[video]
Of David.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 25
When you fall, everyone that you wanted to save, to influence, to help fall with you. Those that look up to you. You’re throwing them away. When you fall, you throw away your purpose, your identity as image bearer of Christ.
When you realize that Jesus died for you… think about the cost that he paid for your freedom. Imagine you bought a really expensive car, or if you had to do a really painful thing… How can you throw it all away?
Called to have Abraham’s faith
For being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised, Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness.
This righteousness is not for his (Abraham’s) sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord. Do we believe, as Abraham did, that God will do as he promised?
Do we truly believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification? If we really did, what would our response look like?
Christ saved us when we were sinners on purpose
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. … God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Grace overcomes the effects of sin. God’s Grace is more than enough.
For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old self dead + body of sin brought to nothing = sinless life
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
When I first heard this from Reggie, I honestly thought he was a little crazy. But it’s true! When we are baptized into Jesus Christ, we are also baptized into his death. When Christ died, our old self died along with him.
Just as Jesus died for us, our old self died.
Just as Jesus shed blood for us, our sins are paid for.
Just as Jesus rose back to life, we rose back as new creations.
Our old self was crucified with him. Our old self was alongside him when he was on the cross. So when we come to believe in Jesus, our old self is dead.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing
This shows that our old self was crucified with him. I got the image that Jesus was actually bearing my old self and all of its sins as he was on the cross. Just as our sins were nailed to the cross, our old self was nailed to the cross along with Jesus Christ.
This also shows that our old self and our body of sin are separate. Our old self is dead, but our body of sin lives on. Without our old self dying, we were bound to sin. But since our old self is dead we are no longer enslaved to sin and are set free from sin.
So when we become Christians, our body of sin is brought to nothing, but since our body of sin lives on, it’s necessary to continue to bring it back to or keep it at nothing.
Old self dying + our body of sin brought to nothing = sinless life.
So the first part is done once and for all, but the second part is up to us to stay free from sin. The good thing is thanks to our old self being dead and God’s grace, we can always bring our body of sin back to nothing. We are forever new creations and no longer slaves to sin, but we need to keep starving our flesh to live sinless lives.
[video]
“I’d be sad if Spotify took away my spreadsheet of music. I’d be happy, however, if they made the colors a little less goth. And I also wish they’d let me play with the data. I’d love a pie chart of the music genres I prefer. I’d like a bar chart of the dates that the songs I listen to were recorded. I’d like to know when I listen to music the most. I’d like to know how much money I give to individual artists, as well. A personal music-consumption “dashboard” would be excellent.” — Paul Ford on Charted Territory (via thisistheverge)
(via thisistheverge)
Jesus saved me during college by His relentless pursuit. He kept coming after me even as I ran away, and eventually got me and gave me the gift of eternal salvation.
He keeps pursuing me today, even as I sometimes run away, to give me to gift of sanctification. In Joshua, God tells him (and us) to be strong and courageous, for He is with us.
All rulers, government, and authorities will eventually fall and fade away, but our God will always remain. God will always be God. So it’s amazing that Jesus, who is God himself, fills us with himself (Colossians). So we actually have all the power and reason to be strong and courageous, God himself dwells in us, is for us, and backs us up! We truly have no reason to fear!
In my work I have to give many presentations and God has saved me several times by allowing me to speak and present. But too often, whether in meetings or what, I am fearful. Fearful of being judged, fearful of other people, those who are in higher positions than I am. God showed me today that it’s time that I stop being fearful. Not only has he allowed me to do a good job in my work, but He also now wants me to stop being scared. But instead be bold, and confident, because I know that my God is for me, what shall I fear?
God also showed me this: that those people who I work with that I have felt burdened to love but found it hard, they are not my enemy. I had found it hard to love people because I didn’t like them or felt threatened by them. But God is showing me that these people are not my enemies. My enemy is satan whose influence is over them (Ephesians 6). Jesus said love your enemies, and he said “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”. I didn’t understand how we could love our enemies, but now I see how– it’s because our enemies are not my peers or other people. All people are made in the image of God! All people have an opportunity to be saved. God desires all people to be saved. Those who aren’t saved, who are sinning (even against you), are doing it because they don’t know any better, because they are under darkness. It is up to us to just keep seeing them as people made in God’s image, who Jesus died for.
[video]
[video]
[video]