Life in Christ isn't about "not sinning."

The other day, Lydia posted a couple of quotes from Ryan Rufus. I saw one quote on her Facebook profile:

"Living a holy life should never be defined as 'living without sin.' In fact sin has got nothing to do with holiness at all."

And another quote on this blog post:

"Holiness has got nothing to do with sinning or not sinning! If that is what we think, then we think WE are the cause of our holiness and I am telling you there is only ONE person who is the cause of our holiness and His name is Jesus Christ!!"

Great stuff! Being holy has nothing to do with "not sinning." We are holy because God has set us apart for Himself and has placed us in Himself - all based on the finished work of Jesus, not based upon what we do or don't do. For a long time in my Christian life, my focus seemed to be on "not sinning." If I sinned, or felt like I wasn't living righteously enough, my focus was on "not sinning." To be quite truthful, my focus was on "not sinning" quite often! My obsession was not my relationship with God. My obsession was how to overcome sin. I now realize that that obsession was fleshly and self-focused, not God-focused.

My life has forever been changed during the past decade and a half, ever since I realized that God is not obsessed with sin! He took care of the disease of sin on the cross, and His obsession (His passion) has always been me, not my sin!

Yes, it's true that "by the Spirit" we "put to death the deeds of the flesh." But that's not the essence of our lives in Christ! It's not the root of our lives in Christ, and it's not the daily obsession that we're to have. Jesus didn't come so that we would live with an ongoing focus on sin. He came so that we could be reconciled to God and have an ongoing obsession with HIM!

We all know how Jesus, in John 3:16, said that God gave Him so that people could have eternal life. And in John 17 He said that this is eternal life: That we may know God! Eternal life is NOW, and eternal life is knowing God! Let's stop making it about sin.

Light vs. Ignorance

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place" (2 Cor 2:14).

When you see the word "darkness" in the Bible what do you think of? I used to think of darkness as "evil" or "bad." I suppose we could use the word in that context at times. But many times the word means something else. The way the word is used in the Bible can often mean "ignorant" or "lacking in knowledge."

The Apostle Paul preached words that helped bring light into dark places. In other words, he preached knowledge - knowledge of the Person, Jesus Christ - and his words shined the light in the darkness. Where there was once ignorance in regards to Jesus, his words shined the light and "diffused the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."

It wasn't Paul's lifestyle that the Gentiles were interested in. It was his Jesus. It wasn't the law that he had formerly preached. It was Jesus. The sweet smelling aroma that attracted people to Paul was really the knowledge of Jesus, and when Paul shined the light on the truth of who Jesus really was, people came running to him, and not away from him.

It's been a while since I shared a message from my pastor in the late 90's, "Pastor Mark." Tonight I was listening to a message from him from 1997 that I just couldn't help but share! I believe you will be highly encouraged by this, as he speaks of how the "light," in many cases in the New Testament, is really referring to the knowledge of Jesus, and darkness is referring to being ignorant of Jesus. When the light shines in the darkness, ignorance is diffused and people come to know the One who God gave as a gift to mankind.

Download it, give it a listen, and let me know what you think! It's almost an hour long, and well worth it if you listen to just part of it or the whole thing. I love Mark's sense of humor and his excellent preaching of Christ.

ALL Your Sin Taken Away Through ONE Sacrifice

Latest Growing in Grace program is up. One sacrifice for sin... once and for all. This week Mike and Joel take a look at the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. Is there anything we need to do when we sin to make up for our sin, or to atone for it or cover it? Is there anything we can do? Is something else needed? How many of our sins were taken away through the blood of Jesus? ALL of them! It was a one-time sacrifice. Is there anything we can add to that!? And what about Jesus? If His one time sacrifice wasn't enough for each and every sin, wouldn't He have to keep on coming back over and over again? The good news can't be repeated enough: ONE sacrifice took away all your sin!

gigcast.graceroots.org

Fallen from grace (repost)

Originally posted here, January 9, 2007.

Gal 5:1-7
5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. 7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? NASB

"You were running well," Paul says to the body of Christ at Galatia. "You had rejected the works of the law (self-righteousness) in order to come to know Jesus by His grace and you were living your daily life in the same way, by grace and not by trying to maintain your salvation by your own works. So what's going on? Who has kept you from obeying the truth that you started in?"

"You know that if you try to keep even one ounce of the law," Paul tells them, "then you are obligated to keep the whole thing - every jot and every tittle (see James 2:10). But that's not what God called you to do. You had to die to Mr. Law in order to be married to Mr. Grace (Rom 7:4) (thanks to Steve McVey for the "Mr. Law/Mr. Grace" word picture). But now you're going back to the old way? You're trying to mix law and grace? You're thankful for Jesus, but yet you're thinking that it's your own works that somehow will keep you justified?"

"You have fallen from grace!"

The Galatians had known the truth. They had lived in the truth. They had trusted solely in the name of Jesus - in God's grace - for their justification and salvation. But some legalists had slipped in among them and were trying to persuade them that they had to keep the law.

"But," Paul said, "we through the Spirit eagerly await for the hope of righteousness by faith," not by our own efforts. If you have fallen from grace, get back up and put your whole confidence in Jesus, and Jesus alone. His grace holds all the power that our self-effort could never achieve. Remember you are married to Mr. Grace. Get out of that adulterous relationship with Mr. Law!

Surrender to grace

Over at Idle Musings today, the title of James' post, "Be a Loser," reminded me of the old Steve Taylor song, "Jesus is for Losers." :) But that's not the point of this post.

James quotes from a Christianity Today article (incidentally written by a Canadian singer/songwriter who I haven't heard about in a long time, Carolyn Arends) that has to do with Jacob wrestling with God, and God dislocating Jacob's hip, and Jacob getting a blessing out of the ordeal. The article uses this story to talk about our need to stop "living in our own resources" and instead rest "in the middle of God's goodness, power and provision." For the full gist, see the article that is linked to in James' post.

What I personally wanted to highlight was James' "idle musing" about all of this:

Of course, my question is always, "Why are you depending on your own strength in the first place?" One of the basic tenets of Christianity is we can't do it, we need God to do it for us, so why do we continue to struggle and strive and generally exhaust ourselves for nothing? Why not just surrender and let God have his way with us from the start?

As I read this I began thinking about how quickly Christians turn from grace, and God's strength, to their own strength and resources. Take these two hypothetical, pretend spiritual journal entries, that may just be more based in reality that we might think:

Day 1: I'm saved by the precious grace of God! I'm free! I was weak, and a sinner, but now in the Lord, and in Him alone, I find my strength, righteousness and peace! Woo hoo!

...

Day 366: I'm tired. I feel so much guilt. What a heavy burden. I don't know how much longer I can do this.

The amount of days between those two entries will of course vary from person to person (perhaps for some it will be weeks, months or years), but the point is that somewhere between the first entry above, and the last one, some very important things changed. Grace seems to have disappeared from the picture. Dependence upon God's strength is gone. It's been replaced by self-dependence. It's been replaced by a fleshly struggle to try to maintain the Christian life.

Whereas in Christ we were supposed to have our heavy burdens lifted, and replaced with an easy yoke and a light burden, the experience of many is just the opposite. It seems that in their Christian experience they put on even heavier burdens than they had in the first place, and instead of relaxing in the yoke with Jesus, they're trying to pull the heavy load themselves.

We seem to leave Grace behind... thinking it was only for Day 1, when we were born again. My, how we've promoted a cheap and weak gospel! We've led people to God through grace, but after that it's seemingly all up to us!

Grace is the essence of the Christian life. Jesus is grace personified. You can't separate grace from Jesus. You can't have a "Christian life" in any way, shape or form apart from Jesus or apart from grace. When you were saved on Day 1 through nothing less than God's grace, that grace remained with you, and remains with you forever! His strength, His righteousness, His peace, His joy, His... everything... is yours by grace, and grace alone. Surrender to it.

2,500 years

Without getting into a discussion about evolution (because that would be far from the point here...)

From what I understand, when scholars figure out all the dates, ages, lineages, etc, in the Bible, it's figured that there were approximately 4,000 years from the time of Adam to the time of Christ. Well, the Law of Moses was introduced approximately 2,500 years after Adam (which was 1,500 years before Christ). This means that up until Christ, during five-eighths (5/8) of the history of man, there was no concept of "The Ten Commandments" (nor of any of God's other moral laws, ceremonial laws, purification laws, civil laws, etc, that are laid out in scripture).

Why is this? Why did 2,500 years go by before the law was given? Did God suddenly give Himself a V-8 bop on the head and say, "Oops! You know what? I could've given these people some rules to live by!" Or did He perhaps simply get fed up one day and say, "Man, these people sure are a rowdy, sinful bunch. What I'll do is I'll come up with some laws, precepts and ordinances that reflect My holiness and I'll set it all up as the standard for them to live by. That'll set 'em straight."

If God's law was given as the standard by which man should live, why didn't He give the law as soon as He created Adam, or at least right after the fall of Adam? Why did God give the law quite some time after Adam? How did all those people live, from the time of Adam to the time of Moses - without the 10 commandments and all the other laws!?!? How were they supposed to live righteously?

Did they live righteously? Actually, no they didn't!

"...sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned..." (Rom 5:12)

Well, ok then... when God's holy laws and statutes finally came into the picture, surely they began living right... right?

Wrong!

Even with God telling people exactly what He expected from them concerning righteousness and godliness through His law, there has never been a person who has actually kept it.

Why do I bring all this up? To make the point that God's law never had anything to do with making people righteous or helping them to live righteously! That was not the purpose of the law. If that was God's purpose in giving all His laws, then it was a tremendous failure! I'll get into the purpose of the law later.

Right now I guess I'm still intrigued when I think that during 2,500 out of the 4,000 years from Adam to Jesus... man lived apart from "the law." NOT TO MENTION that most of the people who have ever lived on the earth, even after the time of the giving of the law, were not even a part of the Covenant that included God's laws! Most Gentiles (non-Jews) around the world have probably had no idea that such laws even existed, or at least have not had a clue what the laws actually said!

More to come...

Jesus is Not a Religion - Part 2

Jesus is the Way
When the Apostle Paul was in Athens, he "stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.'" (Acts 17:22-23)

What's interesting is that, even though Paul perceived these people to be"religious," he neither affirmed their gods nor the objects of their worship. He did not say, "Hey, that's great. I'm just glad that you are worshipers and that you've found some sort of religion. All ways lead to God, anyway."

Rather than going along with and affirming their ignorance, Paul went on to proclaim to them the One True God. He said, "Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God who made the world and everything in it..." For the sake of time, I won't get into Paul's entire speech, but he ends up by saying, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)

There is no doubt that Paul, instead of succumbing to a tolerance of all religions, was proclaiming Jesus Christ to them.

Paul was referring to the One who had said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Here is a larger portion of the conversation that Jesus had with his disciples in which He spoke those words:

Jesus is speaking:
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know."

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. (John 14:1-11)

The question asked of Jesus was, "How can we know the way?" Jesus' summarized response: "I am the way."

Again, along the lines of what I previously said, is Jesus being haughty or arrogant or condescending when He makes this claim? Far from it! Let's remember what scripture says about Jesus! From Colossians 1 - "He is the image of the invisible God." "By Him all things were created..." "He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell." From Philippians 2 - Jesus, "being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God..." He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"

Out of His love and out of His grace... Jesus did all this for us! Jesus is the Way because out of His love and grace He made Himself the Way. "No one comes to the Father except through Him" because He has graciously and lovingly given Himself up for us.

More on "Jesus is the Way" coming up...

Jesus is Not a Religion - Part 1

As I share my thoughts about Jesus and religion, I realize that this will amount to much less than an exhaustive account. However, I do hope to cover some things that I think are of significant importance. Mainly I want to point out the stark contrast between Jesus and religion. As I said in the introduction, God didn't give us a religion. He gave His Son. I hope to show how Jesus is much more than simply some great historical figure and much more than some spiritual or religious leader.

There is indeed a lot to know about Jesus! But just because He is "big" and the reality of His being covers more than we'll ever know, that doesn't mean that everything that people think about Him is true. There are a lot of things that are not true about Jesus. Religion (and "non-religion") have cast Jesus in so many different ways that may or may not seem good and right, but either way are far off from what the scriptures reveal to us about Him. I personally don't want to invent my own "truth" about Jesus. I don't want to believe what I believe about Him just because it sounds good or feels good. In other words, I don't want to invent a Jesus who is suitable for me, but I want to look at what the scriptures actually say about Him.

I realize a wide variety of people may be reading this. Whoever you are - it's up to you whether or not you believe what the Bible says. But if we can at least agree that the Bible does say a lot about Jesus, then we at least have a common denominator to look at in order to get our information about Jesus. If I'm simply preaching to the choir here, then I hope you'll enjoy and find great encouragement here as we're reminded of just Who our Savior is! And if you're someone who has somehow come up with your own preconceived notions about who Jesus is (as opposed to actually looking into the scriptures) or if you're someone who hasn't really given Jesus much thought, then I think you'll be quite surprised to hear what the Bible actually says about Him!

Jesus is I AM
Let me start by pointing out that Jesus didn't simply appear on the scene 2,000 years ago! We all know the Christmas story, and how Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to the baby Jesus. That was simply the beginning of Jesus' 33 years on earth as a man. Any religion can make the claim that their leader was born as a human being!

But can any religion make this claim about their leader? "...Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." (Phil 2:6-8)

There is so much to draw out of the above passage of scripture, but the thing I want to point out is that if Jesus was in the form of God before He came in the likeness of man, that means that Jesus existed before He came in the likeness of man. Before He was born as a baby, He already "was."

And let me tell you, it gets even better than simply knowing that He "pre-existed." There are many scriptures that show us that Jesus was and is more than just a man, but let me highlight just a few.

When Jesus was being questioned by some Jews about who He was (as recorded in John 8), they said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?"

Jesus's response to them was, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

That might sound like a strange answer, but it might make more sense in light of an experience Moses had. When Moses had asked God who he should say was sending him to the children of Israel, God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM... Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you." (Exodus 3:14)

That might start to give a picture of who Jesus is. But how about this:

In Isaiah 44, the LORD YHWH (Yahweh) reveals Himself, saying, "I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God."

Then in Revelation 1:18, Jesus is speaking to John and He says, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore."

This same voice (Jesus) had just finished saying, in Revelation 1:11, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last." Later, in Revelation 21:6-7, God is speaking and He says, "I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End... He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

Are there two Alphas and two Omegas? Are there two Beginnings and two Ends? Are there two Firsts and two Lasts? How can both YHWH and Jesus refer to themselves as all of these things? It's pretty simple. The two are one. It makes quite a lot of sense that Jesus would say, "I and My Father are one." (John 10:30). Again, Jesus is not a religion!

The last bit of biblical evidence that I'll share that shows that Jesus is more than a mere man is found in Colossians 1:15-17. This is perhaps what would amaze people the most, who don't already know this about Jesus:

Speaking of Jesus, this passage says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

You want to know who created all things? You want to know for whom all things were created? You want to know who holds all things together? It's in the above passage. Jesus!

Jesus is not a religion. Trusting Him or believing in Him is not a matter of being religious or following a religion. It's a matter of knowing the One who is the Creator. God didn't create us for religion. God created us to know Him. (More on that later). Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Are Christians being exclusive or intolerant or self-righteous or arrogant when they claim Jesus is the way to God? Of course not. They are simply pointing to the good news of the One who was alive and then died and then is alive again forevermore! He is the One who provided the way (who is the way) for anyone and everyone who will simply trust in Him to have eternal life.

Jesus is Not a Religion - Introduction

I'm beginning a new series here. The hardest part of writing this particular series was coming up with the title! I had originally planned on simply writing about who Jesus is, and to somewhat contrast Him with what religion teaches, but as I thought about it and prepared it, I found myself in "contrast" mode more than I thought I would. So I thought of titles such as "Jesus vs. Religion," "Jesus is not a religion," Jesus contrasted with religion," "Who Jesus Is," "Who Jesus Is Not," "Who is Jesus?" and so on and so forth. In the end, I guess I cover quite a bit of stuff here, so I couldn't settle (in my mind) on one title!

I've done a lot of thinking this past week on all of this. I've read a little bit about what people think about various religions (as well as "non-religion"), in comparison with the "religion" of Christianity. I also received an email from an atheist, asking if I wanted to take part in a podcast in which an atheist and a Christian discuss things pertaining to Christianity and atheism. That's not quite my bag, particularly, so I'm not going to do that but it added to my thinking about religion and religious mindsets. Particularly, my thoughts have focused on the reality of who Jesus is (what the Bible reveals about Him), as contrasted with who people think Jesus is and what the "religion" of Christianity is all about. To some, Christianity is simply that - a religion that is not too different than any other religion. To some, all ways lead to God. To some, Jesus was a great teacher and a prophet, but is not "the Way."

To me, there is no such real thing as a religion called "Christianity." What I mean by that is, God so loved the world that He gave His Son, not the Christian religion. Some have turned this into a religion, but when we read the New Testament, as well as the Old Testament prophesies regarding Jesus and the New Covenant, we find it pointing to a Person, not a religion. The things that the scriptures reveal about this Person are fascinating! But one thing I want to do here, apart from simply talking about this fascinating Person, Jesus, is to present Him not as a religion or as a set of rules and tenets and principles, but as the Person who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Christianity is not the way, the truth and the life. Religion is not the way, the truth and the life. The law is not the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

There is life in the Red Letters... Sometimes.

I was recently listening to some music from good ol' DC Talk. I've always loved their music. Even from the freaky hip hop days. :) By the way, are those guys ever gonna get back together? Their greatest hits CD, "Intermission," came out when? 2000??? That's quite an intermission! I know, I know, they've all gone on to other wonderful things, and I could really digress quite terribly here! So on with the point...

The chorus of their song "Red Letters," from the "Supernatural" CD goes like this:

There is love in the red letters
There is truth in the red letters
There is hope for the hopeless
Peace and forgiveness
There is life in the red letters
In the red letters

I want to go on record as saying I'm not trying to judge the writer's heart or intentions. A response to what I'm going to say here could go something like, "Come on, Joel! What are you bickering about now!" And it's true that I didn't even have to use this song to make my point. I actually had another title for this post, but this song popped into my head because I had just listened to it the other day. So it simply provided a starting point for what I'm saying.

The "red letters" in the song refers to the words of Jesus. Certain Bible publishers have published "Red Letter" versions, to highlight the words of Jesus in red.

So, first off... everything that is said in the chorus of this song can indeed be found in the "red letters" (in various words that Jesus spoke): Love, truth, hope, peace, forgiveness and life.

HOWEVER... There are times when the red letters do not speak love, truth, hope, peace, forgiveness and life. If you don't already know where I'm going with this, please stay with me give me a chance to make my point. There are times when the red letters speak death and condemnation. And it's not always at the most obvious times!

Let's back up a minute. In our modern day Bibles, we see a division between "Old Testament" (Genesis to Malachi) and "New Testament" (Matthew to Revelation). The New Testament (Covenant), we therefore perceive, begins with Matthew, Chapter 1. But hold on just a minute. Let's look at something Jesus said that's recorded in Matthew 26 and Luke 14. At the "Last Supper," Jesus takes the cup of wine and says "this cup is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

The New Testament (Covenant) did not come into effect until the shedding of Jesus' blood. Before His death on the Cross, Jesus ministered and taught under the Old Covenant. Jesus was "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law." Many of the red letters were addressed to those who were "under the law." Many of the red letters were spoken to affirm, emphasize, accentuate and show the intensity and true meaning of the... Law!!!

Paul would later remind us that "whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and the world become guilty before God" (Rom 3:19). While Jesus HIMSELF "did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17), He knew that the LAW was the means by which the world stood condemned and which silenced their self-justifying mouths, and which ultimately was the schoolmaster that would lead them to Him (Galatians 3:24,25).

Paul called the law "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" (2 Cor 3:7, 9). And again, Jesus Himself did not come to bring death or condemnation. But in order to bring Life and Justification, He taught the fullness and the exactness and the definitiveness of the death and condemnation that was through the law. This "tutor" (schoolmaster) of the Law is what leads people to Jesus.

Many of the "red letters" were not actually meant AS life, but rather as the means of demonstrating the death and condemnation of those under the law... with the intention of ultimately leading a person to Life.

So... if I were a big Nashville lyricist (don't I wish!), and if I would have been part of the writing team for this song, perhaps I would have added another line or two to the chorus, or even another chorus!

There is law in the red letters
There is guilt the red letters
There is death and condemnation
End of self justification
Sin abounds... in the red letters
In the red letters

(See Romans 5:20-21 if you think that last line is utter foolishness)!

I realize I may have dropped half of my audience with this post. Either because someone thinks I'm dissing DC Talk or because I'm misrepresenting the Bible.

PLEASE don't think I'm dissing DC Talk! As for the Bible, don't take my word for it anyway!

Here comes the BRIDEGROOM (rejoicing over you)...

The following blog, from a MyCCM'er, was published in this month's edition of CCM Magazine.

So I just wanted to share with you (the awesome reader who is reading this) what I read in my Bible today in my quiet time with God. I thought it was pretty cool…..but hold on a second, I’m just looking out the window and there is the most beautiful rainbow arching across the sky, oh! The sun is out and seriously, you know those types of rainbows that seem like the colors are all kinda blurring together? Well not this one, each color is like the bold stroke of a paint brush, well, almost.:) Wow! Okay so I was looking for certain verses in the Bible when I came upon this one, you probably have heard it before but here it is again:

“..As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” –Isaiah 62:5

I think that that is just so awesome! I’m sure most of you have been to a wedding before, but instead of turning around in your seats and looking at the bride as she comes through the doors, have you ever stayed looking straight ahead at the bridegroom’s face? I remember I did once and I remember seeing his face when he saw his bride, it literally lit up and there was so much joy and love on his face, but the cool thing is to think that that’s how God looks and feels about us, but not just “us” as a group, but each one of us individually as His own child. You, that’s how God looks and feels about you! And when you think that the bridegroom is going to burst from so much love and joy, it’s nothing compared to God’s love and joy for us. God loves and rejoices over us so much more! His love is so much more infinitely satisfying and He will never stop loving us! How awesome is that?! So the next time you’re at a wedding, along with having the opportunity to be apart of such a special occasion and covenant, think about Isaiah 62:5 when you see the bridegroom’s face and think about just how much God loves and rejoices over you!

Your sister in Christ,

Elizabeth

Fallen from grace

Gal 5:1-7
5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. 7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? NASB

"You were running well," Paul says to the body of Christ at Galatia. "You had rejected the works of the law (self-righteousness) in order to come to know Jesus by His grace and you were living your daily life in the same way, by grace and not by trying to maintain your salvation by your own works. So what's going on? Who has kept you from obeying the truth that you started in?"

"You know that if you try to keep even one ounce of the law," Paul tells them, "then you are obligated to keep the whole thing - every jot and every tittle (see James 2:10). But that's not what God called you to do. You had to die to Mr. Law in order to be married to Mr. Grace (Rom 7:4) (thanks to Steve McVey for the "Mr. Law/Mr. Grace" word picture). But now you're going back to the old way? You're trying to mix law and grace? You're thankful for Jesus, but yet you're thinking that it's your own works that somehow will keep you justified?"

"You have fallen from grace!"

The Galatians had known the truth. They had lived in the truth. They had trusted solely in the name of Jesus - in God's grace - for their justification and salvation. But some legalists had slipped in among them and were trying to persuade them that they had to keep the law.

"But," Paul said, "we through the Spirit eagerly await for the hope of righteousness by faith," not by our own efforts. If you have fallen from grace, get back up and put your whole confidence in Jesus, and Jesus alone. His grace holds all the power that our self-effort could never achieve. Remember you are married to Mr. Grace. Get out of that adulterous relationship with Mr. Law!