John called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The way the system works goes like this, the order of the Divine Deity is Love, faith, mercy, grace, and justice. Mercy can save us from justice every time. With mercy we don’t get what we deserve by way of punishment. With grace we get the favor that causes us to excel in whatever our hands find to do, but by the Lord’s sovereign will. Jesus got baptized by John the Baptist to fulfill all manner of righteousness (Matthew 3:13-15). He came to John as a man, and not the Son of God with all the power backing Him. Jesus worked the word of God just like we have to, to get results. He learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). He was being prepared to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins, that’s why John called Him the Lamb of God. Offerings for sin in the old testament involved sacrificing animals like lambs and bulls, etc. which temporarily satisfied justice. Jesus becoming the Lamb of God without spot or wrinkle (meaning He had no sin) was the eternal sacrificial Lamb of God that eradicated the sin problem forever in mankind. Justice can be totally satisfied with you, as long as you have Jesus in your heart.

Jesus was put to death in the body but was made alive in the Spirit. His body was the planted seed for right standing with God, to be planted on our behalf for the remission of our sins. When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, all the sin we’ve committed is wiped out as if it never happened. You are clean now in Christ Jesus. There is no other way to salvation but by Him. For Christ suffered once for sins to bring us to God. He is the mediator between God and mankind. Without Jesus we would all spend eternity in hell being punished for our sins. Without the ceasing of pain, misery, thirst like you’ve never experienced, and the worms crawling in and out of your body, with constant fire eating away at you. All the times Jesus was offered to you and you refused Him, is part of your punishment. You will remember things from this life because your soul will not be changed like God’s children who have accepted Jesus before leaving earth. Having free will can be a very dangerous thing without the Lord in it. Think about it, Father God sent His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for your sins. This is God’s love for us, but to not accept the finished work at Calvary is like a slap in God’s face. Justice will be satisfied regardless of what we believe or think.

God so greatly loved and dearly prized this world, that He gave up His unique Son as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. The love of God is unfathomable when it comes to our intellectual capabilities. A seed had to be put in the ground to generate this type of action from the Lord. Abraham, the father of faith gave up His son Isaac for a sacrifice to God because God commanded him to. Abraham’s relationship with God was of the highest level in understanding Him, and totally trusting God. So even though Abraham had the knife in his hand about to come down on his son, God stopped him, wanting to see if Abraham would do it. Abraham’s relationship with God was as such, he trusted the Lord could raise Issac from the dead if he killed him. It was that obedience to God’s command to kill his son that made Abraham the father of our faith. Saying all this to say, Abraham planted the seed of giving his son, which opened the door for Jesus’ sacrifice. Behind the motivation of Abraham and the Lord was love. Abraham obeyed God’s commands, which is proof of his love for God. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

The life we now live is lived by faith in the Messiah living His resurrected life through us. This is not spooky or strange when we know the Lord in the way He expects us to. We have been crucified with Christ and no longer live, but Christ lives in us. The bible speaks of the fact, we are laborers together with God, and as we acknowledge Him in all of our ways, He will direct our path (1Corinthians 3:9)(Proverbs 3:6). This is a part of allowing Jesus to live through us, keeping Him in the mix especially when trouble comes. To be crucified with Christ symbolically means, we crucify our flesh, those inordinate desires, and keeping at bay moral conflicts and agitating spirits. We do that by praying on a regular basis. The more time spent with the Lord in prayer, the more of God’s power gets on us. Those agitating spirits won’t like the presence of the Lord emanating from you, his glory escapes through your demeanor and interactions with others. We can have a force field of the Lord’s protection on us all the time. To be crucified with Christ is to be totally submitted to the Lord in all we do, and say. It is to be broken in such a way that you become valuable to Him, because you’re living a crucified lifestyle. Once we become valuable to the Lord, it’s a priceless game changer.

As children of God we are to be imitators of God. We are made in His image and His likeness (Genesis 1:26). We are three part beings, with a spirit, soul, and body. And we were made after God’s likeness, we have our way of existing, and doing things naturally because of the Lord’s thumbprint in us. Therefore we are to take on His example and follow His way of love. Walking in love esteeming and delighting in one another as the scripture says. Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God for you. It was a sweet fragrance to Father God, because justice was satisfied from Jesus’ sinless offering of Himself. Wiping out all sin ever committed in this world and all sin to be committed in the future by His cleansing blood. Every major action from the Lord is based on His love for mankind. Once we have this understanding of the lengths God will go in helping His children, we could live a far better life. Counting on Him for everything, and then you won’t have to worry about anything. Love opens many doors and shuts the ones that lead to trouble.

Are You in Right Standing with God? Sooner or Later, the Bill Comes Due

Self righteousness is only good for one thing, and that’s nothing. Self righteousness will never get us into heaven, yes we’re talking spiritual things. This present world is passing away, look around you, it is deteriorating everywhere. Wars and rumors of wars are all in the bible with other clear signs concerning the last days. God made Jesus who had no sin to become sin for us. We can now have the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. By being in Christ Jesus, we become tied to His righteousness which gets us into heaven. Being self righteous can and will take you to hell. Pride is one of the worst things a person could be in bondage to. It will cause you to fall, and the temptations that go along with that bondage will attract hidden evil laced with vanity and worldly fame. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus by receiving, and accepting the finished work at Calvary. To be in right standing with God is the only way to secure our place after death. It also provides a healthy lifestyle and victorious living for the serious faith believers here and now.

Today’s scripture says to love your enemies, what?! Our first thoughts might be, the joke book is clearly out at this time. In the old testament it was an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth mentality as far as getting instant justice for the offenses made back then. Today we live in the dispensation of Grace, where instant justice has been pushed back. Since the resurrection of Jesus Christ, justice has been satisfied so God will no longer zap us early in life, due to the abundance of our sin. The Lord deals with us individually concerning our shortcomings with Him. It’s a personal relationship the Lord wants with each of His family members. We can’t get to heaven because Grandma was cool with God. Our love for God and mankind is important. Once we’ve come to the realization that God is love and we are his children, we should aspire to live this love life accordingly. To love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you can be a tall order if we aren’t well versed in God’s love. Jesus was speaking in this verse, “love your enemies….” You don’t have to take them to dinner or cook their favorite meal. Helping them when they are clearly down and out in spite of your differences. Or if they have a need you can supply, this is loving your enemies. Keeping the humanitarian thing present in our actions towards our enemies is one aspect of God’s love. Maybe what our enemies don’t like about us, is a sign of something we need to change about ourselves.

The word of the Lord speaks of loving one another with brotherly affection. The Hebrew word for brotherly love is Phileo. It is a love that signifies friendship, fondness, affection, delight, and personal attachment. Phileo is also the word for kiss. So for a man to kiss another man based on Phileo love, it is referred to as a holy kiss in the bible. When we are devoted to loving each other in this way, it could start a chain of positive effects not only on others but within ourselves we build a strong foundation for our faith to work more vibrantly. Agape love is the love of God. This love is unconditional, meaning it can take a lot of abuse and not be affected to change its stance of love. As Christians we are the salt of the earth. We are the preservatives of this world. But if our saltiness (our preservative qualities) becomes less, so does our effectiveness to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. To love with brotherly affection as if we’re all members of one family is the way of Phileo love. This is the love we should exemplify while working together in the church amongst each other, without the bickering, backbiting, and discord. Keeping in step with Phileo means practicing it everyday. Dealing with the persecutions, offenses, and disrespect but still holding our position with Phileo love concerning our family in Christ. To honor one another above ourselves, is a sure shot for humility and Phileo love.

To have peace in this unpeaceful world seems like a miracle in action. But peace comes from the inside of our make-up. Internal peace produces external peace which can affect others. The peace Jesus left behind after His resurrection, passes all understanding. It doesn’t make sense how we can be so peaceful during a crisis. There’s a knowing once you’ve experienced this peace of God, that He has your back on every turn of your life. He takes care of that which concerns us. To worry about something that has no proof it will come to pass is a definite peace robber. Hanging out with drama folk is a peace robber. We must keep our surroundings clear of unnecessary noise whenever possible. People that seem to have a sense of emergency as their normal demeanor, have internal unrest. The peace of God can only be obtained by faith, and faith in the word of God, His Bible. As we apply the teachings and principles of the word of God to our everyday lives, we will experience an increase of the peace of God. Everything of value has a price, and there’s no difference with the peace of God. Go after it like a bulldog on a bone and don’t let go.

The command to forgive and bear with each other has been given. If you have a grievance against someone it will be best to forgive them. Why? Because the unforgiveness in you will eat you alive over time. The Lord Jesus was being crucified alongside two thieves on the cross who earned their way to the be crucified. Jesus never did anything worthy of being crucified yet He was. He was crucified wrongfully because He never sinned His entire life. After what mankind did to Him on the cross, the worst way to die back then, He still forgave them. Our level of being hurt by someone can never be compared to what happened to Jesus. Our hurt is real and those who hurt you will be judged if they don’t make amends. We will always have opportunities to be offended, or hurt. As we keep in step with God’s leading, either by His voice or what has already been written concerning us we will avoid unnecessary hurt. There is a necessary hurt to complete your training in the Lord. We train by reading His word, then that word in us gets tested, by way of trouble or a crisis in our lives. Sooner or later we all get the opportunity for unforgiveness. Just know it’s a set up to take you off track. Use the word of God to be healed from the person who hurt you. Love’s way never fails in life.