The New Plan

On November 3, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 10: 16 – 18

“THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND UPON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” NOW WHERE THERE IS FORGIVENESS OF THESE THINGS, THERE IS NO LONGER ANY OFFERING FOR SIN.

Have you ever wanted to know what the New Covenant is? Well, here it is. How amazingly exciting is this? One of the big keys to the New Covenant and its operation in our lives is that the Father, Himself, has come to live inside us. We are the temple of the New Covenant. If that wasn’t big enough, Yahweh God, brings with Him Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Of course His words are within us, by His presences and by His spirit He is writing them on our hearts and minds.

Now I could go on and on about this New Covenant but there is one specific point I want to bring to your attention. Look again at these words, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” What?! Are you hearing this? God made forgetting our sins and lawlessness part of His commitment under the New Covenant. Now should you think this is a powerless statement, remember that the New Covenant is written in Jesus’ blood. Would God, for one moment, minimize the blood of Jesus by not honoring the statements spoken here? If we was to retain even one of your sins, that would be to dishonor and disregard the sacrifice Jesus made for us all. It would also break the New Covenant and God would break His Word. Now, if God were even once break His word do you know that the entire earth would collapse? Think about it. God created the entire world and even you and I by His words. If He broke one it would break the underlying foundation, security and foundation of every word He has ever spoken. That He will not do.

Also, look at today’s verses this way. No one bargained the New Covenant with God. There was no one with any leverage who twisted His arm in order to get a single provision out of Him. Every single promise of the New Covenant was freely given. So, ask yourself why the provision of forgetting all of our trespasses and transgressions is part of the contract. It is only there because it reflects God’s heart. It is God’s desire to remember your sins no more. He weight your sin and mine, the sin of yesterday and even tomorrow and on the other side of the scale He placed the sacrificial lamb. That sin offering was the only one that could eradicate our sin from existence. The price has been paid. We are free.

So then this question arises and it is the one dealt with in the final sentence. If God has made a once for all sin offering for us, and in the doing washed away our sin forever, why are we still going through life trying to make sin offerings to God? You see, our part is the accept the sin offering. It is as simple as, “Father, I messed up but I thank you that Jesus paid the price for my sin. I apologize, Lord. I receive forgiveness and thank you for it.” We have no business wailing and groaning about our sin. We need to quickly change our behaviors and receive the grace that was won for us. Why are you hanging onto sin that Dad wants to put behind Him? Some people even act righteous over their sin by moaning and groaning about what a horrible sinner they are. They act like their sin is bigger than Jesus’ sacrifice. I tell you that is offensive to God and a stench in His nostrils. He has made a way for us all to put sin in the past and to move forward in the grace that is the unmerited gift of our dear Lord. So, don’t wallow in self-recrimination. It really is a slam on the blood of Christ. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and determine to make a better decision next time, all the while, though, appreciating that God has provided for the forgiveness of sin. Don’t be sin conscious, be Christ conscious. It is the way.

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Compassion

On August 11, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 54: 9 – 10

“For this is like the days of Noah to Me; when I swore that the waters of Noah should not flood the earth again, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor will I rebuke you. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you.

Jesus was often moved by compassion. Often we think of this as simply and emotion that Jesus experienced but in truth it was so much more. You may hear people talk of the angry God of the Old Testament. Well, here is irrefutable evidence that God is not angry with you. He loves you and is compassionate.  And this is from the Old Testament.

This is the compassion that moved Jesus to heal and bless people. He was moved by the compassion of his father. Through the prophet Isaiah God delivered a promise of compassion and lovingkindness. By the time Jesus graced the earth God’s heart of compassion was well established. God, the Father, gave us a covenant of peace, not of anger. This is why Jesus is the Prince of peace. He is an extension and expression of his father.

God certainly had every reason to be angry with His people. He would be completely justified in being angry with us as well but He chose love, compassion and peace instead. It wasn’t an angry God that sent His only son here to die for us. Love nailed Jesus to that cross.

You are encapsulated in a covenant of peace with the creator. Let this be your revelation. Peace surrounds you and even if the mountains shake still God’s lovingkindness will remain with you. His love will never forsake you.

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All Paths

On June 24, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 25: 10


All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. 
You may notice that many of God’s promises have a condition precedent or a prerequisite. Let me help you understand this. God isn’t really conditioning His promises. He is actually explaining to you how the Kingdom of God works. If I wanted to teach a person how to do something I might say something like, “If you do this, you will get this result.” That is what God is attempting to explain to us; He is teaching us how to operate Kingdom Principles in order to get everything we need and want. 
 
When you apply this insight to today’s verse you perhaps come away with a deeper understanding of how to work with God to find your way to His paths of truth and lovingkindness. And think of it, for those who keep His covenant, all paths lead to truth and lovingkindness. Isn’t that exciting?
Now you may be asking yourself what His covenant and testimonies are so that you can be sure you are walking in them. Well, here is some good news. That is what I give you daily. My job is to show you God’s principles, His ways and even His covenant. You just apply them and reap the rewards.
One small caveat though, don’t try to do any of this on your own. As you see a principle, immediately go to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to walk you through it. That is His job. We all have our part to do. You are not on your own.
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The New Covenant

On January 28, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 31: 33

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days”, declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Have you ever wondered what the “New Covenant” with God is? First of all, let’s understand what a covenant is. The American Heritage Dictionary defines covenant as: a binding agreement made by two or more persons or parties; a compact; contract. 2. A solemn agreement or vow made by members of a church to defend and support its faith and doctrine. 3. Theology. God’s promises to man, as recorded in the Old and New Testaments. 4. A formal sealed agreement or contract. Our covenant with God is a sacred contract, if you will, a binding agreement between humanity and God. It is a reciprocal agreement wherein each party has its obligations and benefits. Our part is to be His people. Wow, that is an obligation which actually is a benefit in itself. If there were no terms other than that, we would win. We get to be His people. However, there are other obligations upon God which confer benefit unto us. He is obligated to be our God. If I will be His, then He has no option but to be mine. He is bound. That is powerful. You have the power to bind God to you such that He has no choice but to be your God. Do you see that? But wait, there is more. He has the affirmative duty to write all of His Word, knowledge and wisdom on your heart. Again, He has no choice. He has bound Himself by His Word and He has not the power to lie or to break His Word. Therefore, when you accept Yahweh as your God He moves into your heart and inscribes all that He is there.

Everything that Jesus is or did; everything he accomplished is alive inside of you right now. In John 14: 23 Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and my Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.” And where do they live? Ephesians 3: 17 says that Christ dwells in our hearts. That is where the Word is written and Jesus is the Word. It really does all make sense. When Jesus said that He and the Father would come live in us He was echoing what the Father said in Jeremiah. Jesus knew what the New Covenant was. He heard God speak about the New Covenant and His plans for His people. Our only obligation is that we love Jesus. If we love Him, if we have a heart condition of affection for Jesus, an emotional response to who he is, then the entire trinity with all wisdom, power and grace will come live inside us and be our constant friend and helper. We give God our hearts and He gives us everything. That is the New Covenant. What a deal. No lawyer on earth has ever brokered a deal this good yet God gave it freely. What a Great and benevolent Father we have.

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