John 8:36 quotes Jesus saying, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We have been set free from the chains of sin that once bound us. We have been brought out of our dark, dank cell into the brilliant sunlight of freedom…and in that wonderful brightness we will rejoice and praise Him forever.
II Corinthians 1:21-22 ” Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
You are marked and set apart by God. His signet ring seal is on you…forever chosen as a place for the Holy Spirit to reside…the Holy Spirit being His down payment for your eternal joy to come.
Deuteronomy 1:21 ” See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
We pray and beech the Lord for something, but when it finally happens, we’re fearful and won’t move when the Lord says, “Go!” Suddenly, we’re second guessing God, and getting cold feet, when we should be shouting a victory cry and taking possession of our inheritance.
James 1:13 ” When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone…”
When we are enticed by evil, it’s always focused at our weaknesses…those things that have entangled us in the past. Our own foolishness will certainly our ruin… thinking we can’t be seduced by something that controlled us in the past. But nor can we blame God for our predicament…He is not only incapable of being tempted Himself, but He will never test us with evil.
Psalm 32:7 ” You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”
There will be times in all our lives when we need answers…When the world’s response won’t suffice…when our soul longs for the truth. That’s when it’s time to go to that hiding place, that secret place of just you and the Lord. In that quiet place, you will find the truth for those hard questions you are asking…and in the end you will find liberation and release.
Revelation 1:8 ” I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty.”
It’s so very difficult to try to put our heads around the eternity and infinity of God…and this passage only highlights our very limited comprehension of Him. God is the first, the beginning, before time…He was. But He is also the last, the end…into time everlasting He will be.
Proverbs 3: 11-12 ” My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Correction…from our real fathers or our Heavenly Father can be hard, but necessary for our growth. Just as our earthly father shapes our character, our Heavenly Father shapes our spiritual character. Both have our best interest at heart and want only the greatest for us.
II Timothy 2:19 ” …Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
Unfortunately, we can’t have it both ways…we can’t say “Yes” to the Lord and then disregard His Laws. If we want His power and authority in our life, we must turn our backs on our old ways and the sinful nature we once had.
I Chronicles 13: 9-10 ” When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the Ark. So he died there before God.”
The Levites were moving the Ark of the Covenant…and rather than obeying the Lord’s command of how to move it…the Ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the men, they placed the Ark on an oxen cart. God’s commandments are not open to debate or revision on our part. The Levites knew the proper protocol, but chose not to follow it.
Galatians 3:13 ” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ “
The passage that Paul is quoting is from Deuteronomy 21:23…which deals with the punishment for those guilty of a capital offense. But Jesus was never guilty of anything other than loving us, and in doing so, He suffered the penalty and paid the price for our sinfulness. Jesus took the punishment we rightly deserved… so that we might be free.
Safetypinlove 