Naturally Holy

Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Naturally Holy

 

John 5:14, “Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”

 

JOHN 5:1-15

 

In saying this, Jesus shows that sin causes the tragedies that come into our lives. The reason for holiness in the life of the believer is that when we obey sin, we yield ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin. Yielding to sin is yielding to a person – Satan. God doesn’t impute the sin to us but the devil does. Our actions either release the power of Satan or the power of God in us.

 

 

Although God is not imputing our sins unto us, we cannot afford the luxury of sin because it allows Satan to have access to us. When a Christian sins and allows the devil opportunity to produce his death in their life, the way to stop it is to confess the sin, and God who is faithful and just, will take the forgiveness that is already present in our born again spirit and release it in our flesh. This removes Satan and his strongholds.

 

 

The sins of a Christian don’t make him a sinner any more than the righteous acts of a sinner make him righteous. Sin is a very deadly thing that even Christians should avoid at all costs, but it does not determine our standing with the Lord. A person who is born again is not “in” the flesh even though he may walk “after” the flesh.

 

 

What is the motive for living a separated life? We live a separated life because our nature has been changed. We were darkness, now we are light (Eph. 5:8). Many people argue for holiness in order to obtain relationship with God. We need to live holy lives because of the relationship that we already have. It’s the nature of a Christian to walk in the light and not in darkness. If Christians were rightly informed of who they are and what they have in Christ, holiness would just naturally flow out of them. It’s their nature. It’s our nature.

 

 

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

 

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When God makes a promise

When God makes a promise

Deuteronomy 7:13 says: “He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy wine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which He sware unto thy fathers to give thee.”

Notice that when God makes a promise, He makes it not just to the one who hears it, but to all of the future seed. When God said He would send His Son to die for our sins so that we could be blessed because when we have turned from our iniquities, He did it so that we could receive the blessing. Jesus died, not for His sins, but for our sins, and He died for our sins, bearing our curse, so that we could be blessed with His righteousness and His blessing. Today, think about how God sent His Son for you; not just for the people of yesterday, but for the people of the future. You were in the future in Christ‘s mind when He died on the cross.

You were on His mind!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us

Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.

Let the mercy of Jesus be your model

Jesus Christ is our Example

(Matthew 6:12)

In 1944, during the horrible days of World War II, in the Ravensbruck concentration camp, Corrie Ten Boom and many other emaciated women worked long hours every day under the watchful eye of the prison guards. That year, Corrie’s sister, Betsie, died, a victim of the tortuous conditions.

In 1947, after the war, Corrie spoke to a group of Germans in a sparsely furnished Munich church basement. During her talk, she said, “Those who have been able to forgive their former enemies have been able to rebuild their lives…We, as Christians, have every reason to forgive each other, for our God richly lavishes His mercy on us.”

When she finished, she was approached by a balding, heavyset man in a gray overcoat. Horror filled her as she realized he had been one of the prison guards.

He thrust out his hand. “How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!” Dumbfounded, Corrie did not take his hand.

He went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me… but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein, will you forgive me?“

Corrie remembered how he had pushed Betsie with the butt of his gun. Slowly, her hand moved toward his. Their hands touched and she finally vigorously shook his hand. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I forgive you, brother…with all my heart.“

God loves us no matter what we have done. He forgives us when we ask. Since God richly lavishes His mercy on us, we must show mercy. And that means letting go of hurts caused by others.

Your View of God Really Matters …

If you have been offended, how does it compare with the experience of Corrie ten Boom, and Jesus, both of whom forgave their attackers. You can too. Let the mercy of Jesus be your model.

What More Does God Say?

Acts 7:59-60

Because God is merciful, He forgives me of my sins when I sincerely confess them.

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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For God made Christ Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him

2 Corinthians 5:21

Six hours, one Friday. Mundane to the casual observer. A shepherd with his sheep, a housewife with her thoughts, a doctor with his patients. But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring.

God is on a cross. The creator of the universe is being executed. It is no normal six hours. It is no normal Friday. Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart. And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone.

What do you do with that day in history? What do you do with its claims? They were the most critical hours in history. Nails didn’t hold God to a cross. Love did.

The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins

4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern California provided by LivingWaters Ministry. Obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone" Mark 16:15 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins

 

Take Out the Plank

There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.
Ecclesiastes 7:20

When was the last time you knelt and asked God to forgive your sins? Yesterday? Last week? Last month?

Are you in need of forgiveness today?

We live with sin every day. We see it on TV, in movies, in our neighbours, friends, co-workers and family. Sin is usually easy to spot in others, but with all of the exposure we have to sin, we frequently become blinded to our own sin.

You may have told a little white lie to your boss about being sick when you took the day off or accepted more change than you were due when the cashier handed you too much by mistake. Maybe these things didn’t even feel like sin at the time.

Luke 6:42 asks how you can offer to remove a speck from your brother’s eye “When you yourself do not see the plank in your own eye?” We all need to remove any planks in our eyes in order to see clearly.

Right now, ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything you’ve done wrong. Confess these things to God and ask for the forgiveness that can only come from Him through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Further Reading

• Psalms 32
• Psalms 86:5
• Matthew 7:3-5

God Bless,

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins

day 89-love or forgiveness (Photo credit: katyhutch)

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Mark 11:25

Don’t waste time holding onto anger toward someone who has wronged you. Forgive that person today.

John 20:23 warns, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” If you withhold forgiveness, you will be denied forgiveness as well.

I know you have reasons for not forgiving-someone hurt you too deeply, they did it on purpose, or they haven’t asked to be forgiven. Whatever your reason is, it isn’t listed as a condition for forgiveness in the Bible.

God knows your situation and He has still called you to forgive-no matter the circumstances. No one is perfect-everyone needs to be forgiven. Do not stand in the way of your own relationship with God by denying forgiveness to someone else.

Luke 6:37 says, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt you, even if they don’t deserve it. It may not change how you feel about what they did, but it will change you. It’s too important to your spiritual health to put off.

Further Reading

• Matthew 6: 9-15
• Luke 23:34
• John 13:35

God Bless

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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You are forgiven

Forgiveness lesson from flowers (Photo credit: juliejordanscott)

You are forgiven

Matthew 9:2 says: “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” This verse does not tell us what sin this man had committed. It doesn’t tell us the depth of the depravity or the degree of darkness. It makes no mention of the condemnation or the shame of it, or the hurt that was caused to others. The only thing Jesus focused on was the faith of the man and his friends. He turned to the man and said, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” I think that Jesus is in every one of our lives in the secret places of our shame, our condemnation, our brokenness, our remorse for hurting others, and the regret we cradle because we have not lived up to our own standards, let alone God‘s. We cringe inside because we have failed others, and we weep because we have failed ourselves. Just as Jesus said to this man, “Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven“, so He wants you to be of good cheer today. He wants you to realize that He shed His blood for you, and you have received His forgiveness. Don’t let shame, condemnation, regret, remorse or anything else keep you back from standing up strong. Just stand up strong today and say, “I have been forgiven. I refuse to live in my yesterdays anymore.”

Don’t live in yesterday!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Faith that is seen

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

FAITH THAT IS SEEN

Mark 2:5, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”

MATTHEW 9: 1-8, MARK 2: 1-12, LUKE 5: 17-26

Faith can be seen. Just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:8, faith is like the wind. Faith itself is invisible, but saving faith is always accompanied by corresponding actions which can be seen (James. 2:17-26).

It was not only the faith of the paralytic that Jesus saw, but also that of his four friends (Mk. 2:3). This demonstrates the effect our intercession in faith can have upon others. Jesus saw their faith. However, although our faith released on behalf of others is powerful, it is not a substitute for their faith. It is simply a help. The person who is to receive the miracle must have some degree of faith, also. Even Jesus could not produce healing in those who would not believe (Mk. 6:5-6). In this instance, it is evident that the paralytic himself also had faith because he was not resistant to the four who brought him; and he got up and obeyed Jesus’ command (v. 7) without having to be helped.

Why did Jesus minister forgiveness of sins to this man instead of meeting the obvious need he had of healing? God is more concerned with the spiritual health of a man than his physical health. Or, Jesus, through a word of knowledge, may have perceived that the real heart-cry of this man was to be reconciled to God. In some instances (not all – Jn. 9:2-3), sickness was a direct result of sin. Therefore, Jesus would be dealing with the very root of the paralysis. Whether or not this man’s paralysis was a direct result of sin, sin in our life (that has not been forgiven) will allow Satan to keep us in his bondage. Through Jesus’ act of forgiving this man’s sins, the paralytic was free to receive all the blessings of God, which certainly included healing.

The point Jesus is making is that both forgiveness of sins and the healing of the paralytic are humanly impossible. If Jesus could do one of these things, He could do the other. He then healed the paralytic showing that He did, indeed, have the authority to forgive sins. In Jesus’ day, the people were more inclined to accept His willingness to heal than they were to accept His forgiveness of sins without the keeping of the law. Today, the church world basically accepts forgiveness of sins, but doubts His willingness to heal. They were never meant to be separated. Believe and receive all God has for you today.

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If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness

Image via Wikipedia

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness

Naming Your Sin

That you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.

Matthew 9:6, NKJV

Only God in Christ has the power to forgive sin. But you and I must confess it to Him personally, specifically, and honestly if we want to receive forgiveness. God promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NIV). That word confess means to call sin by the same names that God does, to agree with God about your sin.

You and I often play games with the names we call sin to make it seem less like sin. For example, we call the sin of unbelief, worry. We call the sin of lying, exaggeration. We call the sin of fornication, safe sex.

As long as we switch the labels on sin to make it seem less serious, we’re being dishonest with ourselves and with God, and we remain unforgiven. But, if we say the same thing about our sin that God says-if we say, “God, it’s lying. It’s jealousy. It’s lust. It’s revenge. It’s hate. It’s adultery. It’s unforgiveness”-God will forgive us! So start naming your sin for what it is in God’s eyes.

Blessings

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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Sin Against Brothers

Image via Wikipedia

Sin Against Brothers

… there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
1 Corinthians 12:25

Being a Christian doesn’t prevent you from sinning-it just gives you the power to resist and overcome it through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 3:23 tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It doesn’t matter if you attend church faithfully, if you’re a pastor or if you’re the pope-everyone sins and everyone needs the forgiveness of God.

Christians in the church at Corinth were cheating and sinning against their brothers and sisters. Church members were taking advantage of other members, even though they were supposed to be demonstrating God’s love to a lost world.

Paul rebukes them for these things in 1 Corinthians 6:7-8. There can’t be true fellowship when there is church division.

Pray to God right now to show you when you’ve been guilty of hurting someone else. He may show you ongoing sin or wrongdoing from your past. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of the sin in that situation and ask the Lord for forgiveness.

Do not deny the existence of sin in your life but acknowledge it and repent, and you will be forgiven.

Further Reading

• 1 Kings 8:50
• 2 Chronicles 7:14
• James 2:10

God Bless,

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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