He can whisper a galaxy into existence, and yet He loves me! Only a fool would reject an offer of love from the Creator-God of the Universe. He "translates" us "from the kingdom of Darkness to the Kingdom of the Beloved Son" - and that is not just poetry. In the REAL thing there is boundless Power! While we are functioning energetically from the confidence and "rest" of knowing who we are - because of our Faith in Him and being "clothed in Christ" we are simultaneously emPowered to "walk as Jesus walked" in "the power of an indestructible Life" to "destroy the devil's works." We are not only washed, but emPowered to LIVE, as we obey and cooperate in His Spirit, learning His whispers, hating our flesh, and drawing on "weapons of righteousness in the right hand and left."
12/19/1989
What a life-changing discovery it was when I discovered that I have a Father whom I had never known. I had even, unbelievably, stubbornly turned away from my Father and my God””the One who loves me as much as His only begotten Son, Jesus.
I was, unknowingly, missing so much! The potential is boundless when, by His power, He can whisper a galaxy into existence, and yet He loves me! Only a fool would reject an offer of love from the Creator-God of the Universe. When, by God’s grace, I finally saw myself, and God, more accurately, I accepted His extended hand. He "translated” me "from the kingdom of Darkness to the Kingdom of the Beloved Son.” That was the beginning of my whole new life. My gratitude for that day is enormous.
By His unmerited favor towards me, that light in my eye and confidence in His unwavering Faithfulness (in spite of my foolishness at times) has even grown greater as the years have gone by. I now understand, from the Living Word of God, even more of what really happened on the day that I gave my life away””and it’s good! I’ll continue that thought a little later, but first let me share a little about some of the personal struggles that I encountered early on. Maybe you, too, can relate to these frustrations.
Before I had been a disciple very long, I began to feel an enormous dissatisfaction with my ability to adhere to what God was seemingly requiring of me. I really wanted to serve God, but I had to be honest with the Scriptures. The Word of God demands that every thought, every penny of my money, every instant of my time be subject to God. It really does! And as Paul said in Romans 7, there is nothing at fault in God’s expecting that from us. It is not the fault of God’s Word. In addition, I must have perfect understanding of every doctrine, or surely I’ll be "lost.” If I didn’t believe all of the right things (generally as someone else has determined "right” for me), my soul or growth was in great jeopardy. On top of all this, it was required of me to maintain complete obedience to ten thousand other commands in the New Testament (regarding widows, the poor, my family, attitudes at work, evangelism, and prayer). What if I overlooked, in my ignorance or my lack of diligence in Bible study, one or two of these commands?
If I was truly honest with all of the commands in Scripture””and not simply comparing my life to the prevailing religious environment and my peers, I was in BIG trouble! If guilty on the smallest point, you and I are legally guilty of murder, adultery, and every other supposedly "bigger” crime (James 2:10; Gal.3:10; Mat.5:21-22, 28)””and must be judged accordingly. I couldn’t do all of the good things that Jesus commanded or the multitudinous directives of the "Christian life” about which Paul and the other apostles wrote. Nor could I cease from all of the bad things that the Word of God forbids, though it was clearly my Father’s Will that I be like His Son Jesus in every area of my life. I had no excuses for my inadequacies and outright disobedience and insensitivity, and I desired no excuses. I knew for a fact that the clichés "I’m only human” and "we all have different personalities” and "he comes by that temper naturally””his great uncle was that way””I guess it’s in his blood” do not cut it scripturally (1John 3:3-10; Heb.10:26-31; 2Peter 1:3-4; 1Cor.3:3; 2Cor.5:17). Personally, I choose to believe the Word of God! (Maybe you too, should read these verses right now and see if you can say "Amen” to what God has said). There’s no excuse or acceptable explanation for continued rebellion against God’s Word and His Authority, or any need of living as "mere men,” as Paul (by the Spirit of God) had said.
A wonderful breakthrough occurred in my life when I came to grips with, and planted my feet solidly on (Eph.3:17; 1John 5:4) the Truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It was probably my fault, but I simply had never really heard before what I am about to share with you. What really did happen in God’s creation when His Son, Immanuel, was murdered by the sins of mankind?
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:13-15).
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-7).
But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14).
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:1-11).
By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy {useful, fruitful} (Hebrews 10:14).
Do I really believe that? Was it God who said that?! Dare I argue with that?
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This is the first part of a wonderful teaching I am rereading just now. Sometimes its good to go back to the beginning and be reminded of who JESUS is and all that HE has done for me:)
God Bless
mj