1Cor.10:13), as evidenced here.

Dear Friend, Believers in Christ are eternally secure, not in their own strength, but in the gracious and constant protection of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:35-39).

May the Lord bless your walk!

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. Acts 3:13-15

This title for God would be familiar with Peter’s mostly Jewish audience using God’s very own self description of Himself when He spoke to Moses in the wilderness through a burning bush (Exodus 3:6). Using this method stressed God’s OT covenant promise of faithfulness to a stiff necked people through the prophets declarations. Peter depicted Jesus as God’s personal representative in fact the unusual title ” Servant Jesus ” is used only four other places in the NT. Pontius Pilate the Roman governor at Jesus’ trial, was determined to let Him go, for he strongly supported justice, he knew Jesus crucifixion would be unjust punishment and therefore declared Him, Jesus, innocent 6 times and repeatedly sought to release Him. Instead, they asked for a known murderer, Barabbas to be released in His stead. What irony, the Bible says: For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Corinthians 5:21). Peter’s confident and forceful declaration was a clear defense for Christ’s resurrection for which many were still denying.

Dear Friend, Many people in our world today still doubt all of what God has done for us in His only begotten Son, but the facts can’t be denied of the transformation of a born again believer. A man or woman who once did not know this Prince of Life, but now has a personal relationship to God through the power of His resurrected Son, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, given to all who believe at conversion to be His witnesses, like Peter, and fulfill the calling on their life.

Be a witness for God and if you have to,  use words!

May the Lord bless your walk today!

” For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Jesus is our supreme example of servant leadership. The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16) relinquished His priviledges (Philippians 2:5-8) and came to earth to give His life a selfless sacrifice in serving others. When His disciples came to Him, asking if they could sit on His right hand and left in His Father’s Kingdom, in places of highest honor beside the throne, He informed them of their request as not to be sought for, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (v.38) Even though the disciples James and John were willing to suffer for Christ, even unto death. But that in itself would not earn them the place of honors they were seeking. Honors and rewards in God’s kingdom is not on the basis of selfish ambition, but of the divine sovereign will of God. The Lord Jesus never would let a teaching moment go unnoticed, to offset the rest of His disciples who showed resentment at what was asked, showed what is really of importance and that of which is how we serve; Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever of you desires to become great among you shall be your servant (v.43). Ransom for many- The ransom price was paid to God to satisfy His justice and holy wrath against sin. In paying it, Christ “bore our sins in His own body on the cross” Christ’s substitutionary death on behalf of those who would put their faith in Him is the most glorious act of Servanthood that could be demonstrated, and now, for us today, we have a template to model our lives after. As husbands and fathers, and wive’s and mothers, we have a example from which we can have opportunities to show the next generation of the selfless love that honors and glorifies God the Father, through the life and example of His Son, Christ the Lord. This through the power of of the Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer.

Dear Friend, Steady on in your walk with the Lord, don’t be discouraged by what you’ve failed to do in the past in serving the Lord, or others. God knows right where you are, and He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

May the Lord bless your walk.

 

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisment for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

This passage of Scripture personafies the Lord Jesus Christ as our substitute for our sins. The Servant Christ suffered not for His own sin, since He was without sin ; For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15) but as a substitute for sinners, receiving upon Himself, God’s wrath on the sins of mankind. He suffered the chastisment of God, so that we may experience peace with God. By His stripes we are healed – The Hebrew noun is singular ; The stripe that caused His death has bought salvation to to all of us who are spiritually bankrupt, because of our sins, and now we can come boldly to the throne  of grace, and seek His mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Isaiah 53:1 asks: Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Inspite of all that was prophecied about the coming of Christ, only few would recognize the Servant Christ when He appeared. But for us today, we can’t use that same excuse. We have all the testamonies of what is written for us in the pages of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation to who God is, and His Son Christ the Lord. And the reason of why He came to earth, fully God, yet, fully Man. To redeem us all to Himself by offering His life for ours as a substitute for our sins. Yet, why is there still so little who believe? We’ve allowed the Bible to be not considered revelant any more across America, and have now reaped what we have sown. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Dear Friend, The Lord has appeared once already, the suffering Servant to take away our sins, now He will return a second time, as our conquering King!

May the Lord bless your walk

There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:32-34)

The boundless compassion of divine grace Jesus shows us here to both Jews and Romans, to a people who so willingly sought to mock Him, and even cast lots for His clothing. There were not aware of the full scope of their wickedness, nor did they recognize Jesus as their Messiah (Acts 13:27-28). They were blind to the light of divine truth, “For if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corithians 2:8). But Christ’s prayer while in the very act of mocking Him, and His willingness to seek their forgiveness shows the real power of God’s Spirit at work. In Matthew’s account of the crucifixion, we read: So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying,” Truly this was the Son of God!”  Their “fear” speaks of an awareness of their sin, and the word “truly” suggests a certainty and conviction that speaks of geniune faith. Jesus’ prayer is in fact being heard by the Father, and is even bearing fruit, as our suffering Savior God, hung on that cross. We see the real reason of why Christ death on the cross had to be so brutal, sin’s consequences were placed on Him, and the weight of it’s judgment was placed on Jesus, yet, in return we have His compassionate love and forgiveness given to us who have faith to believe that we too were in need of salvation, and that Christ’s crucifixion was the atonement for our sins.

Friend, what does the cross mean to you? Does it bring a realization that you have been forgiven of your sins, when you confess Christ as your Lord and Savior, and believe in your heart that you need His forgiveness?

May the Lord bless your walk today!

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of Tax collectors and sinners! But wisdom is justified by all her children. (Luke 7:33-34)

Jesus had a strong word of rebuke toward the Pharisee’s. These teachers of the Law He suggested, were acting childish, and not believing in either Jesus or John the Baptist’s testimony about who they were. Although John’s style of ministry was different from Jesus approach, their message was same. For these different methods took away all the Pharisees’ excuses for the very thing they had professed to want to see in Jesus, a rigid abstinance Spartan lifestyle was characterized in John the Baptist’s ministry, yet they had refused and rejected him. So with Jesus’  living an ordinary life among the people eating and drinking with the ones who needed Him most, yet refusing to believe in Him because He was not who they pictured Him to be. The real problem for the Pharisees’ though, was in the corruption of their own hearts, but they would not acknowledge that.

Dear Friend, We can be shown how to love God through the teaching of His Word, My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him, For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God (1John 3:18-21). You see the Pharisees’ were not acknowledging that they heart was convicting them of their sin of hypocrisy, they weren’t hiding it from Jesus, and by the Spirit of God neither from John the Baptist.

Confess your need of God in your life, and seek Christ’s forgivness, and you’ll experience the peace of God in your heart. Be a witness to others of God’s love, of God’s peace, in your ordinary life.

May the Lord bless your walk!

“Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.” But He answered them saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)

The will of God here is to follow Christ. Jesus made a decisive and comprehensive statement on true Christian discipleship. Such discipleship involves a spiritual relationship that transcends the physical family and is open to all who are empowered by the Spirit of God to come to Christ in repentance and faith and enables them to live a life of obedience to God’s Word. The Scriptures reveal the first time a disciple was called by another name, And the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch (Acts 11:26) a term of derision meaning “of the party of Christ”. Jesus told His disciples “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet, because you are not of the world, but I have chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). This transforming power to be a true disciple of Christ, is not without cost, the rejection of the world, is one of the costs, but so is the rejection of even members of your own family (Matthew 10:34-39). The end result is that though the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ is high, God will reward and make it right,  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29).

Dear friend, It is wise to count the cost of being a Christian, but God is faithful and will be fair to everyone to have their opportunity to come to Him and be saved. If you decided to follow Jesus, don’t look back, If you haven’t yet decided, then don’t let another day go by without making this, the most important decision yet. It will all be worth it in the end.

May God bless your walk today!