Let Us Enter

Heb.4:16

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The veil has been rented. The curtain, 4 inches thick, 15 feet tall, was torn apart from top to bottom in the holy of holies where the high priest made sacrifices for his sins and for the sins of the people. When Jesus died on the cross, He sacrificed His life once and for all for the sins of the whole world. He is our high priest, the earthly priest no longer needs to make blood sacrifices for the people. We now have access to the Father, through the blood of Jesus. We can now come boldly into God’s holiness. If we have confessed our sin and believed that Jesus paid the price to forgive our sins, we need not fear coming boldly to the throne where God will pour out His grace to meet our needs. It is only through Jesus that we now have access to the Father, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Act 4:12) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”) God’s word makes it clear that coming to the Father (God) is only made possible through Jesus, the one who died for you and me so that we may approach the throne of grace with clean hands and a pure heart. Thank God! He is a God of grace and mercy, and as His child, we call Him Abba Father, and He pours out His grace to us in our time of need. Let us enter into His presence.

Walk Not in Darkness

 1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

From the fall of Adam and Eve, man is born with the sin nature. The Adamic nature is passed on to every person born into this world. We can deny this truth, but it does not change the reality that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. Some teach that man is hereditary good. We must cultivate this goodness in us and overcome the evil that we face each day. Don’t believe this lie, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  John writes to set the foundation for why man needs a Savior.  As sinners, we confess our sins, and Jesus, who shed His blood for the remission of sin, cleanses our heart from sin. We no longer walk in darkness, we walk in the light, we walk with God without sin. As long as we continue to walk with God, the blood of Jesus will continue to cover us from all sin. A Christian no longer lives in sin because he is walking in God’s light, and the path that God provides is without sin. No darkness at all. We still live in a fallen world, and Satan works, tempting us to fulfill the desire of the flesh. We still have human desires, and God has a plan for those desires to be fulfilled. As we walk in the light, His will is accomplished in our lives. The promise of God is that He will not leave us or forsake us. If we fall into the temptation of Satan, His word says to confess our sin, and He is faithful to restore us to the light. It is not God’s desire that we walk in darkness, we can live each day in the light of God. We don’t have to sin and walk in darkness. God does not have fellowship with darkness. That is why John says, “My little children… sin not.” Eternal security is provided to all believers as long as they remain in the light. Keep walking in the light.

Power of God in Us

 Eph. 3:20
Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

We recently lost power to our house during a windstorm. The energy transformed into electricity gave light in our house when darkness came. It provided power to the fans that blew warm air through our home, and kept the refrigerator compressor running to keep our food from spoiling.  Without the power, we were left in the dark to make the best of it. Power is defined and demonstrated in various ways. It can also be seen as the ability to overcome or command a situation. Jesus said, “You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” What was this power? Why would Christians need to have this power? The work that God has given each one of us is not done with human ingenuity or power. We offer God ourselves as an empty vessel to be used by Him. He fills us with the power given to us by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work of the Kingdom. God is able to exceed abundantly all that is needed when we allow HIm to work in us. Without His power, we are like a house without any lights, we wander in darkness trying to figure things out through our human means. God gives us power to live a life of holiness. There is power in the blood of Jesus. He gives us power to be witnesses to a world lost in darkness. Power to pray that the Holy Spirit will convict men and women of sin. For the Christian, the power to overcome trials, tribulation, and hardship. The power works in us as we open our heart to God believing that He is able to do all things according to His purpose. 

Thrrough the Blood

 Ephesian 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
We all were born in sin and are far off from knowing Christ. All our human efforts to draw close to God are made impossible because of the enmity of sin in our hearts toward God. There is nothing we can do to break down the wall of partition that separates us from God. He is holy, we are unholy, He is just, we are unjust, He is righteous, we are unrighteous. We are all unclean things, what righteousness we have are as filthy rags. It is all because of God’s amazing grace that we can draw close to Him. Christ, who came to earth, gave His life on the cross, paid our debt of sin when He made the supreme sacrifice for sin shedding His blood. Redeemed by the blood of the lamb, He removed the middle wall of partition and gave us access to the throne of God. Through the atoning blood of Christ we have been set free from the bondage of sin. We now have fellowship with the Father, His Spirit ever makes intercession for us, and through His blood we have been born again and are made new creatures in Christ.

Can God Forget?

Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

How is it possible for God to forget? He knows the past, present and future. I believe it is impossible for God to forget anything that happens, but I do believe that God forgives and will not hold us accountable for the sins we have committed. “If we confess our sins, He is faith and just to forgive.” He remembers not, or wipes clean our slate as it was never there. He does not bring them up and dangles them before us, sin is gone, cast into the sea of God’s forgiveness. As far as the east is from the west, our sins are cast away.  Satan may bring up the past, for he never forgets, but when God looks at our past, all He sees is the blood of Christ that has cleanse our heart from all unrighteousness. If your sin has been confessed to God and forgiven, don’t look back, keep your eyes on Jesus, walk in the light of God’s love. Stay under the blood of Christ. His blood causes God to “forget”.

The Blood of Jesus

Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Abel, the son of Adam sacrifices the blood of animals to make atonement for his sins. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission. The sprinkling of the blood on the altar of God was made for propitiation of man’s sin. But Jesus who became the mediator in our behalf died on the cross, shed His blood that we may no longer need to shed the blood of animal. And “he became the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”. (1 John 2:2) We who have lived in darkness, can now live in the light of God. The the law that condemn us to everlasting death struck fear in our hearts is no longer our taskmaster. Our sins have been forgiven and light now dwells in us, and we fear not the darkness. 

Temptation is Real

Heb. 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Temptation is real and everyone born into this world faces them. Our faith in God is often tested when we face temptation. It is seen as a time of trial and hardship. We are tempted to give up and cast our faith away when it appears that God has forsaken us or does not care for us. Why would God allow such tragedy to come into my life? Then there is the temptation to give into our fleshly desires. Desires that are selfish and are forbidden in God’s word. A man is tempted to look upon a women and lust after her, fulfilling the sexual desires of the flesh. A person is tempted to take that which is not there, coveting possessions of others, and one is tempted to lie to avoid unwanted consequences or to get something they want. Whatever kind of temptation or test we face, we are not able to handle it on are own. We need a Savior who Himself has faced temptation and knows what we face. He is able to come to our aid and rescue us in the hour of our need. To overcome temptation, we must practice the presence of God, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us the power to overcome our weaknesses. We our just earthen vessel, but God has promise to be with us and fill us with His presence. In the face of temptation, let us depend on His grace and the blood of Christ to give us the victory. 

Turning to God

Ezekiel 18: 28 “Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live: he shall not die.”-

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life- Turning to God is the way out of sin and despair. Sin is a willful transgression against the known will of God. This is the sin that man is accountable for. We live in vessel made of clay and any transgression from perfect that resulted without choice is covered by the blood of Christ. Sin that is committed by our will and choice is also covered by the blood, but it must be confessed. if any man sin (willfully) we have a advocate, a mediator, who is Christ Jesus. With the mouth confession is made to to God and He in His love and mercy will forgive so that we can continue to live. Repenting of making wrong choices is the way we stay alive. Turning to God for forgiveness is the right choice. It is His will that we sin not, but if we do, He provides a way back.

Remission

Heb. 9 :22 “And by the law almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”-

The forgiveness of Sin, and for charges to be dropped, requires that Jesus die and give His blood as the supreme sacrifice for all sin. The sin of Adam put the whole human race in debt. All born into this world are born in sin and all come short of God’s acceptance and relationship. To be accepted of God, one must have this debt removed. All of our human goodness and desire to do what is right falls short of having the debt paid. In the blood is life and the debt of sin can only be paid when the One that is worthy, without sin was willing to die on the cross and shed His blood for humanity. Remission, the forgiveness of sin is for anyone who is willing to confess their need to God and believe that Jesus’s blood can cleanse their heart from sin. He will give wash away our sins and give us new life and purpose.

Sinless Life

1 John 1:8, 2:1 “ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not…”-

Believers in Christ are to walk in the light of God to keep them from a life of sin. A person who lives in sin is a sinner and is in need of God’s grace of forgiveness. If we sin, and deny that we have sinned, we are declaring that God’s word is not true. It is only through the blood of Christ that we are able to live a life without sin. There is nothing in ourselves that is able to keep us pure. We need the light of God, the presences of the Holy Spirit to empower us to resist temptation and to continue to live in the light of God. But it is possible to let our guard down and allow temptation to defeat us. In times like this, we need to confess to God our failure. He desires to stay in fellowship with us, but sin in the life of a Christian keeps us from fellowship. He is our advocate, He loves us too much to just let us live in our sin. He has provided a way, the way of forgiveness. The blood of Jesus has the power to keep us, but it also has the power to forgive us. 

The Greatest Blessing

Psalm 32:1 “ Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”- 

The greatest blessing and grace that a man can have is to know that their sins have been forgiven and they are covered by the blood of Jesus. The complete work of salvation was completed when Christ came to die on the cross to make the final provision for man’s forgiveness. Guilt is part of man’s nature that God’s uses it to alert man that they have done wrong. Not all guilt is from God, but action and behavior that is contrary to God’s law causes man to take notice of their sinful condition. The load of guilt can prick at the conscience and make life unbearable. To be free of guilt is a blessed state of mind and brings peace to the heart of all who will confess it to God. As Christian, we also can experience guilt even though we have not willfully sinned. In the human, our actions and behavior may not be sinful, but they may not always be constructive. It is sometime after the fact that we realize that we wrongful judged, or spoke harshly. The Holy Spirit is faithful to use our conscience and cause us to experience guilt. It’s mistakes like this that His grace is sufficient and greater to cover. Confessing our fault to one another and to God will bring the smile of God and His blessing.