November 15, 2024

CHRISTLife — Eighteen: No Longer Condemned

February 5, 2014 by

cl no longer condemned

Why is it so hard to accept His forgiveness?  Why do we automatically think that He is condemning us for the sins that He so readily forgives and forgets?  I remember watching each one of my babies begin to walk.  I remember the praise, the clapping, and oh the hugs!  Yes, they stumbled; and yes, they would fall—but did I ever condemn them?  No…I ran to them, exactly where they were in the exact spot that they fell and I picked them up, held them in my arms for a while, sat down a minute or two just holding them and just being still, enjoying every moment with them.

Don’t you see?  Your Heavenly Daddy does the same thing, except He has the ability to actually forget the sin.  When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you were made new.  Your name was written down in the Book of Life by the God who created you and the pencil He wrote which has no eraser!  So no matter what you have done or will do, you can never be separated or condemned for your sins.  You may feel a nudge sometimes to repent, but once you have asked forgiveness, you are set free from your sin.

The enemy, however, loves to condemn us and speak lies to us; but that’s what they are—just lies.  The condemnation that you may feel is from him…the same enemy that tempted man to sin in the first place.

At the end of this chapter, Mrs. Myers asks her readers to reflect on a few verses. Let’s read them together shall we?

But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed.
You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you.
These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord,
their vindication will come from me, I, the Lord, have spoken.
Isaiah 54:17

You are His servants…He’s talking about you!  No weapon against you can stand!  He has promised that we will live eternally with Him if we just ask Jesus to be our Savior! He died with our sins on Him.  He cleansed us with His blood.  We are forgiven, made new, cleansed from our filth.

God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save it.
John 3:17

To SAVE it, not to CONDEMN it. He let His only Son die a horrible death, and couldn’t even look at Him because of all the sin that was cast on Him.  Jealousy, addiction, pornography, oppression, murder, robbery are all sins that were on God’s Son when He died.  All that we would do would be undone by Him.

There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him.
But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged
for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
Verse 18

If this (“anyone who does not believe in Him…”) is you, stop now and take a minute and invite Him in.  If you don’t know how, I suggest you reach out to one of us, or a pastor or a friend that you know is saved.  This is the most important thing you will ever do.  And we celebrate with you this day that you become new.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law.
When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing.
For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on the tree.”
Galatians 3:13

He has rescued you!  You are promised everlasting life!  This is the heart of our Christian faith, that we cannot get right with God on our own works but by His blood…and by God’s grace we are saved.  He promises us that all we have to do is trust, receive, and just rest in Him.  So I leave you with a question from this chapter:

What makes you most grateful for your new identity in Christ?

(You can leave your answer in your comment under this blog…I look forward to celebrating with you!)

Let us pray:  Dear Lord, thank You that You love us enough to let Your own Son, Who knew no sin, become our sin and die a horrible death so that we may live forever with You.  You are patient, long-suffering, our Stronghold, our Provider, our Comforter and our Redeemer.  Thank You for meeting us right where we are and not expecting us to be anything more than who we are.  You created us to glorify You and oh, how we fall short sometimes but You take us back, just as we are, You pick us up from our many falls and You hold us and love us.  Forgive us when we try to control things around us, for You are in the drivers seat, and we are so grateful.  Gently nudge those today who need You; let this be for someone out there today who needs a Savior.  It’s in Jesus name we pray, amen.

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CHRISTLife — Seventeen: Desired

February 4, 2014 by

cl desired

We have been called and chosen.  Why?  Just one reason—Almighty God desired to love us.  Paul says that God has set His love on those whom He loves from all eternity (Ephesians 1:4).  If you are a child of God, there has never been a time when God did not know you and did not love you.  Before you were even born He had determined to set His love on you.  He chose us not because we were love-able; but we become love-able because He chose us and desired us.

In this is love: not that we loved God,
but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins.
1 John 4:10

You see, at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person,
though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8

From the foundations of time, Sovereign Almighty God has desired His children. And He made a way—a very, very hard way—for sinful, not love-able people to be brought to His Holy Self.  And that was through the sacrifice and death of His Son, Jesus Christ.  And then through the centuries leading up to the perfect time when Jesus would come to the earth to show this incredible love, at sporadic times there were a few people who recognized this love that God had for mankind. David the psalmist was one.  He wrote many, many times about the reality of God’s love for himself.

And even Job, through all his worryings and complainings and the very difficult times he had, I believe he knew and was convinced of God’s love for man. Listen…

What is man that you make so much of him and that You set Your heart on him,
and visit him every morning…?
Job 7:17 and 18

God spoke through any number of the prophets declaring to the people He was drawing to Himself of His love, grace, and mercy and His desire for mankind.

Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace
which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
2 Timothy 1:9

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3

Particularly, through the life of one prophet, Hosea, God showed what the depth of His love looked like…right alongside the depravity of the idolatry and whoredom of His people.  The whole book of Hosea illuminates this truth but in particular I love one verse:

I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
Hosea 11:4

And then Jesus came! And showed clearly the depth of God’s love for mankind. He lived love to the nth degree always being the epitome of God’s love.

Now here is Truth (I know it is so because it is in God’s Word)…truth hard to comprehend but true nonetheless!

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

Such love is beyond our ability to grasp with our minds, but it is not beyond our ability to experience with our hearts. Only through the power and influence of the Holy Spirit are we able to do so!

…And that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19

Truly not feasible by our own doing, our own efforts, our own works. BUT, because God tells us so through Paul’s encouragement to the church at Ephesus, we KNOW it to be true! And this is the awesome Truth of God’s desiring us—it is not based on you or me but completely on Him!

May I share something with you?  At the very beginning of today’s chapter, Mrs. Myers asks her readers to “Allow the Lord to fully convince your heart that He desires you.”  I had an extremely difficult time taking that step.  You see, on any given day, I have not been convinced that Almighty God desired me.  Let alone ask Him to ‘fully convince my heart’ of that fact.  But…today I did ask.  And He is doing so!!!  Oh, I have a <prior> lifetime of being fully convinced that perhaps God might desire everyone else but not me.  But that is not too much for our Father to deal with!  For little me, Coleen Ann Brigit McElroy Hayden, “I am <becoming> convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate <me> from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus <my> Lord.”  How about you?

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

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CHRISTLife — Sixteen: Called and Chosen

February 3, 2014 by

christlife graphic wk4_1Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the kind intention of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6

Called and Chosen

Is that not amazing?  And it is true.  God chose you (me, too!) in His infinite wisdom and sovereign knowledge.  What truly amazes me is ALL that His calling and choice have placed into our lives.  As I have been meditating on these verses that Mrs. Myers so abundantly has sprinkled throughout this chapter, I see how these are definitely images that we should have in our inner identity albums:

  • blessed
  • chosen in Him
  • holy
  • blameless
  • adopted
  • sons
  • God’s heritage
  • His portion
  • foreordained
  • saved
  • purposed
  • treasured possession
  • not rejected
  • eternally loved
  • without blame
  • justified
  • glorified
  • worthy
  • beloved
  • known by God
  • approved
  • saved
  • sanctified
  • God’s elect

Consider this statement from Pastor John Piper:
“Your salvation did not begin with your choice to believe in Christ—a choice which was real and necessary.  Your salvation began before the creation of the universe when God planned the history of redemption, ordained the death and the resurrection of his Son, and chose you to be his own through Christ.  This is a great objective ground for assurance. And we should consider it deeply.” *

In Him we also were made [God’s] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance;
for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand)
in accordance with His purpose,
Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will,
So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!
Verses 11 and 12

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—
not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus,
Who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:9 and 10

“You’re CALLED. You’ve been called personally by God and to God. That’s an in-Christ fact about you that can help erase any sense of alienation or lack of purpose that you may at times feel” (Mrs. Myers, page 68).

In light of all of this, sisters, may we daily fulfill the joy and honor and privilege of being called and chosen by Almighty God.  The Apostle Paul encourages everyone who is called to,

…live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Dear Lord, how awesomely wonderful and gracious You are to us!  We struggle, Lord, (You know that) endeavoring to hold the Truth of who You say we are in our minds and hearts.  But we want to…please help us through the empowering of Your Holy Spirit!  I pray for each person who reads this little blog today, Lord, asking that You cause the Truth of Your Word to sink into their depth of their hearts.  I pray that each will remember that Your ways and Your thoughts are high above our own.  I pray that each will recognize Grace and Mercy for all that they are.  I pray that each will remember that Your power and strength are made perfect in their weakness.  And I pray that each will believe more and more that ‘I AM who God says I am!’  Thank You for calling us and chosing us to be Your own.  Praying and asking these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

* From a wonderful series that Pastor Piper did on having assurance of just who we are because of God’s chosing and calling!

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CHRISTLife — Week Four

February 2, 2014 by

CHRISTLifepart2coverpicOh! My!  THIS is going to be a good week!  Have you read ahead…or taken a look at this week’s lessons?  In case you haven’t, here is a sneak peek at just the chapter titles:

  • Called and Chosen
  • Desired
  • No Longer Condemned
  • Clean And More
  • Alive With His Life

I AM what God says I am (take a glance back at the list)…and, therefore, I AM all those things!  Talk about Truth and positive images to write in my inner identity album!

Are you a child of God?  Have you been redeemed?  Did Jesus die for you?  Do you love God?  If so Since ‘YES’ is the resounding reply… then take the verses below and insert your own name.  Personalize this Scripture with your own name (like this: “…God causes all things to work together for good to <Coleen> who loves God, to <Coleen> who is called….”)  OK?   Perhaps you might read this aloud…reminding yourself audibly that ‘I AM what God says I am!’  This IS the image that God holds of y.o.u.!  This is y.o.u. because your life IS Christ!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to <y.o.u.> who loves God, to <y.o.u.>  who is called according to His purpose.
For <y.o.u.> whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
And <y.o.u.> whom He predestined, He also called; and <y.o.u.> whom He called, He also justified; and <y.o.u.>  whom He justified, He also glorified.
What then shall <y.o.u.> say to these things? If God is for <me>, who is against <me>?
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for <me>, how will He not also with Him freely give <me> all things?
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for <me>.
Who will separate <me> from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
But in all these things <I> overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved <me>.
For <I> am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate <me> from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus <my> Lord.
Romans 8:28-39 (paraphrased)

(And take a few minutes to go over to the Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs blog…the song that is featured today could just be our ‘theme song,’ my friends!)

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CHRISTLife — By Prayer and Petition

February 1, 2014 by

saturdayprayersandpraiseslongDo not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6 and 7

Great and precious are the promises we have been given! They bring such comfort to our hearts!

“Do not be anxious about anything….”  This always reminds me of our Lord’s words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6).  As He ministered to the vast crowd, He said to them:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the flowers of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Talk about being comforted and encouraged! But, y’know, Jesus’ words to them still apply to us…He is still encouraging us to ‘not worry about your life’ and asking the question of us ‘Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?’  His heart is still to guide us along to seeking first the Father’s Kingdom and His righteousness…and the ‘all these things’ that we need, and desire, and pray for…’will be given to YOU as well.’

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2

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CHRISTLife — Chapter 15: Knowing My Need

January 31, 2014 by

CLfridaygraphicBefore Christ, I was “spiritually dead, defiled, disobedient, and deceived.” I was “empty, enslaved, and self-willed.” Then at the age of six, I knelt at an altar of prayer, and those things were washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, it’s true, I was all those ugly things. Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Romans 3:10, “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one;” No matter at what age you got saved, I know you are saying with me, “Praise God, He saved me from all of that and so much more!”

However, I am still needy. How about you? In our flesh we are still prone toward “doing evil deeds” (Colossians 1:21, ESV). As humans we still have our limitations, and we still sin. So we must continually “acknowledge our deep need for God and cast away our self-centered pride.” God can only work in us when we admit that we are His child, and as a child we are dependent on Him to care for us and help us in our weaknesses. Romans 8:26, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” Even though we have many wonderful qualities, we can’t take personal credit and think too highly of ourselves. Instead, we must see that it is not by our works but by His mercy that we do anything good.

He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.  He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5 NLT

If we never had any needs—emotionally, physically, psychologically, or spiritually—we would never realize just how needy we are for God. He created us for Himself. Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness….’”

Adam and Eve spent time in God’s presence. But as I think about them, I’m not sure they truly understood their need for Him until they had sinned and realized they weren’t “presentable” anymore.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He (Adam) replied, “I heard You walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
Genesis 3:8-10 NLT

After God told Adam and Eve how their sin would affect their lives from then on, He forgave them and, through the sacrifice of animals (Genesis 3:21), He provided for their need. Life wasn’t easy (verses 22-24), but the good news is that it kept them humble and in relationship with Him.

For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise His own people.
Psalm 69:33 ESV

He stands beside the needy, ready to save them.
Psalm 109:31 NLT

The more we study God’s Word and spend time with Him, the more we will recognize our shortcomings and our great need for Him to reign in our lives. We will find our help is in the Lord, as God tells us in Isaiah 41:17-20, “When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.”

As pride is gotten under control, God doesn’t want us to think too lowly of ourselves either. David said (Psalm 40:17 NLT) that even though he was needy—God was thinking about him! Please meditate on this Scripture because it shows us just how significant we actually are to our Father God. He is thinking about you and me!

Yes, we are needy. I know I personally need more love, more patience, more self-control, more—you name it. As I grow in God’s Word, I will see how He is providing for me, protecting me, guiding and guarding me. I will see more clearly how much He loves me. How about you? Have you taken time to see your needs? Have you looked into God’s Word to see how much He wants to help you? Do you know today that God loves you, my friend, and He wants only His best for you? That’s His message to you right now. Our Lord is saying to you, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).

May these Scriptures be your heart cry today:

The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord.
The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 29:19 NLT

Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to Your truth!
Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor You.
With all my heart I will praise You, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to Your name forever, for Your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.
Psalms 86:11-13 NLT

Whom have I in Heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth.
Psalm 73:25 NLT

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Dear Lord and Savior of our souls, thank You for loving us beyond our comprehension. Thank You for loving us enough to save us. Thank You for continuing to show us Your love by revealing to us our areas of weakness so we will repent, be forgiven, and become more like You. We acknowledge our need for You. May we always hunger and thirst for You, Lord, for You promise to answer us and never abandon us. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Precious and Holy Name, Amen.

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CHRISTLife – Fourteen: Continuing the Adventure

January 30, 2014 by

Christlife Graphic wk3_4If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.
Colossians 3:1-4

Y’know what I SO love about this little passage of the Scripture—all I have to do is set my mind (and keep it set!) to seek ‘things above!’ All the rest is God’s job!
• being raised with Christ
• having a new, real life
• being hidden in Christ
• Christ’s return
• appearing with Him

Here we are, friends,…we have now entered into Part 2: Your Life IS Christ!  As Mrs. Myers writes on page 61, “…as we let God lovingly invade our lives through our faith in Christ, He provides what is essentially a new album…we relate to God as our Father, He fills our new album with images that give unshakable support of our sense of identity.”  Images like these:

2014-01-30 01.18.30

Ok, show of hands here (actually, please leave a comment below or a ‘like’ in our study group!): who of you wants a new album filled with God’s images of our identity?  Oh…I do!  These images will reflect that ‘I AM who God says I am!’  No doubt!  One could fill journal after journal with these Truths.

Kim and I would love to encourage you to design your own inner identity album page today that does just that!  If God is showing us His images of us, we no longer should be finding our identity through status, or performance, or our physical appearance.

Oh!  Kim has something to share, AND her inner identity album page, too…
I love what Mrs. Meyers reminds us of on page 61.  That our status is important ONLY as it gives opportunity to glorify God and serve others…Our actions become a way of giving love rather than trying to earn an ego-building response from other people.  We no longer need to depend on how people respond to us and we escape from evaluating ourselves in the mirror of human approval.  Ladies, it isn’t about us…It is ALL about Him!  The enemy would love to render us ineffective by making us think we are not worthy.  But because of Jesus we have been redeemed, bought with a price—and that makes us royalty, princesses, daughters of the King!  I want to encourage each of you to do a page like this (below) as a reminder of just how much the Father loves you and who you are in HIM.  The key here is in Him.  Apart from Him we can do nothing!!!!

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises of Him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9

CLiiakimweek3

*  ~  * ~  * ~ * ~ *  

may we pray just a portion of Mrs. Meyers prayer over you?

“Father, I’m so glad for the beautiful portrait in Your Word of who I am in Christ. Thank You for revealing these Truths—Truths which we humans so desperately need. I celebrate the fact that I never again need to rely on my appearance, my performance, or my status to define who I am. I invite You to lovingly invade all my thinking about myself. Expose further ways in which I’m holding on to what is deceptive and inadequate, and encourage me to cling to the exciting Truths You have revealed—Truths that confirm who I really am in Your sight.”  We pray and ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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CHRISTLife – Thirteen: Who I Am in the Flesh?

January 29, 2014 by

Christlife graphic wk3_3My name is Kim, I’m a ______. For many years I filled in the blank with a word.  I defined myself by what the world named me until one day God spoke loud and clear. He said, “You are Kim and you are My child.  You are a new creation, the old has gone and you are no longer defined by it!!”  Now that doesn’t mean I no longer sin, it just means that my old flesh is gone and I am no longer separated from God because of it.

How many times have you made up your mind to not give in to those same habits? I imagine that some of you are frustrated right now because you’ve gone back on that resolution you made some 28 days ago.  Good news!  It’s ok, you can start over with Jesus.  Galatians 5:6 says,”So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”  Weary soul, you are fighting your flesh in flesh and victory doesn’t last long, and the battle comes back with force as you try again to fight it. It’s like shoveling snow in a snow storm.  Darkness cannot fight darkness.  Put on His light and see what happens.  The darkness disappears.

I want to introduce you to King Jehu.  He’s one of the bloodiest kings to ever rule Israel.  2 Kings 10:28-31 introduces him to us as the king who singlehandedly destroyed Baal worship in Israel. There’s a  HOWEVER, though:  however, he didn’t turn away from the sins of Jereboam—the worship of the golden calves.  He may have been powerful and successful but he crashed spiritually.  He had a spiritual flaw in that he could run but he couldn’t walk very well.  He craved excitement more than he craved God.  Can you relate?  God gives us direction in what He expects of us in Micah 6:8,”He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God wants us to walk with Him, in good times and bad. Your excitement should come from a relationship with Jesus. This is where we are transformed.

We all face limitations. But God promises that all these trials and hardships are temporary. Paul tells us that we will all have new bodies and when Jesus returns and the trumpet sounds, we will be transformed immediately. On earth, spiritually we have been transformed. 2 Corinthians 5:4 says,”While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God Himself has prepared us for this and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit.”  And 2 Corinthians 5:17 says,”This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  You are brand new inside!  And we have been re-created, not rehabilitated. We don’t just turn over a new leaf but we actually begin a new life with Jesus. So the question is this: Is it noticeable to all who know you that you have changed?  That you have a brand new life? We are made perfect because of His perfect love.

I’m full of hope and I am ready to spread the good news to all who I come in contact with.  Are you?  Then let’s do it!!

Let us pray:  Dear God, we all have sinned and come short of Your glory. But because of Your perfect love, You sent Your perfect Son to die with all our sins on Him. He was separated from You so we are no longer separated from You. The veil was torn and we now can come directly to Your throne.  Thank You for giving us a new life, a new heart, totally recreated and totally filled with Your Spirit.  Help our lives to reflect this always.  And when we are tempted again to take our old, worldly name back, remind us that we are made in Your perfect image and we were bought at a price and we are Yours!!!  We love You and we praise You! In Your Son’s name we pray, amen.

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CHRISTLife – Twelve: Reality’s Negative Side

January 28, 2014 by

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Oh, boy…so, we KNEW that eventually we would get to this subject—the sinful flesh. If only Satan hadn’t deceived Eve and Eve hadn’t convinced Adam and Adam hadn’t eaten that rotten apple!  But, that DID happen.  And so all mankind has the problem of indwelling sin to deal with.  It is important, as Mrs. Myers points out, that we do admit and acknowledge it.  To ignore sin in our hearts means we will never deal with it…and there will be no opportunity to bring glory to God.  By God’s glorious grace and MERCY we have been given a new nature and a new life through Christ!!!

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you,
that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth;
but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves
and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:5-10

What hope, what comfort, what encouragement we can each receive from this passage of Scripture!  So, tell me…are YOU encouraged?

It breaks down fairly simply:

  • I sin. You sin. We all sin.
  • But if we confess our sin, He forgives and cleanses us.
  • Don’t say ‘I don’t sin’—you are deceived.
  • Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all sin.

Mrs. Myers writes, “But we’re also to remember that this sinful nature is now only our false self; it is no longer the ‘real me!’ It’s our former self parading as our true self…Our true self is the new person we are in Christ…cleansed, enriched, and enabled to please and glorify our risen Lord. Having been born of God, we have both a new nature and a new heredity” (page 51). As you consider these Truths, my sisters, how do you communicate this in your ‘inner identity album’?

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Dear Lord, we are SO encouraged!  Yet more Truth to hold in our hearts!  How thankful we are to know, Lord, that while You are clearly aware of our sinful, fleshly, ‘old man’ nature that sins…You have given us this precious, unfathomable gift through Jesus’ blood of cleansing from all sin.  You, Father, are oh-so-very good to us!  May we remain not only thankful but humble recognizing yet again our GREAT NEED for You, Lord!  Please help us, Lord, to never become blasé about it but that our hearts are always concerned and yearn to sin less and less…to bring You more and more honor and glory!  We pray and ask these things in Jesus’ name.  Amen. <3

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CHRISTLife – Eleven: A Self-Opinion Too Low

January 27, 2014 by

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Need to begin with prayer today!

Dear Lord, thank You for all Your  encouraging and uplifting words that tell us of Your great love for us! It truly is amazing to me!  I come to you acknowledging my struggle to simply believe Your words.  I repent of this, Lord!  I so want it to be my constant confession that I am only AND completely what You have formed and made me to be.  Please cause your words to carve new patterns into my mind…patterns of joy and peace and quiet confidence that ‘I am who God says I am!’  Help me, Lord, to intentionally choose to speak these words of life over myself…knowing that You have already done so!  May my mind be renewed and transformed to line up with Your perfect will.  Thank You for all that You are working and bringing to pass in my life…and for my sisters, Lord, I pray the same. In Jesus’ powerful Name. Amen.

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Oh, I am SO determined to get this Truth into my heart!!! (Anyone else choosing to do so?  Do I hear your ‘amen!’)  I was convicted, as I read this chapter (five times, don’t you know!)

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head…Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor….

Ephesians 4:15-25 excerpts

By God’s grace, (and His revelation to my heart through His Holy Spirit), I have never understood this beautiful section of the Book of Ephesians in the way I do now!  I now realize that I am to ‘speak the Truth in love’ and ‘speak the Truth with <my> neighbor TO M.Y.S.E.L.F.!!!  Truly what a revelation!  Perhaps you have already understood this…but to me and my little heart this is revolutionary!  And I am so thankful! I can ‘be renewed in the spirit of <my> mind…and put on <my> new self!’

So, will you make a stand along with me!  Together can we choose the Truth and be intentional in our trust and believing of God’s Word! “I am what God says I am” by God’s grace, and compassion, and lovingkindness towards me…I am getting it! (Thank You, Lord!!!!!)

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