february 24, 2009
it is so easy to look at life from a negative standpoint. and we in the CHRISTian world have come to be known for what we are against more than what we are for. but why did JESUS come? john 10.10 (ms) says, I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
HE came to give us good news, to give us hope, to give us faith, to give us love but somehow we want as a church too many times to deal with condemnation. i don’t know about you but my sin takes care of the condemnation part. when I look at CHRIST and compare where i am i don’t need someone to condemn me. i need someone to give me hope, to show me how to get rid of my guilt, my condemnation.
well romans 8.1 (niv) says, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in CHRIST JESUS. because through CHRIST JESUS the law of the SPIRIT of life set me free from the law of sin and death. now that’s the news i want to hear.
i like how the message puts it, with the arrival of JESUS, the MESSIAH, that fateful dilemma is resolved. those who enter into CHRIST's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. a new power is in operation. the SPIRIT of life in CHRIST, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
that is awesome news!!!!
listen GOD is not mad at you. HE is not like that unpleasable parent that you grew up with. john 3.17 (ms) says, GOD didn't go to all the trouble of sending HIS SON merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. HE came to help, to put the world right again.
so many people i meet are walking around in self condemnation, beating themselves up continuously for their past. they won't let themselves go, they won't forgive themselves, much less accept forgiveness from GOD.
there is a church in israel called the church of the flagellation. there are a lot of churches like that in america. you go to church and they beat on you, week after week. a lot of people really don't feel like they've been preached to unless they've been given a verbal spanking and slapped on the hands and whipped. "pastor, that message was so good! it made me feel so bad!" that's masochism to feel like you haven't been to worship unless you've been run over by a bulldozer.
GOD has made it possible for us to live a life without condemnation. even if there weren't a heaven, it would be worth it to become a CHRISTian just to have a clear conscious, to know that GOD is not mad at me. HE wants to be my friend, not my enemy.
it doesn't say "there are no mistakes for those in CHRIST JESUS or no failures." obviously CHRISTians fail, they make mistakes. CHRISTians are not perfect, but we are forgiven. we are not under condemnation. GOD has made it possible to live a life without condemnation. and that is good news!!!
just a thought from the front porch…
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