Archive for the ‘Sin’ Category

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HIS COVERING

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Day 276

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus”
Romans 8:1

Sin started in the heavens when Satan, an angelic being, exercised his will to do evil. Because of this, Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven. Then Adam sinned bringing sin to mankind. Sin is devastating and has terrible effects on us. It attacks and afflicts us, and follows us throughout life. We tend to think of sin as something we do, an act, but it is far more than that. It is a state of our heart and a disposition of our nature.

Jesus exposed the nature of sin when He said, “when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites . . .” [Matthew 6:5-6]. Sin follows us even into God’s presence. The great wickedness of sin is the ultimate root of it – self-adulation and self-worship. How many ‘rights’ do we exercise in the midst of others? How much do we make happen by shear will power and determination? How much do we impose our agenda? Yes, we can take sin into the presence of God even as we worship Him!

It is an extraordinary thing that Christ accomplished for us. We are born into sin and are so easily inclined to sin. Yet, in spite of this, Christ died for us so we may be reconciled to our Father. He became our righteousness so we may know and have fellowship in freedom with Him. Because of Christ there is no condemnation for us who are in Him.

“For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.”
Romans 5:2

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THE HEALER

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

Day 240

“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him”
Isaiah 57:14-19; Romans 11:28-29

Our Father is a healer and restorer. In the midst of the people’s rebellion, He clearly states He will not always be angry with them. In fact, He notes the frailty of man and how, under His chastisement, they could grow faint – lose faith and hope in Him. Even more important is the greatness of His grace and mercy in the face of sin.

There is no reformation of sinful man without God’s grace. Where sin has abounded, grace abounds even more (Romans 5:20). It is God’s answer to sin. When He says He has seen his [the sinner] ways, and will heal him, our Father is stating that the sinner will never turn to Him of himself, so He will turn him. He will first love him. He will heal and make straight his corrupt ways, and He will lead him.

We move to a later period when Jesus Christ comes and is rejected by God’s own people. Israel refuses to recognize Him as the Messiah and murders Him on a cross. His own Son—killed by His own people! And with this grievous sin they become enemies of the gospel, but because of election, He will once again extend grace and mercy to them. He will turn and heal them.

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! . . . to Him be the glory forever! Amen.”      Romans 11: 33-36

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THE LORD’S ARM IS NOT SHORT

Friday, September 10th, 2010

Day 188

“The arm of the Lord is not too short to save”
Isaiah 59:1

You will share in God’s glory. It is His word that we will ‘all’ be in His eternal glory [Romans 8:30]. Many of God’s people have a hopelessness and despair. You may be one. Are you lost in a prison of darkness? Have you substituted freedom for a prison because of your sins? Are you weak, have no ability to change or do anything? Do you weep and mourn? Have you sought help, but no one has come? Did you separate yourself from God?

What is God’s response to all this? Does God care? Have your sins taken you so far that it is too late? Have you continually asked for forgiveness to only do it again and again? Is God’s anger going to separate you forever? And, if He does care, is He able to save you? God does care and He is able to save you. Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant and He is able to save to the uttermost – completely [Hebrews 7:22-25]. Yes, and He has heard you and the strength of the Lord will save you from the prison of darkness and your sins.

Our Father hates sin and injustice. He hates what sin does to His children. He hates the lies that deceive us and cause us to think He will abandon us. He will arise and rescue His children. Not one will be lost. Thousands of years ago He proclaimed to His people to “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you” [Isaiah 60:1] – and today it is the same call to you. Rise up in the glory of the Lord.

“When Christ, who is your life, appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory”
Colossians 3:4

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MERCY IN EXCESS

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Day 170

“For as the heaven is high above the earth,
so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him”
Psalm 103:11

How high is the heaven above the earth? How far is the east from the west? This is God’s mercy for us. There is no limit and no boundaries. It is difficult for our minds to grasp this mercy – a mercy in excess. Unfortunately, our nature believes the opposite. We think anything we receive is based on behavior. If we are good, we receive good things. If we are bad, we will receive bad things. Sin, failure, and faults in our life mean rejection. Not so – these are false beliefs

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” [Romans 8:35]. You belong to our God – you are His child, born of Him – chosen, called and destined to be His glory. But, you say, what about my sins, failures, faults? And to that, the word declares, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” [Psalm 103:10]. Yes, who shall separate us from Him? He has made a provision in the blood of Jesus Christ to cover our sins. What greater evidence of His love and mercy is there than that sacrifice on the cross?

And your sins? “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” [Psalm 103:12]. True to His nature, He forgives and removes our sins. He heals the wounds and fills us with His Holy Spirit – a seal – yes, a seal of our inheritance. He has sealed us for all eternity as His! Mercy in excess.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God,
Thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty”
Psalm 104:1

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HIS GREAT FORGIVENESS

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Day 159

“If we confess our sins to Him, He
is faithful to forgive us and to
cleanse us from every wrong”
1 John 1:9

People get into sin and they refuse to confess. It isn’t too long before the enemy whispers in their ear that they have gone too far. It’s implied that God won’t or care to forgive. This is a lie out of the pit of hell. Thank God that the glorious truth is we are not only a forgiven people, but that God has prepared a continuous cleansing for us.

David wrote that he was unwilling to confess sin – “When I refused to confess my sin” [Psalm 32:3]. He was in full rebellion. But he came to his senses and declared, “I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord’” [vs 5]. In fact, the scriptures write about many who have experienced this.

What is important is the truth. If you are God’s child, the sacrifice of the cross covers your past, present and future sins. God knows our infirmities. He has made provision for us. Not only does He forgive, but He cleanses us from every wrong. He is a true and faithful Father who knows His children. Don’t let the devil or anyone else rob you of knowing you can instantly go to Jesus for forgiveness of your sins. It matters not how long, how bad, how rebellious you were. You are His child, He is your Father.

Don’t keep sin in darkness – bring it to the light by confession and repentance. Call on your loving Father now and be cleansed by the blood of His Son. He’s waiting on you.

“He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases”
Psalm 103:3

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THE RED HEIFER – PART 2

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Day 144

“The ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those
who are . . . unclean sanctify them so
they are outwardly clean”
Hebrews 9:13-14

What great provision God makes for us! Even in the days of leading His people out of Egypt He saw their need and established a Tabernacle system to deal with their sins so He could be present among them. And He not only dealt with the sins committed at the time, He made provision for the future through the red heifer offering. By this sacrifice, the people knew they could be cleansed in the future. What hope! What grace! What mercy!

The Israelites dealt with many enemies, were involved in many battles and often became unclean and defiled. We also travel in a world where we touch many things every day that influence, defile and cause us to get dirty. God has made a provision for us to be continuously cleansed through Him. Our outer man can be renewed and refreshed through Him. We’ve but to lift our hearts and mind to Him in praise and worship and He will inhabit our praises.

There is more. The red heifer offering only cleansed the outer man. In Christ the whole man is cleansed. It is not only man’s sins, but his nature of sin that is dealt with by Christ. The sacrifice of the Cross not only forgives our past sins, it forgives our present sins and makes provision for future sins. Read 1 John 1:9 in the Amplified version. He continuously cleanses us so that our nature is brought into conformity with His righteousness.

“If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].” 1 John 1:9 [Amplified]

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GOD’S COVERING

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Day 50

“And the Lord God made garments of skin for
Adam and his wife, and clothed them”
Genesis 3:21

Adam and Eve disobeyed God on the one and only condition He gave them; that they did not eat of the tree of knowledge. They lost their covering when they sinned, and became aware of their own nakedness. They hid When God called them because of their sin and nakedness.

Read carefully what God does; He deals with their sin. But after a lengthy pronouncement of judgment, He makes provision for them. He makes garments of skin to cover their nakedness. The Creator of the universe, God Almighty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, has compassion on Adam and Eve. He graciously intervenes by providing adequate protection to the vulnerable couple. The protection – the garments – cover their embarrassment and help preserve them in the new and hostile environment.

God’s provision of covering for Adam and Eve was obtained by the slaying of an animal. This first slaying of an animal foreshadowed the Old Testament system of animal sacrifices for sin, and ultimately the blood shed by Christ for us. What a God He is! Man rebels against Him, and in response He provides a covering! Make no mistake; sin brought consequences and loss, but He was determined to redeem His children.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”
2 Corinthians 5:21

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OUR ADVOCATE

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Day 48

“We have One who speaks to the Father in our defense”
1 John 2:1

A person accused of a crime in the United States and having to appear before a judge must have an attorney to represent him. If he cannot afford one, the court will appoint one to defend him. The state will pay this attorney’s fees. Thus, the USA affords citizens this right of protection.

We also have an Advocate as Christians and He is Christ. John gives us a great understanding of our God in the opening verse. Our Advocate is “one called to your side,” or “one who undertakes and champions your cause.” He is your friend, called as a character witness, called to entreat the judge on behalf of you, the accused. Yes, even when you sin, Christ your Advocate speaks for you.

What does He do as your Advocate? He doesn’t plead you innocent as it is in our earthly courts. No; He acknowledges your sin and guilt before God. But as your Advocate, He stands in the Court of Heaven, as the Lamb that had been slain [Revelation 5:6], and presents the marks of His passion, His shed blood and vicarious work as the grounds of our acquittal. He makes the appeal as One who has suffered death for you, declaring that He has taken your sin on Himself and cancelled all punishment due. You stand forgiven.

“Who is that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died -
more than that, who was raised to life – is
at the right hand of God and is
also interceding for us”
Romans 8:34

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CHRIST IN THE FLESH

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Day 43

“Regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was
a descendant of David, and who through the
Spirit of holiness was declared with
power to be the Son of God”
Romans 1:3-4

God’s Son relinquished equality with His Father to take on the form of a servant and the likeness of man, to make a way for you to be with Him. The depth and fullness of what Christ did for us is inconceivable to our minds and beyond our comprehension. God became, in all things, like us!

Imagine why our God, who knew no sin, would even consider a people who rebelled, not once, but again and again. But He not only considered us, He became one of us. He did this in order to conquer and destroy sin, which seemed to have an insurmountable line of defense. By doing this, He became the Author of our salvation.

God identified with us so that we may have fellowship with a Person who knows our very infirmities. He is full of grace; with unmerited favor for the guilty. He is full of mercy; with compassion to cover the effects of our sins. He is full of truth. He is the Way, The Truth and The Life for us.

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for
us, so that in Him we might become
the righteousness of God”
2 Corinthians 5:21

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HIS FORGIVENESS – PART 2

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Day 41

If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we
are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray,
and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not
in us [does not dwell in our hearts]. If we [freely]
admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He
is faithful and just (true to His own nature and
promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our
lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all
unrighteousness [everything not in conformity
to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
1 John 1:8-9 (Amplified)

Sin in a Christian’s life is a matter, not between a lawbreaker and a judge, but between a child and his father.

Before we knew Christ and became His children, we were under the law. We were lawbreakers, and ultimately would have had to face God as our Judge. We were in a state of condemnation. But all this changed when we became His children. All the sins committed under the law during our life were remitted, paid for, and put away when Jesus died on the cross. The law was satisfied because Christ paid the price it demanded.

All the sins we commit as believers, now and in the future, were put away on a legal basis at the cross. This forgiveness comes when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. Sin becomes a personal offense; a matter of grieving the Father’s heart, instead of a legal offense. When we ask His forgiveness of our sins, He is faithful, just, and true to His own nature and promises, and will forgive our sins. He will dismiss them. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses and removes us from all sin and guilt. He will keep us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations.

“This is My blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”
Matthew 26:28

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