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Archive for December, 2009

He’s On Your Side

“If God is for you who can be against you?” Well, there is that one guy, Satan, who hurls his accusations against us and tries to deceive us. Yes, he is powerful and intelligent, and we are no match for him. But we don’t have to be. God is on our side. Jesus’ death on the cross assures us that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. The Law that did condemn has been fulfilled, and as a result we stand before God holy and blameless in His sight.

Whatever accusations Satan brings against us are meaningless. He has absolutely nothing on which to base his charges. Even if he did, he would have to take up his case with God. That’s a battle he cannot win. If you need proof, check out Revelation 12:7-10.

“And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven…Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”

Satan was not strong enough to handle Michael and his angels. How do you think he is going to match up against God? It will be no contest. You don’t have to fight Satan. Just stand strong in the Lord. He is for you.

Behold Your King!

What is the Revelation all about? John answers this question in the very first verse. This book, like the rest of the Bible, is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is all about Him. To the Jewish leaders, Jesus made this comment concerning the Word of God: “These are the Scriptures that testify about me…” The Bible is God’s testimony concerning Jesus, and the Revelation is no exception.

Through the Gospels, we see Jesus as a suffering servant. That is the form that He took while He was here in human flesh. But once His work was accomplished, He returned to His glory. As Paul wrote, “God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Within the pages of this final book, we see the glorified Jesus. John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit rolls back the heavenly curtain to give us a glimpse of our reigning Messiah. On every page, it’s as if you are hearing John cry out, “Behold your King.” Jesus is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. The heavenly hosts bow down and worship Him, and they never stop saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

Read the words of the Revelation with this in mind. You’ll be blessed!

Walking in Truth

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” This is no easy task mind you considering our spiritual background. Truth is not one of its adjectives. Take a look at how Paul described it:
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
God rescued us from that path we once walked, a path laid out by the author of lies with the desires of our flesh being the guiding force leading to its final destination – eternal death.

But now we are on a new path, one paved with truth. In this sin-filled world, it takes courage to walk on this path of truth. Thousands of voices hit us everyday telling us to turn aside. Temptations try to knock us off course. Yet, the Spirit of God urges us on, encouraging us to stay the course of truth keeping our eyes focused of its Author.

Be brave, keep walking. It’s the path that “goes well for the soul.”

Portraits of Love

Have you seen “The Blind Side?” It is a wonderful movie based on the true story of Michael Oher. He was a homeless kid, bigger than most, growing up in Memphis. His was a tragic, hopeless situation until a family opened their home and their lives to him. Through their help, he became an all-American football player at Ole Miss and was drafted this year in the first round of the NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. What happened in Michael’s life is a beautiful portrait of what God’s love looks like as it is expressed through His people. I recommend it highly.

But if you want to see the love of God in even greater detail, read through the pages of 1 John. You will see specifically how God reached down to you in love to change your hopeless situation. Here are just a few of the passages describing the love of God.

1 John 2:12 (ESV)
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
1 John 3:1-2 (ESV)
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:16 (ESV)
By this we know love that he laid down his life for us…
1 John 4:10-12 (ESV)
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:18-19 (ESV)
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.
1 John 5:11-15 (ESV)
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
God’s love changes us. It turns our fears into confidence and assurance. It gives us hope and re-orders our lives. Through His love, we experience His abiding presence, which is one thing that truly matters. I am thankful that as we respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we become portraits of God’s love for the world.

The Key

You are a forgiven person. You have been cleansed of all your sins. Don’t forget this truth. It is the key that unlocks the door to spiritual growth. If you are not growing, it’s because you have forgotten what Christ accomplished for you at the cross, and as Peter wrote in his second letter, you have become nearsighted and blind.

When Peter was penning these words, I wonder if he thought about that last supper when Jesus raised the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me?” We don’t know for sure, but it is clear that Jesus’ words found a home in Peter’s heart. He was not going to forget what the Lord had done, and he wanted to make sure that his readers would never forget as well.

Let God’s forgiveness take root in your heart. Stand firm in the fact that God remembers your sins no more. When you do, you’ll be able to participate in the divine nature and say with confidence that you have been given everything you need for life and godliness.