Made Alive in Christ 2 And you [a]were dead [b]in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the [c]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. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, [d]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the [e]mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead [f]in our transgressions, made us alive together [g]with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [h]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. March 26, 2014. It is during difficult times such as these that you seek Me more. You are in a period and season of testing and trial, but I am with you day and night. It is I who will rescue you from the devil, the enemy of your soul. His power is limited whereas Mine is unlimited. No mountain is too high and no ocean too wide or turbulent. You are My chosen one and I always believe the best about you. When you fall, I will pick you up and place you securely on high. Never doubt it. Psalm 20:1 (NASB) May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! Guilt can be like a poison working insidiously on the inside to create havoc in our thoughts and emotions. The antidote is to understand why we feel guilty and to know how to apply scriptural teachings on the subject. Misunderstanding grace results in guilty feelings, which make us think that in order to be a “good” Christian, we must clean up our act ourselves. In contrast, the message of grace is this: At the cross, Jesus paid our sin debt in full and declared us righteous in His sight. We do not have to measure up; through Christ, we have been made acceptable exactly as we are. Another thing that can make us feel guilty is confusion about confession and forgiveness. Some believers are concerned about hidden sins that they haven’t yet identified; others worry about whether they’ve confessed enough to be forgiven. It is true that 1 John 1:9 tells us to confess our wrongdoing, but doing so is not what makes us forgiven. It is what Jesus did at Calvary that provides forgiveness of all our sins. Refusing to let go of the past can also produce guilty emotions, because some of us feel undeserving of forgiveness—knowing what sins we have committed can lead to an ongoing sense of shame. Jesus Christ died on the cross so that all our sins—past, present, and future—could be forgiven. This is part of the miracle of grace. The truth of God’s Word frees us from the prison of false guilt and allows us to live life His way. Are you walking in freedom?
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:18:50 +0000
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