free

bound;

by chains of sin,

despair all around,

no hope within,

longing, to be free.

found;

a prophecy foretold,

hope on solid ground,

now covered by His blood,

my Jesus, I love Thee.

but by Grace

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, writer of 13 books of the New Testament, and a former persecutor of Christians, was human. he had emotions, cares and most importantly the trait of sin. in Romans 8:24 we hear him crying out as a wretched man that he knows he is. but by Grace he didn’t stop there. he wrote in verse 25, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

Paul, being directed by the Holy Spirit, allowed us to see his real self. the Spirit within that warred against his flesh. the human that cried out in verse 24 was also the same that gave thanks to God for paying his pardon thus freeing his soul from death and hell. but he also told us his own mind served the law of God and his flesh the law of sin. it is comforting to know that Paul had the same battles I face in this day-to-day Christian life. those spiritual battles that are given to God as I cannot win alone.

but by Grace he didn’t stop there. in chapter 8 Paul writes of being led by the Holy Spirit. verse 14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

currently I am in 7:25. by Grace, 8:14 is approaching.

preach it brother!

ok, so if you want to listen to something good check out http://www.sermonaudio.com/ and listen to some sin-naming, seat-squirming, Soul-stirring; fire-breathing, hell-fire and damnation-scorching sermons by the late Bro. Lester Roloff!

it will put some fire in your heart, kick in your Spirit and add some humility to your daily walk with God.

give it a chance. it will either revive your Christian life or set it further ablaze. may it do the latter.

journalizing

I vividly remember a moment in time when I consciously made the decision to step into the abominable sin. little did I know that in order to fulfill my desires and flesh, I would be giving up a lifetime of serving Christ and living in God's will. every time I would set my heart on committing that sin, the Holy Spirit would convict but I chose to quench His voice. over time it became easier to ignore until that still, small voice was drowned out by my pride, the flesh and sinful desires.

it took me being hurt just a fraction of how God, His Son and the Holy Spirit had been hurt by my disobedience to wake me up to my current location of being away from Them. only then could I truly repent. as my soul was pierced with that knowledge, I knew that God was the only one who could remove me from my situation. it was as if He had caught me with my hand in the cookie jar. Busted!

though my sin has been paid for on the cross, it is a constant reminder of where one's flesh, and the need to satisfy it, can go apart from God. a very humble reminder of how the Saviour loves me and wants me to be as far away from it as possible.

it is finished

once, by one man's pen;
twice: God ends sin.

I came up with this riddle based on a verse out of the Book of Revelation. it was presented to a fellow believer in the hopes of picking his brain. also in hopes that he might be able to see what God gave me. little did I know that it would be used to teach me a truth.

see God is working on my pride. not an easy lesson but one still vital and quite necessary for my Christian growth. many times the wound is deep as pride is centered around the “I”. this lesson was important on many levels but I will stick with the truth I gleaned.

Once – Adam, first human/man.
By one man's pen – sin, enslavement, bondage to self.
Twice – second Adam or Christ.
God ends sin – John 19:30 “It is finished”.

honestly I never thought that my riddle would be so deep, but God knew I needed a different lesson than the one I originally viewed. God used it as a tool to open my eyes, via the believer, so I could learn more about Him. isn't that just one of the coolest things about God? He uses fellow Christians to open our eyes to His knowledge. Praise God He does and praise God He has ended sin!

learning to walk

I don't remember when I learned to walk as a child. my parents and grandparents always said it was after my first younger brother learned. I guess he felt he had to catch up as he was the number two child. anyway, it is fact that I did eventually learn. Freedom! no more being carried, crawling on the ground, or scooting from place to place just to make it through this world. I was officially a biped!

my Christian life has been quite different. mainly crawling, scooting and being carried instead of walking. I was carried the first couple of years. hoping things would change but refusing to trust God to work. I crawled my way through Christian college instead of walking upright. giving the appearance of uprightness but still holding onto sin. lastly scooting from church to church seeking a place to feel “comfortable” in while I held onto my sin. odd how then I never seemed to understand that God was everywhere I was carried, crawled and scooted.

Matthew 14:29 tells of how Peter walked on the water to Jesus, “And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” many people tend to overlook the fact that Peter actually walked on the water and quickly condemn him for sinking, verse 30. I say, Peter walked on the water! and to whom? to Jesus. if we are ever going to walk in this Christian life is HAS to be to Jesus! there is no other way to make it in this world. sin is everywhere with its baubles of temptation. the devil would love to just dangle something shiny in front of us just so we look away from Jesus. but we must keep our eyes on Jesus so we will be able to walk in His power.

just as my parents had to hold onto me for several months just to keep me upright, God holds onto us. not for a few months or years but for eternity. He is that involved in our lives. He wants us to walk but more importantly He wants us to do it through His power, strength, and love. He knows we can be easily distracted and so with Him going before, He asks us to hold His hands and keep our eyes on Him. that's the only way to walk.

my eternal Priest

I am Baptist. like died-in-the-wool, born and raised, till death removes me from this earth Baptist. the main reason I am of the Baptist faith is that it is the only one that I am able with which to align my beliefs. I've tried several evangelical churches but none that stay entirely true to God's word. the topic of today's post is one many have fallen away from.

Hebrews 7:15 & 16 states, “And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” feel free to study this guy Melchisedec, or Melchizedek, as he was the recipient of Abraham's tithes. in Jewish tradition, sins of the people were absolved by the sacrifices made daily by the Levite priests aka commandment from Moses given by God. once Christ died on the cross, those sacrifices became null and void as He paid the once for all sacrifice for our sins. HALLELUJAH! hence He was the priest after the order of Melchisedec and not a Levite.

verse 27 states it quite clear, “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.” because the payment on the cross was the final sacrifice, I no longer have to rely on an earthly priest to absolve my sins through an animal sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the Eternal High Priest so only He can absolve my sins, whether committed already or those to be. this cuts out any earthly priest and any earthly form of sin removal. no human can wash away my sins, see I John 1:7.

I thank God that I can go directly to Him and ask forgiveness for every sin that I commit. trust me, I sin daily and the Holy Spirit convicts daily which means confession is daily as well. though God already knows my heart, “He is faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness” I John 1:9.

automatic ambassador

december 2007. it began to crumble like cookies succombing to a steamroller. I was realizing that the relationship with the person I had lived with for almost 7 years was swiftly coming to an end. love, or the likeness therof, was no longer evident. I was not flatscreened, widescreened, or pixelated by any means. hi-def maybe but not in the way that provided joy. I knew going into this 7 years prior that it would not last. God, via the Holy Spirit had made that very clear. it was a lust of the flesh that was being satisfied, solely and purely. the Spirit wanted no part in this sin. yet I chose to dive headfirst into it thus dragging Him through it. once in He constistantly whispered how to escape. I chose to ignore. the only reason the Holy Spirit gave voice was because at the age of 14, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I trusted in His payment for my sins and gave my life to Him. I was no longer mine own to do as I pleased. little to my knowledge I had automactically become an ambassador. II Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." a new what? yep, a new creature. see I had given my soul to Christ but had chosen to keep my life for myself. I refused to accept the fact I was a new creature and had become an ambassador.

II Corinthians 5:20 & 21, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made righteousness for God in him." see I enlisted as an ambassador whether I liked it or not. that's why it was crumbling. God was tired of His ambassador serving the prince of this earth, satan. Jesus Christ didn't leave heaven, be born into this world, live a perfect & sinless life, minister for 3 years, die on the cross for my sins, and then rise from the grave only so that I could be redeemed thus to continue in my sin. it wasn't going to happen.

so, december 2007. the beginning of the end? no, the beginning of my reconciliation to God and the start of my fulfillment as an ambassador.