Ro 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law (10 COMMANDMENTS); rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Ro 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Ro 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ro 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Ro 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished
Ro 3:26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
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The Spirit of Christ is the fulfillment of the law that we have written on our hearts. This same Spirit convicts us if we are not living properly and guides us into living the life that God has meant for us to live. The deeper the connection with His Spirit, the deeper the conviction to a point where breaking the commandments(LAW) is something we will not want to do. It becomes a reverent fear of God coupled with the love of Christ, through the BELIEF of His promise of salvation that transforms our hearts/minds. We begin to come to a place in this transformation, of fulfilling the law from a sense of loving others rather than through obligation. These are the laws of Christ, To love the Lord your God will all your heart soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Loving the Lord your God must come first. We love Him by creating a relationship with Him and BELIEVING the promise He gave us through Christ. We cannot have a relationship with someone if we do not get to know who they are as a person. We get to know the Father's Word by reading it in our Bible. We cannot relate to God by reading mere words alone. He knew this so He sent his Son to show us the Word living and active. Jesus is the Living Word. Communication is essential to a relationship. Communication is tough because we are all coming from different backgrounds, we have learned that certain words mean certain things and we use some words in different contexts than another would. Words alone cannot cultivate communication. We need to observe some one's actions and mannerisms. We need to hear their tone of voice when they speak. We need to know who they are as a person. Have you ever noticed that someone can be speaking to you and they use a word that is out of context, but you knew what they meant to say because of the tone of their voice or mannerisms, or because you know who they are as person? Ever tried this reading a e-mail or text, or speaking with someone you don't know that well? Sometimes, we can figure it out but more often than not, we get confused and can read all kinds of things into what they meant. This is one of the reasons that Jesus took on the earthly form of man and kept daily fellowship with His apostles. To be an example of the Word lived out in flesh. So that the people that were sent to record His Word, had access to the physical attributes that came along with it in Jesus and knew Him as a person. This was done so that they would record the meanings of the Words properly. After this, He sent His Spirit to live in the hearts of HIS BELIEVERS(GAL2:20). This is why there are many people that have written the new Testament that were not initial Apostles, but were still writing the inspired Word of God. He lived in them. Be sure to read my story of Saul that I will be posting soon on this.
Jesus was divine however in the way that he never sinned. He is the only one that was or ever will be capable of that in all of history. There is not one person on Earth that will be perfect as Jesus is perfect. Everyone of us even after being saved will sin (ROM 3:23). We cannot be a part of His Kingdom as a sinner. They knew this therefore, He came to die on the Cross so that we could become perfect in the eyes of the Father, through the belief of His death on the Cross to provide a way of life with His Spirit living in us. We enter the Kingdom through the door of Christ's Spirit. We open this door when we BELIEVE. There is no other way to become righteous, fulfill the law, or gain salvation(JHN 14:6). There is not one of us that will be saved because we upheld the law. Jesus fulfills the law for us by the GRACE He gave us, through Christ taking the hit for all of our sin now and forever by dying on the cross. The wages of sin is death. Jesus experienced this death even though He was the perfect Lamb without blemish to justify our sins without the penalty of our deaths. When we make the choice to follow Christ and have a relationship with him, we partner with Him in this death. It is a statement that we want to die to things of this world and follow the ways of Christ through His Holy Spirit, that springs to life when we make this decision to BELIEVE, that Christ died for our sins and that in His death, we are promised salvation. Once we truly BELIEVE this GOOD NEWS, we are marked with the Seal of His Holy Spirit(EPH 1:13) and this Spirit lives in us and guides us down the narrow path towards the Kingdom He promises us. This seal of the Spirit is irrevocable. We are marked with the signet ring of God. We are His and no one can take us away from Him (ESTHER 8:8). -SELAH-(pause and reflect on this).
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
WE WORK FOR WAGES NOT A GIFT
Ro 4:4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
Ro 4:5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Ro 4:6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works
Ro 4:7 “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Ro 4:8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
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Faith=Righteousness, they are one in the same. Anyone who has Faith in Christ is declared righteous in the eyes of the Lord. The blood of the Lamb covers our sins. When we stand before God, we stand in full confidence that we are justified in the name of Christ our Savior. The way of a righteous man is to BELIEVE in the Son of God crucified for our sins. The Gift of God is Christ crucified. We do not work for this Gift, it is as any other gift given freely. We just need to RECEIVE it.
Walk in confidence that you are saved as a BELIEVER in Christ, for the Lord promises it is so and our Father cannot tell a lie. Let this create a joy inside of you that makes you want to run out and tell the world the GOOD NEWS!
Ro 4:5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Ro 4:6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works
Ro 4:7 “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Ro 4:8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
________________________________________________
Faith=Righteousness, they are one in the same. Anyone who has Faith in Christ is declared righteous in the eyes of the Lord. The blood of the Lamb covers our sins. When we stand before God, we stand in full confidence that we are justified in the name of Christ our Savior. The way of a righteous man is to BELIEVE in the Son of God crucified for our sins. The Gift of God is Christ crucified. We do not work for this Gift, it is as any other gift given freely. We just need to RECEIVE it.
Walk in confidence that you are saved as a BELIEVER in Christ, for the Lord promises it is so and our Father cannot tell a lie. Let this create a joy inside of you that makes you want to run out and tell the world the GOOD NEWS!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
REMEMBER ME? GOD
Ro 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
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In the days of the prophets, no one was able to speak directly to God. They had to speak through the High Priests. When Jesus died on the cross, He gave us full access to the Father. We are no longer separated from Him. We have this option yet so many times a day can pass and we may not speak to the Father because of our busy minds that are focused on everything else. How many times we take our ability to have a relationship with the Father for granted, or forget to praise Him for all He has given us. It is like the people that live on the beach. After a while, they can pass by the windows of their house, that overlook the waves without looking at the breathtaking ocean. So many of God's many miracles can be overlooked because we have grown accustomed to them. I am amazed sometimes when I see a rainbow that one could just look at it once and say that is nice and walk on. I like to look at them until they totally fade away. Every time I see one, it is like the first time. Another one is a beautiful sunset. An awesome parking spot at work. The beautiful songs of the birds, especially right before sunset. They sing a distinct song at that time. The smell that takes you back in time. The taste of food. A baby laughing. The breath of a puppy. Friends and loved ones. The ability to read these words. The ability to love. A rad song on the radio. Learning new things. A hug. A word of encouragement from a friend at just the right moment. Butterflies that land on you. A beautiful autumn day in a colorful forest. A brisk hike up a hill or laying out on a beach. finding a cool feather on the ground. God gave us all of these things for our enjoyment.
What are the things that make you happy? What consumes your time? Do you know Him like you know your best friend? Do you thank Him for blessings? Do you thank Him for your trials? Does your heart sing a song of Praise to the Lord daily? Let us meditate daily on the Lord, for in Him we will bear much fruit.
fu·tile \'fyü-təl, 'fyü-"tī(-ə)l\ adj [MF or L; MF, fr. L futilis brittle, pointless, prob. fr. fu- (akin to fundere to pour) — more at found] (ca. 1555)
1 : serving no useful purpose : completely ineffective ‹efforts to convince him were ~›
2 : occupied with trifles : frivolous
— fu·tile·ly \-təl-(l)ē, -"tī(-ə)l-lē\ adv
— fu·tile·ness \-təl-nəs, -"tī(-ə)l-nəs\ n
syn futile vain fruitless mean producing no result. futile may connote completeness of failure or unwisdom of undertaking ‹resistance had proved so futile that surrender was the only choice left›. vain usu. implies simple failure to achieve a desired result ‹a vain attempt to get the car started›. fruitless comes close to vain but often suggests long and arduous effort or severe disappointment ‹fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace›.
______________________________________________
In the days of the prophets, no one was able to speak directly to God. They had to speak through the High Priests. When Jesus died on the cross, He gave us full access to the Father. We are no longer separated from Him. We have this option yet so many times a day can pass and we may not speak to the Father because of our busy minds that are focused on everything else. How many times we take our ability to have a relationship with the Father for granted, or forget to praise Him for all He has given us. It is like the people that live on the beach. After a while, they can pass by the windows of their house, that overlook the waves without looking at the breathtaking ocean. So many of God's many miracles can be overlooked because we have grown accustomed to them. I am amazed sometimes when I see a rainbow that one could just look at it once and say that is nice and walk on. I like to look at them until they totally fade away. Every time I see one, it is like the first time. Another one is a beautiful sunset. An awesome parking spot at work. The beautiful songs of the birds, especially right before sunset. They sing a distinct song at that time. The smell that takes you back in time. The taste of food. A baby laughing. The breath of a puppy. Friends and loved ones. The ability to read these words. The ability to love. A rad song on the radio. Learning new things. A hug. A word of encouragement from a friend at just the right moment. Butterflies that land on you. A beautiful autumn day in a colorful forest. A brisk hike up a hill or laying out on a beach. finding a cool feather on the ground. God gave us all of these things for our enjoyment.
What are the things that make you happy? What consumes your time? Do you know Him like you know your best friend? Do you thank Him for blessings? Do you thank Him for your trials? Does your heart sing a song of Praise to the Lord daily? Let us meditate daily on the Lord, for in Him we will bear much fruit.
fu·tile \'fyü-təl, 'fyü-"tī(-ə)l\ adj [MF or L; MF, fr. L futilis brittle, pointless, prob. fr. fu- (akin to fundere to pour) — more at found] (ca. 1555)
1 : serving no useful purpose : completely ineffective ‹efforts to convince him were ~›
2 : occupied with trifles : frivolous
— fu·tile·ly \-təl-(l)ē, -"tī(-ə)l-lē\ adv
— fu·tile·ness \-təl-nəs, -"tī(-ə)l-nəs\ n
syn futile vain fruitless mean producing no result. futile may connote completeness of failure or unwisdom of undertaking ‹resistance had proved so futile that surrender was the only choice left›. vain usu. implies simple failure to achieve a desired result ‹a vain attempt to get the car started›. fruitless comes close to vain but often suggests long and arduous effort or severe disappointment ‹fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace›.
Monday, January 11, 2010
GOOD NEWS IF YOU BELIEVE IT
ROMANS 1:1-6 and 1:16-17
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle(SENT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL) and set apart for the gospel(GOOD NEWS)of God
2the gospel(GOOD NEWS) he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace(UNMERITED DIVINE ASSISTANCE) and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the OBEDIENCE that comes from FAITH.
6And you(US)also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
16I am not ashamed of the gospel (GOOD NEWS), because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who BELIEVES: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by FAITH from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by FAITH."
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Salvation by who's power? The power of God! What do we need to do in order to access Salvation? BELIEVE! Who is righteous? Everyone that BELIEVES!
All words in parenthesis are my own.
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle(SENT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL) and set apart for the gospel(GOOD NEWS)of God
2the gospel(GOOD NEWS) he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace(UNMERITED DIVINE ASSISTANCE) and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the OBEDIENCE that comes from FAITH.
6And you(US)also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
16I am not ashamed of the gospel (GOOD NEWS), because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who BELIEVES: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by FAITH from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by FAITH."
________________________________________________
Salvation by who's power? The power of God! What do we need to do in order to access Salvation? BELIEVE! Who is righteous? Everyone that BELIEVES!
All words in parenthesis are my own.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
THE PROMISE OF SALVATION
1 JOHN 5:11-13
11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who BELIEVE in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
John does not say, "so that you may hope or wish to have". He uses the word KNOW. All we need to do in order to be saved is to BELIEVE Christ was sent and is able to save us. This first step needs to be in place before we can even begin to cultivate a relationship with Jesus. God wants to know that we TRUST His promises. One of His greatest promises to us, is that we are saved by the death of His Son on the Cross. Who are we to tell Him that He is wrong or worse that He is a liar? There is nothing in our power that we will ever be able to do or not do in order to enter Heaven. Once we BELIEVE the Holy Spirit is sent to us. Once we begin to walk in the Spirit, we will have a natural desire to be OBEDIENT to the Word of The Lord. We will still fall short of His Glory but we will repent and learn from it and move forward knowing that we are forgiven:
ROMANS 3:23-28
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,† through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished–
26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.
28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
It is choice that we need to make. BELIEVE the promise and be saved or try to do it on our own without the GIFT of Christ on Cross. When you give someone a gift, doesn't it kind of take away from the excitement of it, if they do not feel like they are worthy enough to receive it? Oh, you did not have to do that, you should not have that costs way too much, or worse let me give you the money for this. I imagine that our Heavenly Father feels the same way when we won't accept His gift to us without trying to explain it away.
Make the choice to accept the Gift of Jesus cheerfully today. Leave the rest up to Yeshua/Jesus
11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who BELIEVE in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
John does not say, "so that you may hope or wish to have". He uses the word KNOW. All we need to do in order to be saved is to BELIEVE Christ was sent and is able to save us. This first step needs to be in place before we can even begin to cultivate a relationship with Jesus. God wants to know that we TRUST His promises. One of His greatest promises to us, is that we are saved by the death of His Son on the Cross. Who are we to tell Him that He is wrong or worse that He is a liar? There is nothing in our power that we will ever be able to do or not do in order to enter Heaven. Once we BELIEVE the Holy Spirit is sent to us. Once we begin to walk in the Spirit, we will have a natural desire to be OBEDIENT to the Word of The Lord. We will still fall short of His Glory but we will repent and learn from it and move forward knowing that we are forgiven:
ROMANS 3:23-28
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,† through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished–
26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.
28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
It is choice that we need to make. BELIEVE the promise and be saved or try to do it on our own without the GIFT of Christ on Cross. When you give someone a gift, doesn't it kind of take away from the excitement of it, if they do not feel like they are worthy enough to receive it? Oh, you did not have to do that, you should not have that costs way too much, or worse let me give you the money for this. I imagine that our Heavenly Father feels the same way when we won't accept His gift to us without trying to explain it away.
Make the choice to accept the Gift of Jesus cheerfully today. Leave the rest up to Yeshua/Jesus
Friday, January 8, 2010
A NEW HEART
Eze 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
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I have been on a journey towards Christ the last five or so years of my life. The journey has been a rough and broken road to say the least. For the last couple of years, I have been praying that the Lord change my heart, heal my Faith and give me patience. I had come to a place where I felt like my heart had become hardened. My past has been riddled with heartache. My fears from this pain were beginning to form me into a person that was afraid to love and have hope. There was a lot of bitterness and resentment inside me from these past pains. I would ease the pain by going out and drinking and partying and distracting myself with Earthly pleasures. This would numb the pain for a night or a weekend, but the hangovers and regret were worse. As any addiction, it was a short lived reprieve. A false escape provided by satan no doubt. There was a void in my heart and soul that I was unable to fill. I had realized a few years ago that drinking was doing more harm for me than good. I started to get into Bible study groups, going to church, and reading my Bible with the desire to know Christ. I read my Bible almost daily for about a year even though I did not understand the passages. It was a frustrating process but I stuck with it. I was seeking the Lord. Actually, He was pursuing me. One day, I was reading a book of the Bible (Romans) that had previously caused my head to spin and aggravate me. Something was very different this day. I understood everything the passage was saying. There was a Truth to the Words that resonated with soul like none other. It was one of those AHA! moments. The chapters came to life like never before. It did not stop there. Every single book of the Bible that I was reading, started to reveal the hidden Truths that He speaks of that nothing else had ever revealed to me. I started to be more passionate about reading the Bible than anything in my life. The only problem was that while some of it was touching my heart, my thirst for knowledge of Biblical facts was becoming stronger than that of forming a relationship with Christ, and being Obedient by changing my lifestyle. It was all in my head and was not moving into my heart. I knew the promises but my past and my disobedience were still affecting my ability to believe them, and be transformed by the love of Christ. If you could peer into my heart and soul, I believe you would have seen a physical wall around my heart that it seemed nothing could penetrate. I recently experienced more pain in my heart than I had in a long time.
Heb 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
I am now realizing that this is God's way of answering my prayers for patience, a new heart and to strengthen my relationship with Christ. Being jetted out of my comfort zone, I am learning to be obedient and trust in God. In being obedient I'm seeing promises fulfilled,and the pain is somehow causing my heart to come alive a little more every day. I am being shown to see through Spiritual eyes rather than the eyes of this world. I am learning to focus on Christ, the only person that can transform me and make me into the person I am meant to be for His Kingdom. I would not have chosen the pain but God always knows the best way to answer a prayer. It usually will not come in the package that we imagined, but still a wonderful gift from our Creator. Thank you Lord for the pain for I know it is producing the Gifts of the Spirit I have longed for and transforming me into the image of Christ.
Thank you for delivering me from things of this world that will never bring me happiness.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
____________________________________________________________________________________
I have been on a journey towards Christ the last five or so years of my life. The journey has been a rough and broken road to say the least. For the last couple of years, I have been praying that the Lord change my heart, heal my Faith and give me patience. I had come to a place where I felt like my heart had become hardened. My past has been riddled with heartache. My fears from this pain were beginning to form me into a person that was afraid to love and have hope. There was a lot of bitterness and resentment inside me from these past pains. I would ease the pain by going out and drinking and partying and distracting myself with Earthly pleasures. This would numb the pain for a night or a weekend, but the hangovers and regret were worse. As any addiction, it was a short lived reprieve. A false escape provided by satan no doubt. There was a void in my heart and soul that I was unable to fill. I had realized a few years ago that drinking was doing more harm for me than good. I started to get into Bible study groups, going to church, and reading my Bible with the desire to know Christ. I read my Bible almost daily for about a year even though I did not understand the passages. It was a frustrating process but I stuck with it. I was seeking the Lord. Actually, He was pursuing me. One day, I was reading a book of the Bible (Romans) that had previously caused my head to spin and aggravate me. Something was very different this day. I understood everything the passage was saying. There was a Truth to the Words that resonated with soul like none other. It was one of those AHA! moments. The chapters came to life like never before. It did not stop there. Every single book of the Bible that I was reading, started to reveal the hidden Truths that He speaks of that nothing else had ever revealed to me. I started to be more passionate about reading the Bible than anything in my life. The only problem was that while some of it was touching my heart, my thirst for knowledge of Biblical facts was becoming stronger than that of forming a relationship with Christ, and being Obedient by changing my lifestyle. It was all in my head and was not moving into my heart. I knew the promises but my past and my disobedience were still affecting my ability to believe them, and be transformed by the love of Christ. If you could peer into my heart and soul, I believe you would have seen a physical wall around my heart that it seemed nothing could penetrate. I recently experienced more pain in my heart than I had in a long time.
Heb 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
I am now realizing that this is God's way of answering my prayers for patience, a new heart and to strengthen my relationship with Christ. Being jetted out of my comfort zone, I am learning to be obedient and trust in God. In being obedient I'm seeing promises fulfilled,and the pain is somehow causing my heart to come alive a little more every day. I am being shown to see through Spiritual eyes rather than the eyes of this world. I am learning to focus on Christ, the only person that can transform me and make me into the person I am meant to be for His Kingdom. I would not have chosen the pain but God always knows the best way to answer a prayer. It usually will not come in the package that we imagined, but still a wonderful gift from our Creator. Thank you Lord for the pain for I know it is producing the Gifts of the Spirit I have longed for and transforming me into the image of Christ.
Thank you for delivering me from things of this world that will never bring me happiness.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
BELIEVE
Lk 1:45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
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In reading Luke one night, I had noticed something about the way chapter one begins. He compares the birth announcement of John and Jesus back to back. It appears that he is comparing the different reactions of the people that are made a promise of the birth of their sons, as well as the background of the people that God chose to bless. It is interesting to me that it states that John and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron and were both upright in the sight of God, observing all of His commandments (the Law). He states that Joseph is a descendant of David and that Mary has simply found favor with the Lord. Now let's take a look at their reaction to this news. Zechariah asked the angel, "how can I be sure of this? Mary asked, "how will this be? Zechariah did not believe what the angel had said to him and he was a priest before God that observed all of His laws. Mary only wanted to know how He was going to carry out His promise. She believed what the Lord had said would come to pass. She had Faith.
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Ro 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Ro 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ro 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
__________________________________________________________________________________
If God has whispered a promise to your heart and you are not receiving it, for fear that you are not good enough. Please remember that Mary was not noted as righteous because of anything besides believing what the Lord had promised her. It had stated that the Lord had highly favored her. What does the word favor mean?
friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior
approving consideration or attention, gracious kindness; also : an act of such kindness, effort in one's behalf or interest.
Do you see anything in there that says anything about anything that Mary has done to deserve this blessing? God knew Mary's heart and knew that she believed in His promises in her heart.
All we have to do is BELIEVE His promises in order to receive them. It is never too late to BELIEVE something the Lord has spoken to you. Make the choice to BELIEVE today.
________________________________________________________________________________
In reading Luke one night, I had noticed something about the way chapter one begins. He compares the birth announcement of John and Jesus back to back. It appears that he is comparing the different reactions of the people that are made a promise of the birth of their sons, as well as the background of the people that God chose to bless. It is interesting to me that it states that John and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron and were both upright in the sight of God, observing all of His commandments (the Law). He states that Joseph is a descendant of David and that Mary has simply found favor with the Lord. Now let's take a look at their reaction to this news. Zechariah asked the angel, "how can I be sure of this? Mary asked, "how will this be? Zechariah did not believe what the angel had said to him and he was a priest before God that observed all of His laws. Mary only wanted to know how He was going to carry out His promise. She believed what the Lord had said would come to pass. She had Faith.
________________________________________________________________________________
Ro 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Ro 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ro 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
__________________________________________________________________________________
If God has whispered a promise to your heart and you are not receiving it, for fear that you are not good enough. Please remember that Mary was not noted as righteous because of anything besides believing what the Lord had promised her. It had stated that the Lord had highly favored her. What does the word favor mean?
friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior
approving consideration or attention, gracious kindness; also : an act of such kindness, effort in one's behalf or interest.
Do you see anything in there that says anything about anything that Mary has done to deserve this blessing? God knew Mary's heart and knew that she believed in His promises in her heart.
All we have to do is BELIEVE His promises in order to receive them. It is never too late to BELIEVE something the Lord has spoken to you. Make the choice to BELIEVE today.
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