Yesterday, being Easter, Barb and I met the entire family at our Son's home for Easter dinner. Everyone contributed and everything was, naturally too good to pass up. So I didn't pass up anything. I ate as much as I could for as long as I could, then we all sang songs while our Granddaughter and Grandson played the instruments. Xbox Guitar Hero, you know! Anyway after some time had passed I began to feel this burning in my heart. I think I ate too much of the wrong stuff but it sure was good.
It made me think of the two men walking on the Road to Emmaus after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Luke 24 verses 30 - 32 it says, "And it came about that when He (Jesus) had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"
Throughout their seven mile trip they walked and talked with Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and did not recognize Him until they broke bread together. And when they did, they recognized that their hearts were burning inside of them. They had been with the King. They feasted with the Lord God Himself and they experienced a spiritual burning in their hearts.
I know and have known of that spiritual heartburn they experienced. Jesus walks with us every day and our hearts burn with the desire to follow as He leads. When I eat too much and get heartburn I usually take a "Tums" or something like that to ease the burning. But when my heart burns inside from listening to the Lord, I simply absorb His Word and become obedient to His commands.
Ever feel that "Spiritual Heartburn?" Listen closely! Jesus may be speaking to you right now! Can you feel the Spiritual Heartburn?
Dave
Crazy Papa
I'll make 'um an offer
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Resurrection Sunday Morning
"Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni!' (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.' Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and that He had said these things to her" (John 20:16-18).
Today is the day that we as Christian men and women come together to celebrate the "Resurrection" of our Lord Jesus Christ. April 12, 2009 is Resurrection Sunday for those of us who believe. What a wonderful feeling, indeed, that we do not worship a savior who is still in his grave. How wonderful it is that the very mention of His name brings people together. If not for today, there would be no other day that would be worthwhile. Because as Jesus defeats and escapes the "jaws" of death, He sets the captives free. And who are those captives? That's you and I. That's anyone in the entire world who would surrender his or her heart to Jesus Christ.
My favorite inspirational book is by Max Lucado and it is called "Six Hours One Friday" and in the 7th chapter he talks about the disciples huddling around in the upper room. Allow me the freedom to quote from these pages; "The church of Jesus Christ began with a group of frightened men in a second-floor room in Jerusalem. Though trained and taught, they didn't know what to say. Though they'd marched with Him for three years, they now sat...afraid. They were timid soldiers, reluctant warriors, speechless messengers. Their most courageous act was to get up and lock the door. Some looked out the window, some looked at the wall, some looked at the floor, but all looked inside themselves" (Chapter 7 of Six Hours One Friday/John 20:19).
Today, over 2000 years later, we do not have to hide. We should not be afraid. We should however, choose this day for self-examination of our Christian life. So much in the world going wrong (in the world's view point). I just heard today that the number of those willing to claim Christianity is "slipping" in the popular polls. That's a load of "pig swine" as far as I am concerned. I've never had more conversations in my life than those taking place today concerning our Lord Jesus Christ (I highly recommend the book).
Our Lord went to Calvary, suffered the ordeal of the cross, and came back again. I challenge anyone to come up with another who has accomplished as much. I also challenge you today to NOT be like those frightened disciples in the upper room. Don't be afraid for your life for your life is "but a vapor." I'm trying everything I know to get more people introduced to my Lord than any other time in my Christian walk.
Today is the best day to say "this is the first day of the rest of my life and everyday forward I will tell someone about Jesus!" Are you that brave? Do you feel that much freedom in your salvation? I know each one of you have dozens of email friends you can send this message to as a start.
Twelve men turned the entire world upside down for Jesus Christ, but only after He gave them the opportunity to be at peace. The very last words He said to them in verse 19 is "Peace be with you.
"Praise God, Praise God, He's ALIVE! Now go! You've got a lot of work to do. Oh, and Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Dave
Today is the day that we as Christian men and women come together to celebrate the "Resurrection" of our Lord Jesus Christ. April 12, 2009 is Resurrection Sunday for those of us who believe. What a wonderful feeling, indeed, that we do not worship a savior who is still in his grave. How wonderful it is that the very mention of His name brings people together. If not for today, there would be no other day that would be worthwhile. Because as Jesus defeats and escapes the "jaws" of death, He sets the captives free. And who are those captives? That's you and I. That's anyone in the entire world who would surrender his or her heart to Jesus Christ.
My favorite inspirational book is by Max Lucado and it is called "Six Hours One Friday" and in the 7th chapter he talks about the disciples huddling around in the upper room. Allow me the freedom to quote from these pages; "The church of Jesus Christ began with a group of frightened men in a second-floor room in Jerusalem. Though trained and taught, they didn't know what to say. Though they'd marched with Him for three years, they now sat...afraid. They were timid soldiers, reluctant warriors, speechless messengers. Their most courageous act was to get up and lock the door. Some looked out the window, some looked at the wall, some looked at the floor, but all looked inside themselves" (Chapter 7 of Six Hours One Friday/John 20:19).
Today, over 2000 years later, we do not have to hide. We should not be afraid. We should however, choose this day for self-examination of our Christian life. So much in the world going wrong (in the world's view point). I just heard today that the number of those willing to claim Christianity is "slipping" in the popular polls. That's a load of "pig swine" as far as I am concerned. I've never had more conversations in my life than those taking place today concerning our Lord Jesus Christ (I highly recommend the book).
Our Lord went to Calvary, suffered the ordeal of the cross, and came back again. I challenge anyone to come up with another who has accomplished as much. I also challenge you today to NOT be like those frightened disciples in the upper room. Don't be afraid for your life for your life is "but a vapor." I'm trying everything I know to get more people introduced to my Lord than any other time in my Christian walk.
Today is the best day to say "this is the first day of the rest of my life and everyday forward I will tell someone about Jesus!" Are you that brave? Do you feel that much freedom in your salvation? I know each one of you have dozens of email friends you can send this message to as a start.
Twelve men turned the entire world upside down for Jesus Christ, but only after He gave them the opportunity to be at peace. The very last words He said to them in verse 19 is "Peace be with you.
"Praise God, Praise God, He's ALIVE! Now go! You've got a lot of work to do. Oh, and Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Dave
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Woman, Behold Your Son
If there could be such a thing as a "touching" moment during Jesus' hours on the cross, perhaps it would have been this one in John 19:26&27 where, while He hung between heaven and earth, He had the compassion to care for his mother. Before He took His last breathe, He took the time to recognize His own mother's need.
"When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household" (Jn. 19:26,27).
The truth helps us understand that we do not know to what extend we can bear a trial until we have been placed in the fire. Here stands the mother of Jesus, the virgin Mary, and we don't read about her in a "fit of anger" or standing at the cross, ringing her hands. She wasn't "tearing her clothes" but merely standing there as she watches her Son, suffer this agony for the sins of the world. And perhaps it is because she had a better understanding all along about what her Son, the Son of God must endure and her role in it.
So with the tenderness that only God could express, Jesus provides for His mother. He had no gold or silver, no clothes, nothing of earthly value to leave to His mother, so as He sees John, not far from her, He places His mother into John's loving care. He calls her "woman" rather than mother and I think that has a compassionate tone because "mother" at this point would have been very emotionally "cutting" for her.
So here, Jesus provides for His mother before His death. It is believed that Joseph, her husband had long since died and Jesus was her support so now He takes a tender moment to see to her care. Even at this point, for the most part, they do not yet understand what is to come on that Resurrection Sunday morning.
When my father died, we stood out at the graveside, and I motioned for my two brothers and one sister to come up and stand beside me at our Father's casket and proclaimed that now it was up to us to care for our mother, his wife, and I believe that is as it should be.
Jesus knew exactly what the future held and yet He took the time to share this compassion with His loved ones. What was done on the cross, what we plan to celebrate on Sunday, all culminates in the love and compassion we have inherited from our Father above. And so we share our love for one another.
If you are not able to be with your mother this Sunday, give her a call. It will brighten up her day. Praise God, Jesus Christ IS alive!
Dave
"When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household" (Jn. 19:26,27).
The truth helps us understand that we do not know to what extend we can bear a trial until we have been placed in the fire. Here stands the mother of Jesus, the virgin Mary, and we don't read about her in a "fit of anger" or standing at the cross, ringing her hands. She wasn't "tearing her clothes" but merely standing there as she watches her Son, suffer this agony for the sins of the world. And perhaps it is because she had a better understanding all along about what her Son, the Son of God must endure and her role in it.
So with the tenderness that only God could express, Jesus provides for His mother. He had no gold or silver, no clothes, nothing of earthly value to leave to His mother, so as He sees John, not far from her, He places His mother into John's loving care. He calls her "woman" rather than mother and I think that has a compassionate tone because "mother" at this point would have been very emotionally "cutting" for her.
So here, Jesus provides for His mother before His death. It is believed that Joseph, her husband had long since died and Jesus was her support so now He takes a tender moment to see to her care. Even at this point, for the most part, they do not yet understand what is to come on that Resurrection Sunday morning.
When my father died, we stood out at the graveside, and I motioned for my two brothers and one sister to come up and stand beside me at our Father's casket and proclaimed that now it was up to us to care for our mother, his wife, and I believe that is as it should be.
Jesus knew exactly what the future held and yet He took the time to share this compassion with His loved ones. What was done on the cross, what we plan to celebrate on Sunday, all culminates in the love and compassion we have inherited from our Father above. And so we share our love for one another.
If you are not able to be with your mother this Sunday, give her a call. It will brighten up her day. Praise God, Jesus Christ IS alive!
Dave
Friday, April 10, 2009
Do You Practice "Deceit" or "Joy"?
You ever notice that when someone is deceiving you, they find it hard to look into your eyes? I've noticed that before. Those who would take advantage of a situation to their benefit regardless of the other party's condition! Those are the people that the first part of Proverbs 12:20a is speaking when he says, "Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil."
We can all see this happening in everyday life without even turning on the television and watching the news. Deception seem to be a way of life for some in this world. And that is just as it should be! Why do I say that? Well this world belongs to Satan. This is clearly noted in Ephesians 2:1&2 when Paul writes "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience." Yes, to some, deception is a way of life.
However Proverbs 12:20b continues by saying "but counselors of peace have joy." There is a major contrast here between the first part and the last part of the passage in Proverbs. And so with Christ in our hearts, we can see and tell the difference between one who would attempt to compromise us and the one who would bring joy to us. This would be the gift of "Discernment" for the Christian.
During this Holy week that we are in, that is exactly what we saw when Jesus said to Judas in Luke 22:48, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" This is just an educated guess but I am supposing that at this point Judas cannot look Jesus in the face and take this action.
And so we live with deception and joy as we carefully discern life.
Dave
We can all see this happening in everyday life without even turning on the television and watching the news. Deception seem to be a way of life for some in this world. And that is just as it should be! Why do I say that? Well this world belongs to Satan. This is clearly noted in Ephesians 2:1&2 when Paul writes "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience." Yes, to some, deception is a way of life.
However Proverbs 12:20b continues by saying "but counselors of peace have joy." There is a major contrast here between the first part and the last part of the passage in Proverbs. And so with Christ in our hearts, we can see and tell the difference between one who would attempt to compromise us and the one who would bring joy to us. This would be the gift of "Discernment" for the Christian.
During this Holy week that we are in, that is exactly what we saw when Jesus said to Judas in Luke 22:48, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" This is just an educated guess but I am supposing that at this point Judas cannot look Jesus in the face and take this action.
And so we live with deception and joy as we carefully discern life.
Dave
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wings Like Eagles
"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary" (Isaiah 40:31).
The oddest thing about this scripture verse today is that I was going to write this devotion last night and became too tired. I went to bed, not having written it and I woke up at 5:17 this morning. Laying in bed, I tossed and turned, not able to sleep and suddenly I hear God telling me to get up and write. "They will walk and not become weary." "They will gain new strength;" And this was my choice of scripture verse last night for today' devotion.
So God gave me the strength to get up (actually I think He pushed me out of bed) to complete my commitment to Him. God truly is our source of strength and desire. I could not get back to sleep because this promise I made to Him was not complete.
Tomorrow is "Good Friday"! A day we ponder as we are reminded of the beginning of the sacrifice of all sacrifices. On that day we think about Christ's crucifixion. And on these days we hear God say to us "Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). And here we face the truth about life; that it is tough, that times get hard, and that they most assuredly will get harder, as the "Prince of the power of the air" (Satan) continues to create chaos within this world and among ourselves.
But Praise be to God on High, that He has stretched forth His "righteous right hand" to be involved in our lives. It is He who we call on in times of trouble and it is He that we praise in good times and bad. Because it is He who has promised us "eternal life" through Jesus Christ our Lord, because of this "road to Calvary."
You can lift your head up and stand tall, those of you who are sick and possibly dying. You can stand with character, those of you who may be losing everything you own in this world as the result of a lost job. You can "...mount up with wings like eagles..." those of you whose hearts are heavy with a very serious trial this morning, knowing that the God who stretched out His hand and delivered Christ to Calvary's Tree, is the same God whose righteous right hand, holds you upright today.
There is no way to diminish some of the "troubles" we walk through today, except to realize that this is not our home and we are only passing through. This 70 plus years are not all we have. We have been given a "home in paradise" that Jesus Christ went to the cross to secure for us.
His is risen! He is risen! Praise God, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. And because He has risen, you can experience everlasting life, at His side.
After 30 plus years of trying to walk with the Lord, I understand that you cannot immediately calm or steady someone with the tribulations we face today. I know that these are mere words that attempt to comfort. I go through the same perplexing dilemmas myself day after day. And I just pick up the Word of God and allow Him to be my "calm." I let Him steady my stride, one day at a time. I too, from time to time think about my difficulties and how much better it would be if they did not exist. But something inside (the Holy Spirit) keeps assuring me that even though this was not my plan (will) for my life, God is still a whisper away with His strength and comfort. It is at those times when I can feel the "wings" on my back that pick me up and plant me on solid ground.
Dave
The oddest thing about this scripture verse today is that I was going to write this devotion last night and became too tired. I went to bed, not having written it and I woke up at 5:17 this morning. Laying in bed, I tossed and turned, not able to sleep and suddenly I hear God telling me to get up and write. "They will walk and not become weary." "They will gain new strength;" And this was my choice of scripture verse last night for today' devotion.
So God gave me the strength to get up (actually I think He pushed me out of bed) to complete my commitment to Him. God truly is our source of strength and desire. I could not get back to sleep because this promise I made to Him was not complete.
Tomorrow is "Good Friday"! A day we ponder as we are reminded of the beginning of the sacrifice of all sacrifices. On that day we think about Christ's crucifixion. And on these days we hear God say to us "Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). And here we face the truth about life; that it is tough, that times get hard, and that they most assuredly will get harder, as the "Prince of the power of the air" (Satan) continues to create chaos within this world and among ourselves.
But Praise be to God on High, that He has stretched forth His "righteous right hand" to be involved in our lives. It is He who we call on in times of trouble and it is He that we praise in good times and bad. Because it is He who has promised us "eternal life" through Jesus Christ our Lord, because of this "road to Calvary."
You can lift your head up and stand tall, those of you who are sick and possibly dying. You can stand with character, those of you who may be losing everything you own in this world as the result of a lost job. You can "...mount up with wings like eagles..." those of you whose hearts are heavy with a very serious trial this morning, knowing that the God who stretched out His hand and delivered Christ to Calvary's Tree, is the same God whose righteous right hand, holds you upright today.
There is no way to diminish some of the "troubles" we walk through today, except to realize that this is not our home and we are only passing through. This 70 plus years are not all we have. We have been given a "home in paradise" that Jesus Christ went to the cross to secure for us.
His is risen! He is risen! Praise God, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. And because He has risen, you can experience everlasting life, at His side.
After 30 plus years of trying to walk with the Lord, I understand that you cannot immediately calm or steady someone with the tribulations we face today. I know that these are mere words that attempt to comfort. I go through the same perplexing dilemmas myself day after day. And I just pick up the Word of God and allow Him to be my "calm." I let Him steady my stride, one day at a time. I too, from time to time think about my difficulties and how much better it would be if they did not exist. But something inside (the Holy Spirit) keeps assuring me that even though this was not my plan (will) for my life, God is still a whisper away with His strength and comfort. It is at those times when I can feel the "wings" on my back that pick me up and plant me on solid ground.
Dave
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Delight Yourself In The Lord
"Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him, and He will do it" (Psalm 37:3-5).
Do you want to know God's will for your life? Here's a simple scripture passage that tells you just exactly what to do. "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." Well, you say, what does this have to do with God's will for me? I say in response to that, if you are delighting yourself in the Lord, THAT IS God's will for your life. He wants you to be delighted in Him. He wants you to be so "smitten" by His love and grace that all you can think of is the Lord. So by delighting yourself in the Lord, you are receiving His will for you. Where will that take you? I don't know. But wherever it is, it will be with the Lord and in His will.
And what is His will for you? Well, examine your heart because He wants to give you your desires. Are your desires worthy of His gift? Many of us walk around on this earth hurting, some physically, some emotionally, but if the desire of our heart is to be "delighted" in the Lord then He has already completed His part of the bargain by removing some of your pain with your very own desire. Kind of dizzying, huh? Well, He said to tell Him what was on your mind and He promised you your desires, so what really is there to understand other than His will for you is that you receive the desire of your heart (boy, that was a mouthful)? And naturally, if your heart is right with God, then you will want to delight yourself in Him.
There may be dozens of different ways to say what God wants or wills for us but truly, He is looking for that certain someone who is so in love with Him that they are satisfied with whatever He chooses for them. I have tried for decades to "Delight myself in the Lord" and I think I have achieved it. Some would say, what do you mean, you have a cancer that is not curable. It's eventually going to kill you. To that I would say, "that's right, but there are people I would never have met or been able to share His love with, had this medical condition never arrived." So you tell me, which act was more important? Me living an unfulfilled life in Christ without the desires of my heart, or living a little shorter here, fully engulfed in Him and His Glory. I'm not saying to you that you should start praying for a terminal disease so you can be in the will of God. I am however, saying that when I surrendered fully to His Lordship and control of MY life, this is the way it came about. And I could not be more pleased.
We all have our "season of time" on this earth and when it is time to go, I feel it better to go peacefully, knowing that at least for some part of my time here, I was in His "Perfect" will. So down deep inside of me, my ultimate desire is to share the Gospel of God with anyone and everyone so if it takes a medical trial in my life to get me to that desire I say, "Thank you, Lord for knowing just what I need and where I need to be." Besides, He's big enough to change His mind should He so desire. In the meantime, I have the "desires of my heart" from God!
Dave
Do you want to know God's will for your life? Here's a simple scripture passage that tells you just exactly what to do. "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." Well, you say, what does this have to do with God's will for me? I say in response to that, if you are delighting yourself in the Lord, THAT IS God's will for your life. He wants you to be delighted in Him. He wants you to be so "smitten" by His love and grace that all you can think of is the Lord. So by delighting yourself in the Lord, you are receiving His will for you. Where will that take you? I don't know. But wherever it is, it will be with the Lord and in His will.
And what is His will for you? Well, examine your heart because He wants to give you your desires. Are your desires worthy of His gift? Many of us walk around on this earth hurting, some physically, some emotionally, but if the desire of our heart is to be "delighted" in the Lord then He has already completed His part of the bargain by removing some of your pain with your very own desire. Kind of dizzying, huh? Well, He said to tell Him what was on your mind and He promised you your desires, so what really is there to understand other than His will for you is that you receive the desire of your heart (boy, that was a mouthful)? And naturally, if your heart is right with God, then you will want to delight yourself in Him.
There may be dozens of different ways to say what God wants or wills for us but truly, He is looking for that certain someone who is so in love with Him that they are satisfied with whatever He chooses for them. I have tried for decades to "Delight myself in the Lord" and I think I have achieved it. Some would say, what do you mean, you have a cancer that is not curable. It's eventually going to kill you. To that I would say, "that's right, but there are people I would never have met or been able to share His love with, had this medical condition never arrived." So you tell me, which act was more important? Me living an unfulfilled life in Christ without the desires of my heart, or living a little shorter here, fully engulfed in Him and His Glory. I'm not saying to you that you should start praying for a terminal disease so you can be in the will of God. I am however, saying that when I surrendered fully to His Lordship and control of MY life, this is the way it came about. And I could not be more pleased.
We all have our "season of time" on this earth and when it is time to go, I feel it better to go peacefully, knowing that at least for some part of my time here, I was in His "Perfect" will. So down deep inside of me, my ultimate desire is to share the Gospel of God with anyone and everyone so if it takes a medical trial in my life to get me to that desire I say, "Thank you, Lord for knowing just what I need and where I need to be." Besides, He's big enough to change His mind should He so desire. In the meantime, I have the "desires of my heart" from God!
Dave
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Washing, Regeneration, Renewing
Today's scripture verse comes from the book of Titus chapter 3. This is a small, three chapter letter that Paul wrote to his brother Titus with little "nuggets" for the church. The theme of this epistle is to emphasize the connection of doctrine committed to faithful men with godliness of life. Grace, as the great doctrine of salvation is emphasized in this letter.
I wanted to quote a couple of verses in chapter 3 and they are verses 5-7 which say, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Years and years of study has been invested in this idea of grace over works and the doctrinal issue could become quite complex if you allow it to however, the bottom line is in His grace because if He chose not to be graceful then you could do works until you were blue in the face, and still not reach a level of "goodness" for the sake of salvation. We cannot, of ourselves, reach God based on the things that we do, because there is always a counterbalance with mankind. Don't misunderstand me here; "a tree is known by it's fruit". We were born with a sin nature and it is a natural thing for us to react to the prompting of sin. What is "unnatural" is for us to allow God to cover us in His grace, to KEEP us away from sin. You have to recognize this each time you are confronted about sin prior to the action of that sin.
And as verse 5 clearly states "He saved us according to His mercy and not based on our deeds." How did He do this? By the "washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." And when was this accomplished? On the cross at Calvary. When Jesus hung there between heaven and earth, held only by His will (not the nails), the process of "washing of regeneration" began as He took, upon His shoulders, the sins of the world. Not only the past sins or the sins He would witness while here on earth, but the sins you will commit today. God commanded that those be placed on Christ for the sake of salvation.
And when his process was completed at the cross, the Holy Spirit could be released to dwell among mankind, convicting and convincing each one of his sin allowing for repentance.
And He "justified" us as being righteous (you can get a very good understanding of justification in the book of Romans) before an Almighty God by His grace and made us "children of the king" all of those who would accept Him as Savior and Lord. Long, long ago someone said to me "that word justified means 'just as if I'd never sinned'"! That sounds good to me.
So no matter how dirty I think I make myself, when I turn my face toward God, He sees nothing more than Jesus who is covering my sin and making me righteous before a Holy God. What a deal! I know of no other place on earth or away from earth where you can get such a deal as that. And this coming Sunday, we will all come together and celebrate, not only the "washing of regeneration" but Jesus Christ as he "walks out of that tomb" ALIVE for the sake of all mankind. Kind of make you want to tell somebody, huh?
Dave
I wanted to quote a couple of verses in chapter 3 and they are verses 5-7 which say, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Years and years of study has been invested in this idea of grace over works and the doctrinal issue could become quite complex if you allow it to however, the bottom line is in His grace because if He chose not to be graceful then you could do works until you were blue in the face, and still not reach a level of "goodness" for the sake of salvation. We cannot, of ourselves, reach God based on the things that we do, because there is always a counterbalance with mankind. Don't misunderstand me here; "a tree is known by it's fruit". We were born with a sin nature and it is a natural thing for us to react to the prompting of sin. What is "unnatural" is for us to allow God to cover us in His grace, to KEEP us away from sin. You have to recognize this each time you are confronted about sin prior to the action of that sin.
And as verse 5 clearly states "He saved us according to His mercy and not based on our deeds." How did He do this? By the "washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." And when was this accomplished? On the cross at Calvary. When Jesus hung there between heaven and earth, held only by His will (not the nails), the process of "washing of regeneration" began as He took, upon His shoulders, the sins of the world. Not only the past sins or the sins He would witness while here on earth, but the sins you will commit today. God commanded that those be placed on Christ for the sake of salvation.
And when his process was completed at the cross, the Holy Spirit could be released to dwell among mankind, convicting and convincing each one of his sin allowing for repentance.
And He "justified" us as being righteous (you can get a very good understanding of justification in the book of Romans) before an Almighty God by His grace and made us "children of the king" all of those who would accept Him as Savior and Lord. Long, long ago someone said to me "that word justified means 'just as if I'd never sinned'"! That sounds good to me.
So no matter how dirty I think I make myself, when I turn my face toward God, He sees nothing more than Jesus who is covering my sin and making me righteous before a Holy God. What a deal! I know of no other place on earth or away from earth where you can get such a deal as that. And this coming Sunday, we will all come together and celebrate, not only the "washing of regeneration" but Jesus Christ as he "walks out of that tomb" ALIVE for the sake of all mankind. Kind of make you want to tell somebody, huh?
Dave
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