Tag: Forgiven

Are you ready to stand before God?

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God promises that we are declared Not Guilty of sin and can stand before Him pure and holy because of our faith in Jesus. God does not see our sin as we are covered in the blood of Jesus. What a wonderful way God transforms us though our faith in Jesus!

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,  I am holy and blameless before God.  The New Living Translation makes this point very clearly in Colossians 1:22 ” Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”   What a privileged position we are in before God because of what Christ did for us on the cross.  His blood has washed us clean so that we are without sin before God, pure, holy and without guilt.  Many of the old hymns talk about ‘there is power in the blood’.  The blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness. “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

proverbs 11 20

What now?  David wrote of being blameless and what that looks like in Psalm 15:1     “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?  Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?  Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,  speaking the truth from sincere hearts.  Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.”  Again he wrote in Psalm 18:31-33 “For who is God, but the Lord?  And who is a rock, except our God?— the God who equipped me with strength and made my  way blameless.   He made my feet like the feet of a deer  and set me secure on the heights. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:20 “The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,  but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.”  Christ has made us blameless before God through our faith in His work on the cross, but walking daily with Him requires us to do what is right, speak the truth, be sincere of heart, refuse to gossip or speak harm to others.  God promises to equip us for this work and give us strength through His indwelling Holy Spirit.  We will be secure in Him at all times.  Walking with Jesus, brings purity and holiness into our lives and pleases God.

Jude 24 25

I’ll end today with Jude 24-25.  May it resonate with you all day and help you as you strive to walk humbly with Jesus.  He did it all and then equips you to go out to show and tell others of His transforming power.  “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,  to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen“

Thankful for the transforming power of Christ!

Linda

Justification- a Big Deal!

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God promises that our faith in Christ will redeem us from our sins and leave us pure and holy. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can claim be presented to God as justified and free from sin. Wow! that is a big deal and a good deal for you and me!

Why is this so important to you and me?  To be justified means to be declared ‘not guilty’ and to be acquitted of wrong doing or shown to be innocent. Because of our sin nature we are guilty before God and can do nothing to help ourselves.  We can’t do enough good works or be really good and earn enough ‘points’ to be declared worthy or clean before God.  All you have to do is look around you to see that people do wrong things all the time even when they don’t really mean or want to.  Romans 3:23, “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” is pretty plain that all mankind are sinners.  However, let’s look at verse 24, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”.   We are all sinners but saved by Jesus because He declares us ‘not guilty’ though His work on the cross.   It is a gift to us through His grace when we believed in Him.  We did nothing to deserve it.  Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   Our faith in Jesus brings us into a relationship with God that is peace filled and free from the guilt and burden of our sin. Martin Luther declared many centuries ago that we are saved by grace alone, in Christ alone and by faith alone.  Christ did all the work to save us and justify us before God.

justifed by grace

As I think about this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  Jesus saved me from condemnation and declared me ‘not guilty’ before our heavenly Father.  I will no longer be subject to the penalty I really deserve for my sins which is eternal death.  I am also now open to God’s peace and can let it fill me each day as I rest in His eternal redemption. Praise God!  How about you?  Are you resting in Jesus?  Let these final days of Lent be a time of peace, filling as you praise to Jesus for his sacrifice and His declaring you Not Guilty before God.

Eternally grateful for His justification and peace,

Linda

The Depths of Forgiveness

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Have you given much thought to the forgiveness you have in Christ? One of God’s promises is that our sins are totally forgiven through our faith in Jesus. What would life be like for you if you had no way to get rid of your guilt over the things you do wrong? They could be simple slights to others, a harsh word said in anger or ‘bigger’ sins like murder and stealing. There are no degrees of sinfulness with God- sin is sin no matter how big or small and it separates us from holy God.

One of the most important things I receive from Christ is forgiveness.  It is not just a little forgiveness for everyday sins but total forgiveness for all the things that I have done and will do because of the sin nature I was born with.  Jesus paid the price required by God for my sin and yours,  “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 3:23.  Through His death on the cross the penalty for my sin and yours was marked paid in full.  “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ” Hebrews 10:10.   This sin nature I was born with is evident in my life each day.  The Apostle Paul said it best in  Romans 7:15  “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” It seems while in this world we are constantly susceptible to our sin nature.  I am so thankful that Jesus provided a way for me to be redeemed from sin, a way for me to be victorious over sin, a way for me to rise above the sins that would entangle me, and a way for me to live each day by His grace and mercy.

As you consider Jesus’ sacrifice and your sinful nature, consider Colossians 1:13-14 in the Amplified version.  13 For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,14 in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty].

God's forgiven

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can say with absolute assurance that I am totally forgiven through the power of Jesus’ blood.  Now that we have it- we need to claim it and live like we are forgiven!  Let go of the guilt and shame brought on by sin.  Don’t let Satan entangle you with guilt- he is a great liar and deceiver. He wants us bogged down by our past.  Pray and give it to Jesus- know that you are forgiven once and for all though Jesus!

Living forgiven, praise Jesus!

Linda

Keys to Repentance, 5th Sunday of Lent

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This 5th Sunday of Lent I want to draw your attention to 2 verses in Isaiah 43. Why Lent? Why have an attitude of repentance and gratitude? Look at these 2 verses:

Isaiah 43:7 “Bring all who claim me as their God,
    for I have made them for my glory.
    It was I who created them.’”

God calls each of us unto Himself. He has made us and created us for a purpose for His glory and our good! I love Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.“

Isaiah 43:25 ““I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
    and will never think of them again.

God has the ability and the desire to forgive our sins. When God forgives, the sins are gone to be remembered no more! What is required of us is that attitude of repentance. I am reminded of 1 John 1:9 “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

Both of these verses from Isaiah speak to the heart of the Lenten Season. Check your attitude today. Are you thankful for how God has made you and are you looking for His purpose in your life? Do you feel sins burden or are you free in Jesus? I pray as you worship today that you would sense a new purpose and freedom knowing and trusting God. He is good and loves and cares for you.

Linda

Amazing, God loves me that much!

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Colossians 1:18-20 was about the reconciliation we have through Christ. Paul continues with this topic in Colossians 1:21-22 explaining in more detail the how’s and why’s of this amazing transformation that is available to us. “This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” Paul explains our state of being from birth. We are born sinners, separated from God by our sin-filled nature which we act out in words and deeds. It is our natural state of being because of the sin passed on to us from Adam and Eve and held captive in a world ruled by Satan. That may sound harsh but Christ called Satan the devil, the prince of this world and an angel of darkness.

Once we came to know Jesus and believe in His death and resurrection, we were brought into a relationship with God. Our sins were forgiven and we were clean and pure, holy, blameless and able to stand before God. God cannot tolerate sin and where sin is- God is not. However, He loves us and loved us even before we knew Him. Romans 5:8 is a precious verse that is hard to even fathom, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” God loved us and wanted to make a way for sinful man to be restored to relationship with Him. The entire Bible is God’s love story to mankind as He seeks to find the lost and redeem us. When you consider all of this truth, it is staggering. It is amazing that God loved me so much that He was willing to send Jesus to suffer and die for me. God wanted me that much. How can I not be thankful that He loves, cares, and wants me to spend eternity with Him.

Ponder this amazing truth today! Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am redeemed and reconciled to Almighty God so I have His hope-filled love for eternity. Thank you Jesus!

Linda