Christ’s Blood :The Necessity

Read | Romans 3:21-26

Romans 3 communicates the very heart of Scripture. Apart from the cross of Christ and His atoning death, no one can be declared righteous.

In other words, there is only one way to become a child of God—through the blood of the Savior (John 14:6). Good works and right living will not earn the Lord’s favor, because every person inevitably sins, and a sinner cannot enter the presence of holy God. The shedding of Christ’s blood on the world’s behalf made it possible for anyone to be cleansed of sin and have a relationship with the Creator. The only requirement is trusting Jesus as Savior.

For God to be just, He must remain true to His own principles. His holiness dictated that “the soul who sins will die” (Ezek. 18:4). The penalty for sin—namely, death—had to be paid in a way that was acceptable to God. He explained through Moses why a blood sacrifice was required: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Lev. 17:11). A life must be given for a life to be spared.

On that basis, the heavenly Father provided a perfectly sinless sacrifice for all mankind. The only way God’s justice could be satisfied and His holiness could be maintained was for Jesus Christ to take our guilt and sin upon Himself and die in our place.

When we say that there is only one way to the Father, we mean that a person must believe Jesus Christ died as a perfect sacrifice. To trust in anything else is to ignore God’s holiness and the admonition of His Word (Acts 4:12).

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Trusting God in All Situations

Read | Romans 8:28-29

Psalm 34:7 promises that every believer is encircled with God’s presence. We are also assured that even the hardest parts of life will be woven into His plan and nothing can touch us without His permission. That’s good news.

The idea that God is present in everything often brings up a lot of questions in the Christian’s mind. For example:

• Does the Lord cause people to sin? God never initiates sin, nor does He lure us to transgress. His purposes are to rescue us from sin’s power (Col. 1:13) and transform us into Jesus’ likeness (Rom. 8:29).

• How can the Lord use our sin for good? Through the times we fail, He will reveal to us our true nature—that is, our weaknesses, faults, and pride. His Spirit will convict us of wrongdoing and lead us to true repentance (John 16:8). Furthermore, He will teach us the consequences of disobedience and the wonders of His forgiving nature.

• Is God present in the lives of those who are not in His family? The Lord is involved with unbelievers, but in a different way: He continually extends His love in order to convict them of sin and their need for a Savior. However, He does not ignore their rebellion (Rom. 1:18; 2:2).

Now consider the life of Jesus Christ. Though our Savior was without sin, He suffered in many ways during His earthly life because of others’ spiritual rebellion, ignorance, and failures. But notice how the heavenly Father used His Son’s suffering for our good and His glory.

The Holy Spirit is willing to teach us more about this important topic. So request His guidance. Whenever you open the Bible, come with an open mind, and be ready to align your thinking with God’s truth.

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An Unusual Word

By David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

Recently the Holy Spirit gave me an unusual word, one that I did not want to
hear! He said, “You are bound to a very limited vision of the Lord’s ocean of
tender, loving mercies. You have endured much guilt, condemnation and fear
because you have not allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal the vastness of My
forgiving, healing, reconciling mercies. You do not know Me for My tenderness!”

God showed me that this is a root cause for many giving up and falling away.
When sin strikes—when Satan comes in like a flood, when you fall into some
old habit or sin—the devil creates a bondage. First, the guilt comes flooding
in, then fear fills your heart. A sense of total failure and helplessness
overwhelms your soul. At this point, most believers run out of grace—because
their view of God’s mercy is so limited.

Satan comes to you and says, “You’ve reached your limit. You’ve confessed
your sin time after time. There is no way God will forgive you now, because
you’ve sinned against the light. If you return and confess once more,
you’ll turn around and sin all over again. So quit now!”

The devil does not want you to see God’s ocean of mercy; he wants you to see
only a trickle! Because of our ignorance of the forgiving, restoring power of
Christ’s love, we are destroyed. We run out of mercy for ourselves because we
are horribly bound by a limited vision. Our eyes have not yet been opened to the
endless mercies of our tender Father! We are so bound by a false, limited view
of His mercies, we find it almost impossible to believe or accept what James
said: “[We] have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful (full
of compassion), and of tender mercy” (James 5:11).

This verse means, “God is easily crushed by our troubles and hurts. He feels
our pain and our failures, and He is kind and compassionate to us. He loved us
even when we were His enemy. Even when we offend Him, He is quick to help,
restore and forgive us.”

The word mercy means “kind and compassionate treatment of an offender under
one’s power.” God has the power to damn us to hell every time we sin; He has us
under His control and can do with us as He pleases. And it pleases His tender
heart to be compassionate, loving and kind toward those who have failed Him the
most.

Read this devotion online: 
http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/22159?src=devo-email

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Strength To Stand

 

By David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Without it, we have no
power to stand. Beloved, we must be on guard, because guilt and condemnation
over sin absolutely destroy the joy of the Lord!

Many Christians are in this bondage right now. They fail to accept full and
free pardon and believe they have no right to be joyful. Throughout Scripture,
God pours out His oil of gladness on those who have learned to hate their sin
and love His righteousness. That's what the Word says of Jesus: "Thou hast
loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows" (Hebrews 1:9)

People who have laid down their sins and are walking with the Lord may have a
struggle that is yet unsettled. But there is such a drawing toward the Lord in
them, such a hunger, that the outcome is inevitable: they will have joy! 

Suppose Jesus appears in the flesh, dressed as an ordinary man, and sits next
to you. A wounded, defeated Christian, wearing a look of gloom, guilt,
condemnation and fear, you fail to recognize Him as He begins to talk to you:

"Do you really love the Lord?" He asks.
You probably would answer, "Very much so!"
"You've sinned, haven't you?"
"Y-y-yes," you answer.
"Do you believe He forgives all who confess and turn from their sin?"
"Yes, but . . . I'm sorry, sir. I believe I've hurt my Savior, truly wounded
Him."
"If you’ve confessed, why haven't you received His forgiveness??"
"I've done it so many times!"
"Do you believe He will forgive 499 times—each time you confess and repent?"
"Yes."
"Do you hate your sin? Do you still want Him?"
"Oh, yes!"
"Then why are you letting the devil rob you of the victory of the cross, the
power of the blood of the Lamb? Why aren't you appropriating His joy and
looking up?"

Beloved, don't quit and give up your joy in the Lord. You have a right to
praise Him—to sing, shout and be happy in the Lord—because you have a
Father who forgives!

 



Read this devotion online: 
http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/22019?src=devo-email

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I Will Restore To You

By David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

“I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25). The
New American Standard Version says, “I will make up to you for the years . . .
eaten.”

This promise is incredible! We want to make up those lost years when we
weren’t following Him, to make amends and repay Him! But He says, “Wrong! You
cannot repay Me for a single wasted hour. Walk before Me in righteousness now
and turn from your sins, and I will make up all the losses, whether they were
yours, your family’s, or Mine!”

To repentant sinners the Lord declares, “Fear not . . . be glad and rejoice:
for the Lord will do great things” (Joel 2:21). You need not be ashamed of your
wasted years. God is going to remove from you the evil army, and you will eat
and be satisfied. You will never again be ashamed (see Joel 2:19-20, 26-27).

You were born for His eternal purposes. He planned for you a life of
satisfaction, joy and usefulness in His kingdom but then sin entered, and God’s
plan for your life was interrupted. The devourer moved in and years were wasted,
lost.

But now, in Christ, all is new—even the calendar! The Lord goes back to the
day the locust came, and He removes all those wasted years and starts counting
again from the moment you repent. All those blessings you missed were stored
up. All the joy, peace, revelation and usefulness that you thought were dead
and gone forever were actually kept by the Lord.

In hell, the damned may be haunted with a vision of what their lives could have
been. Some may see what they lost. But this is not so for the repentant. All
will be restored. They need never again say, “Oh, what I missed. What I could
have been. God had so much for me, but I blew it.” No! God can restore all the
wasted blessings.

The Lord desires to pour out on us all the blessings and joys in Him that we
missed earlier. Yet He does not make it all up with outpourings alone. The
outpourings become overflowings! “And the floors shall be full of wheat, and
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil” (Joel 2:24).

There is such power in repentance. It brings back to us all that the cankerworm
destroyed. God resurrects it all!

Read this devotion online: 
http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/21173?src=devo-email

Stop Trying To Make Peace With Your Sin

Lot and his Daughters (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2012

By David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

“And they called unto Lot . . . Where are the men which came in to thee this
night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them” (Genesis 19:5). Lot’s day
of reckoning finally came. A wild mob of Sodomite men surrounded his house,
pounding on the door and shouting obscenities. They demanded that Lot send out
the two angels who were staying there so they could rape them.

What a horrifying scene! Yet Lot’s reaction was to try to strike a deal with
the men. It appears that Lot was a judge in Sodom, because he sat at the city
gates. He had a reputation to protect so he tried to reason with the mob. He
even went as far as calling them “brethren”—proving he had taken Sodom’s sin
too lightly.

“I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters
which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do
ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing” (verses
7-8).

One theologian writes that Lot knew his daughters were not in danger because
these men were homosexuals. Perhaps Lot reasoned to himself, “These men are
partying sodomizers, looking to fulfill their perverted lusts. They’re no
threat to women. If I send my daughters out, they’ll come home tomorrow morning
unharmed.”

How foolish! Even if that were true, Lot would have been trying to replace one
sin with another. It is impossible to bargain with lust!

Lot, an example of what hidden sin can do to a righteous man, clearly was
deluded. His sin had produced in him such a dangerous condition that he would
give up everything—including his beloved family—to save face.

This man was not ready to face reality. He was dragging out his moment of
reckoning, still wheeling and dealing, trying to delay God‘s deliverance in his
life. And, beloved, that is the attitude of many Christians today. They convince
themselves, “My God is a God of mercy. He delivered me from my sin before, and
He’ll do it again.”

No! God is saying to you through this passage, “No more bargaining. No more
trading a lighter sin for a heavier one. It all has to go!”
Read this devotion online: 
http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/20531?src=devo-email

A Royal Coward

Here’s Today’s Devotional from The Vine…

The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, - Matthew 14:9

 

Herod called himself a king, and yet we see he was a poor slave — a fear-filled coward! He was sorry he had made the oath. His conscience was not altogether dead. He did not want to kill John. He was afraid of public opinion, which he knew would condemn him. Then he despised himself for having been caught by Herodias in her plot to have her long-cherished revenge. He was so much a slave that, although he claimed to be a king, he didn’t have the courage to refuse such a request.

True, he had made an oath, but no promise or oath is binding which requires anyone to sin. Of course, Herod was foolish to make such a reckless promise, not knowing what it would involve. After he had made it he was bound to keep it, at whatever the cost to himself, provided nothing sinful was involved. If Herodias had asked for half his kingdom, he would have been bound to grant her request. But he was under no obligation to grant any desire which required him to commit sin.

It was not the oath, however, that really influenced Herod. He just lacked the courage to do the heroic thing he ought to have done. He was afraid of the ridicule of his guests; and he was so under the power of Herodias that he dared not refuse what she demanded. In the end, it was his weakness that wrecked him. Rather than be a moral hero Herod stained his hands with the blood of a holy man.

There are some things we have no right to make rash promises about. We need to keep our word on things that are ours to control. According to the Psalm 15:4, a good man, having made a promise to do something, must do it even if the result would be to his detriment. This is the honorable thing to do. However, no promise binds anyone to give away another man’s life. This is not his to give.

Toot, please share your thoughts on“A Royal Coward”

They That Are Sick

The Pharisees Question Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

g Toot,

Here’s Today’s Devotional from The Vine…

When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” - Mark 2:17

 

This was the answer Jesus gave to the dissatisfaction about his presence among the sinners and tax collectors at Matthew‘s feast. The Pharisees thought He was compromising Himself by having a meal with these kinds of people. They were accusing Him of being one of these types of people.

But Jesus gave them a wise and good answer. These wicked and sinful ones were the very people that needed Him most. It was just with Him as with a doctor. A doctor doesn’t go on house calls to people with perfect health! Those who are well do not need a doctor, but the sick and those with a disease need him. In fact, the worse their sickness or disease, the more they need his comfort and help.

No one would ever have a problem with a doctor  visiting the sick in their homes, or hospitals, or into plague-infested areas. No one would ever suggest that he must have low standards because of the kind of people among whom he spends his time. It was just the same with Him, Jesus said. He had come to this world just so that sinners might find hope and salvation. For this reason, He could not be blamed for going where sinners were. The worse the sinners the more reason there was why He should be found there. “Good” people, like those who criticized Him, did not need his services; but wherever He found a poor, lost sinner, there was one of the persons He had come to help and save.

One suggestion is, that, like their Master, Christ‘s disciples should carry the gospel to the lowest people in society. We should not mingle among the wicked as companions; but when we strive to save them we are becoming Christ to them. Another lesson is, that no sinner need ever despair of hope, since the worse he is the more surely is Christ willing to save him.

Peace with Pardon

Here’s Today’s Devotional from The Vine..

for he loves our nation, and he built our synagogue for us.” – Luke 7:5

Saved! This poor, shame-soiled, sin-ruined thing, that the Pharisee would have thrust out of his house into the street – saved! Never to go back any more to her old life! An heir of heaven now, destined to walk the heavenly streets in white! There is an old legend that Mohammed once in passing along the way touched a plant of mallows and it became a geranium, and has ever since been a geranium, pouring fragrance everywhere. No matter about the legend, but Christ did something far more wonderful on the day of our story. He touched this sinful soul, and it was transformed into beauty. That woman has been in glory for eighteen centuries. That is what Christ does for every one who creeps to his feet in penitence and faith.

Peace came with the forgiveness. There could be no peace until she was forgiven. No one has any right to be at peace while the guilt of sin remains uncancelled. But when Christ has forgiven us we should be at peace. Why or of what should we then be afraid? What is there for us to fear in this world or the next?

There is a story of one, in the olden days, who had committed a capital crime. He was the king’s friend and favourite; and when his trial came on, although the case went sorely against him, he manifested no fear. The evidence accumulated. There was no loophole of escape from conviction. His friends had no hope, yet they marvelled at his calmness – he was at perfect peace. He was convicted, and was about to be sentenced; still there was in his features no trace of alarm. At the last moment the secret was revealed. He drew from his bosom a paper, and handed it to the judge. It was the king’s pardon. With that in his possession he had no cause for fear. And with our King’s pardon, no matter how guilty we are, we have no need to be afraid, and may be at peace.

Jesus Ransomed Us

The Pharisees Question Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

By Adam’s sin, we all were made sinners and by Jesus’ sacrifice, we are made
righteous. Jesus ransomed us, paid the price, so that the devil would have no
claim on those who repent and trust in Christ and His completed work.

All along God knew that man could not keep or fulfill His divine law. He had
instituted the law to bring order to the human race, lest we destroy ourselves.
The law was for our own protection; it was to make us realize that in our own
strength and righteousness, we could not stand before a holy God. The law was a
mirror God held up to us, saying, “Let me show you what I expect, what My
justice requires. Here is My law and here is where you’ve failed, where you’re
living in sin. You have failed at this point . . . this point . . . and this
point. No one is righteous enough to fulfill My law!”

The Pharisees tried to fulfill the law. They observed more than 600
regulations, from the washing of hands and pots to refusing to touch a Gentile.
They tried to keep all the law, believing that one day they could stand before
God and say, “I kept all Your laws. I did this, this and this. Now You are
obligated to save me.”

But no one can expect his good works to merit justification. God’s Word
answers, “If you’ve failed just one point of the law, you’ve failed the whole
law!” If you expect God to accept you for your good behavior, forget it! You’ll
never be able to keep the whole law.
Because we couldn’t meet justice’s demands to fulfill God’s law, Jesus came to
earth and perfectly fulfilled the law of God. He never failed one point of it
and He did it all out of pure motives of love. “Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil”
(Matthew 5:17).

When Jesus ascended to the Father, His perfect obedience had fulfilled all the
demands of the law and His blood was presented in full payment for our sin.
Here stood a Man in the presence of God whose righteousness was perfect and
therefore acceptable to the Father.

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