Christ OUR Righteousness.

Rom 10:1  Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 

Rom 10:2  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 

Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 

Rom 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 

How many of us have a ZEAL for God, but NOT according to knowledge? How many of us establish our own way of righteousness, ignoring the truth of the righteousness found only in God through Jesus Christ? People don't generally want to submit themselves to anyone, including God.  The righteousness of God is Jesus Christ.

2Pe_1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ

Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 

Rom 3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

Rom 3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 

Christ's righteousness SAVES US and nothing more. Not a single law saves us. Not a single good work saves us. Not one tiny bit of our own right doing saves us. WE CANNOT save ourselves!!!!!!!

Yet we set up so many boundaries and fear if we step out of those boundaries we are no longer saved.  How can we have it both ways? How can we believe in Jesus to save us, and still try to save ourselves in ways other than believing in our Savior to save us?

Setting up laws, laws given by God and taking those laws and twisting them so much we can't listen to God any longer leaves us where? When you take something someone has given you and make it your own, it is no longer truly what you were given. If you were to give it back you would be giving back something different, not something the same. God gave His laws for a purpose- ceremonial, dietary, moral, laws for so many things from day to day living, to many happenstances in the lives of people. God gave these laws and He did so for a reason. People were so incredibly far from God when He gave Moses what he needed to get His chosen free from slavery. They needed to know God, the love of God. Over many hundreds of years they took those laws and gradually altered them in subtle ways. They took the love of God out of the laws entirely. They lost sight of God's prophets and the prophecies they gave for the future. And when Jesus came, the very righteousness of all things, the complete embodiment of the law, they were not prepared to receive Him, in fact they held fast to their own righteousness and they found that righteousness in keeping all the laws to the letter. Laws they'd changed to suit themselves. They couldn't take that leap of faith necessary to believe.

Faith in Jesus Christ to be our righteousness, it isn't easy to fully believe it because we want to have a hand in our own salvation.

More on all of this tomorrow by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!

The Lord is Not Slack Concerning His Promise.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

Truly it is a short work that the Lord is making upon earth.

We NEED to remember that our HEAVENLY FATHER is NOT a human being! God's time is not our time. We have a CREATOR, and our Creator is so incredible wondrous that for us to try and bring God down to our level is preposterous. What I mean is, the mere thought of ETERNITY to us is something unfathomable. We put a timetable on everything around us- right or wrong in our methods we do this and we even date the earth scientifically, and we date all sorts of things. We've even come up with a time for the Sun itself to burn out- the date is so far in the future no one here and now is concerned at all, none of us will be here in five billion years, right? We are more focused on burning up our own planet, or rather letting global warming destroy it bit by bit. The thing is, so many want to take God out of everything that those who do bring God into their lives are still tempted to put them on their own time. It's so easy to forget this--

2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 

ONE DAY… you know what a single day is, a rather short period of time in the scheme of things. Our years are 365 days. But to the Lord ONE THOUSAND YEARS - if we take our count for a year that's- 365,000 days- is but a SINGLE DAY to the LORD!  How incredible is this? Putting this into a tiny bit of perspective- if a person lives to the age of 72, they've lived approximately 26,280 days. 

When we really comprehend to the best of our finite ability that one day is as a thousand years, and  a thousand years as one day with the LORD, then we have to believe that the LORD is NOT slack concerning His promise to redeem us.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

The Lord IS making a short work on upon the earth.

In the face of eternity- our idea of time is lost.

We long for the Lord to return, we long for the Lord's will to be done in all things.  And while it may not seem short to us whose life spans are truly short, the Lord is making a short work of things and HE WILL return, make NO mistake about it, none!

You can't take prophecy and follow it through the years and then suddenly say the rest of the prophecy doesn’t matter and won't come to pass. You are being delusional if you think that is the way of things. The sad thing is, too many people aren't aware of histories prophecies that have come to pass over the last six thousand years. Too many people don't WANT to learn either. When you are face to face with the truth, it can be very frightening because it will rock your whole world and cause you to comprehend things that you never have before.

May God help us to seek TRUTH, all of HIS TRUTH and realize the times we are living in, knowing that one day every single prophecy will have been fulfilled and those who are the LORD'S will live on into eternity with our Father God, our Redeemer Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!

All in the name of our SAVIOR, now and FOREVER!   

Evil Influence.

Who controls us? Are we influenced by others, by principalities and powers unseen?  Surely most reading this (I kid myself that there are many reading this) believe that it's crazy to think we can be influenced by UNSEEN POWERS.

People can easily understand the influence of others around them. How many people have ended up in jail because they 'followed' their peers into illegal activities just because they felt the influence to do something that left to their own devices they'd never dream of doing?  On the other hand there are those who have been influenced to do good things they wouldn't have done otherwise, following the people they are around. Yet to believe there are UNSEEN powers surrounding us that do have real influence over us is stuff of crazy people talk, right? That old saying- 'The devil made me do it.' Is something people say but don't really mean.

We truly believe that those who may be aware of unseen influences are mentally disabled, and I'm not going to say none of them are, I have no way of knowing. I do know that IF you believe in JESUS CHRIST then you have to believe in EVIL SPIRITS. Jesus cast out a lot of evil spirits affecting the lives of people in many different ways. Some were totally incapacitated by the evil spirits, others were sick with chronic illness, still others were rendered lame, blind and so on and so forth. The control those evil spirits had over some of the people Jesus cast the spirits out of was horrific. Forcing those they inhabit to commit vile acts of abuse on people and on themselves, terrorizing people, these were just some of the things the evil spirit controlled people did. If we believe JESUS then we know evil spirits exist and have influence over people.

Not everyone is taken over by evil spirits, I think the majority of people are simply influenced just enough by the outside influence to keep them from truly accepting Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. That's all Satan really wants, people who are not in truth, Christ's. He could care less if a person spouts Christ day in and day out if they aren't truly Christ's at all. Read the following….

'Whenever a person’s inner man heeds the dictates of the outer man, he loses contact with God and is rendered dead spiritually. “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked” by “following the desires of body and mind” (Eph. 2.1-3).'  The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Before accepting Christ as our Savior, as a REAL part of our life, a person walks according to the world. A person walks according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit working in the children that are NOT Christ's. In our past we ALL had our conversations along the lines of our flesh lusts, our desires of our flesh and minds. By nature we were the CHILDREN of WRATH.

Walking according to the world. Walking according to the spirit of disobedience.

These are realities that we need to face, not ignore, not pretend do not exist.

When we follow the desires of our bodies and minds, over the desires of the spirit with God guiding us then we are following the spirits of disobedience.

May we REALIZE just how REAL and influential the evil spirits can be in our lives and as we are allowed to recognize this, may it lead us to seek a much closer walk with Christ, with the Holy Spirit, with God the Heavenly Father. We are lost without Christ, completely and utterly lost. May we NOT be deceived! May we be KEPT from EVIL as Jesus prayed to the Father for us!

All through the LOVE of our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!!!! Now and forever!!!!!!!

Jesus asks, "Do you want me to save you?"

Jesus and I stand before God and the weight of all the guilt of sin is upon me. I have NOTHING at all to offer to God to atone for my sins, there is NOT a single thing of WORTH that I could give Him. I stand there and as I'm prepared to be judged guilty, as I'm prepared to admit my worthlessness and accept my eternal and everlasting separation from my Creator- Jesus stops me.

Jesus takes me by the upper arms, His fingers tightening on my flesh ever so slightly as He peers deeply into my eyes with a compassionate gaze like no other has ever possessed, and He says, 'No.' He says and shakes His head gently, continuing. "You don't have to die the eternal death. You don't have to remain separated from the Heavenly Father. I can save you. Do  you want me to save you? Do you?"

Do I want to be saved? Do I want to be united to my Heavenly Father once more? Do I want to live life eternal? I nod slowly and stammer, "But I…I'm not worthy…I'm guilty, I did it, I'm a sinner, such an awful sinner." 

Pulling me into Him, Jesus embraces me gently and whispers into my ear, "You are worth everything to me. I know you've sinned, I know you sin. I know you are guilty, but let me do this for you. Let me take your sins- all of them as mine, please. Let me have your guilt, give it all to me, I want to do this for You. I was born to do this for You, I love you."

My heart breaks for the love, such love that I don't deserve that is being offered to me. Jesus wants to pay the price for me. Jesus wants to take my place, Jesus is begging me to take my place! How can He love me so much when I've done so much against all He stands for!? As I stand there in a complete turmoil of emotion, He holds me tighter.

"Please," He entreats me. "Let me do what you cannot do. Let me save you. I know your righteousness is like filthy rags, I know this. I know the depths of your darkness, let me be the light for you."

 I pull back slightly in protest, "But I'm awful! What if you do this and I keep sinning?! I'm so weak!"

Now Jesus pulls back, holding me at arm's length, looking at me once again with love so clearly etched in His gaze. "You are weak, I am strong. All I ask is for you to take up this cross I'm going to die upon, take it up every day and let me save you every day. Every single day seek me, find me, follow me, remember what I am doing for you and remember it always. Can you do that?"

Tears streaming down my face in spite of my trying to hold them back, I nod and He pulls me to Him once more, all the love He has for me poured out in that embrace. After several moments He gently releases me and turns to the Father God and stands right in front of me.

"I'll die for her, let me die for her. Let me take all her punishment, let me take the eternal separation, let me take all her guilt upon me, just….save her eternally…please, Father, save her." And the Heavenly Father nods, agreeing to the sacrifice, agreeing to the substitute for me, for my death. He agrees to let His only begotten Son die for me, taking on all my sins. 

The relief on Jesus' face as He turns to me and smiles is so vivid, the love, the happiness. He really wants to save me-- a horrible, horrible sinner.  As I try to choke out the words thank you, my gratitude beyond comprehension, I watch as He is led towards the cross where He has offered to die in my place.

I should be on that cross! I should be dying! But He's going there for me! FOR ME!

*******

 Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin. 

'Now our sinful humanity has been judged completely because it was judged in the sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus. In Him, holy humanity has won its victory. Whatever judgment should come upon the body, soul and spirit of sinners has been poured upon Him. He is our representative. By FAITH we are joined to Him. His death is reckoned as OUR death, and His judgment as OUR judgment. Our spirit, soul and body have altogether been judged and penalized in Him. It would not be any different had we been punished in person. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8.1). This is what He has accomplished for us and such is now our standing before God. “For he who has died is freed from sin” (Rom. 6.7 ). Positionally we ALREADY have died in the Lord Jesus; it only awaits the Holy Spirit to translate this fact into our experience. The cross is where the sinner—spirit, soul and body—is altogether judged. It is through the death and resurrection of the Lord that the Holy Spirit of God is able to impart God’s nature to us. THE CROSS BEARS THE SINNER'S JUDGMENT, PROCLAIMS THE SINNER'S WORTHLESSNESS, CRUCIFIES THE SINNER, AND RELEASES THE LIFE OF THE LORD JESUS. Henceforth anyone who accepts the cross shall be born anew by the Holy Spirit and receive the life of the Lord Jesus. ' From The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee Volume 1 Pt 1 - 4 - Salvation Pg 60,61

Luk 9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

If we would follow JESUS, truly follow JESUS we have to LIVE JESUS DAILY.

Seriously, to deny ourselves is to proclaim Jesus. We TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY and that means each and every single day we recognize that upon the CROSS our Savior died IN OUR PLACE.

All in HIS LOVE! Now and forever!

Would that ALL would choose to be Christ's.

How great is our sorrow. Seriously. This world is filled with sorrow on so many levels. If you've never felt sorrow then you can't comprehend what I'm talking about at all.

Sorrow.  Dictionary Definition-  deep distress, sadness, or regret especially for the loss of someone or something loved

There are not too many people in this world that can actually say they've never felt sorrow. When we feel sorrow our heart is very, very heavy. To have a continual sorrow is very disheartening to say the least. Paul talks about the continual sorrow he feels for his people- the Israelites. His sorrow is so deep because he knows this--

Rom 9:27  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved

A remnant will be saved. That doesn't say - ALL the children of Israel will be saved, even though their numbers are as the SAND of the SEA. We cannot count the number of grains of sand in the sea it is impossible. Imagine a few of something too numerous to count, too numerous for us, not God. Still, one hundred from millions, trillions, is a drop of water in an ocean. I'm not saying one hundred is the number, I'm just giving an example. So few from so many, no wonder Paul was continual sorrowful.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

This is truth. In the grand scheme of things when we think of time- a thousand years is as one day with the Lord. The work is being cut short.

Read the following and from it there is so much to consider. So much our finite minds cannot comprehend fully. Without Christ our Savior, we are ALL lost. Would that ALL could be saved, that all would be willing to be saved.  All by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

*******

Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 

Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 

Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 

Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 

Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 

Rom 9:7  Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 

Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 

Rom 9:9  For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. 

Rom 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 

Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 

Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 

Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 

Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 

Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 

Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 

Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 

Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 

Rom 9:24  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 

Rom 9:25  As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 

Rom 9:26  And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 

Rom 9:27  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

Only You Can Separate Yourself From God.

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

NOTHING can separate us from Christ Jesus our LORD, nothing can separate us from the LOVE of GOD.

Do you believe this? You should.  The ONLY thing that CAN separate us… I know, it sounds contradictory because I just said NOTHING can separate us, but I was wrong. I should have said, NOTHING other than ourselves can separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus our Lord. We CAN separate ourselves from the love of God. We can't stop His loving us and wanting to redeem us, wanting to claim us as His, but we can choose to stop loving God. We can choose to invite God to hate the sin in us, and us. God hates sin, and if we are advocate for sin then we are inviting God to hate us. We may have a propensity for sinning, but that NEVER means we have to advocate for sin. We never have to accept sin, we never have to desire to sin.  We can either seek forgiveness, and repent - choosing to desire to obey our God who is LOVE, or we can choose to seek NOT to choose God. We can separate ourselves from God. Don't EVER think you can't separate yourself from God because you can. One of Satan's many evil deceptions is the false belief that we can't separate ourselves from God once we are born anew to Him. Some people truly believe that once they accepted Christ that sealed the deal and nothing will change that, not a single thing. They can sin all they want, but they won't lose their salvation. God does NOT work that way! We have to know that we can choose at any moment of our life to leave God's love. God forbid that we ever choose to leave the love of God.

Nothing externally can separate us from God's love, not a single thing. PRAISE GOD!

Truly, all things work together for good, even if we can't comprehend how. Faith.

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Do you KNOW that ALL things work together for good if you LOVE GOD, if you are called according to HIS PURPOSE?

Seriously, do you know it, and what I mean is do you experience the knowing of this truth? It's easy to read something and comprehend it without ever experiencing the truth of that same thing. Do you experience the truth of knowing that ALL things work together for good? When you are experiencing the horrors of this world, do you comprehend that somehow, some way it will work for your ultimate good? When we are suffering no matter the type of suffering it isn't easy to believe any of it will be for our good. The pain, the horrible agony of deep sickness, the struggle of dark emotional living, the awful throes of watching loved ones suffer viciously, all of this and so much more that the darkness of Satan's evil brings with it- can it truly, somehow we can't comprehend in the slightest - work for our good? By faith- it is TRUTH, it CAN and it WILL work for our good.  Only by faith- SIGHT UNSEEN- can we have the hope of this truth. We can CLING to this when everything else falls totally apart.

Often we quote from the book of Job because of all He endured and remained faithful. Maybe we need to be reminded of this often because he lived by FAITH in God.

If you love God, that doesn't mean your life will be pain, and suffering free. Some who love God suffer terribly. God's blessing does not mean you won't feel pain. We just don't understand the ultimate reason for that pain.

Too many pray for suffering to end and then stop believing in God with suffering doesn't end and only increases. They may be asking for the ending of suffering for another and believe their request is selfless and deserving, and when God still doesn't answer their prayer they find it very easy to stop believing in praying, to stop believing in God altogether.  People say, and I've heard them say it, that a God who permits the awful suffering of innocent children, animals, elderly- isn't a God they want to believe in. They refuse to believe there is a BIGGER picture where ALL suffering will one day end completely. They refuse to consider the whys and wherefores, and just stop any chance of believing with their own supposed superior thinking. They won't be made a fool of by believing, but ultimately those who don't want to be considered fools either by others or to themselves, will one day prayerfully realize that as they lay upon their death beds looking back on their lives, that God does exist and God does love them, and God sent His Son to save them from all sin, offering them life eternal without any of the horrors that exist in our world today.

Please, Lord, please help us to LIVE in Your truth, experiencing Your truth, knowing the REALITY of Your truth in our lives as a living, breathing, entity of love!

All in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ our LORD, now and forever!