There is nothing else worth living for but this!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Qualified through adoption!
"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12
I was poor, naked, ashamed, in bondage and dying.
I beheld Jesus who was abundantly rich in all things, clothed in humility and majesty, full of favor, love, liberty and life and saw that he was inviting ME to make an exchange and come into union with HIM!
I trusted him. With childlike faith I believed in His love and received His offer of mercy, grace and goodnesss toward me. I believed the exchange to be possible! He took all of my wretchedness and I received all His beauty and dignity. I was given a new name and a new identity! The old was gone and I was made a new creation!
That is the power of the gospel.
When we are born again and begin our lives in the Spirit, God's word says that we are made complete through our union with Christ. That's right! When we place our faith in Jesus we become children of God . We are now holy, acceptable, blamesless, perfect, without a single fault in the Father's eyes. No amount of culture, high ideals, good deeds, status, education, gift, talent or approval of men can ADD to our position in Christ. None of that stuff can exalt us any higher than we already are as sons and daughters of the most High God! HE alone is our goodness; our righteousness. His love has covered us, wrapping us like a priestly/princely robe. The Father's seal of adoption is apon us. The work is FINISHED. We receive the FULLNESS (in Jesus) of all that God created and intended us to be. Our value in the worlds eyes makes no difference to God. We are free from their estimation of our value and worth.
Jesus life, death and resurection purchased this precious gift for me. God's love for me has qualified me!
*****************************************************
I have recently requested a daily devotional sent to my inbox from Joseph Prince. I have added the one that I recieved today below as I thought it very fitting:
All That Jesus Is Before God, You Are
"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)
When an Israelite brings an animal as his sin offering, he lays his hand on it before killing it. (Leviticus 4:1–4) By laying his hand on the sin offering, his sins are transferred to the innocent animal. The animal dies for his sins and he goes free.
In contrast, with the burnt offering, when the Israelite lays his hand on the animal (Leviticus 1:3–4), the beauty, worthiness and acceptance of the unblemished animal are transferred to him. God accepts the perfection of the animal sacrifice on his behalf to make atonement for him. Because God accepts the unblemished burnt offering, he now has right standing before God.
Do you know that the two offerings speak of Jesus’ one offering of Himself when He hung on the cross? He is both our sin offering and burnt offering — “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us [as our sin offering], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [as our burnt offering]”. The moment you put your faith in Him, just by His one sacrifice, your sins were transferred to Him, and His righteousness was transferred to you. That is the grace of God towards you!
As our sin offering, He offered Himself once and for all. (Romans 6:10) The sin offering was never a daily offering because God does not want His people to be sin-conscious. However, the burnt offering was both a morning and evening sacrifice (2 Chronicles 13:11) because God wants His people to be righteous-conscious.
Likewise, God wants you to lay claim daily on Jesus as your burnt offering and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. All that Jesus is before You — His righteousness, excellence, beauty and perfection — is transferred to me. Jesus has Your unclouded favour, so I enjoy Your unclouded favour in my life. Jesus is the righteousness of God, so I am the righteousness of God in Christ. As He is before You, so am I.”
Because Jesus became your burnt offering, what He is to the Father today, you are! That is what it means to be in Christ.
I was poor, naked, ashamed, in bondage and dying.
I beheld Jesus who was abundantly rich in all things, clothed in humility and majesty, full of favor, love, liberty and life and saw that he was inviting ME to make an exchange and come into union with HIM!
I trusted him. With childlike faith I believed in His love and received His offer of mercy, grace and goodnesss toward me. I believed the exchange to be possible! He took all of my wretchedness and I received all His beauty and dignity. I was given a new name and a new identity! The old was gone and I was made a new creation!
That is the power of the gospel.
When we are born again and begin our lives in the Spirit, God's word says that we are made complete through our union with Christ. That's right! When we place our faith in Jesus we become children of God . We are now holy, acceptable, blamesless, perfect, without a single fault in the Father's eyes. No amount of culture, high ideals, good deeds, status, education, gift, talent or approval of men can ADD to our position in Christ. None of that stuff can exalt us any higher than we already are as sons and daughters of the most High God! HE alone is our goodness; our righteousness. His love has covered us, wrapping us like a priestly/princely robe. The Father's seal of adoption is apon us. The work is FINISHED. We receive the FULLNESS (in Jesus) of all that God created and intended us to be. Our value in the worlds eyes makes no difference to God. We are free from their estimation of our value and worth.
Jesus life, death and resurection purchased this precious gift for me. God's love for me has qualified me!
*****************************************************
I have recently requested a daily devotional sent to my inbox from Joseph Prince. I have added the one that I recieved today below as I thought it very fitting:
All That Jesus Is Before God, You Are
"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)
When an Israelite brings an animal as his sin offering, he lays his hand on it before killing it. (Leviticus 4:1–4) By laying his hand on the sin offering, his sins are transferred to the innocent animal. The animal dies for his sins and he goes free.
In contrast, with the burnt offering, when the Israelite lays his hand on the animal (Leviticus 1:3–4), the beauty, worthiness and acceptance of the unblemished animal are transferred to him. God accepts the perfection of the animal sacrifice on his behalf to make atonement for him. Because God accepts the unblemished burnt offering, he now has right standing before God.
Do you know that the two offerings speak of Jesus’ one offering of Himself when He hung on the cross? He is both our sin offering and burnt offering — “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us [as our sin offering], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [as our burnt offering]”. The moment you put your faith in Him, just by His one sacrifice, your sins were transferred to Him, and His righteousness was transferred to you. That is the grace of God towards you!
As our sin offering, He offered Himself once and for all. (Romans 6:10) The sin offering was never a daily offering because God does not want His people to be sin-conscious. However, the burnt offering was both a morning and evening sacrifice (2 Chronicles 13:11) because God wants His people to be righteous-conscious.
Likewise, God wants you to lay claim daily on Jesus as your burnt offering and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. All that Jesus is before You — His righteousness, excellence, beauty and perfection — is transferred to me. Jesus has Your unclouded favour, so I enjoy Your unclouded favour in my life. Jesus is the righteousness of God, so I am the righteousness of God in Christ. As He is before You, so am I.”
Because Jesus became your burnt offering, what He is to the Father today, you are! That is what it means to be in Christ.
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