New Covenant believers

Bewildered #23?-May the Lord be with you?

2012-02-02T11:07:00.000+09:00

Have you heard prayers in this way :

'May the the Lord be with you wherever you go; May the Lord be with you when you go to the interview'…..and so forth.

This is old covenant mentality.

Let us see what these verses say :

Hebrews 13: 5……. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

Jn 14:18 : No, I will not abandon you as orphans--I will come to you.

Colossians 2: 8-10 : ⁸ Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers^[a] of this world, rather than from Christ. ⁹ For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.^[b] ¹⁰ So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Won’t it be better to pray in this way, for example? :

'Thank you Lord that I am going to have a very good interview for you are with me as you promised that you will not abandon me as orphan nor forsake me. I thank you also that the fullness of God dwells in Christ and that I am in Christ, I lack nothing as I am now complete; I do not have to fear for you are the perfect love in me that cast out all fear...........'

This prayer is from a New Covenant mentality of thanks and a faith response to His promises. This prayer is an acknowledgement that we are complete in Him as receipients of His finished work. Christ is always in us. Rejoice.

Andrew Farley - Free Jesus!: Freedom

2012-01-30T22:51:00.000+09:00

Bewildered #22 Don't be too spiritually minded?

2012-01-30T12:49:00.001+09:00

Have you heard of the expression ‘Do not be too spiritually minded that you are of no earthly use’ in the pulpit when the preacher wants to motivate you to do something?.

Let us see what the verse below says :

Romans 8:6

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

This verse implies that the fruit of being spiritually minded is life and peace which I can bring to others on this earth. I do not want to be so earthly minded that I bring spiritual death to others! Rejoice

The Jerusalem Council: The Gospel Defined and Defended (Acts 15:1-35) - Bob Deffinbaugh

2012-01-29T22:49:00.001+09:00

The issue of mixing of law and the gospel of grace is not something new that we only find in our contemporary churches; it is as as old as the early church. Read how the Jerusalem Council resolved this issue by clicking on the title to read the excellent article by Bob Deffinbaug.

The decision of the Jerusalem Council will help us understand what the true gospel is so that we are not deceived by counterfeit gospel (mixture of law and grace gospel which Paul called it another gospel that is no gospel at all). Rejoice

What is the another gospel which is no gospel at all?

2012-01-25T16:14:00.000+09:00

Gal 1:6-9 (NLT)
⁶ I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.^[c] You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News ⁷ but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
⁸ Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. ⁹ I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

Gal 1:6-9 (KJV)
⁶I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
⁷Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
⁸But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
⁹As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

What is the another gospel that pretends to be the good news? What is the perverted gospel that deliberately twists the truth concerning Christ ? Why did Paul get so agitated to the point of repeating that the one preaching the other gospel be accursed? Find out more from this article by Bob Deffinbaugh by clicking this hyperlink:

Giving Up the Gospel (Galatians 1:1-9) Study - Bob Deffinbaugh

Be blessed. Rejoice

Understanding about the Grace of God and the New Covenant

2012-01-22T15:53:00.002+09:00

I have found useful articles by Max Ridgway on understanding grace and the new covenant which I can't resist letting readers of this blog know. Just click on the hyperlinks below:

Understanding The New Covenant

Understanding the Grace of God

Often times, we have been shortchanged and entrapped by many confusing sermons or books that are based on law and grace mixture. I hope this understanding will realign us onto the road of freedom and liberty.

Rejoice

Beating The Rock -Darin Hufford

2012-01-18T22:36:00.002+09:00

Do you wonder why Moses who was supposed to lead the people to the promised land did not enter the promised land himself? This article by Darin Hufford will enlighten you. Please be forewarned that there are some strong languages used which may offend some readers. I will let the author explain himself which you can accessed in this hyperlink http://freebelievers.com/blog-entry/beating-the-rock or simply by clicking the title.

Below are some excerpts from Darin's article :

There’s a story in the Old Testament where Moses and the newly liberated Israelites are fresh in the wilderness just after having escaped the Egyptian army through the Red Sea. The Israelites are thirsty and immediately start complaining. God tells Moses to take his
staff and strike this rock in the middle of the desert and water would flow from it. Moses obeys, and water springs forth. Enough to quench the thirst of over a million people and their animals.
Later on, the Israelites find themselves right back in the very same place and in great need of water. Like clock-work the people begin complaining and Moses goes to God for answers. God brings Moses back to the same rock as before, but this time He tells Moses to take the staff, gather the assembly together, and SPEAK to the rock before their eyes instead of striking it.
Moses, in his anger and frustration, gathers the assembly together in front of the rock, takes his staff, and strikes the rock two times. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
Moses pays a great price for this little episode. God takes from Moses the honor of being the guy who gets to lead the people into the Promise Land. He was only allowed to stand upon a mountain and see this land from a distance, but he couldn’t lead the people into it.
...............
The first time the people needed water, God told Moses to take his staff and strike the rock in front of the Israelites. This is a picture of Christ being stricken. It’s also a picture of LAW. ............

The next time around however, God instructed Moses to SPEAK TO THE ROCK. This is an entirely new covenant!!!!! This is a picture of the very essence of the New Covenant. It’s a picture of RELATIONSHIP. .........

In this particular Testament-Taste-Test, Moses favored the Old wine over the New. He was the first in a long line of people who would make the very same choice. Christ Himself said, “No one after drinking Old (Testament) wine wants the New (Testament), for they say, “the old is better.” This was true for Moses and it’s true for most of modern day Christianity.
...........Sadly, because Christianity today does not want to give up Old Testament thinnking, we have done our best to weave both covenants together in a way that makes them void each other out completely. We’re safe, and then we’re not safe. We’re loved, and then we’re not loved. Salvation is free in one moment, and then in the next it’s not. We’re forgiven, and then we’re not. We’re paid for, and then we’re in debt. We’re not under law, and then we are. God will never leave us, and then He does. We’re set free, and then we’re caged again. We’re given a guarantee of what is to come, and then we’re told there’s no guarantee. It’s all free, and then we’re charged for it.
Christianity has become a deadly roller coaster of contradictions and confusion at every turn.....

If that offends you, let it, because this is the state of Christianity. Our religion is afraid to commit to the New Covenant completely because it knows the moment it does, people will be set free and they won’t continue to serve the system.
.......We haven't found this water because we refuse to put our staffs down and speak to the rock!

Grace - Les Miserables

2012-01-17T14:29:00.000+09:00

A demonstration of unmerited favor - that is the Grace of God. Rejoice

The Difference between Religion and Christianity -The Middletown Bible Church

2012-01-13T14:03:00.001+09:00

Source : http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/helpseek/religion.htm

The Difference Between
RELIGION and CHRISTIANITY

There is a great difference between CHURCHIANITY and CHRISTIANITY. Many are GOING TO CHURCH but few are GOING DOWN THE ROAD WHICH LEADS TO LIFE (Matthew 7:13-14). Many name the Name of Christ (2 Tim. 2:19) and claim to be Christians but few understand what a Christian really is. Many are RELIGIOUS but few are RIGHT WITH GOD. May God help us to understand the difference between RELIGION and true CHRISTIANITY as set forth in the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

The following chart may be helpful:

RELIGION	CHRISTIANITY
"Salvation is something I must do. I must somehow earn or gain salvation by the way I live."	"Salvation is something only God can do. Salvation is of the LORD!" (Eph. 2:8-9; Jonah 2:9).
Religion is summed up in one word: DO--man trying to DO different things to please God and earn His favor.	Christianity is summed up in one word: DONE--Christ dying on the cross to save sinful man (John 19:30).
The religious man is busy "working" (doing good works) in order to be saved.	The saved person is "not working" (Rom. 4:5) but is RESTING upon the finished work of Another.
TRYING	TRUSTING (Acts 16:31)
A Work to Do which is never done (How can anyone work well enough and hard enough to earn salvation?)	A Word to Believe (1 Pet. 1:25) about a Work that is Done (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
Man hoping to save himself	God saving hopeless man (1 Tim. 1:15)
RELIGION is man trying to BRING HIMSELF TO GOD (by human effort, good works, ritualism, traditionalism, sacraments, etc.).	CHRISTIANITY is Christ BRINGING US TO GOD on the basis of what He did for us on the cross (1 Peter 3:18).
Religion is man trusting his own good works (Titus 3:5).	Salvation is man trusting the good work which the Lord Jesus did on the cross (Rom. 3:22-26).
A religious ritual	A real relationship (John 17:3)
Following rules	Enjoying life (John 6:47; 10:10).
"I must reform my life and turn over a new leaf"	"I must be born again" (John 3:7).
Doing Something	Knowing Someone (John 17:3)
Man trying to please God in the wrong way (Rom. 8:8--"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God").	Man truly pleasing God in the only way (Hebrews 11:6--"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him").
Seeking to earn God's favor by works	Receiving God's favor by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8 and see Eph. 1:6).
"I can work my way to heaven and earn my salvation" (Romans 6:23 teaches that we have earned our way to hell: "the wages of sin is death")	"I could never live well enough to earn my way to heaven. Christ had to pay the price for my salvation (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
"Salvation is something that a person must earn."	"Salvation is a free gift" (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 4:10).
The sinner sees himself as good (Luke 18:11-12).	The sinner sees himself as sinful (Luke 18:13).
The religious man compares himself with others (Luke 18:11).	The saved man sees himself as God sees him (1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 53:1-3; Rom. 3:10-12).
TRUSTING SELF (Luke 18:9)	TRUSTING CHRIST (Eph. 1:12-13)
BOASTING IN SELF (Luke 18:11-12)	BOASTING IN THE LORD (1 Cor. 1:29-31; Eph. 2:9)
"I have kept the law! I have done that which God has required" (Matthew 19:16-20).	"I have broken the law but I am trusting the One who came into this world to save guilty lawbreakers" (1 Tim. 1:15).
A religious man trying to earn his way to heaven by works may be likened to a man trying to swim from New York to London by his own efforts and energy and strength. He will never make it!	The person who is saved by faith is likened to a man getting on a ship in New York and trusting that ship to bring him safely to London. This man simply rests upon the ship and lets the ship do all the work.
The religious man is seeking to establish his own righteousness (Rom. 10:3).	The saved man is satisfied with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).
Religion is pictured in Genesis 3 by the fig leaves that Adam and Eve made for themselves--a terrible covering (Gen. 3:7 and see Isaiah 64:6).	Salvation is pictured in Genesis 3 by the coats of skin which God provided by way of the shedding of blood--a perfect covering (Gen. 3:21; Rev. 19:8).
CAIN'S RELIGION--"I bring to God the labour of my own hands" (Gen. 4:3).	ABEL'S FAITH--"I bring to God a blood sacrifice. An innocent substitute must die to save me" (Gen. 4:4).
Hoping to be saved by good works (a false hope)	Saved unto good works by God's grace (Eph. 2:10).
Religion teaches that good works are the cause of salvation.	The Bible teaches that good works are the result of salvation.
Religion says, "Good works are those things that a person does to be saved."	The Bible says, "Good works are those things that a saved person does" (James 2:14-26).
"Christ is my Example and Teacher. I try to follow Him and live as He lived."	Christ is my Saviour and Substitute. I am trusting Him and only Him to save me" (Luke 23:40-43).
"I hope I will be saved." "I think I will be saved." "I feel that I will be saved, maybe."	"I KNOW I am saved right now" (1 John 5:13-"These things have I written unto you that believe on to name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life").

The Middletown Bible Church
349 East Street
Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 346-0907

More articles under Help for the Seeking Heart

Repentance - What Is It? - Peter Youngren

2012-01-13T10:39:00.000+09:00

Repentance - What Is It?

By: Peter Youngren

From: September - October 2011

Found in: The Gospel of Grace

Part 3 of a series from Luke 15. What is repentance and how does true repentance come?

A lifestyle or a Life

The Pharisees viewed repentance as changed behavior; to stop doing certain “sinful” things and begin doing other “holier” things. To stop breaking God’s commandments and instead begin to follow them the best you can was the essence of their religion. Unfortunately the Pharisees definition of repentance is much the same held by many Christians today – stop drinking, smoking, cursing, lying and instead begin to read your Bible, pray and begin to go to church. Repentance then becomes something that has to do with our exterior and with our works, instead of turning from our “dead works” [Hebrews 6:1] to Jesus. Christianity becomes a new lifestyle, instead of Him, who is life - Jesus Christ Himself.

Christianity becomes a new lifestyle, instead of Him, who is life - Jesus Christ Himself.

Accept your acceptance

The moment of repentance for the prodigal son was not when he “came to himself” because when we come to ourselves we only find ourselves. Even when the father ran towards the son, he continued to repeat his own ideas - he was going to pay off his debt to his father; he was going to correct the wrong and make everything right. The father never commanded his son to stop his rehearsed speech but instead he embraced him with continued kisses and hugs. Finally the prodigal son becomes silent – no more suggestion on what he himself is going to do but instead he accepts his acceptance from the father.

Finally the prodigal son becomes silent – no more suggestion on what he himself is going to do but instead he accepts his acceptance from the father.

That’s it: accept your acceptance.
The prodigal accepted the father’s love and was restored, not because of anything he had done, but simply because he was a son and loved because of who he is. This is the real moment of repentance. The prodigal surrenders his own performance and accepts the love that has been relentlessly seeking for him.

True repentance

How do we view repentance? Is it about outward changes? Is it about stopping and starting certain activities? Give up one habit and create a new one instead?
Is repentance about you pulling yourself up by your boot straps, to try harder to become a good Christian. No, true repentance happens when we allow God’s love to embrace us, and we accept that we are accepted in Jesus Christ and loved by our creator.
Repentance has to do with a change of thinking. The Greek word is “metanoia” which means to “change your mind” or “change your thinking.” We stop thinking that we ourselves must make everything right; that we are going to restore what we have damaged. Instead, we receive the free love and grace that is offered to us by our heavenly Father.
A changed lifestyle and good works, which are necessary because we are created for “good works” [Eph 2:10], come only as a result of accepting our acceptance in Jesus Christ.

How to preach repentance

How do you preach repentance? In Luke 15, Jesus uses the very word repentance more than any other place. He clearly says that the story of the good shepherd and the lost sheep is about repentance. In which way did the sheep repent? Was the sheep truly and seriously sorrowful that it had walked away? We are not even sure if the sheep knew that it was lost. The repentance of the sheep was simply that it accepted its position on the shoulders of the good shepherd. The sheep was now totally identified with its shepherd.

true repentance happens when we allow God’s love to embrace us, and we accept that we are accepted in Jesus Christ and loved by our creator.

Jesus says that the story of the woman who lost her silver coin is a picture of repentance. In which way did the coin repent? Undoubtedly this was a coin common to the Middle Eastern woman who would carry a necklace with coins. In the case of the woman in Luke 15, she had 10 coins in her necklace and one was lost. The necklace was now incomplete; something was wrong, out of place. When she finally found the coin everything was restored as it was intended from the beginning. The coin simply accepted its place in the necklace. Repentance is accepting the love that God has shown us through Jesus Christ.
You may be questioning: What about living right, doing right and living holy? That all comes after our repentance from our dead efforts and dead works. Good works are the result of the new life we received in our restored position.

By: Peter Youngren

As founder of World Impact Ministries, Celebration Bible College, Way of Peace and the Celebration Churches in Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara, Canada, Peter is committed to equipping believers to fulfill their purpose before the return of Jesus Christ.
More About Peter Youngren | Articles By Peter Youngren

The key hoarder and the masterkey

2012-01-12T14:54:00.003+09:00

Over the years, I am sure we have accumulated a lot of keys, whether for drawers, suitcases, cabinets, cars, padlocks, doors, gates and so forth. The strange thing is that many of us do not remember what many of these keys are for, whether they are replicates or are now useless. It would be nice to have a masterkey for all those keys, and that will make life much easier. It can be a solution to someone who has a perversion for key hoarding.

Today, in the technological world, we now use “passwords” and “usernames” to access a variety of activities – be it to work or home computers, subscriptions, banking or social networking and so on. Over time, we tend to forget our passwords or usernames or we jumble them up, not unless we are diligent enough to record them and update the changes in our notebook. To complicate life further, some workplaces require passwords be changed periodically. Imagine the frustration to discover that you are not able to access your work computer after coming back from a long vacation because your old password has expired. Not only that, you have also forgotten your old password which prevents you from getting a new password without having to go through the IT guys . Won’t it be nice to have just one unique password and username per person to access all computer related activities?

Today, in the Christian world, Christians are usually given keys, strategies or principles of all facets of Christian living during Sunday sermons by the preacher. The keys or principles usually strike nothing more than the common chord of to do more, strive more, pray more, be kind more, be holy more, be generous more, be excellent more, be loving more, be active in church more…….. and more of “more” ……the sermons boil down to nothing more than to have more self-effort devoid of Christ i.e. to use the flesh more. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against good works that naturally flow out from our love of God but I am against works that is motivated from earning or working for the blessings of God.

Imagine for a moment you have been given an average of 4 keys per sermon. How many keys or principles would you have accumulated per year? 208 keys. If you have been a Christian for 10 years, you would have in your arsenal, 2080 keys. Further, you would also have increased your array with other strategies you accumulated from Christian books and videos. Wow, what a mouthful! What a heavy burden to carry over the years…the load gets heavier and heavier each year. Thanks to the fact that many of us would not have remembered all the 4 keys per sermon the very moment we are out of the church building, otherwise, we would be flattened with the load of 2080 keys!. Won’t it be nice just to have one masterkey for all the sermons afterall?

As christian key hoarders, perhaps it is a brilliant idea to start ransacking our collection and throw away the useless keys. I know it is always difficult for a hoarder to throw away his own junks ; hoarders love and feel secure amongst the junks; he needs outside help!. The good news is that as believers, we already have an outside helper, the Holy Spirit who is currently residing in us. Not only that, the Holy Spirit can also give us one masterkey to live our Christian life so that we need not hoard anymore.

Over time, we will eventually realise as we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, that there is a temporary old covenant[of law, works and flesh] and that there is also an the everlasting new covenant [of the Spirit and grace], established through the death and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit, if we allow Him to work in us, will continue to ursher us into the everlasting new covenant through the renewal of our mind, and to empower us to leave behind the legacy of the old covenant. Once our mind is enlightened, we will know effortlessly which useless keys to throw away … obviously all the temporary old covenant related keys of the flesh and self-effort and to keep …all the everlasting new covenant related keys of the Spirit, grace and freedom. As a result, the Holy Spirit has already helped us lighten our burden in the process...the Holy Spirit has now enabled us to throw away our junks without which we are unable with our own strength.

Once we have the all the new covenant related keys, the Holy Spirit will lead us to discover that there is one common thread, the everlasting masterkey, which runs across all keys: trust, faith and walk in Him, by grace and not by works [law,self-effort or fles].

Consider the following verses :

Ephesians 2:8-9
8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your selves: it is the gift of God:9: Not of works, lest any man should boast

Colossians 2:6
6: As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.

Romans 11:6
6: And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Romans 4:5
5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Galatians 3:10-11
10: For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11: But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Ephesians 2:10
10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Successful christian living is not directly related to collecting more keys; in fact, it is inversely related…the more keys you have, the more troubled, burdensome and condemned you become. The goodnews is that we already have the God of how much more:

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13

Once I have Him, I have much more and I am already full, I do need to be frustrated with any more keys that are useless. The Pharisees love keys to bits [ they love to add more laws and regulations to existing laws that Moses gave eventhough they already had trouble keeping].

I only need one masterkey engraved in my life that I will never forget, which is not burdensome, yet everlasting and more than enough to sustain my Christian walk,.. the grace of God and His life inside me that unlock the prison door into freedom and liberty. Christian living is meant to be simple and uncomplicated. I need not be a frustrated key hoarder anymore.

Rejoice

Spiritual Covering - is it in the new covenant? What do you think?

2012-01-07T16:00:00.000+09:00

Before you delve into the video below, read this article from this link :

http://coveringandauthority.com/why-it-is-false/

What do you think?

Spiritual Covering - Funny home videos are a click away

Rewards in Heaven - what are they?

2012-01-05T18:40:00.000+09:00

I have done some internet search on rewards in heaven in the context of the grace gospel. The questions to ask ourselves are :

-what are the rewards/reward and are/is only awarded on a graded scale based on how hardworking a christian you are?

-how do we reconcile rewards to our salvation that it is not based on works but by grace ?

-is the reward only about the crown of righteousness which every believer will receive or are there different types of reward in the form of different physical crowns of different values?

- how do we reconcile the story of the labourer who worked the last hour being paid the same amount with the labourer who was recruited in the beginning of the day?

-and many more.......

Here are the links of the articles for you to ponder :

Do we get crowns in Heaven? Holy Holy Holy - Reginald Heber

http://www.noblindfaith.com/writings/crowns.htm

You Asked: What Are the Rewards in Heaven Jesus Talks About? – Justin Taylor

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/07/18/you-asked-what-are-the-rewards-in-heaven-jesus-talks-about/

Degrees of reward in the Kingdom of Heaven? –Craig L. Blomberg

http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/35/35-2/JETS_35-2_159-172_Blomberg.pdf

What do you think?

Rejoice

Our Sole Responsibility - Chuck Smith

2012-01-04T22:40:00.000+09:00

Source :Why Grace Changes Everything by Chuck Smith
http://www.ccdowney.com/one_accord/uploads/pdf/whygracechangeseverything.pdf

The message of the New Testament is simple, direct, and unmistakable. We are
saved by God's grace through faith alone, not on the basis of any good works we
have done. The sole responsibility of a Christian is to believe in the love and
grace which God freely offers.
This clear message stands in sharp contrast to the teachings of those who want
us to trust in Christ and obey certain rules or practice certain rites. These
teachers call their message a gospel, but it isn't really good news at all. They
claim that in order to be acceptable to God, we need to do adequate works. Law
and works are placed side by side with grace as a two-part ticket to
righteousness. Contrary to these teachers, however, the New Testament insists
that it is not law and works that justify, but God's grace and our response of
faith.
We are faced with a classic either/or situation. Righteousness must either come
by faith in Christ alone, or by a perfect keeping of God's law. Right standing with
God by faith or salvation by works are mutually exclusive. When we seek
righteousness before God, we must make our choice and not look for some
compromising middle ground.
Abraham was a man who simply believed God, and God accounted him
righteous. We stand on the same ground as Abraham and are heirs of the same
blessings and promises that he enjoyed. This place of privilege comes only by
faith, not by obedience to a code of law or a set of rules. If we seek to be
righteous before God by our works, rather than by faith, we find ourselves under
a curse. There are no exceptions to this rule.
If we look to the law as our hope of assurance before God, the only way we can
know security is to keep every commandment flawlessly. As Paul wrote, "Cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the
law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). This means we could never really know if we
were saved until we died, and who can live with that kind of pressure?
Imagine that you lived a perfect life, keeping every commandment, never
committing a wrong action. One day, you decide to cross the street while the
walk sign is lit. Suddenly, some driver runs the red light and strikes you down.
As you watch his car's transmission pass over your head, you raise your fist and
your parting words before leaving this world are your assessment of this idiot's
driving habits. In that one small act, you missed the mark. You fell from
perfection. You sinned - and the Bible says the wages of sin is death.
You may be able to keep nine of God's commandments perfectly, but if you fall
short on number ten, you've missed the target. You have sinned. And the badnews is, unless you keep the whole law and do all that is written in it, you are
guilty. It doesn't matter which law you violate; just one failure puts you out.
Therefore, you don't stand a ghost of a chance of being declared righteous on
the basis of your goodness. You are already out. You've already missed the
mark. All you can expect is the curse of the law. Justification by good works is
impossible because it relies on imperfect human effort. Legalism is the way of
the curse.
Conversely, the avenue of true righteousness and blessing is the way of faith
because it relies not on your effort but on God's great mercy and abundant grace
toward you in Jesus Christ. Though you have missed the mark - though you have
utterly failed to be righteous by your own efforts - God has justified, you in His
Son. Jesus took the responsibility for your falling short of God's standard and
paid the penalty that you owed but could never pay. He gives you His perfect
righteousness if you will just believe in Him and place your faith in Him. And
now, being made right with God through Him, you are a beneficiary of all the
wonderful blessings of God.

Revelation knowledge that transforms me forever

2012-01-01T23:54:00.005+09:00

I realise that it is not the bible study that will transform me…in fact, it can even puff me up with head knowledge if I rely on my intellectual prowess. [Please note I am not against bible study].

However, a revelation knowledge will change me forever,…this is when the God factor comes in …the power of the Holy Spirit that reveals who God is to us.

I have also discovered that it is counterproductive to share the gospel of grace with someone who is bent towards anti grace. To me, anti-grace is akin to anti-gospel as the gospel is about the grace of God which we sinful mankind desperately need. I believe what we need is the revelation touch of the Lord.

When we get a revelation from God, fresh and exciting things start to roll into place effortlessly....it breaks the status quo. A good example is the revelation that God gave to Peter.

Acts 10 (NLT)

9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.[b]”

15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there….........

28 Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. 29 So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

Peter was entrenched in the Jewish laws and all this while, Peter knew that he was forbidden by the law to eat anything impure and unclean. By his own strength, Peter was unable to see that there was something new in the horizon that God wanted for his life. Peter needed a revelation. Verse 28 indicated that Peter caught the revelation " But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean."

From then onwards, the status quo was broken and Peter was able to venture to share the gospel to the gentiles. This also indicated that repentance [changing of mindset from unbelief to belief; turning around and move in the opposite direction] had occurred for Peter, as a result from that revelation knowledge.

You may be strongly entrenched in the law, just like Peter, or in the mixture or balance of law + grace which is so commonly held in many churches today, and.......you are holding dearly to the belief that the preaching of grace is unclean that causes Christians to sin more, I pray that a revelation from God will propel you to see beyond what you see now so that the fresh things of God can start pouring out of your life to others

God did the same to Saul, a murderer, a Pharisee of Pharisees who held dearly to the law, but through the Damascus encounter with God, Saul became Paul, the preacher of the grace gospel. You can be the next candidate. Rejoice

I Receive - Israel Houghton lyrics

2012-01-01T22:22:00.000+09:00

Let this song bless your heart.Rejoice

The Missing Ingredient! -Samuel Mathew

2011-12-29T12:10:00.003+09:00

If you are struggling with this elusive holy living , this article is for you. It is sourced from : http://gracewalkgroupnj.blogspot.com/2011/08/missing-ingredient.html#.TvvZqSfFP3s.blogger

I was reminiscing the other Sunday, with the brethren, about my quest for holy living for almost my entire life. I grew up listening to the constant drum beat of "be ye holy, for I am holy" and "holiness without which no man shall see God." (Let me stop here and say emphatically that I am all for holy living). The carrot that was offered was "heaven" and the stick was "missing the rapture", "the great tribulation" and eventually "the lake of fire." I tried very hard to follow all the rules and commandments, made the best effort to keep every sin, intentional and unintentional, confessed. But the goal post always seemed to be elusive and the standard unreachable. Even though I put on a "holy" face, I knew in my heart that it was such a big burden to obey all the laws and commandments and keep every single sin of thought, word and deed confessed and I wasn't doing a good job at it. I tried to compare myself with others and console myself that I wasn't a big sinner as some others were. But my Christian life was like running on a treadmill, running hard but getting nowhere and honestly I was getting frustrated.

But thanks be to the Lord, that He opened my eyes to see that I could "never" live this holy life by my efforts. He also gave me a glimpse of how much He loved me and how much I was forgiven - not because I was a "good" Christian or was good at keeping my sins confessed, but rather while I was yet a sinner, He loved me and died for me. He saw me in my most wretched condition and yet He chose me. Now the words of Jesus, "but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little" made sense to me. This revelation of how much I was forgiven and loved by Him caused me to fall in love with Him as never before. What was the result of this love relationship? - I started living holier "accidentally" and "effortlessly" than I ever did by my efforts, trying to escape hell. No wonder Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." I found out experientally that "love fulfills the law ."

Moreover, I found out that I was already holy, not by my holy living, but because He had washed me and made me holy and the Holy One had taken up residence in me. Now, the exhortations in the New Testament for holy living started making sense to me - "you are in light, so walk as children of light" and "walk worthy of your calling." In other words, live out who you are. You are holy, therefore live holy. All my life I was trying to put the cart before the horse. I was trying to live holy to "become" holy, not knowing that holy living was to be a fruit of my being holy. Not only that I was trying to do it in my strength, not knowing that the only Person (Jesus) who could live holy was now living in me.

Dear one, can you see the subtle difference between living under the drudgery of legalistic religion and living in true holiness? It is a simple yet subtle difference of either being on the treadmill of "becoming" holy by holy living or living holy because you are already holy. It is so simple that it is very easy to miss it, but if you get it, it will change your walk with the Lord forever.

So what was the missing ingredient in my quest for holy living? T'was Love! Say "Yes" to love and "No" to fear, because fear has torment, but perfect love casts out fear!!

Related topics :

Nuggets of Grace #59: "True Holiness"

Religion or relationship?- Andrew de Beer

2011-12-29T11:47:00.001+09:00

What is the difference between religion and relationship? Check it out by clicking the title or here .

Rejoice

Getting out of the religious rut in 2012- some tips

2011-12-28T14:07:00.002+09:00

Below is an extract which gives some tips for your journey into Grace and freedom in 2012. It is only Jesus that can get us out of the bondage [religious rut] and fear. One of my friends defines' rut' as a coffin with two open ends! I like this definition.

Let 2012 be a special year of freedom... to get out of the religious coffin from the two open ends and be free indeed.

Rejoice

Source : Why Grace Changes Everything by Chuck Smith

http://www.ccdowney.com/one_accord/uploads/pdf/whygracechangeseverything.pdf

A Tragic Error

One of the most tragic errors the church can make is to emphasize the work that

believers should be doing for God. How many times have you heard heavy,

condemning sermons that tell you, "You ought to be praying more! You ought to

be giving more! You ought to be witnessing more, or reading your Bible more, or

serving God on some committee more!" How often do you go to church looking

for encouragement only to hear about your failure and how disappointed God

must be with you?

The last thing I need is for someone to lay a heavy burden on me about my

failures. I know I ought to be doing more. No one needs to tell me that I don't

pray enough or read my Bible enough or give to God enough. All I get from such

messages is a huge guilt complex. My frustration increases because I really want

to love God more, to pray more, to have a deeper fellowship with Him. When we

place our emphasis on areas of failure, we end up creating defeated, discouraged

Christians who give up and drop out of the race.

What a different message we see when we turn to the New Testament! It

highlights not what we ought to be doing for God, but what God has already

done for us. What we can do for God can never be enough. Our efforts at

righteousness are always marred by our imperfections. But what God has done

for us is perfect, beautiful, complete, and fantastic. How sad that we have

reversed the equation and constantly harp upon our responsibility instead of

God's wonderful grace! This is why we see so much of the church on the verge of

dying out. We don't need someone to remind us of our failure as much as we

need someone to show us the way out of our predicament. We need grace, not

guilt.

Your One Duty

God has given you but one simple responsibility: to believe in His promise. You

can enjoy the blessing of a relationship with God even though you may not pray

enough, or give enough, or sacrifice enough because of your faith in what God

has already done for you.

God made Jesus to be sin for you that you might be made the righteousness of

God through Him. Jesus imparts to you His righteousness when you simply place

your faith and trust in the work He has done for you. His work is all of grace.

Paul opened his letter to the Galatians with the salutation, "Grace be to you." He

closed it with, "Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Amen." His benediction takes on a rich depth of meaning in light of the letter's

sharp focus on the glorious grace of God. The grace of Jesus, not the law of

Moses, was the Galatians' greatest need. To walk in the power of His Spirit, not

in the vain efforts of the flesh, was their calling.

How did the Galatians respond? We are not told. Perhaps this is because the

question raised in Galatia is always an open one. Will you rely on your own

righteousness, or will you trust in God's gracious provision? Will you remain in

the simple message of salvation by grace through faith? Or will you add your

own list of righteous works to the finished work of Christ? Will you walk in the

flesh or in the Spirit? Will you glory in the cross of Christ alone? Or will you seek

the approval and rewards of this world so that you may glory in your flesh?

These are issues that every believer in every generation eventually must wrestle

with. The answers you stand for will spell the difference between peace and fear,

pride and true humility, even spiritual life and death.

May you stand without wavering for the grace of Jesus Christ. May you not be

moved by the deceptive desire to please men. May you be so heavenly minded

that you are of the greatest earthly good, holding out the word of life in an

increasingly dark and hopeless world. And may you glory this day in what Jesus

has done for you, and in that alone.

North Point's iBand - Feliz Navidad

2011-12-28T13:12:00.000+09:00

Enjoy this i-band. Rejoice

Nuggets of Grace #59: "True Holiness"

2011-12-27T18:47:00.001+09:00

A new beginning for 2012- freedom from religion and performance?

2011-12-21T13:04:00.002+09:00

My journey into freedom from religion and performance started when I began to explore the books of Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. I realise that there is so much talk in those books about law (performance) and grace (unmerited favour of God), old and new covenant and their vast differences and purposes.

The next logical step the Holy Spirit led me was to ask myself whether I am currently living in freedom. I discovered my christian walk was under the bondages of religion/hypocrisy and performance. I also realised that I was living under the confusion of a mixture of law and grace and that explained why I was stagnating in my walk with Him for a long time. My relationship with Him then was more distant and based primarily on how well I performed. Now it is totally different. I am now free to be His beloved. It is not based on my performance but the performance of His finished work on the cross.

My journey into freedom has not stopped since; it is still continuing and it is a continual repentance, a changing of mindset from unbelief to belief. I thank God for the great teacher, the Holy Spirit that is residing in us.

If you are tired of religion and performance or you may have or have not heard about grace and law and their differences, I like to introduce you to this website http://myredeemer.org/foundation/ . It contains a systematic, liberating foundational truths that will lead you to understand and walk in the power of GRACE (Jesus Himself) and set you free from the bondages of religion and performance.

It is pretty self-contained and you can read at your leisure. There are many wonderful teaching articles, such as :

Law vs Grace

Die to the Law

Your identity in Christ

Hope this will help you start afresh on your exciting journey to freedom and rest in Him. Rejoice

Related topic :

Religion or Relationship? – Andrew de Beer

Getting out of the religious rut in 2012- some tips

I want to draw close to God. How?

2011-12-20T14:28:00.003+09:00

Many christians love to draw close to God; some will try quiet time, bible study, prayer, retreat, attend seminars etc. There are a myriad of things a christian can try. Let me suggest you read this article below before you go on for anything else. This article is from Chapter 4, sourced from Living with Jesus Today which you can also read online at :http://www.calledtobefree.org/article.cfm?id=71

Also, in this article, the author gives a few examples of the confusion that can be caused by living in a mixture of old and new covenants (mixture of law and grace).

Wherever We Are, Christ Is [Chapter 4 :Living with Jesus Today - JuanCarlos Ortiz]

The disciples in Jesus' day had a problem.They were continually seeking a physical manifestation of
the kingdom of God. Jesus had to tell them repeatedly that the kingdom was different from what they pictured.
Today we have the same problem, so I want to stress just one point in this chapter: the kingdom of God is in us. Don't look for it around you some place because you will not find it there. It is within you. Paul prayed for the people of God in his day, "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (Ephesians3:16-17).
I want you to notice what he asked. He didn't say, "I ask that you might have nice meetings." No, he asked that our inner man be strengthened, and that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. Where does Christ live? In our hearts, by faith. That is what it means to be in the kingdom of God. Jesus is the King, and He comes to live within us. We are joined to Him in spirit so that He rules our hearts. We are subject to His government in our lives, and He is our Lord. This is the kingdom of God.
Paul went on to say, "That you may be filled with all the fullness of God." To be filled is to have Him inside you; just as the water in a full glass is inside the glass, not on the outside. "Filled with all the fullness of God." "Paul, do you know what you are saying?" "Yes, Sir, I know!" Then he said, "Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."
Where does His power work? It works in us. Paul's message was very simple. It was very down-to-earth,
and applied to everyday life. In our theologies we become too idealistic and try to scale the peaks of high mountains. But Paul starts where we are, with the little things of life. And if we are faithful in the little things, the Lord will give us the bigger things.
His Gospel was really good news because it concerned how to live. It was about living today, and tomorrow—the ordinary, everyday life that each of us must lead. He summed it up in one clear statement: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). This is what the new covenant is about.
Essentially, the difference between the old and new covenants is that the old covenant worked outside of people, whereas the new works within. With the old covenant, they had to read it in a book and
then try to do it. But the new covenant is, "I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Jeremiah 31:33). The law is internalized, like a built-in guidance system.
Ezekiel expressed it this way: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
We don't have to try to do the new covenant; God causes us to do it from within. It is an internal urge. The Spirit is in us, in the new heart, and impells us to walk God's way. Jesus expressed it very clearly to His disciples. The Spirit "dwells with you," He told them, "and shall be in you." In you! From Pentecost on, the Spirit is within.
In the Old Testament, they spoke more usually of anoint- ing rather than filling. This was because the Spirit moved upon people from outside to accomplish His purposes. He only visited people. So with the old covenant, the term was anointing.
Now in the new covenant it is not a visit. He comes with all His luggage, to stay, to abide. So in the new covenant we speak of filling more than anointing. He is inside of us. Jesus made a remarkable statement at the Feast of Tabernacles. All the people were in Jerusalem participating in this great religious celebration. He went up into the temple and announced to them all, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-39).
Where does the Spirit come from? Not from outside, but from within the believer! He is in us. This is the new covenant—Christ in us the hope of glory. We don't need to study to learn how to seek the Lord. We do not have to try to pull Him down from heaven to come and anoint us. He has come to dwell in us through the Spirit, and He seeks to flow out through us. We need to learn how to release what we already have within us.
This is a completely different approach from the attitude many of us have had. We have been trying to seek God, trying to get fresh outpourings of the Spirit from up in heaven. But the Bible presents Christ in us not as a goal to be attained, but as a fact to be realized.
When we continue to think of Christ as being outside of us and needing to come and fill us, we are denying what the Bible says. We are making the Bible into a lie, because the fact of Christ in us is the greatest and clearest promise of the Holy Scriptures.
Now, we have to be sure that this has really happened to us, that He is within us. But once we have Him within us, He does not have to come into us again. We just need to believe that He is there in all His fullness.
So Jesus said that rivers of living water would flow out of us. Not into us, but out of us. So to the Samaritan woman He said, "Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). The water springs up within and flows out of us.
Paul asked the Corinthians, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and you are not your own?" (I Corinthians 6:19). Again, we see that the Spirit of God is in us. He has taken up residence.
To the Romans, Paul said the same thing. Those who are led by the Spirit of Christ are the sons of God, and if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ he is none of His—he is not a Christian. So we don't have to try to get the Spirit of God. We have the Spirit, and He leads us from within. That the Spirit is in us is clear from many statements of Scripture. It also is clear from some of the symbols that are used in the Bible. Consider the symbol of the tabernacle or temple.
When the old covenant tabernacle and Solomon's temple were inaugurated, God came down as a flame of fire over the tabernacle and over the temple. He said, "I will abide here; I will live here." He came upon the building.
But on the day of Pentecost, something different happened. God also came with fire to inaugurate the new building, but in this case the building is us. Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." This was heresy to those listening. The building had taken years and years to build, and He claimed to be able
to build a new temple in three days! Of course, He was talking about a different kind of temple that would replace the building. He was talking of His body. It takes more than three days to build an earthly temple, but
in three days His body was raised up. And this was a symbol of the new temple which you and I form.
I ask myself why it is that we continue to call physical buildings the church. I wonder if we have ever really realized that we are the temple today? Why do we call a building the church? Words are symbols of ideas. And though people know that the building is not the church, they still say, "I am going to church." But that is a wrong idea. We never can go to church because we are the church. The church is not the building at all.
I wonder if we do not fail to function as the church all week long because we persist in saying words that give us a concept of the church as somewhere we have to go.
Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them." What does that make us think of? We imagine the church meeting. We think of people coming together to church.
That is not what Jesus meant. He never said, "Where there is a piano and an organ, and two flags, there I am in the midst of them." He said two or three people. When I wake up in the morning I ask, "Martha, are you there?" She says, "Yes, Johnny." We are two, and we both have Christ. We both believe in Him, and we both trust Him. So we are the church. At that particular moment, the church is in bed. Then we go to the breakfast table, where David joins us, and then Robert John. Soon we are six because our two daughters also arrive. The church is having breakfast. This is the building that Jesus said He would build in three days.
We need to stress what the church really is. We know it in our heads, but we don't know it in our hearts, and so we don't live accordingly. One of the greatest problems in the church is that we know
these things but we don't do them. We don't need a concept, but life. We need to live as we believe.
So on the day of Pentecost when this new building was in- augurated we find that the fire came just as it came upon the tabernacle and the temple. And what did it come upon? The building or the people? It came upon the people. It did not come upon the roof of the building, it came upon the people, because from that day on Christ was going to dwell in those people as He formerly dwelt in the temple.
When we believe in Jesus Christ, He comes to dwell within us. We pray, "Thy kingdom come." His kingdom comes to our hearts. He enters into us and becomes one with us so that He can rule our lives from our command-center, the new heart.Where is the risen Lord? Perhaps you think of Him as beyond the clouds, maybe even beyond the stars. But according to Scripture, where is He? Here, within us. He has come to make His abode with us, to take up residence in us, to eat and drink with us. He shares our everyday, ordinary lives with us—all of the things that we do throughout the day and night.
People think that to live a spiritual life is to live a life that is not normal. They think it is to go to meetings in the church building, or to spend a great deal of time locked away in a room studying the Bible or on their knees. To be spiritual is thought of as something different from ordinary life.
No, to be spiritual is to live the whole time in Jesus. It is to be in union with Him—to be one with Him—and to let Him guide you in all of the things that you do. So you live a normal life, but it is all under the control of Jesus Christ. That is what it is to live in the kingdom of God—to live a full, whole physical life under the internal direction of the King.
This is what Paul was referring to when he prayed that we might "be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith... that you might be filled with all the fullness of God... according to the power that works in us." Christianity is not an external matter, like religion. It is an
"in" thing. And it works by faith. We believe that He is with- in us. We don't have to depend on outer feelings because we know for a fact that Christ is within us.
Perhaps you are saying to yourself about this time, "But we know that. We didn't pick up this book to waste our time reading what we already know. Tell us something that we don't know." Do you really know it? For years, I thought I did. I preached about it, using all of the Scripture passages that talk about Christ in us. Yet I would say to the people, "Brethren open your hearts to the Lord." You see, I was using all the right words, but I didn't know the life. I had the concept, but not the life!
This may make you laugh, but on one occasion I found myself in a situation in my own church which demonstrates the difference between having a concept and experiencing the life. There was a song leader in our church and he said, "Let's start the meeting with hymn 224, 'Since Jesus came into my heart.'" We sang the hymn. Then he announced, "Now let's sing hymn 191, 'Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.'" What happened between the first hymn and the second? In the first hymn He was there, but in the second He is not there—He has to come!
We were more concept- and doctrine-centered than life- centered. We had a doctrine that said Christ had to come into our hearts, and that is a perfectly correct doctrine. But we also had a doctrine that says Christ is in our hearts. The trouble is, we got them mixed up. Now if our doctrines were a reality in our lives, when the
pastor says, "Let's sing, 'Come into my heart, Lord Jesus,'" we would answer, "Pastor, if you don't have Him, sing it yourself. But we have Him."
We should be careful what we sing, because many of our songs are old covenant. In those days they were right to sing, "Let us go unto the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of our God." The mountain of the Lord was in Jerusalem and the house of God was the temple. But if we don't translate those songs into new covenant, we will get confused.
David sang, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go to the house of the Lord." But in order to sing that psalm, I must translate it. So I simply change it to, "I am glad with those who tell me we are the house of the Lord." This makes it new covenant.
The temple was a shadow. We have the reality. If you sing about going to the house of the Lord, you are thinking of going somewhere, perhaps to the church building. Be careful when you sing the words of the Old Testament, especially the psalms. There are some wonderful psalms, but we need a translation into the new covenant.
I believe that we are suffering the consequences of a tremendous mixing of the old and new covenants. We are trying to live with two husbands at the same time. We want to be married to Mr. Law and to Jesus. That is adultery!
We have died to the law if we are Christians. Paul tells us this in Romans 7:1-6. We should study that
passage carefully, because it is a serious matter to engage in adultery. We no longer are married to the law. We are married to "another" husband—to the ascended Christ.
I was at another service in which the song leader said, "Let us sing, 'There's a river of life flowing out from me.' " Later in the same service they sang, "Cause me to come to Thy river, O Lord." What happened? We were just singing about a river of life flowing out of us in gushing torrents, and in the next breath we were pleading, "Come and quench the thirsting of my soul." What confusion! No wonder we cannot convince the world of the life that we preach. We are not sure ourselves of what we have and what we don't!
Listen to Jesus' words again: "Whosoever drinks of this water (speaking of the water that sustains physical life) shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
When we sing, "Come and quench," we are contradicting Jesus. He talked about rivers of living water welling up within us and flowing out to others, but we speak of being dry and thirsty. Isn't that calling Him a liar?
"Never thirst." That means we are no longer thirsty. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they shall be filled." But we don't believe the promise that we will be filled, so we continue to speak and to sing about hungering and thirsting for God. Who was Jesus talking to when He said that those who were hungering and thirsting after righteousness would be filled? No, He was talking to unconverted people who experienced a continual thirst of the soul—who sought the Lord but were unable to know union with Him.
Just as Jesus said in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life; he that comes to Me shall never hunger, and he that believes on Me shall never thirst." He Himself would come to live in them to satisfy the thirst and the hunger of the soul. They would be filled up to all the fullness of God, because He Himself would dwell in them. Isn't that tremendous?
The Scripture says, "Seek and you shall find." But we have got into such a habit of always seeking something outside of us that it is as if we have never found. The truth is, we have found; so we don't need to seek Him any longer. We just need to have our eyes opened to see that He lives within us in all of His fullness and glory!
When we sing incorrect words, we become confused in our theology. We never will grow spiritually if one minute we think we are full and the next minute we are speaking of being empty. We don't know what we are! It is all a conceptual thing and not life.
Christ did not come to bring us a religion, but life. He came to be in a relationship with us. Jesus is a person, and I happen to have that person within me. He came, and He stays here. He said, "If you open to me I will come, and My Father with Me, and we will abide in you."
There is nothing that we need to be more clear on than this. It is vital that we are not messed up on this point. We are the building of God and He is within us. Wherever we are, Christ is.
If we are confused on this, we will never grow. People say to me, "Brother, we have to seek the Lord!"
I tell them, "I never lost Him!" What do you mean when you say, "Seek the Lord"? That is an old covenant concept. I don't know about you, but I found Him a long time ago, and He happens to be within me.
You know, sometimes when we pray we think of Him as far away. We plead, "Lord, I want to hear Your voice. Lord, Lord, Lord — " We point our fingers outwardly, away from ourselves, as if we were reaching out to Him.
But He says, "I'm sorry, the higher you point, the further you are away from Me. I am down here."
When you pray, don't point your fingers outwardly, be- cause He is in you.Do you know who is out there! The god of this world is the one who is out there. But Christ is inside you, and that is the
only place you can know Him.
Under the old covenant they said, "Let us lift our hands to the sanctuary and bless the Lord."
But what is the sanctuary today? It is a very different thing from the temple. We are the sanctuary!
I am not saying that we should not raise our arms in worship and praise. If you raise your arms because you are exploding with an inner joy and you want to express it outwardly, that is wonderful. If gladness is flowing out from you,then by all means put up your arms.
But if raising your hands gives you a feeling of God being out there somewhere, then put them down! That is not the new covenant. If you want to point your hands toward Him,try pointing your fingers at yourself, because that is where you will find Him.
We need to be continually conscious of the fact that He is in us. We have to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have within us all the resources of the One who upholds the universe. "Filled to all the fullness of God," as Paul expressed it.Once we really believe this, so that we no longer are confused as to where He is, then we have to learn how to release what we have.

Rejoice

The gospel saves from morality- John Piper

2011-12-20T10:44:00.000+09:00

Blessed Christmas and New Year - Enjoy this :The Jesus Movie

2011-12-17T17:26:00.001+09:00

Dear all

Blessed Christmas and New Year to all of you who have visited this blog. God has always been faithful, eventho we are faithless.

Meanwhile, over this Christmas season, enjoy The Jesus Movie online, which can be accessed through the following steps :

1. Enter into this website :
http://www.rockofoffence.com/roindex2.html,

2. Then scroll down the page slightly until you come across the text : Watch "The Jesus Movie" Online. Click on that text and enjoy the 2hrs and 8 mins movie.

....and don't forget to call your friends in to watch.

Rejoice

Legalism : Frustrating The Grace Of God - Fred Handschumacher

2011-12-17T16:45:00.000+09:00

Please click the title or here to get to the article. This article gives us some insight into how legalism can be the most destructive force in the church circle. ...the subtle deception to be acutely aware of - have a read and see what you think. Rejoice

Message of grace and miracles

2011-12-13T20:21:00.002+09:00

Acts 14

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

1 The same thing happened in Iconium.[a] Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.

2 Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.

3 But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

4 But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

What did Paul and Barnabas preached in Iconium?

.. preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord (verse 3)

Was the preaching of grace of the Lord message true?

…And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. (verse 3)

Galatians 3

1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.

2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.

3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

4 Have you experienced[a] so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

Does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law?

Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. (verse 5)

Rejoice

Moses or Christ? -Milt Rodriguez

2011-12-12T10:55:00.002+09:00

I have put here the article written by Milt Rodriguez which is sourced from this link :
http://www.therebuilders.org/weblogs/archives/00000027.html

Have a read to see where your spiritual compass is pointing. If you need recalibration, please do so. Rejoice

Moses or Christ? By Milt Rodriguez

"Nor do we act like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze upon the finish of the vanishing (Splendor which had been upon it)". 2 Cor. 3:13

It’s sad to say, but most believers today have no conception of an internal walk with the Lord. They don’t know that there is a way (Christ) who lives within them. The Lord lived on this earth by an internal walk with His Father. This was His secret (?), you could say. He lived by the life of another. This "other" resided within Him. So we can see that His internal walk proceeded His external walk with His Father.

Believers today try to use external stimuli, circumstance, exercises, rituals, and environments to bring an internal change. This can never happen! The internal must always preceed the external.

The perfect example of this in the scriptures is the story of Moses and his veil. He went up the mountain to meet with the Lord. What a glorious event! A man meeting face to face with God! Well, needless to say, this meeting instituted a great change in the man called Moses. When he came down off that mountain, they could hardly recognize him! His face shone with the glory of God.

Seeing the Lord

I would like you to take note here that it was "seeing" the Lord that brought the change to the face of Moses.

But what of the veil?

If the face of Moses was so glorious, then why did the Israelites put a veil over this face? Paul gives us a clue in 2 Cor. 3:13 when he says that it was a glory that was vanishing. But why did it vanish? Paul also explains in the same chapter that the ministry of the "letter" was temporary while the ministry of the spirit is lasting. Why?

It’s all within

Simply stated, what is external is temporary, while the internal is eternal. This is why the glory of Moses faded, it was external. Moses had met with the Lord externally, not internally. So there was a change, but that change was only temporary. Real, lasting change can only come from the internal meeting with Him!

Paul goes on to explain in 2 Cor. 3:18 that it is by "beholding" the Lord that transformation takes place. And this "beholding" happens internally (in spirit).

In other words, in Christ the veil has been taken away!

When one turns to the Lord (internally) then there is no need for a veil because the change that happens externally will last forever.

Christians think that by going to church, reading their bibles, praying, tithing, witnessing, etc. they will become better Christians. Impossible!!! Moses (the external) can never bring lasting change.

Brothers and sisters, it’s time for us to stop trying to be better Christians! Haven't you learned by now that it just doesn't work? There must be another Way! What we have traditionally done is examined the life of Christ while He was here on earth and then try and imitate what He did. That's ridiculous! Do you know why?

Because it wasn't Him that did those things!

The one Who is responsible is the Father!

Yes, but how could the Lord Jesus allow the Father to live out His life through Him so freely? To answer this, we will need help from our friend Moses.

Remember the experience that Moses had with the Lord? He met with Him on the mountain top and "saw" Him with his eyes. This changed the face of Moses so that all could see it. The problem is that it was only temporary because the experience had all been on the outside. In other words; Moses only saw the Lord on the outside, so therefore, the change that took place only happened on the outside. The Lord Jesus saw (beheld) His Father internally, and therefore, a change had taken place internally. When a change takes place internally, then the external change will just be a naturally flowing result!

So, we can see that our Lord had an internal walk with His Father which, by the way, He refers to quite a bit (especially in the Gospel of John!). This internal fellowship with the Father was in direct contrast to the external ritualism of the Pharisees. This is why the Pharisees had such a problem with Jesus; He just never did measure up to their standards!

Yes, it's time for us to learn to walk in another realm called spirit. That realm exists within us. Let's learn to go there and meet with the Lord. Then our experience will not be like Moses, but rather, the transformation that results will be eternal!

My Ministry Game-Changers -Larry Osborne

2011-12-11T14:50:00.000+09:00

Aspiring to be a leader - watch this first. Rejoice

Larry Osborne The Nines 2010 from North Coast Church on Vimeo.

The Gift Of Self-Forgetfulness-Tullian Tchividjian

2011-12-07T22:44:00.001+09:00

This article is awesome reading and strongly recommended. Rejoice

The Gift Of Self-Forgetfulness

Because of You

2011-12-07T17:49:00.002+09:00

Let this song lift you up. Rejoice

It is finished. Are you sure?

2011-12-07T15:22:00.005+09:00

A few months ago, I had a contractor come to repair a crack on our bedroom wall. I had an interesting conversation with him. I told him that it was good to be a boss instead of being stuffed around by someone else.

Instead of replying "yes" to me, he gave me a blank stare and said, “ I am a bad boss. I work by myself and I cannot have anyone working under me”.

I asked him “why”. He said,” I used to employ a few guys to work under me but I could never trust their work. Everytime, when they had finished their work and had gone home, I would come around secretly to check. As usual, I ended up redoing what they had already done as I was never satisfied with their standard of work.”

When he uttered those words, this thought suddenly dawned upon me : When Jesus said “It is finished”, it means it is finished. Only trust Him and don’t try to finish again the work He has already finished. His work is already perfect and you cannot perfect it any more”.

Rejoice

Embracing what the Spirit is doing in us

2011-12-05T22:32:00.001+09:00

This passage of scripture is helpful for those who are into doing instead of embracing what the Spirit is doing in us.

Romans 8 :3-14 (The Message)

^3-4God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.

The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.

^5-8Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored.

^9-11But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!

^12-14So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

Rejoice.

Are All Our Sins Forgiven?

2011-12-03T14:24:00.000+09:00

Are All Our Sins Forgiven?

The promises of God -Yes, but ?

2011-12-03T14:22:00.006+09:00

God’s promises are always YES and AMEN. But we still have preachers reminding us every now and then that some of the promises of God are yes, but they are only positional and you have to work for them. It is akin in saying that God’s promises are wavering between YES and NO.

This is contradictory to what God declares. God has no shifting shadow in His promises, unlike human promises which are at times not kept or laced with ulterior motives (shadows or conditions).

Consider these verses on the promises of God :

2 Corinthians 1:19-20 [NLT 2007]

19 For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas,[f] Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. 20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

James 1:1 [NLT 2007]

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

There are three examples I want to highlight where Christians, including preachers or some theologians have difficulty in saying 'yes' to the promises of God :

God forgives all your sins, that is, your past, present and future sins.

Many Christians have difficulty in accepting this as YES; most will opt for YES and NO (which is another way of saying, it depends. It depends on what ? On how good or worthy you are???). Consider the following verses :

Colossians 2:13-15 [NLT]

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed[d] the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross

I have found an article that gives a very good treatise on this topic that all our sins are forgiven. Please click into this link : http://gracethrufaith.com/selah/are-all-our-sins-forgiven/. I will also put this link up as a separate post so that no blog readers will miss it.

You are holy and blameless.

This is another promise that some christians find difficulty in saying 'YES'.

Colossians 1 :22 [NLT]

22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical b

ody. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault

Hebrews 10:10 [NLT]

For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

You are righteous

Can you say 'YES' to this promise? Consider the verses :

Romans 5:18-19 [NLT]

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous

The question most commonly asked by christians is :

What about if I still do sin and I don’t feel holy, blameless and righteous? Are the promises still YES and AMEN?

Our present state nor our feelings can ever negate God’s promises. Paul has full confidence in God when he said :

Philippians 1:6 [NLT]

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns

Our Christian duty is to cooperate and allow the Holy Spirit to work and will in us the promises of God. We do not strive and work for the promises; we rest in His promises. Our confidence is to be like of Paul. It is basically to trust solely on Him.

God’s interaction with Abraham [as regards His promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendents] is a very good example for us to believe the promises of God. Abraham‘s faith did not weaken, even though circumstances spoke otherwise.

In the present moment, we may sin ocassionally [we will sin less as we continue in our journey and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us ; in fact if we look back in our life, we are a much better person than before; I am confident Paul would say that to us if he were alive today] but that does not alter the promises of God or prompt us to waver in His promises.

Romans 4:13-14 [NLT]

13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.

In otherwords, if we can strive for the promises of God using our effort ,that is, if we can bring into being or fulfill those promises ourselves instead of having faith in His promises, then the promises of God are pointless. Why are the promises pointless? In short, what it means is that we are telling God to stop giving us promises as we can get them ourselves. In short, it means that God, you are not God afterall as I can achieve the promises you gave without your help at all...and so why give us promises?

Continuing on with Abraham, please take your time reading the other verses and let the Holy Spirit enlighten you:

Romans 4:18-25 [NLT]

18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”[e] 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

Just a note : Here we see the last two verses indicating that we are righteous before Him.

Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. It is a YES for Abraham. It is a YES for me.

In ending, God’s promises are always YES and AMEN; anything otherwise, whether be preached or commented by theologians are to be taken with a pinch of salt. Our unbelief or the unbelief of preachers or theologians cannot affect the faithfulness of God to His promises. I rather be considered a liar than to discredit the promises of God. What do you reckon?

Romans 3 :3-4

3 For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written:

“ That You may be justified in Your words,

And may overcome when You are judged.”[a]

A good motto I always follow in my christian journey is "BE SIMPLE". You do not have to be a theologian or intellectual to understand God’s word. Otherwise, there is no hope for the illiterate. Othewise, the gospel is only for the select few. We need the Holy Spirit as our teacher for life.

The Holy Spirit who is already residing in us when we are born again is our great theologian and teacher. Praise God.

As human beings, be they preachers and theologians or us, we can have imaginations running wild that exalteth against the knowledge of God. That is why we have cult leaders like Hitler and James Warren Jones [Peoples Temple] and so forth.

What do we do with these imaginations that are against God's promises ?

Cast those filthy imaginations down and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Cast the 'Yes, but' to the promises of God down.

2Corinthians 10:4-6[NLT]

4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Related topics:

The missing ingredient –Samuel Mathew

Nuggets of Grace #59: "True Holiness"

Rejoice

Our confidence of righteousness and salvation as weapons

2011-12-01T17:03:00.001+09:00

When we know we are righteous because we have been given the gift of righteousness through the death of Jesus on the cross, then this righteousness becomes our weapon against the enemy :

2 Corinthians 6 :7 (NLT)
We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

In the similar vein, if we are confident in our salvation, this becomes our weapon too.

Ephesians 6:13-15 (NLT)
¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.^[d] ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.^[e] ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.

1 Thess 5:8 (NLT)
But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

1 Thess 5:8 encourages us who live in the light to be clearheaded. If we are unsure of our righteousness in Him and our salvation then we will try to attain them using our own strength. This puts us on a dangerous path of self righteousness and self salvation projects.

We are familiar with the bible verse that says our righteous deeds are like filthy rags. Let us investigate further :

Isaiah 64:6
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Now what are those filthy rags?

The Hebrew is וכבגד עדים (ukabeged ehdim, literally, "and like as rags of menstruation"). The words come from these roots: בגד (begged, rags, cloth, etc.) and עד ('ehd, menstruation or menstrual flow)[ http://www.bibleword.org/rags2.shtml#a]. It is menstrual cloth. It is unclean [Leviticus 15:19-33].

What do we do with the filthy rags?

Isaiah 30:22 [NIV 2008]

...Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!"

If we do not believe we are righteous in Him, then what it means is that we are piling up all these filthy rags and telling God : 'Here you are, you can have them and now make me righteous.' Yucky!

The goodnews is that Jesus has done it all. Our right standing withHim (righteousness) and salvation come in a package as a free gift from God when we identify with Him in His death and ressurrection. We cannot earn righteousness or salvation. We receive them with thanksgiving. Only believe "It is finished".

Rejoice

Are You Righteous?-Tullian Tchividjian

2011-12-01T11:06:00.001+09:00

Are You Righteous?

Our God (Is Greater) by Chris Tomlin (w/ lyrics)

2011-11-27T16:01:00.000+09:00

How the Gospel Changes our Heart - Tim Keller

2011-11-26T22:24:00.002+09:00

How the Gospel Changes our Heart by Tim Keller from Vintage21 Church on Vimeo.

My 'Performance-Based Acceptance' Story - Bino M

2011-11-24T11:42:00.001+09:00

I have found this very interesting article My 'Performance-Based Acceptance' Story posted by BinoM. in Unfolding Freedom blog. This story can aptly describe anyone of us in some shape or form. I can't resist putting his story here. Here is Bino's story :

I am sharing this story as part of the synchroblog idea Joelcame up with. The biggest challenge for me to write this up here is about howto make it short. :)

I was born in a very orthodox Christian family, where myparents, grand parents and many generations practiced Eastern Orthodox religion(a branch of Greek Orthodox). Religion, church, and related rituals were allpart of our life during childhood. Starting with my parents, continuing with myteachers at school and Sunday school, including the church clergies, prettymuch all the people I ever came to know in my life, in one way or the other,knowingly or unknowingly have tried to put pressure on me to perform/behave ina certain way. In other words, no one wanted to accept me as who I was. Everyoneexpected something from me - from good grades in school to good behaviors atchurch.

All these, including many incidents through out mychildhood, slowly started to inject a deadly poison into my brain - that myworth is directly depended on my performance.

Later on, in my late twenties, I was introduced toPentecostalism, where I learned the idea of being born-again first time in mylife. I saw it in the Bible that Jesus is the only means for Salvation (whichthe orthodox church never taught!). I got saved by believing in Jesus. Itbrought a lot of joy into my life.

But, sooner my focus started changing. I started fallinginto 'doing' stuff, thinking that is what God expected from me as a Christian.It all got powered up by the faulty concept many of us has learned during ourlife time - that our worth is directly depending on our performance.

The following few years, my life was a roller-coaster rideof performance, gaining Bible knowledge, religious show off, emotionalexperiences, faith formulas, prosperity gospel, prophecies, health and wealth,name it and claim it, end times and all that you can think of.

I started following the popular beliefs of 'churchianity'.

As a follower of churchianity, I have always thought I haveto do 'big' things for God. I remember, few months after becoming a Christian Istarted participating in the evangelical programs of the church. I went touniversity campus to reach out to the students with the message of gospel. Ivisited homes telling them about Jesus. I distributed ‘free chilled water’ insummer for the commuters, handing over tracts along with water bottles. Whensome people hesitated to accept the tracts I thought that was ‘persecution’ andfelt so proud that I am being persecuted for Christ! I acted in bible dramas toreach out to unbelievers. I felt so good because I was doing all the big things.Sometimes I forgot my small family back at home waiting for me. I walked withbig bibles and expositories in my hand and engaged in big theologicaldiscussions. ‘End times’ was one of my favorites. People considered me as aperson who is ‘fired up’ for Jesus. I liked the attention I started to get. Idid more to bring more attention. I was busy and acted busy as well aroundothers. I enjoyed the praises of elders and pastors. I appeared happy and busyfor God on Sundays. After all these, on Monday when I wake up I was dry andmiserable like hell. I was impatient towards my wife. I wondered what Jesusmeant by the 'spring of water welling up in us'. I had no joy. I used to cryout to God while driving to office, to bring joy in my life. I negotiated with Himabout the big things I am doing. I reminded Him the things I did and demanded'joy'.

I was focused on doing big things while forgetting the smallthings - resting in Him, enjoying His life, abiding in Him just like a branch,allowing Him to live His life through me, learning to be contented in all thecircumstances (As Paul said in Philippians 4:10-14).

He heard my prayer and I got His attention (or He got myattention?) in the year of 2006. He put me through a revolution, a gracerevolution. His radical grace started changing my outlook on everythingradically. He revealed the truth of His gospel and showed me the freedom Heoffered. He taught me to read the Bible for what it means, not just what itsays. He changed my perception of Him that He isn't an angry God waiting upthere to whack us when we misbehave, but a loving, compassionate God whooperates from the paradigm of amazing GRACE. I started seeing myself as He seesme, as a new creation in Christ who is accepted into His family as His own preciouschild on the sole basis of what Jesus did, not what I do/did/will do.

I started unlearning religion. It still contines, eventoday...

Make no mistake, this isn't an easy journey. There are manylonely moments. There is opposition. This is not a popular belief. This isn'tabout following the majority. There is pressure from legalistic sources. Thereis confusion, doubts, questions, challenges and all that. But, regardless ofany of it, I wouldn't trade this journey for anything. He has given me the confidence,that no matter how I mess up, I can still snuggle back into His lap and callHim "Abba, Father!". And there is nothing, nothing which can separateme from His love. NOTHING!

Posted by Bino M.

I like his ending statement - nothing can separate us from His Love. Wow. Rejoice

John Piippo: Reject Performance-Based Churches

2011-11-22T15:34:00.000+09:00

John Piippo: Reject Performance-Based Churches: Is your church performance-based or Spirit-formed? Are you trying to attain your goal by human effort or by the empowering presence and lea...

When Grace isn't enough - Luke and Amanda

2011-11-13T15:14:00.001+09:00

http://theologigal.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/when-grace-isnt-enough/

Bewildered #21? -God's anger dissipated on Jesus

2011-11-10T23:11:00.001+09:00

Romans 3 : 25 NLT(1966) For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. .....

Ken Legg - "Falling Forward"

2011-11-09T23:21:00.000+09:00

Does blessing precede obedience? - Mark VanOuse

2011-11-02T14:43:00.000+09:00

Living in the Balance of Grace & Faith - Andrew Wommack

2011-10-04T21:52:00.000+09:00

October 2011 Newsletter - Andrew Wommack Ministries

The Unbreakable Covenant - Scott McIntyre

2011-09-29T23:13:00.001+09:00

Blog review - Introducing the most read articles

2011-09-26T21:47:00.001+09:00

If you are a newcomer to this blog or you are pressured for time, let me introduce you to the top six articles in this blog/links (based on readership statistics over ~3 yrs) :

Is your church a scoreboard? by 2nd man united

Generational curses? fact or fiction by Cornel Marais

Our teacher lives in us in the New Covenant

A better way to pray by Andrew Wommack

What is your price tag?

The cross divides the 'Old' from the 'New' by Peter Youngren

I hope you are blessed. Rejoice

Joseph Prince - How Believers Fall From Grace - 17 April 2011

2011-09-25T16:36:00.000+09:00

Law and Grace: How is a Christian to live?

2011-09-23T17:50:00.000+09:00

Be blessed by this video. Rejoice

Law and Grace: How is a Christian to live?

The cycle of sin and how to overcome it…victory in Christ

2011-09-21T17:33:00.001+09:00

If you are in the vicious cycle of sin, repentance, rededication/recommittment and still cannot find victory over sin, then this video below will be useful to watch. Click the link below to watch. Rejoice

The cycle of sin and how to overcome it…victory in Christ

Have I been faithful?

2011-09-20T12:26:00.001+09:00

As a Christian for umpteenth years, I have not found a yardstick that can measure my faithfulness in the Lord. My criteria for faithfulness will differ from yours, and yours from others too. So, I always wonder when a pastor or any leader declares another person as good and faithful servant in the Lord – what standards are used?

I am glad I have found the answer. Please read :

1 Corinthians 4:1-7

1 So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. 2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

6 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures,[b] you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. 7 For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

I am glad the Lord will examine me and decide. NO ONE ELSE. Aren't you glad it is so as the other person who examines you and declares you faithful has himself to be examined by the Lord too. So watch out when someone pats you on the shoulder and says you are faithful. It automatically means that some one else is not faithful in comparison with you [v 6....at the expense of another]. Don't be gullible.

The good news is that we can always depend on the faithfullnes of God, not our faithfullness. 2Timothy2:13 says 'If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

Paul's attitude towards all this is summed up in 1Cor 4:3

3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.

Praise God. Next time round you miss an accolade from your leader that you are good and faithful servant, don't get angry or lose sleep. It means nothing.

Rejoice

Introducing the book 'God without religion' - Andrew Farley

2011-09-18T00:38:00.000+09:00

You may like to have a peek at the new book by Andrew Farley -God without religion. Here it is. You can also click the title to access his webpage. If you have been blessed and challenged by his previous book 'The Naked Gospel', I am confident this book will do the same too. Rejoice

His Grace Abounds and antinomianism

2011-09-14T23:32:00.001+09:00

Romans 5:20-21

20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's wonderful grace will always swallow up sin; there is no sin that is big enough to overwhelm grace. Without grace, we cannot overcome sin.

However, when we talk about ' when sin increase, the grace of God abounds even more', an alarm bell immediately goes off amongst some christians. Some who have not experienced living the christian life in His grace, will jump in the bandwagon to accuse grace preachers of leading people astray into antinomianism. This is no surprise today. It also happened in Paul's days, as recorded in these verses below :

Romans 6:1-4

1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

How did Paul answer them ?

A. Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

B. Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?
C.For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Similarly, it is recorded in Romans 3: 8 that Paul was accused of teaching people to sin more.

Romans 3: 5-8

5 “But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.

In short , when we link grace with antinomianism, the most important truth we have forgotten or denied, is that God has already nullified the power of sin in us through Jesus finished work on the cross...so there is no such thing as loving to sin when we hear the preaching of grace as we already have a new man in us (new creation, new nature) that loves God. Of course, we have to cooperate with God, by renewing our mind so that we can believe/allow God's new creation work to outflow of us.

Now, what happens when christians sin ?

1 John 2

1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

Jesus will always be our advocate forever when we do sin. The devil will accuse us when we sin, but thanks be to God for our advocate Jesus who will plead our case before the Father. His work on the cross did away our sins, present, past and future 2000 years ago. We only need to believe what our advocate already did when we do sin - as far as God the Father is concerned, He sees Jesus in us and says, 'Not guilty' because Jesus had already redeemed us 2000yrs ago. Praise God.

In short, it is believing in His finished work on the cross and that is where grace abounds.

If you are in the vicious cycle of sin, repent,rededicate; sin, repent, rededicate then I kindly suggest to you to believe in His finished work on the cross, where grace abounds. Only grace overcomes/overules sin. No sin is bigger than His grace already achieved for us through the cross. Only believe and savour His goodness. We cannot get ourselves out of sinful habits by sin,repent,rededicate without having Jesus finished work in the equation; we cannot bail ourselves out of sin. Jesus can. ONLY BELIEVE WHAT HE HAD ALREADY DONE ON THE CROSS.

Rejoice

Old Covenant vs. New Covenant (Mindset) Sermon Jam by Joshua Tongol

2011-09-12T20:11:00.001+09:00

Preaching of the Grace of God encourages people to sin?

2011-09-11T22:20:00.003+09:00

Romans 3 : 5-8

5 “But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.

Before reading further, verse 8 follows from verse 7.

Paul was accused of encouraging people to sin (verse 8) : “The more we sin, the better it is!” through his preaching. In today's context, this type of accusation is still leveled against grace preachers; now we use a more sophisticated term called 'antinomianism' or lawlessness.

In fact those who come to the conclusion that grace preachers are preaching lawlessness indicates that they themselves are following this kind of wierd thinking, as indicated in verse 7 :

“But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?”

How can the preaching of the Grace of God encourages people to sin so that it highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?...this is what Paul was asking.

Related topic :
http://youarefreeindeed.blogspot.com/2011/09/his-grace-abounds-and-antinomianism.html

Rejoice

What does fasting look like under Grace? | Searching for grace

2011-09-03T13:16:00.000+09:00

What does fasting look like under Grace? | Searchingjavascript:void(0) for grace

Narcissistic personality disorder

2011-07-28T15:27:00.002+09:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder. The narcissist is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity. Narcissistic personality disorder is closely linked to self centredness.

Diagnosis :

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
Requires excessive admiration
Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
Is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

Here is an example from the bible :

Matthew 23:4 (The Message bible)

^4-7"Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.'

Rejoice

God says you are qualified

2011-07-15T12:52:00.002+09:00

It is reassuring to know that God does not rememember our sins no more once we embrace His promise that He took our sins away at the cross. All our sins are blotted out, present, past and future and are thrown into the deepest oceans.

As believers, God the Father sees us brand new because we are now new creations in Christ. God now qualifies us. It is not and will never be our qualifications, our social status, our titles, our intellligence etc.... but because of what He did on the cross for us. Praise God.

Paul is an example of how God qualified him because God is generous and gracious to fill him with His love and faith (the two inseparable twins). We can trust Him because He loves us ; that He is for us and not against us; that He is faithful eventhough we are faithless.

Be encouraged with what Paul said :

1Timothy1:12-13

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

Paul was always God conscious, conscious of what God had done and always thankful. Rejoice.

Law or Grace The Covenant of Death or Life -Mark Crawford

2011-07-14T14:34:00.000+09:00

The Parable of the 5 Wise & the 5 Foolish Virgins - Paul White

2011-06-06T14:04:00.000+09:00

Viewers are advised to go to parts 1 and 2 to understand the whole picture.

Related topics:

Relation between gentile believers, the gospel, Israel and Jews

Rejoice

The Glory of the New Covenant: The Law of Christ - Douglas Goodin

2011-06-04T00:01:00.000+09:00

The Glory of the New Covenant - Part 9 from Front Range Alliance Church on Vimeo.

The Glory of the New Covenant: The Yoke of the Law and The Yoke of Christ - Douglas Goodin

2011-06-03T23:16:00.000+09:00

The Glory of the New Covenant - Part 3 from Front Range Alliance Church on Vimeo.

The apostle Paul called the Old Covenant a covenant of death and condemnation; he called the New Covenant a covenant of life and righteousness. The author of Hebrews taught that the New Covenant is a better covenant based on a better priesthood, better law, better mediator, and, most importantly, better promises. This series explores the differences between the covenants and why the glory of the New Covenant far outshines the Old.

You are God alone- Phillips Craig and Dean

2011-06-02T20:38:00.001+09:00

The New Covenant is not like the Old (Source :http://www.thenewcovenant.com/nc01.htm)

2011-05-28T19:48:00.000+09:00

This short and succinct article below is extracted in full from : http://www.thenewcovenant.com/nc01.htm. There are also other enriching articles in this link that are worth pondering.

God said this New Covenant would be different, not like the Old Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-32a). He also tells us that Jesus "is the mediator of a better covenant, which was enacted on better promises" (Hebrews 8:6). So the New Covenant is different from the Old Covenant, and better too. God tells us that "the Law came through Moses, but Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Jesus didn't come to give us more law, He came to bring us His grace and truth.
Often, Christians are afraid of living a life which not based on law. They think that if a person does not base his life on keeping laws, his behavior will become "lawless." But if God controls your life, if His truth fills your thinking, you won't be lawless. This is the great difference between these two covenants, when it comes to how we live:
The Old Covenant relied on man's efforts to change his own behavior by obeying commandments, or law.
The New Covenant relies on Jesus living His own life in us, through His Spirit.
The New Covenant is not about our obedience to law. "For sin shall not rule over you, for you are not under Law, but under Grace " (Romans 6:14).
The New Covenant is about God's grace being multiplied in our lives. The New Covenant gives us the way to live, not by obeying law, but by trusting Christ to live His life through us. "If you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh." (Galatians 5:17)

Rejoice

Too Good To Be True -Tullian Tchividjian

2011-05-26T21:23:00.001+09:00

Too Good To Be True

Relation between gentile believers, the gospel, Israel and Jews

2011-05-11T00:26:00.000+09:00

As gentile believers in His finished work, it is important to know how we relate to Israel and the Jews. God has not forgotten the Jews and will come back for them- it will be an exciting time. Hallelujah.

Romans 11:11-21

¹¹ Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. ¹² But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
¹³ I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry ¹⁴ in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ¹⁶ If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
²² Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. ²⁴ You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.
²⁵ I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters,^[g] so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. ²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,
   “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,^[h]
      and he will turn Israel^[i] away from ungodliness.
²⁷ And this is my covenant with them,
      that I will take away their sins.”^[j]
²⁸ Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁹ For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. ³⁰ Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. ³¹ Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share^[k] in God’s mercy. ³² For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

I have posted here an article on Romans 11 showing that God has not forgotten people of Israel. We as the church, the gentile believers of His finished work must know how we are to relate to Israel and the Jewish people. We are encouraged to extend the gospel to our Jewish brothers.

Some take away facts as gentile believers in relation to Israel and Jewish people :

1.Let us not become arrogant as we are wild olive branch sharing in the nourishing sap of the cultivated olive tree root (v 17,24).

2.The reason why the gospel is extended to the gentiles is to provoke the Jews into envy and save some Jews (v 11).

3.When Jews come back to God, hear what God says :
For if their(Jews) rejection brought reconciliation to the world(for gentiles), what will their (Jews) acceptance be but life from the dead? (v.14) . But if their (Jew) transgression means riches for the world (for gentiles), and their (Jew) loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!(v12).

4. God has not forgotten Israel as He chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v 28).

5. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved.(v25,26). .....So let us share the gospel to our gentile unbelievers until the full number comes to the Lord, then all Israel will be saved.

I have linked this article for your further reading : Romans 11: God has not rejected his people, so neither should the church! - Congregation Shema Yisrael

Rejoice. Be encouraged to share the gospel to the gentiles as well as the Jews.

Rejoice