How do you read the Bible?

I was thinking lately, about how I have interpreted Scripture over the years, and have been re-evaluating this practice. A friend of mine, from a Catholic background, asked me years ago, if I believe in the Bible and if I actually interpreted it literally. To which I answered "Yes!", and she looked at me with horror. I now am realizing that the Bible cannot be translated literally or at first glance..and to do so can be very harmful. Let me try to explain what I mean. First, as Christians we no longer are under the law, and are in a New Covenant with Christ. If you look at Scripture the New Covenant took place after Jesus death, so any teaching in the Bible prior does not literally "apply" to us. We really need to look at the context, and read who was speaking to whom, and evaluate the fact that there is a cultural aspect that may not "apply" to us in this day and age. Another reason I used to read the Bible literally is because I looked at it kind of as a rule book, or a how to live my life kind of book. However, I do not believe the Bible was intended to be a rulebook, I am more inclined to think of it like a story of God's amazing steadfast redeeming Love and grace towards mankind from the beginning. Or, like a love letter, to us. So, viewing it in this light helps me to read and interpret it with a lense of grace rather than law or legalistically. I think far too often as Christians we miss the point of Scripture, take it out of context and do damage to ourselves and others....I do not believe this is the Father's heart for us! Another thing I have struggled with, and this has manifested more recently over this past year...is messages that are preached on 1 or 2 verses of Scripture without the whole context of the text being brought in or any cross referencing of other Scriptures. Making a whole message out of one verse, you really can make it mean anything you might want.
Anyway, again these are just my thoughts on the subject, anyone have anything to add?
I truly just want to learn how to read and interpret the Bible as God intended. I essentially believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, in that sense I do take it literally, I am just seeking to properly interpret it.

a quote ......

I found this quote and I felt like it went along with my earlier post.......thanks again to Julie!

"I believe many Christians miss the connection that the way
Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers and triumphed over them was by cancelling the written rules and regulations that stood opposed to us. Because the devil gets behind the laws and rules for the Christian and accuses you night and day that you're falling short. Now, the law was meant for the Holy Spirit to get behind to bring conviction to unsaved people that they need the Saviour. But
if you go back under law, Satan will get behind the law and bring judgement and accusation and if you believe it, you will not live in the grace of God, faith will be nullified in your heart for the promises of God to be fulfilled and grace will not operate and the presence and power of God will not flow to the degree God wants his presence to flow."


Rob Rufus, from sermon
series ROB RUFUS IN LOS ANGELES SPECIAL SERIES ON GRACE PART 1 , Grace Part 1 (Feb.2, 2007)

by the way you can listen to this message by clicking on the link to the left -Grace 1, by Rob Rufus

battling condemnation.....living in grace

Yesterday, I had a hell of a day, yes I said hell....you see I spent the entire day fighting off condemnation, and since no condemnation ever comes from God, it must come from the devil, thereby explaining the hell I went through.....These days whenever condemnation comes at me I immediately get angry.....I am aware there is a battle to thwart all that God is revealing to me....and I am aware that we (Keith and I) are too familiar with legalistic thinking, and trying to measure up to some kind of outward standards(or the law), but let me tell you this is dangerous, it does not bring the life that only the Spirit of God can bring.

"When the law comes to us as believers and presents its perfect demands, our internal response is either rebellion ("I will break that commandment") or self-effort ("I can keep that commandment"). Either way, we are living by the flesh. Certainly His plan is not for us to rebel. But neither does He intend for us on our own ability to try to make life work. He intends for us to live as Jesus did, in a moment-by-moment relationship of total dependence upon the Spirit within us. As Paul explained, only God "give[s] life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you" (Romans 8:11b).

Although the law itself is holy, God had to kill us off to it. Because as long as we were alive to the law, we had no choice but to try to keep it. And to try to keep the law is to live by the flesh, not the Spirit. That is what Jesus came to save us from:

"I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." (John l0:l0b)

For the letter [the Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life. (II Corinthians 3:6b)

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing . . ." (John 6:63a)

What is grace living? It is living in dependence on the Spirit, not in dependence upon our own resources to make life work.

Grace does not simply mean that God has forgiven us of our sins. It does not mean that God steps in to help out when we mess up trying to live the Christian life. Grace means that God has Himself done everything necessary to enable us to receive, experience, and manifest Life – His Life. That includes forgiveness, but encompasses so much more.

The entire gospel of Christ is a gospel of grace, from first to last. It is not a gospel of us doing our best on our own, and God's grace filling in when we fall short. Grace means that we live in total dependence on God, moment by moment. That is how God designed us to live. It is not God's contingency plan because man sinned. Man was always designed to live in dependence on God. His sin was trying to live independently. The gospel is the good news of God's restoration of our lives to God's original design: dependence upon Him. God's grace is not something that we will only experience on earth while we still live in sin-prone bodies. We will live in God's grace throughout eternity:

God . . . made us alive together with Christ . . . and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4,6,7)
I have come to appreciate the following comparison of law and grace. To me, it wonderfully summarizes the relationships among law, grace, the flesh, and the Spirit. And it makes it so obvious to me that, despite the vestiges of law-living that remain within me, I want to learn to live fully in grace." (excerpt from article, "Living from a new source"

Anyway, I am so eager to move away from all forms of legalistic thinking, it is not productive at all.....and though I may fail in this, as well as give in to operating "in the flesh" or try to do things in my own strength and not depend on the Spirit to flow through me....God will never condemn me for failing, he's always ready to pour out his grace and to have His grace flow through me,....I can rest assured that nothing will seperate me from the love of Christ, NOTHING! Knowing this and clinging to this helps me to move out of condemnation much more quickly and back into His loving arms!!

A coincidence....???

To add to my last post, I found a post on Adrian Warnocks blog, through a friend's blog(Julie Morris, Voice of Grace), about The Christian's Warfare. The post is the notes on a sermon done on Ephesians 6, and you can listen to the message as well. Anyway, I just find it interesting timing to discover this, and wanted to share it publicly, as I find it very helpful and relevent to what God laid on my heart to post the other day! Go ahead take a look in the Interesting posts and articles section to the left........

I also noticed on the Grace for Life blog (also to the left n blogs) this topic is discussed, he writes a post called "Charging the Brethren", check it out

By the way, I am still having trouble getting the links to work in my actual post.....help?

the undermining power of our enemy....

I had an opportunity to stand against the devil's schemes just last night...thankfully, I realized I needed to fight him and I did and that was that! Before you think I am crazy, hear me out...I learned that in times when opposition comes at me and I don't understand it, I stop and think could this be my enemy trying to undermine the work the Holy Spirt is doing in my life? Satan wants nothing more than to stop us from knowing God more, having confidence in our inheritance in Christ, and from having joy and peace. He'd like to see us in fear and condemnation, give us panic attacks and upset our homes...! Unfortunately, all these years I have never been aware of the need to stand up to my enemy, Satan, -in fact I don't recall being taught a whole lot about spiritual warfare, why is that? It's clearly in the Bible! I have heard about putting on the armor of God, but never learned about the spiritual powers that are against me! Not really!
Anyway, Ephesians 6:10-13, be strong in the Lord; draw your strength from Him, put on God's full armor, that you might successfully stand up against the devil's schemes (or his strategies and deceits) for we are not wrestling with flesh and blood, but against the despostisms(meaning=absolute power of tyranny), against the (the master spirits who are) the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly or supernatural sphere. Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day, and, having done all (the crisis demands), to stand (firmly in your place)"
We can't ignore the simple truth that we need to stand up to our enemy, otherwise he will try to undermine our spiritual growth and make our lives miserable! The cool thing is, we can fight him, and win, cause Jesus already won the fight against Satan for us! So in Jesus name, go ahead and rebuke Satan and he will flee from you!!
I have more thoughts on this issue, but just wanted to share what was currently on my heart and mind.....if you're interested in reading a book check out, "Demolishing Strongholds." by David Devenish. This is a very eye opening, helpful book.

"Deep calls to deep"

Wow! I just finished a message by Paul Anderson Walsh that really blew me away! So, I had to recommend it publicly. I found it over at Grace Roots, Joel's blog about a month ago and only started it and loved it then! It is quite long and somewhat difficult to hear, but don't let that deter you, this is worth a listen!!
One thing he said in his message I appreciated so much, as lately I have been blessed so much by hearing people's testimonies, he said; " Everyone has an experience with God that I don't have! Everyone knows something about Jesus that I don't know!" He then proceeded to ask the congregation "How many of you came to church today planning to share something God taught you this week, raise your hand." Then he called one woman up and had her share, she shared, then he asked the congregation, "how many of you needed to hear that, raise your hand" -and apparently many folks did. Anyway, that wasn't a main point of his message or anything, just a tangent thing that struck me, and there were many things he said that struck me! Good stuff, go ahead, have a listen!! ( you can find the link to this over in the highly recommended teachings on grace, to the left)

...testimony starter

I love reading people's stories and testimonies and find that there is such power in hearing how God works in other's lives.
To me they bring more revelation and more insight than one could get from a counciling session with a pastor or a public meeting joined with other believers. Something about the process, where someone has been and where they have ended up and all the in between stuff, it just matters so much....Everyone has a story, a wonderful history that God has been working on all along, that is worth sharing with someone...whether you think you have an interesting testimony or not, God has been at work in your life for good, for His purposes, and this may include encouraging others with the life you have led thus far! All this to say, I have many things I have wanted to share regarding my life, many layers of lessons, many years of heartache and disillusionment, to a current season of restoration, hope, joy, and love! Truly God has been at work, truly he has watched over my life!
I will begin to tap into my story here now, with a portion of my life to set a precursor to the latest events and workings of grace in my life and my marriage. Firstly, I was raised in a Christian home, of Reformed Baptist Theology to be exact, although I never knew what this actually meant until now, and still to this day don't really know why it matters to have a specific denomination(but that's just me!). I attended a private Christian school from grades K-12 and was very active in church and youth group as a teen, until I graduated high school. High school was for me a time of much emotion, discovery and trying to fit in and be accepted. My whole world revolved around a social context, both in school, sports, church and youth group. I sought to find friends that were genuine and true, but to no avail. Everyone was too busy discovering who they were, too concerned with, well , everything, to be comitted to care for one another truly. These were truly confusing and difficult times to be an emotional, vulnerable, and insecure girl like myself. I believed in God for sure, and I know I had a level of faith in Him that was more like a seed planted in my heart. I wanted to live for God and tried, but it didn't feel real to me. At the end of my high school years I started to date and hang out with non-Christians or should I say non-churched kids. I liked my new friends, they had a sense of carefreeness that attracted me. They didn't seem so concerned with the weight of the world, which I now know, was condemnation for all my poor "Christian" friends. Anyway, I began to taste "the things of the world" and started to discover myself (not really)....
Needless to say, most would call what happened next in my life "rebellion". I went on my own merry way from my life at home with mom and dad and discovered the world for myself. I spent a good 4-5 years living "in the world" and living "in sin" with a boyfriend. Years of my life were spent trying to just survive however I could, as far away from "religion", church and Christianity as possible. I was tired of trying to be something I wasn't, something I couldn't be, because honestly I never knew who I really was in Christ, or if I even genuinely trusted Him for myself. All those years I experienced my own personal guilt and an unspoken condemantion flew at me from my past life whenever I ran into someone from church or school. I knew deep down the path I had chosen for myself was not "right", nor was it giving God any reason to be "pleased with me". I didn't want to admit that to anyone, nor did I care to change my ways. But, God in his Sovereignty and kindness had a plan to move me from my despondency into a dependency on Him..............!

The next portion of my testimony will have to come at another post, as I have not yet decided how much of it to share publicly.........Thanks for listening so far!

In your presence Lord..........

This morning I woke up happy -happy to be alive in Christ, happy to know God loves me so much, filled with joy because God is revealing himself to me more and more as I seek to know Him. He is revealing his character to me and showing me how loving, patient and kind he is!! He is giving me fresh perspectives and courage to trust Him, because he is so trustworthy......he is helping me to lighten up, relax and know He is in control, not me and I am glad, -glad because in times past when I tried to have control, things didn't work out too well, and I didn't like who I was, stressed out, uptight, intense, worried, fearful......enough negativity to put me in a psyche ward.....anyway, the more I revel in my Awesome God, and who He is and how He loves me, the more I am freely able to have true inner joy, and peace, the more I am able to rest and relax and not wear the weight of the world on my shoulders...........This is freedom! This is life! I don't worry about all the things I have to do or accomplish, I just rest knowing God will order my day as he sees fit, and I am open to his agenda for me...........!
More and more I just want to bask in the richness of my God, and sit in His presence and just be with Him, for "in His presence is fullness of joy" -that's what I long for more of -His Presence! Oh to be in the Presence of the Mighty Living God -oh to know Him more...this is the cry of my heart, to know my God....to be with Him!

A Prayer........!!!!

Romans 10:10 "For with the heart a person believes and so is justified, and with the mouth he confesses(declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms (his) salvation."

So, this is a prayer confessing the truth of the gospel so our hearts can get a hold of the truth...........

"Holy Spirit, I thank you, that you annoint the Word of God, and in my heart, the Word of God has been deposited, and I say out of my mouth, what I believe in my heart, through grace, through the gospel, through faith - I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, I am always righteous, because my righteousness does not depend on me, but on what Jesus did at the cross, Jesus obeyed for me, Jesus kept the law perfectly for me, and I am in Him a joint equal heir with Christ and an heir of God, through the righteousness that is by faith, I believe you are making me an heir of the world, you are giving me favor, you are giving me influence, financial empowerment, health and healing and annointing and supernatural deliverance, you are giving me victory and triumph, not through my successful obedience, but through the successful obedience of Jesus on my behalf, and as He is, so am I, in this world, and it's all through faith, from first to last, nothing in between, nothing before, nothing after, and it's all of faith. And Father I confess today I have faith in this Gospel and I thank you for doing it! And now devil, You are under my feet, not because of my holiness, but because of Jesus holiness, I have dominion over you, all your lies, and all your accusations have no power any more, because I know the gospel, and the cross is clear, the victory's mine, I will not be denied, you have been made a public spectacle of, you were triumphed over at the cross, and Jesus took the rules and the regulations that stood opposed to me and he cancelled them, and where there is no law there is no wrath, there is no transgression, I am not a transgressor, I am dead to the law, I belong to Jesus, He's my great high priest, he's my heavenly attorney, and he's arguing a perfect case for me, not on the basis of my performance, but on the basis of His perfect performance, so my Father in heaven declares to you devil, you are illegitimate, your case is illegal and is neutralized, cause I believe the gospel, and I am free in the grace of God, I have victory, I have triumph, I celebrate - Thank You Jesus, Thank You for saving me, Thank You for delivering me!! Thank You for the Gospel!! AMEN!!!"

This is a prayer that Rob had his congregation declare out of their mouth, confessing the truth of the Gospel so their hearts can get a hold of the truth, it's all from Scripture. I just had to transcribe it! Anyway, we can come up with our own spontaneous prayer from our heart declaring the truth from Scripture to encourage our hearts and build our faith, and crush condemnation and build up our spirits. If you have not yet listened to any of the messages to the left, I must beg you now to do so!! I implore -this is life and freedom! Every time I listen, more revelation comes, more faith comes - I get fed!!!!

(Please listen to "How wonderful is the Gospel". )

May God be greater in your eyes today, may you be more grateful for the gospel today, be encouraged -God is for you, He loves you, he does not condemn you, he offers you life and freedom in Christ -Take hold of this!!

How wonderful is the Gospel!

Romans 1:16 & 17

"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and a firm reliance, to the Jew first and to the Greek, for in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith(disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith). As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith."

Our part - Faith!

I have heard so many people, when I have "tried" to share the message of grace, say, "yeah but what about our obedience", or "you have to be careful that it doesn't lead you to license to sin".......when I lived a life of performance and was so focused on obedience(essentially in legalism) it only led to more sin and condemanation and guilt if I couldn't perfectly obedient or if I failed in my Christian "duties"!  Now, all I "do" is believe this message of grace with all my heart and have faith that what God's Word says is true, and this is leading to eager zealous time spent studying the word and an all consuming desire to know my God and Father intimately! You see God's not as concerned with our obedience as he would be desirous of our hearts being full of faith, leading to love and a desire to allow Him to live in us, through us -relinquishing all our own control and self-sufficiency. In the New Covenant Life there is blessing by believing, the Old Covenant way, blessing came by obedience. So it seems to me, if you are asking the question what about obedience you are under the Old Covenant. Jesus made a New Covenant with us all we have to do is believe by faith! Obedience is important, but it doesn't get you the blessing!(Read Romans 4). Romans 1:5 "It is through Him that we have received grace and apostleship to PROMOTE obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name's sake among all the nations..."
Our righteousness is not by efforts! You cannot have unmerited favor that you have to earn you cannot be fully justified by God and condemned by God at the same time.

"For it is by grace you have been saved -through FAITH, this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God, so that no one may boast."

Gospel, a righteousness from God that produces salvation, it is a gift, not by keeping the law, but by faith, from first to last empowering you and me (in Christ) to inherit the world. Wow!

Much of this post came from hearing Rob Rufus' message titled "How wonderful is the Gospel" 

A disclaimer.......

So I have been thinking about a few things I want to share that might help explain my heart and intentions for this blog. One thing I want to say is I am aware that some who read may be on the same page and totally understand where I am coming from and others may not be on the same page at all and struggle with what I might be sharing since it may contradict things in their line of thinking. All my posts are written based on what I am going through, processing or learning, mostly in regards to my faith in Christ. I would want anyone who reads anything to understand that I don't think I have got it all figured out, nor may everything I say be totally accurate, although I am extremely careful and try to post the truth of God's Word as he is revealing it to me personally. I would encourage all to go and search the Scripture for themselves led by the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:27 says "But as for you, the annointing which you received from Him abides in you; then you have no need that anyone should instruct you. But just as His annointing teaches you concerning everything and is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in Him, just as His annointing has taught you to do." We have an annointing as Christians to discern. I spent too many years listening to other people and false doctrines to not be sensitive to this issue any more. In addition we have an enemy who is "the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night..." Yes Satan can sway our thoughts! Also, we need to test everything - I never did that, I never questioned what I was taught, not really!!
I am totally open to receiving feedback, comments, and other points of view - I really only desire to see the truth of God's grace be shared...........

A must read!!

I wish I could quote the whole book right here on my blog...(I am referring to Rob Rufus' book "Living in the Grace of God")
This is an excellent book, I highly recommend reading it..........it will ignite a spark in your thinking that will fan into flames that will renew your mind and will transform the way you think and live!! It's a short book only 99 pages, you could read it in one evening - no big deal!! I have considered buying like 50 copies and just handing out to everyone I know....!

Here's the opening quote:
"All who rely on observing the law are under a curse.....(Gal. 3:10)

When we live in the grace of God we experience a creative flow, a joy, a spontaneity, and an enthusiasm for life; and -we stop trying to live up to some standard that we can never reach, free from the feeling that God is angry with us.

Okay and here's the introduction too......

The Extra Dimension of Grace

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col. 2:6, 7)

Grace is the extra dimension that enables us to 'live in him'. To live in grace is to be rooted in Christ. Grace enables us to tap into the realm of unlimited supernatural resources. Unprecedented potential for growth is activated in us when we live in his grace.
God's unmerited favor towards us showers us with blessing upon blessing. We receive superior and awesome advantages in life that cultivate in us the full measure of the stature of Christ. Gifts, talents and abilities that would otherwise lie dormant are suddenly released i us when we begin to flow in grace.
God's desire for us is that we would prosper and suceed in every area of life. He wants success for us in marriage, family, finance, career, sport and recreation. Grace propels us towards this success. God does not want us to become stunted in our growth because we've allowed legalism to cut off our taproot into grace. God wants us to blossom and flourish in life, fulfilling our destiny and being fruitful.
Grace enables us to become the people we were meant to be. Many of us are tired of trying to live up to other people's expectations. It is a relief to discover that God loves us just as we are. This is unconditional love in its purest form - it's the grace of God. In this security and stability we have the freedom to grow and change, so that Christ in us is truly the hope of glory.
As you read this book and meditate on its truth, ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive grace. I am convinced that you will never be the same again.

Awesome, huh!! So, don't take my word for it - check this book out for yourself.................

Two for one

Last night I attended my brother's baptism. I was blessed to hear his testimony as well as my sister-in-law's testimony, 2 for the price of one!!! Anyway, it really is a cool thing to stop and take time to share our testimonies with one another! It gives us a chance to reflect on God's goodness, faithfulness and grace to us as well as others. It's so encouraging to be built up by hearing testimonies, I really believe God uses the sharing of them to speak to us! So, here's to sharing -let's make this a regular occurence amidst our times of fellowship!!
Also, I was blessed to hear preaching from Romans 6 -twice yesterday,once at my own church and again at the baptism, another two for the price of one! I am grateful to hear the message captured in Romans 6 over and over, so I can really wrap my mind around it! It really is freedom my friends! I wish I had read this year's ago and understood it - but I am grateful to now be receiving this truth and renewing my mind with it!

Romans 6: 1-10(Amplified Bible)I guess reading 5 before this is pretty helpful, I just want to stress what 6 brings though.

"What shall we say, to all this? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace(favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?
Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? Are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious (power) of the Father, so we too might (habitually) live and behave in newness of life. For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be (one with Him in sharing) His resurrection(by a new life lived for God). We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that (our) body (which is the instrument) of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin. For when a man dies, he is freed(loosed, delivered) from (the power of) sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, because we know that Christ (the Annointed One), being once raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him. For by the death He died, He died to sin once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living with God (living in unbroken fellowship with Him) in Christ Jesus.
vs. 14 For sin shall not (any longer) exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law(as slaves), but under grace (as subjects of God's favor and mercy).
vs. 17But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed." 

Okay, I am still taking this all in .............

Perfect Standing!!

I just love this truth of Scripture, that our standing before God is perfect forever once we are in Christ!

Over the years of struggles in my marriage, people including myself have wondered if my dear husband is even saved. This came up over and over because of the belief that somehow we have something to do with becoming more holy, and that there was no clear evidence of that in his life. How self-righteous, how heinous to even begin to question someone else's standing before God, because by our own standards of Christian behaviour we think someone else is not "right" with God, or maybe not even genuinely saved. I unfortunately fell into this line of thinking and it caused great damage to our marriage! I have completely repented of this mindset and judgement towards him! 

I am so grateful God has revealed the truth found in his word to us! We now are in a season of restoration -thanks be to God!!

Hebrews 10: 10-14, " And in accordance with this will(of God), we have been made holy(consecrated and sanctified) through the offering made once for all of the body of Jesus Christ(the Annointed One). Furthermore, every (human) priest stands (at his altar of service) ministering daily, offering the same sacrifices over and over again, which never are able to strip (from every side of us) the sins (that envelop us) and take them away- Whereas this One (Christ), after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins (that shall avail) for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, Then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath his feet." 

Ps. 110:1 -"For by a single offering He has FOREVER, COMPLETELY cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy!" - The whole chapter is worth a read!

I have to emphasize -Your standing before God is perfect, FOREVER! There are no fluctuations in forever, forever is forever! NO more questioning our salvation folks- it's once and done Forever! What sin or amount of sin can make you no longer perfect in his standing?! While we are in the process of being made holy, by Christ in us, our standing will always be perfect! Let's rejoice in this awesome truth!

Rightly Dividing the Word

Okay so this was something I was wrestling with a couple of months ago, once I began to understand the New Covenant, I had to question much of Scripture and how I viewed it. I was in a church group meeting with some dear friends and we were reading out of Matt. 5: 13-20 (I think) the section about Salt and Light, and discussing the passage together. Everyone had thoughts and interesting perspectives, but I sat in my seat thinking I just don't think we are getting it. I honestly didn't know myself what the passage was truly truly about, but I felt like we were missing something. Then it dawned on me, I think we may have been trying to apply a Scripture to our lives that may not be meant to. I asked isn't this passage written before Jesus death, ....then I wasn't sure how to say the rest, but I know I realized since this passage was before the New Covenant, isn't it Old Covenant and therefore considered Law, and therefore it doesn't apply to us as we are trying to interpret it???? So, I started to see how everything in the bible before Jesus fulfilled the Law so it could be abolished so those that come to Christ no longer are under the law whatsoever! So shouldn't we read the bible with this in mind! 

2Timothy 2:15, " Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved, a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of Truth."

Anyway, here's an article, written by someone much wiser than me regarding this issue -it's by Steve McVey, founder of Gracewalk Ministries.

Quiet Times????

So, I have been shifting my thinking alot since I have discovered grace, actually pretty much everything I valued or all the disciplines in my life have completely changed shape. The first thing that went was the "have to's", since as a New Covenant believer, under grace and not law, I am released from the burden of gotta's, should of's, need to's ...you get the point, right?!
Instead I have been reveling in and resting in God, who He is, and what He says about me. Now that I know Christianity is not a duty, but a relationship, everything has pleasantly become a joy! One thing I always, always, always felt condemnation about before this understanding was "having a quite time." It was like a duty that had to be checked off the list every day or major condemnation, it was the one thing people would always direct anyone to if you were struggling spiritually, "well, how are your quiet times??" or "Have you had a quiet time lately?" Now, don't get me wrong I was one of those people, because I thought it was a way to grow spiritually and I also believed God required it of me, or I would grow away from Him. So, if I didn't have a quiet time for awhile, boy would I feel lousy. On the flip side when I was faithful to have them I thought I was doing a good job at being spiritual so I would think God was pleased with my efforts and I thought I had more joy in the Lord. Now, I may have at times really experienced sweet times with the Lord, but usually only when I really wanted to have my quiet time, from my heart. First, I want to say God does not require us to have quiet times! He wants us to want to get to know him, any time of day, any day of the week or month whenever we have the desire. Now there is nothing necessarily wrong with having regimented quiet times as long as it is from your heart. Years ago, I remember a pastor teaching how we need to pursue the discipline of quiet times out of obediece first and then the joy will come. NO! Jesus delivered us from any law keeping, so we could have a relationship with Him, we have unmerited favor with God, he loves us, accepts us fully and that will never change! We never "have to do" anything!! However, dwelling on this wonderous news of God, not only showing us mercy, but giving us Jesus perfect righteousness which is totally undeserved and incomprehensible will cause us to want to get to know our Father. God doesn't want our performance - He wants our hearts!! How can we think that having a quiet time will change our status any!! You don't ever have to feel like your not in the Word enough or doing enough praying or whatever or that you are just not getting it right!! You can rest in what God has done through the finished work of the cross! After all Jesus said "It is finished!"
The Christian life is not a duty, nor is it a straight and narrow path! It is a delight, because of His Grace and a vast wide ocean full of possibilites and wonders to behold, because of His vast marvelous grace.
Christianity is also not us living by principles, disciplines or living "for" God - there is nothing we can do for Him - Christian living is focusing on Him and allowing Him to express His life through us!
Okay, so I have gone on a bit long here, but I am really enjoying my new freedom in Christ and have been more ravenous to be in God's Word than ever before! This freedom is available for all who are in Christ, just not totally understood by many Christians - my hope is God will open more and more eyes and hearts to his Grace found in the New Covenant!

Living in Grace.....

So, I was able to finish my book, you know "Grace Walk," while sitting in the ER yesterday morning for a few hours! Yes, ER, no big deal really -I was just really having a hard time with my asthma so I decided to admit myself and get some Nebulizer treatments. It was actually a pleasant experience, all the staff who helped me were super nice, I got to chill out and read all by myself uninterrupted!! Funny if you knew me and knew how much I hate Dr's and hospitals you'd think this amazing! Anyway, I am much much better today!! You know what's coming next, a few more quotes from the last chapter of Steve McVey's book, living in grace:

"Living in grace means that we express His life as a natural and normal part of our daily experience. We live trusting Him to express Himself through us every day. We don't have to overanalyze our actions and attitudes. Life isn't a test, it's a rest ( I love that!!) The test has already been given, and we have received a perfect score because Jesus took the test for us. It's time now to celebrate! We don't need to live under a list of things we believe we ought to do. When we are living each day abiding in Christ, we can do whatever we want to. As we abide in Him, HIs desire will be our desire.
Some Christians have worry lines on their faces as deep as the bottomless pit. Lighten up! The Christ-life is one of joy. People will be drawn to us and to Him when they see the quality of joy that we experience. Even in painful circumstances that cause us to be emotionally unhappy, Christians can experience spiritual joy. Don't freeze up spiritually with analysis-paralysis. I'll say it once more for emphasis: We can just live, allowing Christ to naturally and normally express Himself through us."

Good stuff, I tell you the more and more we learn about grace the more amazed we are, the more drawn to Christ we are, all the more peace and rest we enjoy!!