We know we are now "in Christ" but what does that mean? Actually, the term "in Christ' occurs in the New Covenant (Testament) almost 100 times. You could say it's a recurring theme!
The New Covenant was cut between the Father and the Son. It was NOT cut between you and God or God and me; it was cut between the Father and the Son. Then it was confirmed with each of us as we accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord.
According to Phil. 2:5-11 God the Son came to earth to establish the New Covenant. When the time came for the covenant ceremony, Jesus, as the Passover Lamb, was chosen as the covenant sacrifice. Jesus, being fully God, was selected as the Father's representative. Jesus, being fully man, was chosen also as mankind's representative. As the precious blood of Jesus was shed at the cross, the New Covenant was cut between our heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus. That was how Jesus secured all the promises and blessings of the New Covenant.
After He rose from the dead, Jesus entered the heavenly tabernacle and, through His shed blood, He obtained eternal redemption for mankind (Heb. 9:11-12). Then He became the mediator of the New Covenant.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
IN CHRIST - Restoring what Adam lost
In Christ we occupay a new position and all of the promises of God from both the Old and New Testaments belong to us. every promise in the Bible is yes and amen in Christ!
In Genesis 1:26-30 we see that God had initiated a wonderful plan for humans. Man was to be His representative upon the earth, to be His friend, to fellowship with Him, to take dominion over the earth, and to be richly blessed for all eternity.
When the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, they ate of the forbidden fruit, and sin entered the world. As a result, they were cast out of the Garden and God's purposes for mankind were temporarily thwarted. But through His covenants, God is is restoring all that was lost by Adam.
God's original purpose for us:
REPRESENT THE IMAGE OF GOD
Our new position of being in right standing with God is restoring us back into the image of God.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD FOREVEr
The veil separating man from God was ripped, giving us free access to God's throne, opening the way for an intimate relationsip with Jesus
ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Through the Great Commission, Jesus has given us the authority to advance the kingdom of God and take dominion over the earth.
FREELY ENJOY EVERY BLESSING IN THE GARDEN
We are blessed with every spiritu blessing in heavenly places.
All the covenants find their fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is the sum of all things, fulfilling every covenant and every covenant promise. We are heirs of the promises of God in Christ Jesus - they are our inheritance!!!!! The New Covenant restores eveyrthing that Adam lost.
In Genesis 1:26-30 we see that God had initiated a wonderful plan for humans. Man was to be His representative upon the earth, to be His friend, to fellowship with Him, to take dominion over the earth, and to be richly blessed for all eternity.
When the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, they ate of the forbidden fruit, and sin entered the world. As a result, they were cast out of the Garden and God's purposes for mankind were temporarily thwarted. But through His covenants, God is is restoring all that was lost by Adam.
God's original purpose for us:
REPRESENT THE IMAGE OF GOD
Our new position of being in right standing with God is restoring us back into the image of God.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD FOREVEr
The veil separating man from God was ripped, giving us free access to God's throne, opening the way for an intimate relationsip with Jesus
ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Through the Great Commission, Jesus has given us the authority to advance the kingdom of God and take dominion over the earth.
FREELY ENJOY EVERY BLESSING IN THE GARDEN
We are blessed with every spiritu blessing in heavenly places.
All the covenants find their fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is the sum of all things, fulfilling every covenant and every covenant promise. We are heirs of the promises of God in Christ Jesus - they are our inheritance!!!!! The New Covenant restores eveyrthing that Adam lost.
Happy Easter!!!
ISAIAH 53
Who believes what we've heard and seen?
Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God - a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about Him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at Him and people turned away.
We looked down on Him, thought He was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains He carried- our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought He brought it on Himself,
that God was punishing Him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him - our sins!
He took the punishment that made us whole.
Through His bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins,
everything we've done wrong, on Him, on Him.
He was beaten, He was tortured,
but He didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared, He took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and He was led off -
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried Him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man.
Even though He'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.
Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
to crush Him with pain.
The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin,
So that he'd see life come from it -
life, life, and more life.
And God's plan will deeply prosper through Him.
Out of terrible travail of soul,
He'll see that it's worth it and be glad He did it.
Through what He experienced,
My Righteous One, My Servant, will make many "righteous ones,"
as He Himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore, I'll reward Him extravagantly -
the best of everything, the highest honors -
Because He looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
because He embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many,
He took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Who believes what we've heard and seen?
Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God - a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about Him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at Him and people turned away.
We looked down on Him, thought He was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains He carried- our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought He brought it on Himself,
that God was punishing Him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him - our sins!
He took the punishment that made us whole.
Through His bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins,
everything we've done wrong, on Him, on Him.
He was beaten, He was tortured,
but He didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared, He took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and He was led off -
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried Him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man.
Even though He'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.
Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
to crush Him with pain.
The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin,
So that he'd see life come from it -
life, life, and more life.
And God's plan will deeply prosper through Him.
Out of terrible travail of soul,
He'll see that it's worth it and be glad He did it.
Through what He experienced,
My Righteous One, My Servant, will make many "righteous ones,"
as He Himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore, I'll reward Him extravagantly -
the best of everything, the highest honors -
Because He looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
because He embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many,
He took up the cause of all the black sheep.
God is faithful to His covenant people!
"Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." Deut. 7:9
God is faithful to His covenant. It is important that we have faith in God's faithfulness! Then we can stand on the promises of God in full assurance that He who promised is faithful.
The blood of Jesus was shed to secure the New Covenant. By doing this, God chose to bind Himself legally to His unalterable word and to be faithful to the promised blessings of His covenant with us. God will not violate His oath. He has bound Himself by covenant.
God is the omnipotent, all-powerful God. All of us know He has unlimited strength. The good news is that out of His lovingkindness, God directs His strength toward His covenant partners.
God never wavers and He never changes His mind. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He can be trusted!
How can God care so much for sinful, weak human beings? LOVE is the primary attribute that motivates God to act on our behalf and meet our needs. His lovingkindness is everlasting.
God is faithful to His covenant. It is important that we have faith in God's faithfulness! Then we can stand on the promises of God in full assurance that He who promised is faithful.
The blood of Jesus was shed to secure the New Covenant. By doing this, God chose to bind Himself legally to His unalterable word and to be faithful to the promised blessings of His covenant with us. God will not violate His oath. He has bound Himself by covenant.
God is the omnipotent, all-powerful God. All of us know He has unlimited strength. The good news is that out of His lovingkindness, God directs His strength toward His covenant partners.
God never wavers and He never changes His mind. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He can be trusted!
How can God care so much for sinful, weak human beings? LOVE is the primary attribute that motivates God to act on our behalf and meet our needs. His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Why did God choose covenants?
The word "covenant" is used approximately three hundred times in the Scripture. Covenants were a common practice in ancient cultures of Biblical setting, although covenants are rare in our modern society.
God chose to use covenants in order to express His desire to have a deep and lasting relationship with His people. It is far more binding than a contract. A covenant is a formal, extremely solemn and binding agreement based upon a common purpose, often secured by a blood sacrifice, which binds two parties together for life, often extending to future generations.
A good example of a covenant today is marriage. (Mal. 2:14) A woman and a man come together to live as one. Their marriage surpasses any other relationship between two people. Married couples lives a one in spirit, soul and body. They take on a common purpose to raise children and face life's issues together. Marriage is an exchange - each draws from all that their partner has and gives their all to the other! Do you see that the purpose of a covenant is for two to live as one? We can become one with God through the New Covenant in Christ!
God chose to use covenants in order to express His desire to have a deep and lasting relationship with His people. It is far more binding than a contract. A covenant is a formal, extremely solemn and binding agreement based upon a common purpose, often secured by a blood sacrifice, which binds two parties together for life, often extending to future generations.
A good example of a covenant today is marriage. (Mal. 2:14) A woman and a man come together to live as one. Their marriage surpasses any other relationship between two people. Married couples lives a one in spirit, soul and body. They take on a common purpose to raise children and face life's issues together. Marriage is an exchange - each draws from all that their partner has and gives their all to the other! Do you see that the purpose of a covenant is for two to live as one? We can become one with God through the New Covenant in Christ!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Hold Fast to the Covenant
We lack knowledge of our Covenant with Christ. "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6
According to Isaiah 56:6,7 God blesses those who hold fast to His covenant. God is calling His people to learn to live by covenant so that even in the midst of very difficult circumstances, we will flourish in the things of God.
Jesus is the way, or as The Message says, Jesus is the road. He doesn't just want to show us the road; He wants to be the road for us. God makes a way where there is no way. We must choose to believe God and His promises to us instead of the circumstances and problems surrounding us.
We need to eliminated a false view of the sovereignty of God. He is the Most High God and He is sovereign. However, many believe that everything that happens in life is God's will. This is not Biblical. God does work all things out for our good when we trust in Him to do so, and He uses every situation to teach us. HOWEVER, this kind of thinking leads to a very passive mindset. On the other hand, if I believe that God wants to bless me and something bad happens in my life, I will exercise my faith by standing on the promises of God until the breakthrough comes. God is for us and not against us. His desire is to bless us, his children whom He loves so deeply.
Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 6:10) that our Father's kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That doesn't happen automatically! Many times, we must pull down the blessings of God in faith, calling forth the kingdom to come from heaven to earth. We want our prayers to be filled with FAITH, not filled with weakness, passivity and unbelief.
God's blessings are the inheritance of EVERY believer, not just the pastors, evangelists and super-Christians. I Cor. 2:9-12 tells us that our eyes haven't seen, our ears haven't heard, and our hearts haven't grasped all that God has prepared for those who love Him. Wow!
Another powerful verse is Eph. 1:3. It states, "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Notice the past tense of the verb. God HAS blessed us, not "He is going to bless us someday in the sweet by and by." God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing!!! It's not because we deserve it. It's because of the work of Jesus our Lord on the cross. We now have every spiritual blessing promised to us by God.
Galatians 3:14 - In Jesus Christ, the blessings of Abraham have come to the Gentiles.
Psalm 103:1-6 - God forives all our sins, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion, satisfies our years with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle.
Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.
God is no respecter of persons. He will bless ANYONE who walks in covenant with Him. He is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. "For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing!" (I Pet. 3:9)
God will be faithful to His promises in our lives.
According to Isaiah 56:6,7 God blesses those who hold fast to His covenant. God is calling His people to learn to live by covenant so that even in the midst of very difficult circumstances, we will flourish in the things of God.
Jesus is the way, or as The Message says, Jesus is the road. He doesn't just want to show us the road; He wants to be the road for us. God makes a way where there is no way. We must choose to believe God and His promises to us instead of the circumstances and problems surrounding us.
We need to eliminated a false view of the sovereignty of God. He is the Most High God and He is sovereign. However, many believe that everything that happens in life is God's will. This is not Biblical. God does work all things out for our good when we trust in Him to do so, and He uses every situation to teach us. HOWEVER, this kind of thinking leads to a very passive mindset. On the other hand, if I believe that God wants to bless me and something bad happens in my life, I will exercise my faith by standing on the promises of God until the breakthrough comes. God is for us and not against us. His desire is to bless us, his children whom He loves so deeply.
Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 6:10) that our Father's kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That doesn't happen automatically! Many times, we must pull down the blessings of God in faith, calling forth the kingdom to come from heaven to earth. We want our prayers to be filled with FAITH, not filled with weakness, passivity and unbelief.
God's blessings are the inheritance of EVERY believer, not just the pastors, evangelists and super-Christians. I Cor. 2:9-12 tells us that our eyes haven't seen, our ears haven't heard, and our hearts haven't grasped all that God has prepared for those who love Him. Wow!
Another powerful verse is Eph. 1:3. It states, "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Notice the past tense of the verb. God HAS blessed us, not "He is going to bless us someday in the sweet by and by." God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing!!! It's not because we deserve it. It's because of the work of Jesus our Lord on the cross. We now have every spiritual blessing promised to us by God.
Galatians 3:14 - In Jesus Christ, the blessings of Abraham have come to the Gentiles.
Psalm 103:1-6 - God forives all our sins, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion, satisfies our years with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle.
Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.
God is no respecter of persons. He will bless ANYONE who walks in covenant with Him. He is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. "For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing!" (I Pet. 3:9)
God will be faithful to His promises in our lives.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Puzzling Life of King Asa
Asa, the King of Judah, "did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God." (II Chron. 14:1) He was a good king who removed idolatry from his people and commanded them to seek and obey the Lord. Asa even deposed his own grandmother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole (an idolatrous symbol)!! When he went to war, the Lord was with him and gave Asa the victory. Everything went well for Asa until his thirty-sixth year of reign.
Something changed. Asa changed. Asa and his men were surrounded, but instead of going to God for help, as he had always done before, he took silver and gold and bought help from a foreign king. God was not pleased!
Hanani, the seer, told Asa that, because he hadn't relied on the Lord, he would be at war from then on. Asa became so enraged that he put Hanani in prison! What happened to King Asa? The clue is in the famous line uttered by Hanani,
"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him." (II Chron. 16:9)
Actually, the KJV is my favoite. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."
So it seems the problem with Asa is that he had lost his wholehearted devotion to God. He had ruled Judah well for thirty-five years, but had allowed his zeal for the Lord to fizzle at the end of his life. This is a sad story!! It's sad because it didn't have to end this way. What made Asa lose his wholehearted devotion to the Lord? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? A spirit of anger? The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what happened, but let's learn a valuable lesson from the life of Asa. Let's keep ourselves aglow and burning with the Spirit!
The end of his life came in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. Asa had a disease in his feet, but he refused to seek the Lord for healing. Compare this to Hezekiah, who sought the Lord, and He added fifteen more years to Hezekiah's life. Asa sought the physicians only, but not the Lord, so he died. He had lost his wholehearted devotion to the Lord.
Something changed. Asa changed. Asa and his men were surrounded, but instead of going to God for help, as he had always done before, he took silver and gold and bought help from a foreign king. God was not pleased!
Hanani, the seer, told Asa that, because he hadn't relied on the Lord, he would be at war from then on. Asa became so enraged that he put Hanani in prison! What happened to King Asa? The clue is in the famous line uttered by Hanani,
"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him." (II Chron. 16:9)
Actually, the KJV is my favoite. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."
So it seems the problem with Asa is that he had lost his wholehearted devotion to God. He had ruled Judah well for thirty-five years, but had allowed his zeal for the Lord to fizzle at the end of his life. This is a sad story!! It's sad because it didn't have to end this way. What made Asa lose his wholehearted devotion to the Lord? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? A spirit of anger? The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what happened, but let's learn a valuable lesson from the life of Asa. Let's keep ourselves aglow and burning with the Spirit!
The end of his life came in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. Asa had a disease in his feet, but he refused to seek the Lord for healing. Compare this to Hezekiah, who sought the Lord, and He added fifteen more years to Hezekiah's life. Asa sought the physicians only, but not the Lord, so he died. He had lost his wholehearted devotion to the Lord.
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