Thought #20

“God is the only One who can provide stability in an unstable world.”

Thought #19

Do you ever feel discouraged about your walk with the Lord?  Don’t you want to grow stronger and deeper?  I do.  No plateaus.  No regressions.  God has a comforting promise in Phil. 1:6.  Read it. God began His work for us when Christ died on the cross.  His work in us began when we believed.  What God starts, He finishes!  His Word tells us what we must do.

I WONDER AS I WANDER ~ PART 3 The Exuberance of Victory

Victory is not in ourselves, but in the Holy Spirit. Note the change of emphasis between Romans Chapter 7 and chapter 8. Note that the personal pronouns which were so prominent in chapter 7 largely disappear in chapter 8 where Paul’s heart is now controlled by the Holy Spirit. “ There is, therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (v.1).  Hallelujah!!!! We are justified by God’s overwhelming grace through Christ’s sacrificial blood that was shed on the cross at Calvary. Christ is our substitute. We, with our sin, should have been nailed on that cross. “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling.”

The believing woman is free from the law of sin and death (v.2). She is now identified with Christ who is her All and in All. Grace has succeeded so that she is no longer under the bondage that overcame her in Romans 7. She is identified with Christ; free from the law of sin ad death.

Keeping a set of laws will not change us no matter how hard we try. Jesus Christ has set us free! He has done the perfect work. Why then do we think we can perfect ourselves? If we believe in the work of Christ in our stead, then we are under a new covenant. That covenant gives us the Spirit of God who lives within us. Why would we put ourselves under bondage again? There is no condemnation because God through Christ is at work.

“Free from the law -- oh happy condition! Jesus has bled and there is remission; Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Grace hath redeemed us once for all” (P.P.Bliss). Praise the Lord!

Since the law could not save us, why do we expect it to sustain us once we have received the righteousness of Jesus Christ? When we received Christ as our Savior, the Holy spirit came to dwell within us. He is the One Who can and will control our life. He “groans” to develop Christlikeness in us. Oh, yes, we are vitally involved. We don’t sit on our lees.

Keeping a set of laws cannot change us nor give us an inner sense of being right with God. “The law is a court of justice, but the Gospel a throne of grace” (George Swinnock). We must not  disparage the law. It had its function. “It was added because of transgression, till the Seed should  come to whom the promise was made” (Gal. 3:19). The Seed (Christ) has come and we are in the dispensation of grace. Jesus Christ won the victory at Calvary.

“Many truly converted persons are more occupied with themselves, and in trying to improve their own condition, than in seeking to learn the grace of God” (C.A. Coates). God tells us that if we walk by the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh. That is step-by-step victory! Our  Father does not expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to grow in Christlikeness.

We are in Christ and Christ is in us constantly performing His perfect work and fulfilling His immutable promises. As we believe His Word and cooperate with Him, we have victory.

“...and thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”(1 Cor15:57). Praise Him with exuberance. HE IS WORTHY!
                                                                                                          (to be continued)

Thought #18

Do you have a special Bible verse for the year 2012?  I have.  Instead of a personal verse, it is for my family -- children, spouses, grands, and great grands.  Yes, and for my husband and me, also.  Phil. 1:9b-14.  I pray for (1) an understanding of God’s Word; (2) gaining spiritual wisdom; (3) pleasing and honoring God; (4) bearing good fruit,; (5) growth in the knowledge of God, and much more.

Thought #17

“Prayer doesn’t change God’s purpose; it just releases it.”

Thought #16

“God often comforts us, not by changing the circumstances of our lives, but by changing our attitude toward them.”

I WONDER AS I WANDER - PART 2 ~ The Magnificence of God’s Mercy

Dear friend, do you ever identify with Paul as you read Romans 7: 15-25? A godly woman who is yearning to grow in the will and ways of the Master does identify with Paul from time to time.

The more we walk in the Word, the more we acknowledge that there are still cesspools of sin in our soul. We talk to God about our frustration over such repetitions. But we repeat the same offenses again, and again, and again. What is wrong????

Perhaps you are plagued with such a question. The godly apostle Paul  describes his struggle. “Oh, wretched man that I am” (v. 24). Certainly there is an inner conflict between the two natures that war within.

Harry Foster explains Paul’s frustration this way: “Here was a man, struggling to achieve holiness by personal effort, struggling with all his might to fulfill ‘God’s holy and righteous and good commandments only to discover that the more he struggled, the worse his condition became. It was a losing battle, and no wonder, for it is not in the power of fallen nature to conquer sin and live in holiness” (Toward the Mark, p. 110).

The personal pronouns are extremely prominent  in these eleven verses; -- at least forty times!  Someone has said that, “People who go through this Romans 7 experience have taken an overdose of ‘Vitamin I.’” I, me, my, myself.

Most Christian psychological counseling focuses on the counselee’s inner self. Christians need to know and remember that we died with Christ and now live in newness of life with Him who is our Overcomer. So we focus on Him and His power to deliver. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psa. 46:10). “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength ” (Isa. 30:15).

“I am the Lord, I change not” (Heb. 13:8).  Jesus assures us that He has the same wonder-working, delivering power for us that He had when He raised Jesus from the dead, and He yearns to use it to meet our need. He assures us with, “I am immutable!” Even the word itself sounds reassuring. Our Lord’s attributes never change.

Jesus is forever and always the same in all the glories of His power. Instead of introspecting, let us  turn our eyes upon Him and adore Him as our all-divine, wonder-working Lord Jesus. Let us cling to His immutable truths that we may find comfort in Him when our “earthly gourds wither  and our cisterns are broken.” He is the same as when our hearts were first exuberant with His love. “I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal. 3:6).

“For the love of God is broader
    Than the measure of man’s mind;
        And the heart of the Eternal
            Is most wonderfully kind.”
From hymn -- There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy,  F. W. Faber

                                                                                                          (to be continued)