You heard another dynamic preacher give a challenging, a moving exposition of “3 Steps to Becoming a Strong Christian.”  “Dynamic” in My eyes … or dymanic in man’s eyes”  Do people flock to see him … or hear Me? Remember … the early church was uneducated and untrained and turned the world upside down … isn’t that “dynamic”?  What’s “dynamic” is that I want to speak to you.  Do you know that?  My promise has always been that I would write My Laws on your heart … that you would have Myself as your “Internal Compass” to guide you.  The Spirit will bring back to remembrance the Truths of Myself that I have taught all generations … I do not need man to do that for me.

Why do you look for “3 Steps”?  Life is a journey … and I am the prize!  You will never “arrive” until you take your seat. You are “seated in the heavenlies.” Did you know that? Rest at my feet child. I promised you that I would take up residency in your new heart … that you would know Me … know My Voice … hear Me … and follow Me.  You will never follow Me when you listen to man.

Child, can’t you see that it is all a game?  It’s all just empty, hallow words … meaningless … you are so busy running from one Christian activity to another … trying to gain My love … My acceptance … My forgiveness.  When are you going to stop “doing” and count it as “done”?  You are acting like a “human doing” … not a “human being”! Rest in Me … the Work is done my child … I have done it all.  Now, let me live My Life thru You.  It is the Holy Spirit that will produce My Fruit thru you.  As it stands today … you have lost your way in playing your religious game … you are following man’s system of performance … his religious treadmill … you have forgotten Me.  Remember My Words … apart from Me … you really can do nothing!

You will gape, and gasp in appalled silence or splutters , when I tell you the stark truth … that you do not know Me.  I Know you think you do … but you don’t … and that “man of god” you are following doesn’t know Me either.  More than anything … you will not let me know you. I’m sad!  You treat me as if I really can’t see inside your whole being … you treat me like I am a god instead of  God.  You live your life around men as though what they say about you is more important then what I say.  Remember … I have accepted you … and I will not forsake you.  I saw your state … you were dead … your spirit had no Life.  You were dead in your sin and in need of Life.  I gave you Life in My Son.  If you have My Son … you have My Life … remember?  He died for all your sin … everything in the past, the present and the future.  It was taken out of the way and nailed to a tree … it is finished.  I gave you a new heart and the Spirit I sent … the same One that said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-plessed” … is the same Spirit that now lives and resides in you.  He will not force His way in you … abide in Him … let Him produce His Fruit thru you.  You should get to know Me better … for I delight in You dear one.  Please … let Me know you … the “roadblock” has been removed so that you and I can truly … “enjoy it all”!  Enjoy Me on this journey!

You heard that another new book arrived, on the “Victorious Christian Life,” and you rushed off to buy it, determined to study it zealously … your mind is full of what that “great man” has to say that you do not hear what My “small still Voice” has done and said.  I left a Love Letter to you detailing twelve (12) men who really knew Me.  Are they victorious enough in your eyes?  In their day … they turned the world upside down.  In their day … they became know as “Christians” … ones identified as having been with Me.  These were “great men”!  Not because they were “great” … but because I am GREAT! They knew that it was not about them … it is about Me. They knew in whom they had believed and the Spirit consumed their lives.  I want to consume your Life. I want to Be Your Life! As for my Letter to you … it lies for another day, unopened … on your desk. 

Yesterday came a “not-to-be-missed” opportunity, and so you just had to rush along and register for the seminar on “Knowing God.”  You even bought the CD’s so that you could take good notes and let all those “wonderful principles and insights” sink in.  You listen, listen, listen … and listen some more … to the errors of that “great man”.  You have reduced Me into a “principle” … because he has reduced me to a “principle”.  How tragic! You act as though you would rather be free … then know Me. Yet, 24/7, you live in your own unique bondage.  Can’t you see that that “great man” has put you there?  All the while I speak simple but profound truths to your heart.  Let me replace man’s error with My Truth … so that you will be free!  

Child, let me ask you?  What body can function any length of time on “Ho-Ho’s” and “Twinkies”? How many compact Christian formulae have you consumed, collected and carefully filed?  The “treadmill of your life” remains the same … you are still losing the same twenty (20) pounds … yet you still do not know Me.  You live in a spiritual vacuum … living in evangelical mediocrity.  You live in a spiritual vacuum … mustering up in your flesh all the strength to live a Life that you cannot live.  Thru all generations … those who have “thirst” for Me … I have quenched their thirst with a river of Living Water. Those who have hungered … I have fed them with Myself … for I Am the Bread of Life. They are now full … of Me.

Please … stop trying to find Me.  I found You.  There was and is nothing that could be salvaged.  I made you New and Fresh … You are an Original now.  You are a New Creation of Mine … I created you in My Righteousness and Holiness of the Truth.  My Handprint is upon your Life.  You are My workmanship!  Abide in Me now … let the Spirit live His Life in and thru you … and I will take all the broken pieces of your life and the things you don’t understand … and I will make something beautiful of Your Life … something whole!  Even more than that … You will begin to know Me … and you will be letting me know you.

I am still here … just waiting … waiting for you to stop your frantic rushing, waiting for you to stop pretending that you really know Me.  Child … I see all that … and I’m telling you … I still love you … because I love you!  Come and enter My rest.

Come … sit at me feet and listen.  Don’t say a word … Your problem is that you have too many words … you listen to too many people.  Please … just “shut up” and listen to My Voice.  I am the Voice of Truth … listen to Me.  I love you child … I love you.  Be quiet … and listen to Me … I’m in love with you child.  I’m dancing over you with shouts of your joy!  You are my child, my creation … and I’m overjoyed that you are mine … all mine.

So come, just come, quietly and alone.  Come … meet with Me … and there we will find each other again, and you will begin to know me … and to know my love.

Two students approached me whom I had never met before.  There names were Rocky Anthony and Paul Sartorious.  They were active in a campus ministry called Campus Crusade for Christ.  They asked me if I had a few moments to discuss “The Four Spiritual Laws”, a little tract that they shared with students across campus.  I guess their was an “open door” to my heart … although I didn’t realize it … as they began to share what I had not ever heard before.

The first “Law” Rocky shared was that “God loved and had a wonderful plan for my life”.  Growing up in a Methodist home and taking in an occasional church outing on Christmas and Easter … maybe I had heard that God loved me … but it certainly never made any kind of impact in my life.  I recalled the John 3:16 verse they shared with me, “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”.  I had heard that one before … but when Rocky took that verse and restated it, “For God so loved Mark, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if Mark believes in Him, Mark shall not perish, but Mark will have eternal life” … wow, it took on meaning.  Another verse shared was John 10:10, Jesus speaking, He said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.”  As my heart raced over these verses I was realizing that I wanted to know God and secondly, I really didn’t have much of a life … certainly nothing to brag about.  I didn’t know what I wanted … I just knew I didn’t have “it”.

The second “Law” said, “Man is sinful and seperated from God, therefore, He cannot know and experience God’s plan for his life.”  Wholeheartedly … I could identify with this statement.  I didn’t know a whole lot about anything in those days … but one thing I did know was that I was not perfect.  I knew myself and I saw my flaws.  Paul shared with me Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  My heart agreed with this verse … I was a sinner.  He showed a diagram that depicted mans condition … that God was holy and man was sinful … and how we try to measure up to God’s standards … but we fail.  I was probably a “better” person then most … but it made sense to me that if it were up to my own effort to get to heaven … I was gonna fall far, far short of the target.  For some reason … I never connected any religious dots to being good.  I was good hearted kid … but I was lost … and as Rocky and Paul shared … anticipation and excitement stirred in my heart.  There was a “vacuum” in my life and it needed filling. 

Rocky shared the Third Law, “Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin.  Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.”  “God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Rocky continued, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).  I remember well the feeling I had at that moment … sensing and realizing that Jesus was my answer … that He bridges the gulf of the great divide in my heart.  I wanted to know Jesus and experience His love, forgiveness and life.

I was probably an “easy sale”!    At this point … I remember asking what I needed to do to make this happen.  Rocky followed that question with another verse … “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).  Paul explained to me how we receive Christ through faith … “By grace we have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Rocky and Paul were about ready to discuss with me how I could invite Jesus into my heart … but ya know what … I realize now that although I had not said the words I was a believer at that point … I was a believer at Law #3.  I was ready.  I recall them sharing a prayer with me that expressed my desire to know Jesus … to invite Him into my heart.  They asked if I wanted to read that prayer silently and I recall saying, “Ill just say it outload right now”.  I tell ya what … with a tear in my eye … my life changed that day.

Rocky and Paul visited with me another good hour that afternoon and began to share with me some of the truths that were now mine as His dear child … how I could know that I had eternal life … that I had become a new creation … that He would never leave me nor forsake me.  That was a great day.  Those guys followed up on me each day and we met two days a week for some study time and to pray for me.  They invited me to a Campus Crusade meeting and in the following weeks and months I would become acquainted with a good church and met regularly in a bible study with other new believers.

As the years have passed I realize how fortunate I was to discover Christ in the way I did with the people I did.  Today on Facebook, I have 15-20 friends from back in “those days” … Paul is still a friend of mine on FB.  Rocky is a Pastor.  Other Facebook friends are one’s that I have led to Christ, discipled and trained up.  Coming to Christ in college was a great experience for me and one that I will certainly treasure for many years to come … I still have the actual tract that they shared with me those 27 years ago … just to remember.

The ministry of the Law was a ministry of “death” and “condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:7, 9)  Ouch!  Who wants to live under that kind of ministry? Not me! Contrast the ministry of the Law (the Old Covenant) to the ministry of the Spirit (the New Covenant) and you find that one “kills” and the other produces “righteousness”.  2 Corinthians 3:8-9 equates the ministry of the Spirit with the ministry of “righteousness”.  This is “good news” and a glorious promise!

The ministry of the Spirit performs it’s work in children of God so that “right living” occurs. The Spirit lives His Holy life through us. We can’t help but be pleasing to Him. Hebrews 8:6 says, “He (Jesus) is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises”. The Old Covenant was faultless, but God found fault with the people. Thus, God put into effect a New Covenant. In this New Covenant, His People would no longer be led by the hand, but by the Spirit as He placed His desires in His People (Hebrews 8:9).

It gets better! Hebrews 8:10 says, “I will put My Laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts.” Here is where God gives His children a “new heart” and on that heart He writes His Laws on it. These two Laws are actually the two Jesus said the entire words of the Law hinged on. First, “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.” Secondly, “to love your neighbor as yourself”.

How exciting is that! In essence, God has given us a “new computer” (new heart) and on that “new computer” He has put the “perfect software” (His Laws) on it that display God’s heart in every situation. We just let Him live His Life through us in every situation!

Yet, it gets better!! Hebrews 8:11 says that “you will no longer need to teach everyone to ‘Know the Lord’, for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.” Wow, did you catch it? We can “Know the Lord” … personally. That’s why the Apostle Paul said this in Philippians 3:10 in the Amplified Bible, “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection, which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness even to His death.”

Wait … it still gets better!!! Here, in Hebrews 8:12, the writer says that, “He will be merciful to their iniquities (our sins), and I will remember their sins no more.” My, oh my, our sins are remembered no more, as far as the east is from the west, He remembers our sins no more. He casts our sins into the depths of the sea! He has redeemed us now so that all our sin, including all the pollution and guilt associated with sin, has now been taken out of the way.

What a glorious New Covenant! It’s so glorious that it’s made the old one, the Old Covenant obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

“Rest” now … in His New Covenant of Grace!

Did you know that if you are “in Christ”, that you have a brand new “identity”? It’s true!! Believe it or not … you really are not a sinner anymore!  You are a saint!   That is some “good news” for sure!

 Jesus told Nicodemus he had to be “born from above” … “born of the Spirit”.  Well, were you … are you born form above?  I suppose if your reading this your answer is “yes”.  However, if your like most “newborns”, you don’t necessarily “feel” like everything is new … right?  Well, when Christ comes in He takes up residency in your heart.  This is where the  metamorphosis took place.  God refers to it as becoming a new creation in Christ. It’s like the caterpillar changing into a butterfly.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  You see, chances are you probably don’t realize that you are no longer an old catapillar (sinner) crawlin’ around on the ground  livin’ in a bunch of nasty dirt. You are a brand new butterfly with the freedom to go where your heart desires flying above life’s circumstances!  God has taken you through a process of “metamorphesis” through the cross so that the “old you” was crucified and you are now a brand new person … a new “Mark” … a new creation with His very life inside of you!

But wait a minute Mark … I don’t feel different … what has really changed?  ”The old has gone” … that really is true … the old “Mark” … who was spiritually dead, stood condemned under the law … was dead in his sins … that “Mark” was killed.  Realize dear one that the death of Jesus for your sin and mine means God doesn’t count our sins against us anymore.  Jesus took them off of us … every single one of them,  ”He became sin for us.”  He paid for each and every one our sins … in full … the balance or debt has been paid … “and as far as the east is from the west, so has He removed that sin from us.”

“The new has come” describes a new person … a new creation … and that is what you are.  You are one who is in good standing with God –righteous!   But Mark … how can you say that!  Let’s go back to Nicodemus.  “You must be born from above”.  Well, are you?  Let me tell you this … the only way the Holy Spirit would take up residency in your heart was if it was totally cleansed of all sin … past … present and future.  That heart had to be totally cleaned.  Guess what?  It has been cleansed … it is clean … and that is why the Spirit has taken up residency in your heart.  Remember, this isn’t because of how “good” you are … this is because of how “perfect” and “acceptable” the sacrifice of Jesus is.  When the Spirit made you a new creation the Spirit came inside you and you are now sealed with the Spirit as a “seal” that you are His dear child.  This “great exchange” is that He has taken upon Himself your sin and in exchange has given you His righteousness.  Thus, you are now righteous, pure and holy because of Who lives in you.  Thus, you and I have a brand new identity! We have “become the righteousness of God.”

Remember that caterpillar I was talking about … crawlin’ around in that dirt … well guess what … you can still do that!  You can still crawl around in the dirt if you like I guess … but let me ask you a question.  Have you ever seen a butterfly crawlin’ around in the dirt?  And your answer is?  Correct … NO!  And why is that?  It doesnt’ make sense for a butterfly to crawl around in the dirt.  Its really not a part of his nature to do so anymore.  A butterfly is able to fly in the air … on wings of beauty and enjoys the nector of the flowers.  It lives above all that now … because that is who it is now.  So it is for you dear one.  The old being is gone and so is its identity.  Actually, the caterpillar had no part in that process of change; its Creator did it all. And so the butterfly can never be a caterpillar again because God did away with the old creation and made a new creation. That change occurred in me and to every person who is “in Christ” … it’s just that some of us just don’t realize it … or are not walking according to who we are in Him.

Probaby one of the most misunderstood realities is that our heart has been changed … yet, we still live in an “earth suit” … a body that is “flesh” … and the “earth suit”, this “flesh” as well as the “mind” has not been made a new creation.  The journey now for you and I is discovering who God has made us as His dear children and as we do you will see Him “lived out” through your decaying “earth suit”.

So why is it important to know your “identity” of who you are? Well, if you don’t know who you are … it stand to reason that you will allow the “old you” … the “flesh” and your “mind ” to define you.  My guess is … if you are like me … that you probably let family members tell you who you are … you let the world tell you you are and probably … you let the church or your Pastor tell you who you are.  That is your present and past experience … so it just makes sense for that to happen.  Might I suggest that you listen to what God says is true of you now!   Lets ”renew our minds by”counting” or “reckoning” what He says is true of  … to be true.  This is called … faith … so lets place our faith together in what God says is now true of you and I!

“In Christ”, who does God say you are?  Well, here’s a starting list for you … baptized into Christ, chosen by God, saved by grace, God is propitiated (satisfied), reconciled to God, redeemed, freed from the Law, totally forgiven, totally cleansed, made holy and blameless, hidden with Christ in God, clothed with Christ, given Christ’s righteousness, justified, safe from the wrath of God, made at peace with God, freed from condemnation, sanctified (made holy), made perfect forever, totally accepted, translated out of darkness into light, from death to life, born again, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, made into a temple of the Holy Spirit, made into a new creation, made children of God, adopted into God’s family, made heirs of God, made into a holy and royal priesthood, given total access to God, made complete, we have been given everything. Pretty amazing isn’t it … who God says you are in Him?  Here is the exhortation … “Know Who You Are … then, LIVE ACCORDINGLY!”

In closing, remember that “in Christ”, you are … completely loved, radically accepted, totally forgiven, lavished with grace and declared righteous.  As His child, there is nothing you can do that will result in God loving you more. Nor can you do anything that results in God loving you less. If you could … then it wouldn’t be unconditional love … would it?!!  The same is true in regard to His acceptance of you. He has totally accepted you … even with all your faults and strengths. He has accepted you on the basis of Christ Himself. God accepted Christ’s sacrifice and now accepts you on that same basis. Is that “Good News” or what?!!  All of this is by GRACE. If it is by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.  By Grace, through Faith, we have been given new life. Not a changed life … an “exchanged life”. God made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Enjoy the journey of discovering your new identity dear one!  Flying is a great experience!

Anyway, I sent him an email the day before that match, Thursday, February 12th. There were some thoughts on my heart that I wanted him to hear … and I typed some words that I felt were straight from the Lips of my Father … and what He has taught me … so I thought I’d blog to you that email.

Stephen,

I’m so excited for you tomorrow. I know you have put a lot of heart and soul into this … and you are to be congratulated for your hard work, heart and determination. I trust that you will go out tomorrow and have fun, play hard and enjoy yourself. You are going to learn an alot about yourself as you play … so I hope you will take time to enjoy the moment and realize you are in a process.

Stephen … enjoy the journey. Extend yourself all the love, grace, acceptance and forgiveness that is fully yours in Christ … allow yourself to see yourself as He sees you … if you do … then you will be delighted with the journey. Remember to keep moving forward as you progress thru your day and the match. Live life with no regrets … pick your shots, hit them with confidence … live with the results. Remember, you are entitled to nothing. There are no guarantees. You can play your best and lose … you can play your worst and win … the difference is your focus, your perspective, your heart, your desire and your choices. So remember, tomorrow … you have choices … choices of how to look at life as you work thru each and every shot. I trust that you will begin to see what it is to live in dependence upon Christ … letting him live in and thru you … if you can allow yourself to rest at His feet … and you can hear His voice and rest in His peace … then you will certainly be on your way to becoming a “Jedi” tennis player. “Don’t give in to the dark side” (can you hear Obi-wan’s voice) … you know that that road has no hope … “mind your emotions” … “they can steer you wrong”. Listen to your heart, for it is in there that The Spirit resides. He will calm you as you rest in Him. I’ve had lots of fun playing tennis with you … now comes your time to expand your horizons.

Regardless of any outcome … I’m glad you are my son … so remember … Stephen Michael … your Father loves you! More than that … your heavenly Father loves you unconditionally. Tomorrow … my hope is that more than playing good tennis … you will bask in His delight and see that life is about enjoying Him while you play tennis. Keep your head up, move forward, focus on Him … encourage others and leave everything in your gut out on the court … give it your all … you will have no regrets.

Daddy

A Place Where …

… a place where Jesus is the focus, not on comparison with others.

… a place that “is” “the safest place on earth”, where it is safe to fail, without being ashamed. I want a place that doesn’t encourage failure … but I do want to hang with people who understand it.  I’m not wanting to try to “minimize” sin, but rather “maximize” grace!

… a place where it is safe to be you, the real you, without feeling that your not good enough or you’ll never measure up … or where you have to change to be accepted and loved.

… a place to be without a mask, after all, if Jesus loved and accepted me just as I was … and after cleansing me of myself … filling me with Himself and sealing me secure … still loving and accepting me now … shouldn’t others as well … or atleast … couldn’t they try? 

… a place to find “JESUS” — and to know Him more and more each day … each moment … every breath. I’m not desiring to seek any doctrine … including grace!  I’m seeking a person who is GRACE.  I seek His face and He reveals Himself and His promises to me.

… a place where humor, laughter, joy, and a zest for life is encouraged. And, if life and circumstances have knocked me down and taken my focus off of Christ … you can get a helping hand of encouragement from a sincere heart who only wants me to rest in my Daddy’s lap.

… a place where believers understand that a healthy church doesn’t mean a perfect one.  Actually, I want to be a part of an “imperfect church”!  That’s okay with me.  My real desire is that He be lifted up and that He draw all men to Himself … dispite all the imperfections of this flesh … and for believers to be known by their love, forgiveness and acceptance of one another.

…. a place where the way you dress and wear your hair is not important … period! God looks at my heart and he is already well-pleased with what He has done in me … the rest will take care of itself.

… a place that communicates the grace and truth … the freedom and liberty we have in Christ.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is … there is the heart set free. Jesus did, after all, come to offer freedom to those who were in desperate need of it. I also desire a place that talks to me and not at me … a place where whoever is teaching, they can share their heart …be transparent and real.  I always disliked all of those US vs. THEM sessions. (When I was viewed as the “learner” I didn’t appreciate it when people did it to me, so I strive not to inflict that on anyone else, especially if they view me as a Pastor!)  I even like a place where any believer can share what the Spirit is teaching them.  After all, God doesn’t just speak to Pastor’s does He?

… people realize that the church cannot meet every need that you have, or make you instantly and deliriously happy. (You and I know that isn’t true.)   I like a place where brothers are content with Jesus … content with the reality the “He will never leave us nor forsake us”. 

… you can be real, genuine and authentic as a person.  I want a place where I can “connect” with others in the “realness” of everyday life.  What’s so wrong with sharing “the good”, “the bad” and “the ugly” anyway … and loving people as they figure out this thing called “life”?

… the focus isn’t a building or a ministry or getting me placed in the right area of service … and how ’bout not getting beat over the head about money or tithing … besides, it comes from the heart doesn’t it?  I’d rather have an open dialogue about the needs of my fellow brothers and sisters and have an environment where we communicate with each other what all our needs are and then trust Jesus to take care of His church as we look for ways to meet each others needs.

… a place where Jesus is our “ruler” and where He is the “chief shepherd”!  I tried to guide my life for too many years and that didn’t work.  On top of that … the men I have followed weren’t really following Him.  They were too busy trying to look good or build the church in “their” image!  I’d rather be guided by Jesus Himself … allowing His Spirit to place desires upon my heart and then allow Him to gift and guide me as He sees fit!

… finally, a place where you can find comfort in the loving arms of the Savior … and rest in that!

A Walk of Grace  …

… is loving God because He has fully and permanently accepted me through Jesus Christ, not because I want to gain His acceptance or become more pleasing to Him through my works.  I don’t “strive” now to “do” … I “rest” in “being”.

… means inner motivating by allowing the Holy Spirit to live the Christ Life through me.  My love and thankfulness for all that God has done, both for me and in me, encourages me through each day … each moment … rather than being dragged through by guilt, duty, and tradition.

… means believing firmly in biblical absolutes, but rejecting attempts to legislate the Christian life through human rules, especially rules that apply to “gray areas” or “cultural correctness.”  I might add … I don’t even legislate “grace”.  “Grace” is not a doctrine to be followed … “grace” is a Person named Jesus … who is full of grace … that is who He is.

… means abiding in a Person and a relentless pursuit of enjoying His love for me each day … each moment … rather than a constant analysis of how well I am “obeying” the rules.  Remember, the “Law” was a tutor for Israel … it was suppose to lead one to Christ.  Now that faith has arrived … the old “Law” has served its purpose.  I am to be led now internally by the Spirit as I listen to His voice.

… means accepting people at their current level of spiritual growth and development (including leaders), just as God does, then encouraging them to grow in an atmosphere of grace.

… means I can be honest and transparent with those I love in where I am at in this journey.  This models God’s love and acceptance of me. This results in other brothers and sisters feeling “safe” to share their life and be real … as we then “bear one another burdens’” and encourage one another daily.

… means placing the primary emphasis of the Christian life on Christ and His love for me, resulting in inner motivations, rather than outward behaviors.

… means refusing to deny or minimize the pain that comes into my life because of my own failures or those of others; rather, it means viewing pain as a means of experiencing God’s grace and help in my time of need.  As I run to Daddy … the Spirit is there to comfort … and as He comforts me I gain a new perspective of the fellowship of His suffering … so I can encourage others to run to Daddy for the same comfort.

It means following the relational style of Jesus, who accepted and forgave sinful, lost people, even though they may have failed miserably. It also means that maintaining a relationship of love with others is more important than the concerns of peoples failures.

It means living a life consistent with who you are in Jesus Christ … as we received Him by faith … so now we walk and liveby faith … rather than an observance of laws to merit our standing with God.  Never forget … faith pleases God.

Finally, it means … you can face today and tomorrow, completely accepted as His dear child.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” You see, Jesus was the “sinless Savior” so that He could become the perfect sacrifice to pay the debt for your “spiritually dead” condition. In His “gift” to us, He takes upon Himself your sin and in exchange … gives us His righteousness!

Sadly, many, even in the Christian world, have made “our” righteousness the point and living up to the Law as the standard and requirement to be saved. Nope, nadda, no way! Galatians 2:21 says, “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” You see, righteousness comes only through Jesus Christ, the righteous one. This is “Good News”!

Those who seek to establish their own righteousness can’t achieve it. Sadly, they try hard and give it great effort. But, all it takes is one act of unrighteousness to spoil the prize. They fail to realize that they are born “spiritually dead” into this world with a nature like Adam. Romans 10:3-4 says this, “For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Now, that’s “Good News” for those who want to receive His “Life” and “righteousness”, knowing there is nothing they can do on there own to merit it … except receive it as a free gift.

Hebrews 4:3 says that those “who believe enter that rest”. Hebrews 4:9-10 says, “There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” In fact, Hebrews 3:18-19, make the point that those who can’t enter into “His rest” are those with “unbelief”. In the passage, “unbelief” is simply “disobedience” to receiving what Jesus has provided as a free gift. That’s why the writer of Hebrews said in 4:1, “Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.”

To those who have ears to hear … be encouraged that the only way you can “fall short” of this “rest” is “unbelief” in what Jesus has provided for us. We are exhorted to “rest” in His “life” and “righteousness” and to stop seeking out ways to establish that on our own.

Now, kick your feet up … and just “rest”. It’s what He wants for you … then live in “thankfulness”.

A New Focus  …

… on the life we have in Christ, rather than the sin which once separated us from Him. In fact, our “new life” and this “new heart” He has given us causes our spirits to whole-heartedly “agree” with God when we have moments that we are not walking by faith. However, we are not “sin-focused”. We are “life-focused” … because “Christ is our Life!” (Colossians 3:4).

… on being a “forgiven saint”, rather than a “confessed-up sinner”. We recognize that when the Spirit deals with us He begins the conversation reassuring us that we are saints, His children, accepted, loved, holy and blameless.

… on “Truth”. Knowing that “error led us into bondage”, we now walk in “Truth”, knowing that “Truth sets us free”. We recognize that “Truth” is all about a Person, Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life!

… on Jesus! Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know me, the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” Praise God that “eternal life” is not something we get when we die, rather, that “Life” is His “Life” that we began enjoying the moment we placed our trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins and our new “Life”. Our hearts desire is to get know this God personally, a promise of the New Covenant.