Jesus is Lord!

Colossains 2:13-15
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. 15 In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

For those who believe, the penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross.  God has declared us not guilty and we no longer live under the control of sin and death.  But God does not take us out of this sinful world; we are to live as Christ Jesus did with God fully in control of His life. Jesus Christ functioned fully as a Man with a complete filling and power of the Holy Spirit under the complete direction of the Father. At salvation, our sinful nature is cut away and God imparts to us the righteousness of Christ.  We now have the Holy spirit of God living in us and working His plan to make us like Jesus.  Before we were saved, we were slaves to our sinful nature, now we just have to surrender it to God.  He has freed us from the power of sin and death.  Even though we still have desire to sin, we are no longer under sins control.  We can seek the power of God to overcome.  God never promised us that we would not desire to sin, only that He has made a way for us not to.  1 Corinthians 10:1 tells us , “But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”  God has a way of escape, we just have to take it.

Have a God Day!

Hebrews 11:1-6
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. 2 God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith. 3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. 4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. God accepted Abel’s offering to show that he was a righteous man. And although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us because of his faith. 5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying-”suddenly he disappeared because God took him.” But before he was taken up, he was approved as pleasing to God. 6 So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Faith is the conviction based on past experience that God will be who He said He was and that He will do the things He said He would.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  He wants our complete faith in Him.  We do not always see all that God is doing in our lives or around us.  But His Spirit is always working in us to make us more like Christ.  If we are open to Him.  Being open means trusting Him and knowing Him.  We have the evidence of what has been done in the lives of those who loved Him in His Word.  All we have to do is read and we will see that God is a God of His Word.  As we read about those in the past who trusted Him, we can be strengthened.  God does reward those who seek Him.  The reward is knowing of His love and having peace in our lives.  Faith means trusting in God and doing what He wants, regardless of the circumstances or consequences.  What are your trusting today?  Are you trusting in your own ability to provide or are you trusting in a God who can do more than you can understand?  Outside of God there is no peace and there will be nothing but what the world can give.  Do you really want to put your faith in a world that has never been able to deliver anything but pain?  Read about all of the people who trusted God and see what a difference it made in their lives.  He can do the same for you, but not without faith.

Have a God Day!