He Comes in Triumph

Today, I knew that God wanted me to write about Holy Week. He had something to say, so in prayer He directed me to John 12.

John 12: 13-18
13.[The crowd] took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and [began] to cry out, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel."
14. And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written,
15. "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."
16. These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
 17. And so the multitude who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, were bearing Him witness.
18. For this cause also the multitude went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.
 
Palm Sunday is also called the "Triumphal Entry". Jesus came to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. This was the week before His arrest and crucifixion, on Good Friday, and His resurrection on Easter, or Resurrection Sunday.

The crowd that had been at the house of Lazarus and saw him raised from the dead were all there, to greet Jesus and wave the palm branches which was ritually for triumphant leaders coming home from war.
 
Let's look at the prophetic scripture from Zechariah that predicts this day in Jesus life.


Zechariah 9: 9-10
9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout [in triumph], O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

I have heard that there are over 400 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus' life and death. The previous verses from Zechariah 9 are just one of them. Let's look at them with the emphasis on Jesus riding the young donkey.

In Biblical times war was almost everpresent. Chariots and horses, bows and arrows were the weapons that were used.  Throughout Jewish history the people were looking for their "King". A Messiah that would come and set up an earthly kingdom, as did King David. Most of the inhabitants of Israel were waiting for the Messiah that would come to liberate them from oppressive rule of their enemies and then, in Jesus' day, from the harsh hand of Rome.
Many of the followers of Jesus and even His disciples were thinking along those lines. Having seen the miracle He performed with the resurrection of Lazarus, they were hoping Jesus would "miraculously" take over the government and give it to the Jewish people. On Palm Sunday, that was what the crowd was thinking. They were worshipping Him as God's Son, but also hoping that the time was near for Him to be "crowned" as King here in an earthly kingdom.

But instead of a powerful steed to signify the strength of an earthly takeover, Jesus was destined to ride into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey. Just as a pregnant Mary had done all those years before, He now rode on the back of a donkey once more.

Jesus does triumph. His death on a cross almost 2000 years ago cannot be looked at as a loss, nor a failure. That is what the world does not truly understand. God's son came as a man, Jesus, to provide a way for salvation and eternal life for us. He paid the price on the cross for our sin. He was predestined to do that. The Jews did not kill him, nor the Romans. The devil did not win. Jesus won. We won. He triumphantly led the way on a young donkey. He came in peace, on a humble mount, the lowly way to arrive in Bethlehem and then in Jerusalem. He voluntarily laid down His life for us. Thank you, Jesus, for your great love for us.

If you have not received Jesus as your Savior, it's easy to do so right now. Just ask Him to come into your heart and change you. He will do it. Salvation is easy. It is not hard. All it takes is one step in His direction. He will meet you and you will begin a new life. You will win, too.

Thank you Father God, that your Son who came humbly and in humility, to bring us peace, is truly the King of Kings. 

Love, in Jesus,

Debra

The "Spiritual Man"

Wednesday we saw in this scripture written by Paul, that there are three types of "Man". The Natural Man who is unsaved, the Spiritual Man who is born-again, and the Fleshly Man, who is saved, but living "according to the flesh"; someone who is not "walking in the Spirit".

Version: NAS

1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3
14. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15. But he who is (a) spiritual (man) appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. 16. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1Cor 3:1. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. 2. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able [to receive it]. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3. for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

Last post we looked at the "Natural Person", a person who has not met Jesus Christ through salvation. Today we'll look at the "Spiritual Person", a born-again brother or sister in Christ.  

(click image to enlarge)

The Spiritual Man also has a spirit, soul, and body, like the Natural Man, but he has been mightily transformed at salvation.  At conversion his spirit became united with God's Spirit. The spiritual life which resulted from this union with God is characterized by forgiveness of sin, acceptance in God's family and the realization of personal worth. Take a person who feels alone, insecure in their identity, and is deep in sin: in a moment they can be transformed.

Illustration by Bill Bright, Campus Crusade for Christ

The soul the the Natural Man who is directed by his own choosing and even at times directed by demonic influence, can be miraculously transformed into a person who is hearing and listening to the Holy Spirit. His mind becomes renewed and transformed by prayer, Bible Study, and submission to God. The Spiritual Man's emotions are reflected by peace and joy instead of turmoil and fear. He is free to choose to walk according to the Spirit, not forced to walk in the "flesh". As a person chooses to walk by the Spirit of God his life brings forth the fruit of the Spirit.

Illustration by Bill Bright, Campus Crusade for Christ

Galatians 5:22-23

22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

"The body of the Spiritual person has also been transformed. It is now the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit and is being offered (daily) as a living sacrifice of worship and service to God."

1Corinthians 6:19-20

19. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20. For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Romans 12:1-2
1. I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship. 2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

"The flesh, conditioned to live independently from God under the old self, is still present in the spiritual person. But he responsibly crucifies the flesh and its desires daily as he considers himself dead to sin."

Romans 8:6-8

6. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7. because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so]; 8. and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

I had been a Christian for 38 years but I still wasn't "there" yet. I knew I was going to Heaven, I knew I trusted Jesus as my Savior, but I still had a mind that dwelt on the wrong kinds of thoughts. My mouth, words, and actions were not consistent with Jesus', and I still did not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit on a daily basis. I was no where near "crucifying the deeds of the flesh".

So we can see that this diagram of the Spiritual Person is an "ideal". It's the model of maturity toward which we are all moving and growing.

2 Peter 1:3

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Isn't it wonderful to know that whatever it is that we need to mature and grow in Jesus, resulting in "walking by the Spirit" is available to us? Most of us live somewhere between the ideal Spiritual Man and living a life that is more like the Natural Man. We may not be where we want to be, but we're not where we started. The road of "sanctification" can take our whole lifetime.

Tomorrow we will look at the "Fleshly Man". Hope you all are still with me in this. It seems like a lot of textbook facts and thinking, but it all comes together. I really love the logical and almost scientific way at looking at this.
I really appreciate your comments everyone. It's such an encouragement to me. No matter how many times I study this God always gives me something new.

love to you all,

Debra

Learning to "Walk by the Spirit"

Last week we started talking about "sanctification"; our journey after salvation, with the Holy Spirit, to be conformed into the image of Jesus. Salvation transforms our spirit. We become alive in Christ, yet we still live in the same physical body and we have the same soul, which is our mind, will, and emotions. After salvation, our spirit desires to be at one with the Holy Spirit. Leaving our old ways of thinking and doing things may be our desire, but it may not always be easy.

Version: NAS

Galatians 5:16-18
16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

Romans 8:12-13

12. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- 13. for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.


There are two main elements involved in gaining victory over "walking according to the flesh". From living according to the flesh to "walking in the Spirit".

1) The first is that we need to learn to condition our behavior to our new man, our new self which is infused with Jesus Christ. We need to learn how to "walk in the Spirit".

Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

2) The second is that we allow our old patterns for thinking and responding to our sin-trained flesh, be transformed by the renewing of our mind.


Romans 12:1-2
1. I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship. 2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.


Walking by the Spirit may seem like a mystery. What exactly does it mean and how do we as believers attain that "place"?

Let's start by looking in Acts Chapter 1, as Paul recounts Jesus and the disciples in one of their meetings before He ascended into Heaven. This was after His crucifixion, but before He left earth. There was a period of 40 days in which Jesus is speaking to them about what is coming, and gives them instructions for Pentecost. Pentecost falls 50 days after Easter, or Resurrection Sunday.

Acts 1:4-8
4. And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," [He said], "you heard of from Me; 5. for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6. And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7. He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8. but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Luke 24:49

"And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

John 14:25-26
25. "These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. 26. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
We are going to be looking at the concept of "walking by the Spirit" for the next week or so. I wanted to share the previous scriptures before we get started. Before Jesus died on the cross the disciples of Jesus were "saved", but they found their salvation under the Old Testament covenant. Jesus had not yet been crucified, and in so doing, He had not yet fulfilled the requirement for New Testament salvation. Jesus had spoken to them about the Holy Spirit who would come and be with them. Under the Old Testament the Holy Spirit "visited"  a person, but under the New Covenant the Holy Spirit "indwells" a believer. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit brings God's power into our lives and enable us to live a life unto God.

Wednesday we will start looking at the three kinds of "man" Paul talks about, the "natural man", the "spiritual man", and the "fleshly man" and how each one interacts with God and then his relationships with others.

The topic of "walking by the Spirit" can be a pretty far reaching subject, and also the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit". I want to stick with the book for the next few days, but if you have questions or ideas I'm open for them. I'll do my best to find Biblical answers.

If you read the comments from the last post, you have read the insightful and personal thoughts from a young friend of mine, Cassandra. She is an amazing young woman who I have known for the last few years. Reading her comment was such a blessing to me. I encourage you to go back and take a minute, you will also be blessed.

love to you all,

Debra

Set Free

Last time we talked about our "old man", that is our "old nature" before salvation. We have seen that upon the moment of salvation our old nature is nailed to the cross with Jesus. We have been "crucified with Christ".
We become a new creation in Christ Jesus. But there still remains one big question...why do we still sin? The apostle Paul really addresses this in the 7th chapter of Romans:

Romans 7:15-24
15. For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I [would] like to [do], but I am doing the very thing I hate. ...19. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. ...23. but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

And what are some of these deeds that can keep us in a life of sin?

Version: NAS

Galatians 5:19-21
19. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20. idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21. envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

An unbeliever cannot help himself in these areas. They may find a temporary solutions or help, but as a rule an unbeliever can stay in this lifestyle for most of their life. They cannot help but live "in the flesh", but we as believers, no longer have to live this way.

Getting rid of our old fleshly nature was God's job and gift to us at the cross. He changed our nature, supernaturally, but it is our responsibility to change our "behavior", by putting to death the "deeds of our body".

I, and all of us for that matter, exhibit certain bad habits, sinful actions, and problematic behaviors, even as a born-again child of God. All we have to do is take a look at that scripture from Galatians 5 to see some of the biggies.

I had a problem with anger. It wasn't so much a problem with being angry "at" people, but I exhibited anger because of my frustration with situations, and then it came out as anger. You know, the old "short fuse" syndrome. I'm not a jealous person, or like to pick fights. I hate strife and want it no where in my life. But I could go off in a split second, then you better watch out. I would be over it in 5 minutes, but by that time the damage was done, and I was left feeling horrible for my behavior and wishing that I could just undo what had been said and the actions I had just exhibited.

OK, you want another one? I seem to be letting all the cats out of the bag, so here is another one. I cannot drink. When I do, I turn into someone else. Someone who I don't care to be. I cannot hold liquor and I frequently made a fool of myself. Actions, words... oh my, I was a mess. So, I don't drink.

I love the taste of wine, and a variety of other alcoholic beverages, but I cannot just have one and be done. Nope, I just keep going. There are other reasons I don't drink: medications, and a promise I made to God when our daughter was going through a tough time. I know it's just not something I need to do.

Now, having said that, I don't have any problem with anyone else, so this is not about you all out there. It's my way of confessing my own problems. If you can enjoy yourself with a great glass of wine, or find a drink at a get together is a social indulgence, then I find nothing wrong with it, but for me... I couldn't control it. I wanted one or two drinks everyday. Then it got to be a bottle of wine, you get the picture? For me, it didn't work.

The same principle would hold true if it were 5 candy bars a day, a pack of cigarettes, or 2 liters of soda. It's not a moral thing with me, but a health and behavior issue. I don't want to be controlled or dominated by any thing. And there are certain things that for me are just not worth jeopardizing my relationship with God. I know it's wrong for me, so I don't do it.

After what I know now these many years later, could I drink responsibly? Probably. I think I could use discernment and maturity to my advantage, but I just don't want to go there again. So, as I said, I make no judgement on others, I just know it's not the best for me.


Romans 8:12-13
12. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- 13. for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

There are two main elements involved in gaining victory over "walking according to the flesh".

1) The first is that we need to learn to condition our behavior to our "new skipper", our new self which is infused with Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

2) The second is that we allow our old patterns for thinking and responding to our sin-trained flesh, be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Romans 12:1-2
1. I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship. 2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

My question about these matters was always, "OK, I understand this, but what is the practical application to changing my behavior? How do you "walk by the Spirit", and how do you "transform and renew" the mind."?


This is where we find the disconnect. We hear these truths of scripture but we don't know how to make it a reality in our lives. We will begin talking about the practical application of these scriptures, but first put yourself in a place with me to ask The Holy Spirit to reveal any issues, behaviors, or attitudes that are standing between you and Him. That's the first and most important step.

Love in Jesus,

Debra

(concepts taken from Victory Over the Darkness

by Neil Anderson)

Crucified With Christ

Quoting from the book Victory Over the Darkness by Neil Anderson:

"Generally speaking, all unbelievers are partakers of the old nature characterized by sin. Personally speaking, before you came to Christ you were one of those individuals. You were a sinner because it was your nature to sin; that is known as our old self, or as the King James Version says, the "old man"."

The New American Standard Version says it like this:

1 Corinthians 2:14
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

So what happened to our "old man", or "natural man" at salvation?... He died. Not physically of course, but the old nature we had in our inner man, the one we inherited from Adam. And what was the method of our old man's execution?

Version: NAS

Romans 6:6-7
6. knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him], that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; 7. for he who has died is freed from sin.

Colossians 3:3
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

Galatians 6:14
But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

At salvation we are placed "into Christ", the one who died on the cross for our sins. Being "in Christ", our old self, our old nature, died with Him there. And why did it have to die? Romans 6:6 tells us that the old self was independent and disobedient to God, so it had to die in order that "our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

"Death is the ending of a relationship, but not of it's existence. Sin hasn't died; it is still strong and appealing. But when your old self died with Christ on the cross, your relationship with sin ended forever. You are no longer in the flesh, but "in Christ". Your old self - the sinner - and your old nature- characterized by the sin which was inevitable since you were separated from God - are gone forever because you are no longer separated from God."

Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

This doesn't say that we are sinless, The death of our old self formally ended our "relationship" with sin, but it did not end sin's existence. Sin and Satan are still around, but sin's power over you has been broken.

Romans 6:7-14
7. for he who has died is freed from sin. 8. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9. knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10. For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, 13. and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin [as] instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness to God. 14. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.


There has been a lot of scripture that basically says the same thing to us. At salvation our old nature dies, and we become a new creature "in Christ".

We are no longer under any "obligation" to serve sin; to obey sin, or to respond to sin. We must realize this and incorporate it into our identity. Yes, we may sin, but we are no longer compelled to by our nature.

This is part of our new Identity In Christ. A simple statement, but a life-changing TRUTH. 

Sin's power over us is broken!

You may say, OK, this is good, but how does this affect my everyday life?
Have you ever said, "I know that this is wrong, but I just can't help myself?" Have you ever felt like you are powerless to quit a bad habit? Do you have problems with your mouth, the things you say, a bad attitude, nagging thoughts and little sins? I had these kinds of things in my life that I just could not get past. I thought it was just "me" and that I would never be able to get beyond them. Not until I realized that God's Word declared me dead to sin was I able to realize that, yes, it would be possible for me to quit them. Life changing and freeing.
Click on  Crucified With Christ as sung by Phillips, Craig and Dean. A powerful song, with a powerful message.

May we all remember this,

love,

Debra


(concepts and quotes taken from
Victory Over the Darkness )

God Provides a Way for Our Salvation

There were some comments on the day when we talked about our salvation that I want to address, because they are so very important. Important views on how we see God the Father, His Son Jesus as our Saviour, and God's viewpoint and treatment of the unsaved.

I know there are many wonderful people in the world that are not Christians. People that are caring and help others. People who lead a pious life, who dedicate themselves to helping the poor, feeding the hungry, and taking care of the sick. People who spend their lives working for the betterment of mankind; but if they have not asked Jesus into their hearts they will not be living eternally with Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit in Heaven. I know to some this may seem harsh and narrow minded. I understand how you might feel this way. This is how God has established this, it isn't something that organized religion has just came up with.

One of the most quoted verses in the Bible is John 3:16. Most of us memorized this in Sunday School when we were very young. But have you read and contemplated the next two verses? Sometime we don't get the complete thought and explanation in just one verse, or if we take it out of the original context.

Version: NAS

John 3:16-18
16. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 18. "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Then the Revised Standard Version says it slightly different:

Version: RSV

John 3:16-18
16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

God provides a way for our salvation. He is perfect and just and loves us so very much. Because of His holiness we cannot come before Him unless we have been "justified". Jesus provided that sacrificial "payment" on the cross. We are now covered in the blood of Jesus. When Father God looks at us He sees that covering on us. We still sin, yet our belief and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, allows us the redemption from that sin.

So many people use the argument against Christianity of "How could a loving God condemn us to eternal death and damnation in a place such as Hell?" Because they have that thought they cannot get past it to see that God is loving and kind and good. They have not read the 17 and 18 verse of John 3.

Let's read it again: 17. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 18. "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.



Our lack of belief in Jesus as God's Son and Savior of the world, causes us to condemn ourselves. God does not point His finger at us and send us into the darkness of eternity. We do it ourselves with our unbelief. You may say, It's the same thing, but it is not. God in His great mercy and love has set up a way for us to be delivered. If we do not choose to believe we are condemning ourselves.

Look at it this way: If a ship was sinking and a life boat was provided we have the choice to take a seat in the lifeboat and in doing so find salvation, or we can stay on the sinking ship and then curse the life boat captain for condemning us to death. Make sense?

God does not condemn us. Our lack of belief in Jesus Christ condemns us. Now as the thought that a good person might not make it to Heaven, I have to say, that being good does not get you to Heaven. 
Feeding the poor, finding new cures for disease and all the good intentions in the world will not get you there. There is only one way to Eternal Life and Jesus Christ is the Way.

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

And as to the thought that a good God could not and would not condemn those to Hell that had not heard the salvation message, I will tell you what I believe. I believe that the Holy Spirit makes Himself known to each and every human being. They may be in another "religion" or without one, but I believe that God will personally seek out each one of us and give us an opportunity to know Him. Then it is up to the person to either accept or reject this approach of the Holy Spirit. This may be up for debate, but I feel this is what the Bible speaks of in Romans the first chapter.

Romans 1:20
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they (mankind) are without excuse."

God's creation speaks of Him and causes all mankind to know that God does exist.
So for those in other religions, I believe God is so good that He desires no one perish. That does not mean all will go to Heaven. He will attempt to make Himself known to those who do not know Him. Each person then has an opportunity to be willing to hear more about Jesus. And if you are in a church or denomination that holds no "spark" of the Holy Spirit, I would seek God if that is where He wants you. If you have been in a religion, or even a denomination that offers you no hint of the power of the Holy Spirit I would question if that is where you are supposed to be.

Matthew 28:18-20
18. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20. teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."


This doesn't let us off the hook for evangelism and the spreading of the Gospel; we are clearly called and mandated to do this. But I do feel like that, even those who have not heard the Gospel message of Jesus Christ will be given a chance to know the Truth. They are given a chance to know Jesus. I have read (can't give you particulars on this, but I know that I have) that certain people groups in various parts of the world have had dreams and visions of Jesus, without ever having been exposed to the Bible or missionaries.

So we see that God does all that He can to bring us to the point of salvation. He is good, loving, not desiring anyone not know Him. But inevitably the decision to ask Jesus into your heart is your own personal decision. If you have not done that, please pray for Him to do that right now.

Love, in Jesus,

Debra

Before and After

Friday we looked at the idea of having two natures living within us; good and evil, the "black dog" versus the "white dog". We saw scripture that disputed this idea for the born again Christian. Let's look at the word "nature" pertaining to our spirit and soul and see what the Bible has to say about our "nature" after we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.

Version: NAS

Ephesians 2:1-3
1. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2. in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

2 Peter 1:3-4
3. seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of [the] divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
 
The verses from Ephesians speak about our "old" nature, before we knew Jesus. It clearly says we were dead, living in the lusts of our flesh, and children of wrath. The verses from 2 Peter tell us that we have escaped the corruption and are now partakers of the "divine" nature of God. Comparing these two verses show us that we didn't add a new nature on top of the old, but we exchanged our nature.
 

I have a great example, that all of us moms can appreciate (dad's too, or anyone else who has been around a baby). As babies go there is the obligatory dirty diaper to deal with. What if instead of taking off the diaper in question and doing a clean up, we just decided to put a new fresh diaper on top of the old dirty one? Well, that would solve nothing, huh? Dirty, stinky, messy, and uncomfortable. Putting a fresh clean diaper on over the filthy one would do nothing to change us, only "appear" fresh on the outside. But it wouldn't take long for the "stink" to find it's way out, and some other unsavory "matter" also.

Salvation and putting on the "new" nature of Jesus Christ is a "change" in the best way of thinking. The old dead, stinky life we used to lead is exchanged for the new fresh clean "nature" that God will give us.

Ephesians 5:8
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

This scripture that we looked at on Friday really says it. We were not IN darkness, but we WERE darkness. At salvation we don't walk into the light, we BECOME light. Just as Jesus is light, we are in Him and He is in us, so we become light. God has changed our basic nature from darkness to light. We aren't just thinking about improving our nature, our nature is already changed. We need to learn how to walk in harmony with our new nature.

We need the nature of Christ within us so we can BE like Christ, not just ACT like Christ. We were not given the power to imitate Jesus, but to really BE like Him. Becoming a Christian is not a matter of acting like one until you become one, it is a matter of becoming a Christian, then we learn to walk as one. We are not based on performance to become a Christian. "Measuring up" and doing good deeds will never get us to heaven. To address the idea of "gaining our way to heaven" with good intentions and good deeds doesn't fit the Biblical criteria for salvation. We could never be good enough or do enough good deeds. Our salvation is based on our acceptance of Jesus Christ and nothing else. 

God knows we cannot solve our problems of our "old nature"; our old sinful self by simply improving our behavior. He doesn't say "Here are my standards, now you need to measure up to all the rules and regulations." In fact He did allow that for a time, and that was known as the dispensation of "the Law". (the Old Testament during the time of Moses until the time of Jesus.) And by the way, we didn't do a good job. He knew He would have to change our nature. He has to give us an entirely new self, the life of Christ in us, which in turn provides the grace to allow us to change.

This fact that we have a new nature is really exciting to me. Years ago when I was struggling with wrong behaviors and bad habits the knowledge of this radically changed my thinking. "You mean I'm not trapped in the sin cycle?" That one piece of information was enough to wake me up. It was a long road, and I'm still not "there" but finding out that I wasn't on a treadmill of sin operated by the enemy was absolutely liberating.

We are starting to get into the "meat" of this study. Hope the new schedule will be easier to keep up with. Thank you everyone. I know that many of you take time out of your super busy schedules to meet here everyday. You cannot know how much I appreciate each and every one of you!

love, in Jesus,

Debra

(concepts taken from Victory Over the Darkness

by Neil Anderson)

Tug of War

"You may have heard the illustration of the two dogs. Some people say we have two natures within us vying for control of our lives. They claim that our old sin nature, which we inherited from disobedient Adam, is like a big black dog. Our new nature, which we inherited through Christ's redemptive work, is like a big white dog. These two dogs are bitter enemies, intent on destroying each other. Whenever you involve yourself in worldly thoughts or behavior, you are feeding the black dog. Whenever you focus your mind and activities on spiritual things, you are feeding the white dog. The dog you feed the most will eventually grow stronger and overpower the other."

This may be an interesting analogy to explain our sinful behaviors, but let's see if this is truly a Biblical way of looking at our lives. Let's look at the following scripture verses to see if the theory of the two natures inhabiting our lives sounds like what God has to say about us.

Version: NAS

Colossians 1:13
For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

Romans 8:9
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Ephesians 5:8
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man is in Christ, [he is] a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

This idea of the two natures and the power we allow them, may be an idea about an "unregenerate" or unsaved person. But once we accept Jesus into our hearts things change. We are "delivered from darkness", "we are not of the flesh, but of the Spirit". We were "formerly darkness, but now we are children of light", and we are a "new creature". So in looking at these scriptures we can see a big difference in the concepts.

To me this sounds like a tug-of-war; an opportunity to have a split personality in our spirit. Brings to mind the idea of the little man in the red suit with horns and a pitchfork, on one shoulder and the little angel with a halo and wings on the other. Both whispering in our ear the advantages of their influence.

The author states, "If we see ourselves part light and part darkness, part saint and part sinner, you will live in a very mediocre manner with little to distinguish you from the non-Christian."

All this goes back to our Identity in Christ. We need to have a strong belief in who God says we are. We need to believe the scripture verses about us being "IN CHRIST". This is why I have spent so much time on knowing our "identity". If that concept is not fully believed and accepted in our way of thinking we cannot move on in our Christian growth. We get caught in the quicksand of failure and stagnation.

"Satan knows he can do nothing about who you really are, but if he can get you to believe you are not different from the natural (unsaved) person, then you will behave no differently from the natural (unsaved) person."

But you may be thinking, all this "new creation" stuff sounds good, but why do I still behave like an unsaved person? Here are the words of Paul, speaking about his old life. Ever feel like this? Why do I still do things that are not godly or Christlike?

Romans 7:15
For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I [would] like to [do], but I am doing the very thing I hate.

Because we don't really KNOW our true identity in Christ. The fact that we are changed from saint to sinner by Jesus atonement, His death on the cross for our sins, and resurrection, may be understood and acknowledged, but we have not allowed it to penetrate our heart and spirit.

Many pastors and preachers tell us from the pulpit, we are still "sinners", (and yes, we all still sin) but that is not our identity in Christ.  Here again, we cannot be confused with what we do versus who we are. This goes back to the last lesson where we discussed our "words", not only to others but to ourselves.  If we continually call our children, stupid, losers, a person who will never amount to anything, etc. Will they not believe it? Even if they are good solid kids with a high IQ and motivated; will our words not, over time, begin to tear down their self esteem?

The same holds for our consideration of ourselves. We have been born again, but if we continually call ourselves "sinners", "just barely hanging on", or any other negative description will we too not be in danger of believing it? Negativity in our thoughts and words concerning ourselves and others, shape our opinions and begins to create an atmosphere of defeat.

The "inner change" that the previous scripture verses describe is the result from our "justification"; what happens the moment of our salvation, in our spirit. The outer man's change of our personality, thinking, and emotions occurs throughout our lifetime and that is "sanctification".

Let's look at the diagram from chapter 1 of the study.

Our spirit is changed from darkness to light at salvation, justification, and our outer man is changed over the course of our lifetime by studying the Word of God, prayer and an attitude of willingness and submission to the Holy Spirit.

So let's think of ourselves as that new creation In Christ, and not get caught up in an idea of good dog, bad dog tug of war. We are in Christ and He is in us.

love, in Jesus,

Debra

(quotes and concepts taken from

Victory Over the Darkness

by Neil Anderson.)

What about our Relationship with God?

Having read all the "I Am-In Christ" scriptures and finding out that as Christians we are totally accepted by God we might be wondering about what happens when we sin. Does our failure in this area interfere with God's acceptance of us? Let's look at a simple illustration.

When I was born physically, I had a father. His name was Richard. As his daughter, I have his blood running through my veins. Richard and Debra are "blood related". Nothing I could possibly do would change that. No act or mistake. We are related by blood. But is there anything I could do which would affect the harmony of our "relationship" as father and daughter?

Certainly. My attitude and behavior caused at times a strain or conflict in our relationship. What did I need to do to keep our relationship in harmony? I needed to be obedient. Our relationship issue was settled at my birth; the harmony issue became dependent upon my behavior and obedience.

In the spiritual realm, when I was born again I became a member of God's family. God is my father and I enjoy an eternal relationship with Him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Version: NAS

1 Peter 1:18-19
18. knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19. but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, [the blood] of Christ.

The issue of "Eternal Security" is a real hot button of debate. Here is where I differ somewhat with the author of this book. I will try to state my case in a succinct manner. If you do not agree with me, I totally understand. I have voiced my opinion loud and clear on several occasions in the past. But my understanding of eternal security changed after study and prayer and asking God many questions concerning this matter. Up until that point I had believed that no matter what you did as a Christian, no matter how you acted, what you said, or what you stood for, you were still going to heaven. "Once saved always saved". Now believe me, I know all the scripture that supports this. But let's just view this from the common sense viewpoint of ourselves and God. I don't believe we are to throw common sense out the window in our viewpoint of God.

When we are born again it is a matter of forgiveness of sin, confessing publicly and acknowledging Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then surrender and asking for Jesus to come into your heart. We use our will to get to that decision.

Some denominations go the other extreme. They believe you can lose your salvation more easily. I know both these viewpoints as I have been a member of both of these denominations.

Let's use Adolf Hitler as an example, or any other maniacal despot from history for that matter. Ruthless killing, desiring complete control, hideous actions and ways of thinking. Some say mental illness, I say pure evil. Now what if as a young boy, Adolf had made a profession of faith at his local church. What a sweet young boy. Then as time went by there became no evidence of his relationship with God. No evidence whatsoever. He manifested into the dictator and murderer that he has come to be known for. Do you think that Adolf will be sitting next to Jesus at the marriage supper of the Lamb? Not unless he had a complete and utter profound experience of salvation right before he shot his companion Eva and then put a bullet in his own head.

Now some of you may be ready to argue with me at this point. Some would say, "Well, he just never actually had a salvation experience." But I will say this. I believe some people have a real salvation experience, but for some reason or circumstances they find they do not want God in their lives. They deny their relationship with Christ and basically lock the door to their heart. It is not easy to lose your salvation. Almost impossible, and it is not done with our failures or actions. Salvation is lost when we make a clear statement to God that we are done with Him. finished. over. We tell Him to get out of our lives and never come back. This is part of the "unpardonable sin", blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. I believe that before this happens we are given every opportunity to patch things up with God, even if we are angry and feeling hopeless and lost.

Version: NAS
Luke 12:10
"And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.


God will have the Holy Spirit do everything to comfort and change our heart. Our will is still our will. I believe just as our will says yes to Jesus and the Holy Spirit to invite Him in. We can choose our will to "evict" the Holy Spirit and say NO to anything He desires to do for us. It isn't about mistakes, hurts, disillusionment, or "backsliding". It's about a conscious decision to sever our relationship.

Think about Peter in John Chapters 18 and 19, when Jesus had been arrested. He denied Jesus in front of others, but he was sick in doing so. He made a horrible decision to deny his knowing Jesus, but he was not evicting Him. Peter was terrified of being arrested also. He was a coward, but not someone that denied Jesus in his heart.

Now, as I have said, I know the scripture, but I also know the scripture that supports the loss of salvation. And I'm not going to "debate" this. You have your opinion and I have mine. All I ask is that you put it before God yourselves. Seek God on your own, without "church doctrine" in mind. Even as a young person I had questions on this subject. No answers that my church tried to teach me fully covered all the areas of this. It just didn't make sense to me. Evicting the Holy Spirit is not a matter that most of us would even consider doing or being involved with.

You ask me how I know? By experience. There was a time that I came into deep disagreement with God. He had told me something was going to happen. It didn't happen when I thought it should. I was so angry I said some things to God that were really bad. I had a vision of myself going over a cliff. He grabbed me by the neck and rescued me. I knew at that time that He wanted me to not continue, that if I continued in the way I was feeling, acting, and the things I was saying I would be putting my eternal relationship with God in jeopardy.

So having divulged this belief that I have. I will still say, As a Christian, we cannot change God's mind about us, and we are always in Relationship with our loving Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ. As long as we willingly choose to be His child we will remain so. No matter what. And if you are worried that you have lost your salvation, please do not worry, you have not. If you have lost your salvation, you will not care.

Love, in Jesus,

Debra

Relationships: 101

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to do some marriage counseling with a couple from our small church. This couple was in an extreme situation, and I think the pastor who usually did the counseling was at a loss to help them. Knowing that I had been involved in Freedom In Christ Ministries, the pastor felt there were some spiritual attacks directed toward one of the spouses, so they were turned over to me. When I heard their story, I was amazed at some of the bizarre behaviors that were occurring. After prayer with them, I knew God would have to totally lead me in helping them. It was impossible in "the natural". "In the natural" is my phrase for doing things the world's way and the world's way of thinking. There were deep seated issues here that needed to be addressed as individuals. Relating to the other as a spouse was secondary. Getting right with a spouse, a friend, a relative, or anyone else, begins with getting right with God, individually, first.

As in the words of the author, Neil Anderson, "It's hard to make any relationship work unless we are in right relationship with our Heavenly Father. The first thing we must realize is that God is our loving Father and we are His accepted child. This is the foundation truth for our spiritual identity. We have been declared "righteous" by Him because of our faith in Christ. As long as we believe that and walk accordingly, our daily experience of practical Christianity will result in growth. But when we get our eyes off of our "identity", and try to produce in our daily experience the acceptance God has already extended to us, we will struggle. We don't serve God to gain His acceptance; we are accepted, so we serve God. We don't follow Him in order to be loved; we are loved, so we follow Him."

Believing what the Bible says about us is the key to a successful relationship with God and then resulting in good relationship with others. Satan, our enemy, will try to convince us that we are sin-sick, unworthy and unacceptable; someone who will never amount to anything. Believing the lies of Satan will lock us into a defeated, fruitless life. Believing God's truth about ourselves and our Identity in Christ will truly set us free.

Romans 6:1-6
Version: NAS

1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? 2. May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3. Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5. For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also [in the likeness] of His resurrection, 6. knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him], that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;

These verses have truly made an impact upon me and my thinking. Newness of life, and that my old self was crucified with Jesus, so that sin might be done away with...I no longer had to be a slave to sin.

It's amazing the amount of baggage we all carry around, even as born-again believers. So many things shape our outlook on life and our inward look at ourselves. I've talked alot about my own experience, and how I perceived myself. It all affected my relationship with my husband, family, friends, and my children. I had wrong ideas and understanding about God. Those effected me, my personal choices in life, and then how I treated others. Not until I realized that I was totally loved and accepted by God, and that I had access to Him, that resulted in confidence, did my life start to change. Old hurts and confusion were lifted off of me. I began to see myself as God saw me. I started to let go of the old ways of doing things and reacting to those around me. God began the task of healing my wounded feelings and life. Thank you God, that you are not satisfied to leave us in our state of humanity. Thank you for loving us so much that You desire us to live a life of freedom and Truth!

Blessings today as we learn to walk in

Freedom and Truth,

Debra

(concepts taken from Chapter 3
Victory Over the Darkness)

Finding and Keeping Our Identity IN CHRIST

The difference between the first Adam and the last Adam, Jesus Christ, spells the difference between life and death for us. Perhaps it is best stated in scripture:

Version: NAS

1 Corinthians 15:22
"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive."

The phrase "in Christ" is the most critical element of our identity. So let's look a little deeper to see what this really means:

We weren't born "in Christ". We were born into sin, thanks to Adam and his sin in the Garden of Eden. So, what is God's plan to transform us from living like Adam to living like Jesus? When Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, He told us in John 3:3, "We must be "born-again". Our physical birth brings us only physical life, but Jesus promises us spiritual life, "Zoe" life, through Himself.

John 3:36
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life..."

When we become believers and have that re-birth experience we have our name written the the Lamb's Book of Life.

Revelation 21:27

and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

The "lamb's book of life" is literally a list of names of those who have asked Jesus into their hearts as Lord and Savior.


Contrary to what a lot of Christians believe, eternal life is not something you get when you die. We are spiritually alive in Christ right now. We were born again spiritually at our "salvation experience". We take on the "Zoe" life. When we die physically, we will exchange our earthly bodies for another "heavenly" type body. But our spiritual life in Christ will continue on; our spirit will move on to be with Jesus in heaven.


As in the words of the author, "Salvation is not a future addition; it's a present transformation. Eternal life is not something you get when you die. Eternal life is something you possess right now because you're "in Christ"."

Being a Christian is not just a matter of "getting something"; forgiveness of sin, and eternity in heaven with God, but we receive a new nature. Being born-again transformed us into someone who didn't exist before; a saint, a divine masterpiece, a child of God, and a citizen of the Kingdom of God.


It's not what we do as a Christian that determines who we are, but it's who we are that determines what we do.

When we have our identity straight; knowing that we are a child of God, a new creation in Christ, it will affect how we think, our decisions and our outlook on the future. Knowing we are God's child, loved and cherished by Him, we will be raising our heads and feeling hope and optimism, not feeling defeated, unloved, and condemned. Knowing who we are "in Christ" will absolutely change our life.

Version: KJV

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

1 John 3:1-3
1. See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and [such] we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. 3. And everyone who has this hope [fixed] on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.


So leave behind the identity with Adam, and find your true identity "in Christ" with Jesus. Think of yourself as the new creation in Christ. Look over the list of "Who I Am in Christ" from the earlier post of January 28, and start believing them. Believe what God has to say about you, then find your actions and life start changing too.

Love,

in Jesus,

Debra

concepts and ideas from Chapter 2,

 Victory Over the Darkness