Grace - It's OK...You Can Take Off Your Mask

Hi Everyone,

I finished reading "The Cure" a while ago and I want to share with you some excerpts from it.  The reason I'm sharing this is because I know how easy it is for us to put masks on which cause us to appear strong to those around us.  This mask we wear isolates from others and we are usually unwilling to receive help.  I'm concerned that some of us are refusing help from our brothers and sisters in the Lord, because we think we need to be able to get through life's issues and difficulties on our own.  We have been trained very well to live independently by our society, but this is not how we should live as Christians.  So, I ask you to lower your defenses for a moment and consider the following illustration.

The premise of "The Cure" describes the writer approaching and entering a hotel he finds along a journey.  He writes:

"After a long while, passing many more travelers by the wayside, I see a giant building looming in the distance.  It looks like a hotel.  As I get closer, I can see there's writing in bronze lettering across the front:  Striving Hard to Be All God Wants Me to Be.  Finally:  Something for me to do.  I strive after success in my career.  I strive after keeping fit.  Why would it be any less with God?

"I draw closer and notice a door:  Above the doorknob, a small, ornate plaque is bolted to the heavy wooden door.  Self-Effort, it reads.  Of course!  God does His part, and I do mine.  It's about time someone said it.

"I turn the handle and walk in.

"I'm stunned to find a huge open room filled with thousands of people.  I scan the group, trying to take it all in.  'So, these are the people really living for Jesus.'  Soon I notice there's a woman, a hostess maybe, standing next to me.  She is immaculately groomed.  Every hair is perfectly in place, her makeup accentuating her feature, her smile is wide and toothy.  nothing about her seems out of place.

'Welcome to the Room of Good Intentions'

"She says it clean and cool, like she's been greeting people all her life.  There's just the tiniest little shred about it that's unsettling, but I'm so excited to finally be here I don't think much of it.

"'You have no idea how long I've waited to find this place!'  I return her smile, grasping her primly outstretched hand.  I call out to the crowd, almost involuntarily, 'Hey, how's everyone doing?'

"The room goes silent.  It's full of beautiful people, smiling people.  Some of them wear elaborately crafted masks, which is great because I love masquerades.  This looks like my kind of place.  One man steps forward.  His smile, like the hostess, is broad.  His bleached white teeth look as if they had been lined up by a ruler.

"'Welcome,' he begins, shaking my hand firmly.  'We're fine.  Thank you for asking.  Just fine.  Aren't we everyone?'  A few in the crowd behind him nod, smiling along.  'My kinds are doing great and...um...I'm about to close some very lucrative deals at work.  More fit than when I was in high school, I'm telling you.  I'm doing just fine.  Everyone here is.'

"Before I can reflect on how strange that sounded, the hostess asks how I'm doing.  'Me?  Well, to be honest, I've been struggling with some stuff.  That's partly why I'm here.  I'm trying to figure out....'

"'Shhhh,' she interrupts me, putting a flawlessly manicured index finger to her lips.  She reaches behind a podium and pulls out a mask, handing it to me.  She nods her head with a curt smile, indicating I should put it on.  I stare at it for a moment.  Others in the room are excitedly motioning for me to do so.  Slowly, I slide the mask over my face.

"My next thought is it might be best to back off on the self-revelation.  I find myself answering, as if from somewhere far away, 'You know, I'm great.  I'm doing fine!'  And everyone in the room smiles before returning to their conversations.

"So many good-hearted people fill this room.  They have devoted themselves to God, to studying His character, to pouring themselves into spreading His word, to serving humanity in the name of Jesus.  This must be it!  Soon God and I will be close again."


For some reason, we have bought into the lie of this equation:  More right behavior + Less wrong behavior = Godliness.  As Judah Smith says, the consciousness of sin never gives us power to overcome sin.  In other words, we can never resolve our sin by working on it.

As I said above, I know people who are unwilling to share the truth issues they are facing in life.  In the end, this decision causes them to suffer much longer.  They began to believe somewhere along the line that they must be strong and independent.  They don't want others to feel sorry for them.  "I have to earn love and acceptance.  I have to prove my worth", they think of themselves.  But look at what John Lynch, author of "The Cure" writes:

"No one told me that when I wear a mask, only my mask receives love.  We can gain admiration and respect from behind a mask.  We can even intimidate.  But as long as we're behind a mask, any mask, we will not be able to receive love.  Then, in our desperation to be loved, we'll rush to fashion more masks, hoping the next will give us what we're longing for:  To be known, accepted, trusted and loved.

"This is no new phenomenon.  Remember its source?  God came in the cool of the day to be with Adam and Eve.  He called out to a hiding Adam, 'Where are You?' though He knew very well where Adam was.  Adam responded, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.'"

If you've taken the time to read this, I hope it will prove helpful to you.  You may not believe it to be true, but there is always reason to hope, but God will always support you--He is faithful.

If you feel as though no one loves you, it's probably because they've only ever loved your mask; you haven't opened up to them.

If you're tired of feeling weak, it's probably because you've never allowed someone to encourage you.

One last thought from John Lynch:

"The greatest hope for any mask-wearer is in understanding all masks eventually crack and dissolve, gradually revealing what is hidden beneath.  All masks crumble because they are man-made.

"This is a good thing, though.  Imagine if the mask didn't crack.  It would forever separate us from love, authenticity, and freedom.  We could go our entire lives missing what we were created to enjoy.  Our endlessly loving God allows our masks to fall apart because He cares so deeply for us."

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Making Vows to Please God

Hi Everyone,

Enjoy the following quote from Malcolm Smith:

"The branches of the vine cannot function without being vitally united to the flow of vine sap that makes the vine a living vine.  The life of the vine is the energy, the life source, that produces the fruit that is to be found on the branches.  The branches produce the fruit, but they do so from the sap that is surging through them and it is natural for vine-life to produce grapes; the branches do not labor at an impossible task of producing a fruit foreign to the nature of the vine.

The living of the love of God in our behaviors is not the ultimate marathon act of our willpower attempting to be like Jesus.  Let us accept the fact that the life that the new covenant portrays is impossible to for the unaided human to accomplish.  It can only take place by Jesus Himself living in us by His Spirit; He becomes the source and the ability to live the life of divine love that is the command of the new covenant.  When this is understood, the Christian life is not a labor to produce a lifestyle that is foreign and awkward to us.  When the center and source of our life is the fountain of love Himself, a lifestyle of divine love is not foreign and awkward, but natural.

The mark of dead religion is to be found in the dedication of the devotee to keep vows with a view of pleasing God."

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - His Covenant Food Fills Our Bellies!

Psalm 90:14 - "O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we sing for joy and be glad all our days."

Hi Everyone,

There are two key words in the above verse:  satisfy and lovingkindness (also translated as mercy).  The word satisfy means to fill completely, even to the point of overeating.  The second word, lovingkindness, is an amazing word that every believer should fully understand.  Before reading the rest of this post, I strongly recommend that you read these two posts first:  One of the Most Important Words in the Old Testament and Grace - God's Unfailing Love (Hebrew:  Chesed).

Is the Psalmist asking here for a revelation of God's mercy aka. lovingkindness?  Yes, I believe, but also for so much more.  The Psalmist is looking forward to something much more than knowledge or a revelation; he's looking forward to an experience--a reality.  Note that these two words, satisfy (physical connotation) and lovingkindness (spiritual and emotional) are used together.

What will satisfy the Psalmist?  Well, if you read the two posts that are linked above, you will realize that the Psalmist is anticipating a covenant experience, a meal.  The meal that satisfies IS the love of God through covenant.  Though this passage is in the Old Covenant, we know it to be the dawning twilight of the New Covenant.  And it speaks so much to us.

Look at Psalm 23:5-6 --

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

How will the Psalmist be satisfied?  Well, unfortunately, most of Christianity has emphasized an intellectual faith; to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and to understand certain teachings of the church, but covenant goes much deeper than this.  Psalm 23 shows us an interaction between the Psalmist and the Covenant-Maker.  This interaction involves the whole person of the Psalmist.  Whereas the world is accustomed to a private inner faith, we've been called to celebrate union with God with our entire, whole person.  This is symbolized by the meal.  We're familiar with the drinking of wine and eating of bread (cake) in every wedding ceremony.  This reflection of covenant celebrates two lives becoming one.  To be in covenant with one's wife, the husband cannot live by himself, isolated; the marriage must be consummated.  In the same way, one who claims to be a Christian cannot live an isolated, private inner faith, but is called to be constantly, in a life-giving way, united to Christ.  Not only is the relationship celebrated with the whole person of the believer, but as we see in Psalm 23, this celebration--this communion--takes place in the company of those who are adversely against us; we must remember covenant in times of need.

One more aspect of the love of God which satisfies us in His covenant with us is seen in the story of the "prodigal" son.  All the while after his son leaves home, the father is looking for his son.  Finally, the son returns and the father throws a feast of feasts to celebrate.  But notice something, it was not just the father and son eating, dancing, and celebrating.  The whole household, and probably some of the community members were participating.  This is another reason why covenant cannot be an isolated, inner-faith experience.  We are brought through covenant into a family.

This is why I've said that brothers in Christ are in covenant with each other.

To experience full satisfaction and the perfected lovingkindness of God, we need to give our whole person to Him and to others.  This is meant for our benefit and blessing.

May you share in the life of Christ--totally dependent on Him in a real relationship, and also share in the life of fellow believers.  Celebrating, sharing, growing, forgiving, giving and receiving.

I love each one of you.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Repentance is a Radical Change of Mind

Hi Everyone,

Sometimes I feel trapped when I fly on a plane.  I mean, you board, find your seat, put everything in the overhead bins or under the seat in front of you, get strapped in and pay attention the safety instructions.  What can you do then?  Nothing.  You can't get up to use the bathroom until you're two miles up in the air and the captain has turned off the seat-belt sign.  You certainly can't get up before then, and forget about getting off the plane.  If you tried, surely there's a Federal Air Marshal on board who will take you down if you cause a problem.  Let's face it:  you're stuck on the plane until it (hopefully) safely lands.  You can't change your mind once you're on the plane.  But things are a bit different in our relationship with Christ.  For the unbeliever and the believer alike, we can change our minds in mid-flight.

We can do something about heading in the wrong direction.  We can do something about our wrong definition of life.  We can do something about the wrong image of ourselves.  We can do something about our distorted image of God.

The Bible defines this change of mind as repentance.

Malcolm Smith puts it this way:  "It [repentance] is the realization that...one's life has been wrong because it has been lived from the wrong center.  It is not repenting of a certain sin, but a change of mind about oneself, realizing that he or she is lost and does not know the way to life....  The real issue now, in fact, is not sin.  The Jesus who comes to us in the Gospel has dealt with sin.  The issue now is whether we will accept the divine amnesty, let Him send away our sins from us, and be reconciled to God.  Will we turn from our self-sufficiency and submit to love?  We are confronted with the love of God and the action of His love in Jesus, and the whole issue now is whether we will turn from our independence, our faith in the lie, and submit to the love of God and His gift of covenant in Jesus."

Every action (for good or bad) has its root in our beliefs.  And this brings us to the true definition of repentance.  With our minds so focused on the externals and our performance, we must see that we cannot define true repentance as turning from something, but rather, turning to something; in this case, Jesus, the Son of God.  It is in Him that we find the covenant and our salvation.  If a person refuses to turn from self-sufficiency and dependence and to Jesus, that person will perish.  It can be no other way, since Jesus is the source of Life.

This turning from oneself is not easy for most, because we all have been taught and even found some measure of success in our independence and self-sufficiency.  We have been married to that lie for a long time and we are accustomed to the rule that a person gets what they deserve.  The covenant that God has made "confronts us with the God who loves us unconditionally and rewards us not according to what we have done, but according to what Jesus has done.  To believe this is the first radical change of mind that believing the Gospel demands of us" (again, Malcolm Smith).

I pray that this will help you to repent (to change your mind radically), and that the reality of the covenant God has made with Himself and offered to you, His beneficiary, would become greater than the reality of your alleged strength and self-sufficiency.  May the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His Glory and Grace.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

P.S.  If you've received this email, it's because I've added you to a list of recipients for this devotional which I will send out 2 to 3 times a week (depending on how busy I am).  You can also find these devotionals archived at www.jdkrider.blogspot.com.  If you would not like to receive these emails, please let me know.  I simply want to share with you what is helping me to grow in my faith with the hope it will bless you.  Also, your comments and questions are more than welcome, and even encouraged!

Grace - Forgiveness Means So Much More Than We Think

Hi Everyone,

Consider the following verses:

"I have blotted out, like a cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins.  Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."  Isaiah 44:22

"I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me."  Jeremiah 33:8

"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins."  Isaiah 43:25

"...but You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back."  Isaiah 38:17

"Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins."  Isaiah 40:2

Words like "blotted out", "cleansed", "pardoned", "not remember", "cast behind", and "delivered" speak to us more than just forgiveness of sin and sins; they offer complete assurance of complete restoration.  Why?  Because "forgiveness" in the original Greek means to send away, to dismiss, to forsake, to leave.  It's the same word used for "divorce" and also when Jesus "sent away" the crowds gathered around him.

"The new covenant declares that our sin has been sent away from us, banished from our presence; we have been divorced and set free from the chains that bound us, to be at liberty" (Malcolm Smith).

We know the story of the king in Matthew 18:23-35 who forgave his servant the astronomical debt he owed.  This is the type of debt that it would take 10 lifetimes to repay.  What's worse, the servant probably had no hope of paying it back ever, because, as anyone who has ever been in debt before knows, the interest keeps piling on and adding to the total sum.  When the king forgave his servant, someone had to pay the price!  What did he do?  He left his position as the account-keeper and joined the servant in indebtedness.  Then he assumed the whole responsibility for the debt and paid it off.  Jesus did the same for us; He left His place beside the Father, joined us, and then incredibly BECAME our sin.  He paid the price--the penalty--and we have been set free.

"In the blood-shedding of the Lord Jesus, sin has been dealt with finally and forever.  The term of the covenant says, "remember no more," which means sin is no longer on God's agenda, because it has been completely dealt with."

You haven't just been forgiven, ALL of your sins, past, present, and future have been sent away from you.  You are wholly pleasing to God because you are in Christ, now and forever more.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - The Strongest Substance on Earth

Hi Everyone,

The diamond has classically been the hardest substance on earth, and for those who want to be technical, there are two other materials have been recently discovered which are harder than the diamond, but you can search the web for those if you so choose.  For the sake of my discussion in this post, let's just stay with the idea that the diamond has been thought to be the hardest substance on earth.

However, I've found something far harder and far greater.  It's seen in the Bible, and I reckon this trumps any naturally occurring or man-made materials:  That substance is faith!

Hebrews 11:1 -- "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (NKJV)

Now that's good stuff right there, but I want to connect faith with two more verses:

Hebrews 11:3 -- "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (NKJV)

and

John 16:10 --"Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see me." (NASB)

Here's the point:  we don't see in the natural with faith; faith calls on us to believe that the reality of the unseen is greater than what we see. This faith we have begins with believing that we are righteous in Christ.  And then this faith in the unseen convinces us of our authority to create into the seen from the unseen.  This is the power of Christ in us and it is all the work of Holy Spirit.  This is His ministry as revealed in John 16:13-15.

Since the main point of Hebrews 11 is faith, we must continue this thought into Hebrews 12 when the writer says that we should "lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us" (Hebrews 12:1).  This passage has traditionally been read to believers and heard by believers in this way:  "lay aside every encumbrance and the sins which so easily entangle(s) us".  That's a problem, because the writer is not talking about sins (stealing, cheating, adultery, etc), he's talking about "the sin".  What is that sin?  We see it in John 16:8 -- In the context of the New Covenant--Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection--Sin is unbelief.  And unbelief manifests itself as works.

Here's how to apply what I am showing you:  Hebrews calls on us to not give in to the sin of unbelief, but rather to believe in what is unseen.  As a Christian, you are now to stop working for something that you already have:  righteousness.  As a Christian, you walk your daily life in the same way you believed for salvation:  by faith.  Every attitude, every undertaking is to be under the unswerving belief that you are righteous and He is your provision and will not put you to shame.  Your righteousness is unseen (because Christ is unseen), but that reality is greater than anything seen.

Don't be entangled by unbelief.  When you believe all the above, then you will also acknowledge that sinful habits have no hold on you.  You have been set free to experience freedom!  You will see that you are complete in Christ Jesus:  completely forgiven, completely righteous, completely holy and sanctified forever.  It's called the Gospel for a reason, folks.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - The 3 Options

Hi Everyone,

I'm convinced that when someone hears the true Gospel of Grace, they are left with basically three options:

1.  They believe what they're hearing is too good to be true and ultimately reject it as heresy.  "It can't be *that* easy", they think to themselves.  It sounds so foreign to what they've always heard, that they label it instantly as "impossible".  Joy is short-lived and soon gives way to man's effort toward holiness:  holiness being the idea that they must be on constant vigil to seek out sin in themselves.  They continue striving toward holiness and righteousness, and pray and fast for revivals.  The supernatural to them is mysterious and difficult.  Other Christians are "Super"-Christians and produce signs, miracles, and wonders easily, while the rest of Christendom must work hard to be used by God.  In their heart, Christ's effect has been supplanted, because they are experts at addition:  Christ + Performance = Something that pleases God.

2.  Those in the second option receive what they're hearing joyfully because they're tired of option one, and they continue to receive revelation of how good the Gospel is.  "It all makes perfect sense" is something they commonly think to themselves.  They see Christ and His benefit everywhere in the scriptures.  They experience freedom for the first time and their freedom doesn't cause them to sin more; rather, because they experience God's love at levels never thought possible, sin and temptation simply fall away--they no longer have to exercise "self-discipline" to maintain their behavior.  And when they do mess up, they begin to realize they did so because of a false belief, not a sinful nature.  They can differentiate between behavior and identity and seek to change the way they think...to see themselves as fully equipped and fully righteous in Christ.  They're enraptured with God's goodness and see Trust and Rest in Him as the greatest way to live.  They cease to strive to be holy and righteous because they begin to understand that God has made them to sit with Christ in heavenly places (See Eph. 2:6, KJV).  They have a great desire to share this Gospel of Grace and to them, nothing is impossible.  They begin to move freely in spiritual gifts as they realize that Jesus in them can do anything.  They have become "Revival" because they now see and experience the SOURCE OF LIFE IN them.  (Webster's 1828 Dictionary:  revival -- "recovery to life from death"). Condemnation and guilt manipulation no longer can be used against them to affect behavior change.  Never again do they tithe to be blessed, but now they tithe because they are blessed and they trust God to provide more for them to continue to bless others.  They've stopped twisting God's arm to beg for provision.


The those who fit into the third option concern me the most.  Honestly, it's where I see most lives hurt in the most despicable way.

3.  They are very similar to those in the second option and can even be described in the exact same way as those in option two, but for them, things begin to change.  They experience persecution from those who've chosen option one.  They're told to find and return to legitimacy in the customs and traditions they've always held.  They go from having been released as a worker, to be a lover, and then to return to their work, because everyone else around them is working, too.  And that's simply *how* it's done.  They may even still struggle with a sinful habit; the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13) tells them that Jesus is not enough, that they need to sweat and get back to effort and striving.  They return to striving toward holiness and righteousness because they didn't fit into the established religious system after they heard and believed the Gospel of Grace as taught by Jesus and Paul; so, they return to the Gospel of Grace as taught by the Church.  Because they begin to lose the joy and freedom they felt, they lose the desire to communicate the Gospel to others.  This includes supernatural ministry.  They begin to think that the power of God can no longer flow through them.  Jesus, the Originator of the Gospel, the very One Whose ministry of grace produced supernatural healing in those who heard with faith, no longer finds a joyful, willing, partner.  That person has listened to those in option one and has forgotten that he was never qualified in and of himself--it was Christ Who freely qualified him.  (Second Corinthians 3:6 -- [It is He] Who has qualified us [making us to be fit and worthy and sufficient] as ministers and dispensers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not [ministers] of the letter (of legally written code) but of the Spirit; for the code [of the Law] kills, but the [Holy] Spirit makes alive.)

I know many people talk about the grace movement and are concerned about those who go "to far" with grace.  I agree that there are those who have ignored clear scripture on precisely how we are saved, but my concern lies elsewhere:  I am concerned about those who are in option 3.  How they must hurt.  The stifling they must feel.  They've experienced freedom and wonder, but system of the world (christianity motivated by old covenant principles) has sought to bring them back into line and disqualify them from receiving freely.  The institutional church and its far-reaching systematic authority puts hurdles in our paths and demands submission and obedience before any blessing may be pronounced.  Those who were free have been brought back under "control", only to give in to the illusion of legitimacy.  They now experience only a loveless marriage.

Simply put, I vote that we all select option two and stay there.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Not What We Expected

Hi Everyone,

Here's a quote from Malcolm Smith:

"We were born two thousand years after [the covenant between Jesus and God the Father] was made.  We were born into the family of Adam, crippled by the lie and ignorant of the covenant.  We lived in darkness with a distorted image of God, never knowing of His love or of His designs of love toward us.  We lived in our wilderness, lost and dead to God....  But He never gave up His pursuit of us, and finally we were summoned by the Holy Spirit to hear the Gospel.  We believed we would hear the words of an angry God; instead we were stunned by the words of His love and forgiveness.  Our track record of rebellion and disobedience had been forgiven, dismissed in the covenant made before we were born in our representative head, the Lord Jesus.  And all the riches earned by the Lord Jesus were turned over to us; we have become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus.

We are not treated as individuals in isolation; we do not have a private covenant with God.  The covenant was made, its terms and promises made sure in Christ 2000 years ago; in all that He did, He acted for us and as us.  The Gospel called us to personally enter the covenant because we were in Christ when the covenant was made.

Our decision was our response to the covenant that divine love had made:  to say yes to the yes of Jesus, the covenant head, to die in His death to independence and disobedience, confessing Him as Lord and in Him submitting to the Father.  It meant nothing short of a death and resurrection, actually changing families.  We died to being part of the family of Adam, the old man, to being included into the royal household of the new Man.  Such a response meant incurring the wrath of the family of sin and darkness that we were once a part of.  They would, in fact, treat us as they treated Jesus.

This takes place by the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.  We, who live two millennia from the making of the covenant, are united to Jesus, our covenant head, and made part of His history, partaking of His life.  We take our place at the royal table along with the royal princes and, basking in the love of our Father, we eat the meal of covenant."

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Covenant Meal and Friendship

Hello Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope this post finds you well and comforted in the presence of family and friends.  I know there are certain joys and certain challenges we all face at this time, but it is my sincere wish that you know of the peace between you and our heavenly Father.  I would like to discuss briefly two elements of the covenant from which we benefit.

The word "friend" is something we've lost true meaning of.  I know people who boast of the number of "friends" they have on Facebook, but we all know that most of those are acquaintances at best.  We should only consider friends as those we find trustworthy with the intimate details of our lives.  True friendship is something that lasts over a lifetime, even though we easily throw people away as they are no longer useful to us.  Consider the following quote from Malcolm Smith:  "From the making of the covenant, the two parties would be described as friends.  The word friend has been greatly cheapened in the language of our Western society; but in societies where covenant making is practiced and understood, there is no higher honor than to be called a person's friend, for it announces a covenant relationship."

And since we all will be having some sort of meal this evening, let's consider the meaning of the meal that happens as the end of the covenant.  "To eat with someone at any time was a kind of covenant, and it had a far greater meaning when placed at the end of the making of a covenant.  The meal declared the covenant, as the two representatives would eat of the same bread and drink of the same wine telling the world that they were one, partaking one of another" (Malcolm Smith).

Psalm 23:5 says "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."  I want you to know that this is a covenant table.  It's also the king's table.  I want you to understand that you are partaking of the life of the king; you have his life, his authority, and his friendship.  Sin has been removed and the God whose love needs no covenant has made a covenant with Himself in Christ Jesus and called us as beneficiaries of the new covenant.  If God needs no covenant to love you, then there is no sin you could commit that would separate you from Him.

May you know that since you have believed, you are at rest and at a position of honor at the table of the family of God.

Happy Thanksgiving and...

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - There are no 'ifs' in God's love

Hi Everyone,

Below is a post from a blog I follow (weblink at the end).  Enjoy, and know that you are loved!

Grace=Peace

Jeremy

"The core experience of Jesus, the moment that sustained him through his brief life on earth, happened at his baptism when heaven was opened, he saw the Spirit of God descend on him like a dove, and the voice of the Father said: "This is my Son,whom I love; with him I am well pleased." The knowledge that he was loved by the One who matters most was, for him, the primal spiritual fact.

You, too, are God's deeply loved one. God loves you. This forms your core identity. You are God's beloved daughter, God's beloved son. You are God's child, and God loves you. As you embrace God's love and follow after him, this love turns from a theoretical thing to an experiential reality. You can know, viscerally, that you are greatly loved by God.

The nature of this enduring, unfailing love can be expressed like this: "God does not say, 'I love you if...' There are no 'ifs' in God's heart. God's love for us does not depend on what we do or say, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity." (Henri Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life, 68) God's love is not conditional.

A conditional statement is an "if... then" sentence. Most human "love" is conditional. Recently I received an anonymous note from a woman in my church which broke my heart. It was a prayer request, and read: "Please pray for me. My husband thinks I am too fat." It seems her husband would love her if...  "If you lose more weight then I will love you." How sad. How ungodly. 

Fortunately for us God's love is not like that. His love for you is not dependent on your performance or your appearance. As this great, central biblical truth descends from your mind into your heart and becomes your core identity and reality you will find yourself sustained through all of life's incomplete relationships.

There are no 'ifs' in God's love."

(http://www.johnpiippo.com/2012/11/there-are-no-ifs-in-gods-love.html)

Grace - Jesus Re-Presents Us

Hi Everyone,

"The old covenant is the covenant that was made with Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses, their representative.  It was the covenant of the law of the Ten Commandments, the sacrificial system of offering up lambs, bulls, and goats to cover the sins of the people; the mark and seal of membership in the covenant was the circumcision of the male.  The new covenant is called new because it made all that went before it old and of no more use as a means of salvation.  It was not just another covenant that improved on the previous one, as this year's automobile model is an improvement over the last year's.  The word "new" means new in kind, that which has never been thought or dreamed of before.  This covenant is mediated by the Lord Jesus and established in His blood.  Membership is in being sealed by the Spirit of God, who writes the law on the heart and in the desires of men and women." - Malcolm Smith

Something we've forgotten, and I've mentioned this recently, is the reality of covenant.  It is not the exchange of material possessions, but rather the exchange of a life.  The representative of each party involved in the covenant represents his people, his tribe, his family, etc.  Being of the same blood and family of those he represents, he literally EMBODIES those he represents.  His position is not an easy one, because the terms of the covenant rest upon him--he carries the responsibility to fulfill the terms of the covenant.

We come from a very individualistic society, so this is not easy for us to fully comprehend, but a person entering into a covenant can never be an individual; his very life represents the lives of all those included with him.  Think of David and Goliath.  In 1 Samuel 17, Goliath challenges the Israelites to choose a man for themselves.  He says that he and the Israelite they choose will represent their respective nation, and if the Israelites' representative wins, the ENTIRE nation of Philistines would be slaves to the nation of Israel.

Goliath and David literally BECAME their respective nation.  The entire histories and the futures of their people were at stake and the whole war would be ended by a fight between two men.

This illustrates in part how we are saved through Jesus.  Not only saved, but it shows us how we are to walk.  The Bible says that we died with Christ!  As a human, Jesus wraps up all of humanity into Himself and represents all men.  Jesus, born under the law, is our representative man, who takes upon Himself the full penalty for our failure to obey the covenant through which we were represented by Moses.  It is thus that the old covenant is ended, and the power of the Spirit has now raised Jesus up from death and us with Him!  The challenge we face in all this is the issue of faith!  We not only have to place our faith in Jesus for salvation, but we should also, by faith, believe that our perfect representative has caused us to be completely righteous.  How are we completely righteous?  Because our representative, Jesus Christ, is completely righteous.

I pray that you will see that your Representative has perfectly represented you--He has perfectly fulfilled the terms of the covenant which came through Moses.  You have been re-presented back to the Father through Jesus.  May you place your complete faith in the reality of your righteousness and sanctification, perfectly and once-for-all completed in Jesus.

"The Gospel of the covenant is presented by God to man, not as a point to begin negotiations, but for humans to accept or reject.  Love has accomplished the incredible, and all humans can do is either receive with thanks or establish themselves in their rebellion forever by refusing." - Malcom Smith

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Jesus Is Better Than Milk

Hi Everyone,

Take the time to watch this video.  You won't be disappointed!

http://thecity.org/message/jesus_is_better_than_milk

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - From Shadow to the Light

"If you spend all your time looking at shadows, you will perpetually be in the dark.  The Light has come and it is Jesus!"

Hi Everyone,

I've made an observation and I have a question:  I've noticed that we, as people, generally like to have a list of what we should do and should not do.  I know that I am very much like this.  When someone is explaining something to me, I want the bottom-line facts.  I want to sift through the extraneous details and get to the information that I need in order to take action.  Tell me what you want me to know and to do!  I suspect that many of us have been trained to be this way--we want to know what we should do AND what we should not do!  That's very important to us, because we don't want to get things wrong.  So here's my question:

Adam and Eve were commanded NOT to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  How were they pleasing God if they didn't know what to do and what not to do?

I hope you get this question, because that screams at me!  Adam and Eve were to never take action based on knowing whether what they were doing was right or wrong.  I think we would agree that this life, based on the knowledge of good and evil, was far below God's ultimate plan for the life we are to experience.

Herein lies the problem:  we look to the knowledge of good and evil to decide what to do.  We think that makes us pleasing to God and that He desires to help us obey a list of dos and don'ts.  We constantly evaluate ourselves using the Ten Commandments.  We are ignorant that those are only a shadow.  Consider the following verses:

"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." Heb. 10:1

"The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Matt. 4:16

"These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." Col. 2:17

So, I would like to propose that we start looking to the life of Jesus in us, and this only, so we can see Him working in us and experience the partnership between us and Him as He lays hands on the sick and raises the dead through us.  He is our holiness, so we are perfectly holy.  He is our righteousness, so we are perfectly righteous.  Our mind needs to see that every need we have is fulfilled in Him.  There is no sinful habit that can withstand the life of Christ in us.  As long as we have some sort of list of things to do and not to do, we are not moving in faith.  You are pleasing and acceptable to God in the Beloved.  Make Him the focus; not yourself.

I pray that we all will stop looking at shadows, but rather see Christ in us and us in Him.

"In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.  For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ."  John 1:4, 16-17

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Now That Faith Has Come, the Law Is Obsolete

Hi Everyone,

Something lost in the memory of our society is the truth that covenant determines relationship.  This is also true of how God relates to us.  If we rightly divide the word of truth, then we will see that under the old covenant, God had to relate to a sinful people as a Holy and Righteous God had to:  He blessed those who did good; He cursed those who did evil.  Let's remember that "good" as defined by God's commands is actually perfection--not merely right behavior.  The self-righteous seek to justify themselves, but they misunderstand and ignore the requirement of perfection, focusing on achieving "good" or "right" behavior.  In the same way that we rightly divide truth and correctly understand the purpose of the old covenant with it rules and regulations, we must also see that God now relates to sinful people through Jesus through the new covenant.  People are reconciled to Himself and He is no longer relating to us through the law, since Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law on behalf of all people.  He reconciled the WORLD to Himself--faith has now come and...

the former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless, for the law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.  Hebrews 7:18-19 (See also Gal. 3:10; James 2:10; and James 4:17)

In Matthew 9:16-17 we read about the danger of combining old and new garments and the placing of new wine into new wineskins rather than old ones.  This represents the mixing of old and new covenants.  It does not work; in fact, it's deadly to do so.  Why is it dangerous to mix old and new covenant teachings?  It is here that I make my strongest point in this email:

The mixing old and new covenant teachings will produce the following:

You will begin to believe that God contributes to our problems--that He causes or allow sickness as judgment and punishment.

You will be unsure of God's Will and will never be able to be in faith.  Your "faith life" will be a rollercoaster of faith and unbelief.

You will be focus on your problems, empower your enemy, and will be unable to see the solution.

You will judge people rather than minister to them--your salt will have lost its saltiness.

You will prescribe works to people as a solution to get God to move on their behalf.

You will be in perpetual confusion and experience unending condemnation and guilt.

God demonstrated to us His righteousness (See Romans 3:25) which has now become the very righteousness of those who have faith in Jesus (verse 22).  I find that most Christians do not believe that they are completely righteous, which adequately describes the righteous of Jesus.  In other words, we are just as righteous as Jesus is, because HIS righteousness is our righteousness.

I write these things to you in hopes that you will have the righteousness that comes by faith:

Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  Galatians 3:24-26

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - From Death to Life

From Death to Life: Aaron's staff was a dead piece of wood until it blossomed when God brought life to it and confirmed his priesthood; Jacob thought Joseph was dead until God raised him to a position to save his family and all of Egypt; Isaiah was undone until God cleansed and commissioned him; Peter knew he was a sinful man worthy of death--Jesus restored him and made him to fish for men; Jesus, himself, knowing He would die and be raised by the power of God's Spirit, rebuked satan's wisdom and did only what he saw His Father doing; Paul strived to please God until he realized that he had to die and be resurrected with Christ. As Christians and ministers, let us always see the life of God as our source, and never chose to live life and do what we do out of our own life and strength. We died, and the life we now live is by faith in Christ's life in us, given to and for us.

Grace - Hebrews: Consider Jesus, Part 7 - Moses Goes to a Bible Conference

Hi Everyone,

In Hebrews 1, we are introduced to the Son of God (unnamed, but understood by the writer and us as Jesus) sent from heaven above to men.  In Hebrews 2, we see Jesus in the flesh, a little lower than the angels, Who tasted death for all of us, and Who is now seated as the Son of man at the right hand of the Majesty on High.  But in Hebrews 3, this Apostle and High Priest of our faith is revealed as Christ Jesus (KJV & NKJV).  God's anointed one (the Christ) has become our Savior (Jesus).

So now, just as in Chapter 2 we are to heed the message we've heard, so now, in Chapter 3, we see that the message is a PERSON.  We are to give heed to the Person, Christ Jesus, Who IS the Gospel:  Consider Jesus, Who is the faithful Son over the house of God (us, the believers).

Of course, the writer also pays tribute to Moses.  After all, Moses had been a faithful servant to the house of God, but Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, because of Who He is and what He did.  So now it gets really interesting:

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear His voice...." - Hebrews 3:7

So what's interesting about that?  The writer is quoting from Psalm 95 and has taken an event in the past and presented it in the present.  He didn't say "as the Holy Spirit said", but "as the Holy Spirit says"!  I'll explain later why that's so interesting.

Back to Moses:

Although Moses was a faithful servant, he made mistakes.However, Jesus has greater honor as a faithful Son and the One Who perfectly fulfilled His ministry.  Before Jesus, Moses had been the the apostle to the people and at the beginning, the high priest.  It was through Moses that God initiated the sacrificial system and book of law:

For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you."  Hebrews 9:19-20

Certainly, Moses deserves some credit:

• Moses conversed with God face to face (Numbers 12:8).
• Moses entered into the very presence of God (Exodus 34:30).
• Moses was shown the true heavenly things (Exodus 25:40).
• Moses constructed the tabernacle as he was commanded (Hebrews 8:5).
• Moses even shared in Christ's sufferings (Hebrews 11:24-26).

But then, Moses went to a Bible Conference:

Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Matthew 17:1-3

As Oliver Greene says:

"The greatest Bible Conference ever held took place that day on the Mount of Transfiguration--Christ the eternal Son of God, Moses to whom God gave the Law, and Elijah the chief of prophets!  Moses stood on the mountaintop, less than the Son but sharing in Shekinah glory that clothed them all.  Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were lighted with the glory of God--but the honor and glory Moses shared was but a reflection thrown upon him from the glory of the most glorious One--the only begotten of the Father, the Pearl of great price, the Jewel of all jewels"

I hope this has been a blessing to you and helps you to understand why we must move from old covenant mentality to the glory of the new covenant reality.

Until next time,

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

http://jdkrider.blogspot.com/2012/10/grace-hebrews-consider-jesus-part-6.html

Grace - Jesus Is Faithful to God

" …He [Jesus] had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people…Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, … Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are…."  Hebrews 2:17; 3:1-6

Hi Everyone,

I find that the writer of Hebrews is a forerunner of the very thing that I am attempting to do:  I want people to see and believe that Jesus is our supply and only need for both life and godliness.  In Christ, we are pleasing to our Father by faith.  His life in us is the source for both everything we need and that which we should do.

Let's not kid ourselves, it must have been—at the very least—very difficult for Hebrew believers to experience a total change in their faith system.  It was hard for them to accept that the entire priesthood and law covenant system had been fulfilled in Christ.  What were they being asked to give up?  The priesthood—their daily representatives before God; and their law covenant system—the method by which they knew right and wrong and what they needed to do and not do to be pleasing to God.

The eradication (better:  fulfillment) of the levitical priesthood and mosaic law covenant ultimately meant that they could finally REST.

But I want to simply point out the message of the verses above.  For most of us, we have always heard that Jesus is faithful to us.  That is true and good, but there is something even more fantastic! See the above verses:  Jesus is faithful to our God and Father! 

Oliver Greene says that "Christ is the substance and the content of our confession."  I wonder what would happen if our prayers reflected this belief:  "Jesus, in everything that my Father has appointed you to do and be on my behalf, you have been and will always be perfectly faithful."

Just as the Hebrews had to rest from the priestly system, the law covenant, the blood of animals, and the earthly tabernacles, so must we also rest from the striving from within and without to perfect ourselves before God.  We must look at Jesus and see ourselves in Him.  If we do this, then we will see our every need fulfilled in Him.  We will no longer strive to combat sinful habits, but we will know that the life of Christ in us brings more satisfaction than anything else.

May you come to understand the importance of Jesus' eternal faithfulness on your behalf.  And just in case you still think it's humble and holy to see yourself as a sinful worm whose actions are negated by a glorious high priest, let me declare that Jesus is not just your high priest, He is also your life.  Your sinful nature was crucified with Christ, and now Christ has also given you His life and a new nature.  You are in union with Christ (Romans 6:5 - symphytos:  born together with, of joint origin; connate, congenital, innate, implanted by birth or nature; grown together, united with; kindred—symphytos is related to the phrase "Siamese twin").  What sinful habit can withstand that?  None.  Change your mind about what you've believed to the contrary (or as Jesus would say, "Repent!").  Now that's good stuff.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Great Books to Read

Hi Everyone,

Here is a list of books that are great reads.  I've read most of them myself and would highly recommend them.  (In fact, I sent out an email a while back with a long list of books to read.)

Enjoy!

http://escapetoreality.org/book-reviews/

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - You Are versus You Are Becoming

Hi Everyone,

Just a thought below from me:

The word of God says that we are a chosen race--not becoming a chosen race. That we are a royal priesthood, not becoming a royal priesthood. That we are a holy nation, not becoming a holy nation. That we are a people for God's own possession (which means that we are separated unto Him, also known as being holy), not that we are becoming a people for God's own possession.

We are chosen, we are royal, we are holy, we are His people, and we have been called out of darkness and are now and forevermore, by His doing, abiding in His marvelous light. (See 1 Peter 2:9-10.).

If Christians would simply have faith and believe the above truth, we would no longer see Christians struggling against temptations and striving to be acceptable to God, but rather we would see joyful Christians who are established in righteousness, who boast only of Christ's love for them, who demonstrate power in the Holy Spirit, who are followed by signs, miracles, and wonders, and who are the most loving, self-abasing people on the planet.

As long as Christians strive to obtain what scripture clearly states is theirs already, or even refuse to believe this truth, then the world will only see another world religion, replete with zealous, albeit anemic followers hoping to please a god who stands aloof, waiting for them to get their act together and bridge the gap between them and their god themselves.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Hebrews: Consider Jesus, Part 6 - The Fear of Death

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you can take the time to read this; I believe it might be one of the best I've written so far.

Hebrews 2:14-15 – "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

I am convinced that those who have placed their faith in a mixed teaching of law covenant and grace covenant—not discerning the deadly cocktail the two create—suffer from the fear of death.  I say this because that is the only thing Law can create.  Even the greatest teaching on Grace can be nullified by one ounce of Law—the fulfillment of one singular legal requirement in hopes of satisfying God through righteous behavior.  This leaves the hearer with a terrifying expectation of judgment as described in Hebrews 10:26-27, because if the hearer sets aside even one ounce of Law, they experience condemnation for their failure.

Paul described this very situation in Titus 3:9-11:

"But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned."

You see, the context of this passage in Titus is the struggle believers faced when people would try to convince the believers to add law covenant obligations to their faith in Christ.  These people were looking to the Law to make them acceptable and pleasing to the Lord, and no matter their intention, Paul clearly recognizes that they are motivated by the condemnation they themselves had experienced when failing to fully obey.  How can Paul know this?  Because he himself had been in the same situation before faith in Christ:

"…I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?"  Romans 7:23-24

Paul addressed a similar situation with the church at Colossae when he wrote:

"If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees...in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?  These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."    Colossians 2:20 – 3:3.

Paul brought the Colossians back to the realization that they died with Christ and were no longer under law and man's traditions (BOTH are what he calls "elementary principles of the world").  He agreed that coming under the law in obedience to it in hopes of being satisfying to God by their behavior seemed wise, but Paul, the experienced Pharisee, unapologetically declared that coming under law was not only unhelpful, but also deadly to faith (Gal 3:12).

What is the answer, then?  How is the wretched man rescued?  How does the Christian not yield to the flesh (meaning a sinful nature) with its passions and desires?

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3

What does this mean?

I know so many brothers and sisters who look to their own efforts and ability to discern between good actions and evil actions, thinking that this is how the Christian life is lived.  What they don't realize is that they are failing to live by faith.  "Seeking the things above", which has become analogous to seeking to obey the Ten Commandments and behaving righteously, is so much more.  What does it mean to seek the things above and "set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth"?  The answer is right there:  it is to KNOW that you died (you and your sinful nature, on the cross with Jesus), and that your life is hidden with Christ.  It is NOT crucifying your sinful nature on a daily basis; it is a recognition that it has already occurred.  We look to our condition in Christ AND our position in Christ to know that we are dead to not only sin and temptations, but we are also dead to the LAW!  This is the revelation of Christ in scripture that escapes anyone who tries to obey and be pleasing to God through behavior and adherence to the Law.

When I see a Christian striving to be a "better" Christian, or one that is striving to "please" God, I don't deny that behavior is important.  Instead, I see that, like the teachings and philosophy of men that Paul warned against over and over, those Christians are supplanting the revelation of Christ in scripture with their own effort—thinking that such action will be of use to them.  It's usually also these same Christians who are caught in the vicious circle of repent/do better/maintain/fall/repeat.  This is not victory over sin and it's certainly not how Paul would have us live a Christian life.  I see the roller-coaster lives of Christians who try hard, fail, make re-commitments, and fail again.  I truly believe that Christians who refuse to see Christ as the SOLE source of their salvation, justification, redemption, sanctification, etc., are bound by a fear of death and are enslaved to sin.  They live in a cycle of fear and striving because the law which they try to obey actually empowers sin, leading to fear and death.

In conclusion, we read in Hebrews 2:15 it was God's purpose in Christ to free those who "through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."  We need to connect this with Hebrews 2:9-10:

"But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, …so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.  For it was fitting for Him…to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings."

Jesus tasted the death that we faced under the Law and it was fitting for Him to do so.  You see, Jesus' goal was to fulfill the Law and bring many sons to glory.  The way to complete this was for Him to taste death for us.  It's not that Jesus needed to become perfect, but that His task would be completed and thus He would be the manifested, promised way to salvation (teleioō - to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end; add what is yet wanting in order to render a thing full; bring to a close or fulfillment by event).

I hope that you can meditate on this and catch what I am saying.  If you can, it will be the most freeing experience of your life.  The demands that the Law placed upon you AND the demands you placed upon yourself after being "inspired" to obey the Law have been fulfilled in Jesus.  Stop your striving and rest in Him.  As Andrew Murray says, this righteousness brought to us by Jesus' complete fulfillment of the Law will bring you peace.  Nothing else will ever come close:

"There can be no real prosperity or progress in a nation, a home, or a soul, unless there be peace. As not even a machine can do its work unless it be in rest, secured on a good foundation, quietness and assurance are indispensable to our moral and spiritual well-being. Sin had disturbed all our relations; we were out of harmony with ourselves, with men, and with God. The first requirement of a salvation that should really bring blessedness to us was peace. And peace can only come with righteousness. Where everything is as God would have it, in God's order and in harmony with His will, there alone can peace reign." – Andrew Murray 

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

http://jdkrider.blogspot.com/2012/10/grace-hebrews-consider-jesus-part-5.html

Each time I am faced with a new demand from the Lord, I look to Him to do in me what He requires of me. It is not a case of trying, but of trusting; not of struggling, but of resting in Him. If I have a hasty temper, impure thoughts, a quick tongue or a critical spirit, I shall not set out with a determined effort to change myself, but, reckoning myself dead in Christ to these things, I shall look to the Spirit of God to produce in me the needed purity or humility or meekness. This is what it means to "stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you" (Exodus 14:13). -- Watchman Nee

I agree with Watchman on the above, except to say that the needed purity, humility, or meekness is already in the Christian. These traits are simply accessed by faith by the Christian, as Holy Spirit reveals to the Christian the reality of the existence of that fruit in them by way of life in Christ.

Paul considered everything the Law gained him as "skybalon", which is Greek for "poop" (Philippians). And that's putting it nicely!

Grace - Hebrews' Author Remained Anonymous

No wonder the author of the book of Hebrews remained anonymous: in Hebrews, the author said that the Law was weak, useless, made nothing perfect, that God found fault with it and replaced it, that it was obsolete, growing old, ready to vanish, would never make anyone perfect, and was only a shadow of things to come. Obviously, the writer of Hebrews knew he would offend so many who were striving to be right with God that he never dared name himself! Who in his right mind would want to take that kind of heat from the religious community for saying such things?!?? Haha!

If we are not fully emancipated from the Law, we can never know full emancipation from sin. -- Watchman Nee

Grace - The Gospel Revolution

Enjoy this article on Galatians.  I've highlighted two or three sentences.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Galatians - The Gospel Revolution

by Bert White

The gospel that Paul preached was very specific. It was also very important to Paul that his hearers receive and live in the truth and the power of the gospel that he preached. If we say the gospel is the most important message that we will ever hear from the bible, it would not be an understatement. Some people think that any message from the bible is the gospel. They also think that all parts of the bible are created equal. That is not true. There are parts of the bible that carry more weight than others do (See Matthew 23:23). There are also parts of the bible that should not be taught on this side of the cross (unfortunately, there are some things that I wish I had not taught on this side of the cross either)!

Tit 1:10 For there are many disorderly and unruly men who are idle (vain, empty) and misleading talkers and self-deceivers and deceivers of others. [This is true] especially of those of the circumcision party [who have come over from Judaism].

Tit 1:11 Their mouths must be stopped, for they are mentally distressing and subverting whole families by teaching what they ought not to teach, for the purpose of getting base advantage and disreputable gain.

It is very unfortunate that some believers do not even know what the gospel is! They sit in churches every Sunday listening to a strange mixture of law and grace not even knowing that the Old Covenant religious system was totally abolished. It is not any wonder why so much of the church is spiritually anemic, sick, and powerless. That is because there is no power, or glory in the preaching of the Old Covenant system (See 2 Corinthians 3:7-9).

This book of Galatians is a book of reformation! During the Protestant Reformation, Galatians served as the defense of the gospel against the religion of the Catholic church. Martin Luther regarded this as his favorite book of the New Testament, and he once wrote, "I have betrothed myself to it; it is my wife!" Frederick Godet later explained that "this epistle was Luther's pebble from the brook, with which, like another (David), he went forth to meet the papal giant and smote him in the forehead."

Luther's writings brought the truth of salvation by faith alone to John Wesley's heart in that little meeting at Aldersgate Street in London on May 24, 1738. It was Wesley whom God used in such a remarkable way to spearhead revival in the British Isles, leading eventually to the founding of the Methodist Church. And that revival positively affected the entire English-speaking world.

Galatians should serve in every age to inspire reformation and restoration that sets Christians free from religion and its stepchild legalism. In case you have not noticed "Galatianism" is still prevalent in the church today. Like Paul, we must reject this false gospel, and clearly explain that the only distinguishing mark of a genuine Christian is the manifestation Christ as the grace of God.

There is a tremendous weight of glory that rest upon the preaching of the gospel (1 Cor 1:18) and there is also a weight of doom that rest upon the preaching of the Old Covenant (2 Cor 3:9). Paul knew this, so when he learned that the young Galatian Christians were infiltrated by another gospel, he was so upset that he was compelled to write and set things in order. The Judaizers were telling the new Galatian Christians they had to add "works" (circumcision in this case, but our list may be a bit different) to obtain their salvation.

In his letter, Paul takes off the gloves and fights for the purity of the gospel of grace. He makes some strong statements against those who would pervert the gospel of grace. From its earliest days, those who would destroy it are those who try to add to it. You must understand the deception of legalism and performance based Christianity does not attack the message of grace by denying it. They attack it by adding to it! Selah! Two thousand years later, we face the same battle. The lines are drawn. The gloves are off! This means war!  We are standing in the middle of a revolution … Its a gospel revolution.

Live Loved – Bert

Grace - Why Is Jesus' Yoke Easy?

Hi Everyone!

"All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:27-30

So, I heard this explained basically three ways:

1.  We take a yoke and a burden upon ourselves and although it sounds nice in this passage, the Christian life, in reality, is very difficult, with lots of burdensome experiences, sacrifices, and pressure to perfect ourselves in holiness through OUR self-discipline.  I'm sure this is not the Gospel of Grace that Paul preached, so, quite frankly, let's move on to the next traditional explanation of this passage.

2.  To understand this passage, we've often been brought into the agrarian context of Jesus' world with the illustration of two oxen.  For centuries, and even continuing now into contemporary days, farmers have known how to best use oxen.  No farmer will place a heavy yoke and demand intensive plowing from a young, immature ox.  Instead, the heavy yoke and strength to plow fall upon a mature, experienced ox, and the younger ox's load is considerably less as the older ox pulls the weight and does all the work.  This is how I have always taught the meaning of the above passage in Matthew, and it sounds great, but I see now how it falls so short of Jesus' intention and message.

3.  Let's look at the above passage again, and I will also bring in some other scripture verses:

"…no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Matthew 11:27

"Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner."  John 5:19

"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."  Romans 8:14

"And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read…The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives.…" Luke 4:14-18

Jesus' intent in Matthew 11:27 was to show us the Father!  As a result of this, Jesus not only shows us the Father, but He shows us His own relationship with the Father, and therefore the relationship we ourselves should have with the Father.

In Jesus' illustration in Matthew 11, we have mistakenly thought that Jesus was the "big ox" and we are the "little ox".  But look at what the passage actually says:

            "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Do you see it?  Jesus is NOT the "big ox".  His Father is the Big Ox, and Jesus' experience of being led by the Father in everything means that Jesus' yoke is easy.  Jesus is the "little ox" and He wants us to be at ease just as He was while the Father did all the work!

I wanted to share this revelation with you because I feel that so much pressure has been put upon people.  There is a great load of expectation on our shoulders to get our act together, to sacrifice, to self-discipline, to sin less, do better, and to work on our salvation and holiness.  I see clearly now that religion has placed Man on center stage and completely ignored the revelation of Jesus Christ and the Father.  While we will all agree that life is not always easy, this is not the same as the Christian life.  Why is the Christian life to be easy?  Because we are to experience the life that Jesus Christ secured for us, primarily, the experience of the Father working in and through us.  What are we to do?  Frankly, we need to rest, also known as to abide.

"The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works."  John 14:10

I pray that you will understand the impact of Jesus' revelation of His relationship with the Father.  Clearly, we are meant to live in the same way.  If we will abide and rest in a trustworthy Father, all the spiritual growth demanded of us by religion will be not only met, but be exceeded by Holy Spirit in us.  Holy Spirit in us will produce not only good works, but most importantly, love!

Keep your eyes on Jesus; put Him on center stage—watch what resting in the Father's rest will actually do.

"For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His."  Hebrews 4:10

May the easy yoke of Jesus lead and guide you!

(By the way, the word "easy" is the Greek word "chr­ēstos", which comes from the "chraomai", meaning:  to furnish what is needed.  Jesus' yoke furnishes and supplies what we need!)

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Hebrews: Consider Jesus, Part 5

Hi Everyone,

Here are the scripture passages upon which I am basing this email:

Colossians 2:8-14 - "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.  For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.  When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

Hebrews 2:11, 14-15 – "For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren….Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 

As Bert White says, concerning the letter to the Galatians:  "He [Paul] makes some strong statements against those who would pervert the gospel of grace. From its earliest days, those who would destroy it are those who try to add to it. You must understand the deception of legalism and performance based Christianity does not attack the message of grace by denying it. They attack it by adding to it! (emphasis mine).

I think one of the hardest aspects about communicating the Gospel of Grace is that most Christians have essentially been inoculated against the full reality of life under grace.  I'll relate it to you this way:  when talking to people about Jesus, I find that most people have a pre-conceived notion of Him.  If it's not that they've never heard of Jesus, then often they have a notion of Him that He was either JUST a good teacher, or the Son of God, or that He died for their sins, for example.  What I don't hear very much from people is an assurance that Jesus still heals today or that He is in them, very alive, active, and powerful.  It's almost as though a "head-knowledge" about Jesus has inoculated or prevented people from accepting information (and the reality) of Who He is which does not that fit within their understanding.  Your body's acceptance of weakened virus protects you from the real virus; your mind's acceptance of a weakened Jesus prevents you from experiencing His full effect in your life.

In the same way, I believe that most Christians have a hard time accepting (or even sometimes simply hearing and understanding) the Gospel of Grace because they have been taught a mixture of law covenant and grace covenant teaching.  They're confused from the cocktail.  The apostle Paul states time and time again:

•            beware traditions of men [that add to] the person of Christ
•       we were circumcised with Christ
•       we were buried with Christ
•       we were raised up with Christ through faith in the working of God
•        we were made alive in Christ
•        we have been forgiven
•         the decrees which were hostile to us were nailed to the tree
•        we were made complete in Christ
•        we were sanctified in Christ (He IS our sanctification, so HE can't be a process)

What is the result of all of this?  The passage in Hebrews 2 above tells us:  that we have been sanctified and that He "might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

When I see a Christian striving to be a "better" Christian, or one that is striving to "please" God, I don't deny that behavior is important.  Instead, I see that, like the teachings and philosophy of men that Paul warned against over and over, those Christians are supplanting the revelation of Christ in scripture with their own effort—thinking that such action will be of use to them.  It's usually also these same Christians who are caught in the vicious circle of repent/do better/maintain/fall/repeat.  This is not victory over sin and it's certainly not how Paul would have us live a Christian life.  I see the roller-coaster life of Christians who try hard, fail, make re-commitments, and fail again.

Here's my point:  the Hebrews passage above tells us that it was God's purpose in Christ to free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.  I truly believe that Christians who refuse to see Christ as the SOLE source of their salvation, justification, redemption, sanctification, etc., are bound by a fear of death and are enslaved to sin.  They live in a cycle of fear and striving because the law which they try to obey actually empowers sin, leading to fear and death.

And here's the most dastardly point:  the Christian who endeavors to not lust, to not steal, to not violate any law is in reality the one who is sinning.  Why?  Because only one person was able to not do any of those things:  Jesus Christ.  If His life is in us (Christ in us), then why are we looking both to our own righteousness and to a list of things to not do to receive power to not do those things?  Only a life will make us righteousness AND cause us to walk in righteous behavior—His Life.

Don't add anything—a list, your effort, a knowledge of good or evil—to your Christian life.  Your Christian life is completely filled with the life of Christ.  Do not be tricked into adding anything that supplants Christ as your life and source.

More later.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

http://jdkrider.blogspot.com/2012/10/grace-hebrews-consider-jesus-part-4.html

Did you know that the only way to please the Father is to believe the fact that, because of Christ, you're pleasing to the Father? That's called faith.

Grace - For the Present

Grace to you,

Enjoy the short excerpt from "Two Kinds of Righteousness" by E.W. Kenyon

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

"The church has been very strong in teaching man his need of righteousness, his weakness and inability to please God.  She has been very strong in her denunciation of sins in the believer. She has preached against unbelief, world conformity, and lack of faith, but she has been sadly lacking in bringing forward the truth of what we are in Christ, or how righteousness and faith are available.

Most of our hymns put our redemption off till after death.  We are going to have rest when we get to heaven.  We are going to have victory when we get to heaven.  We are going to be overcomers when we get to heaven.  We are going to have peace with God when we get to heaven.  There will be no more failings when we get to heaven.  We have nothing on this side except failure, misery, disappointment and weakness...

What does He mean when He says "Ye are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power"?  When are we to be complete?  Is it in this life or in the next?  What does he mean in Rom. 8:37, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us"?  When are we to be more than conquerors?  Is it after death when we leave this vale of tears?

The ministers do not preach peace in the present.  It is always in the future.  When are we to find this glorious thing call Peace?...

If it requires death to cleanse us from sin, we are left in an unhappy dilemma.  Death is of the Devil.  It would indicate that God in His Redemption was unable to give us victory, that He needed the Devil to complete His redemptive work.  I believe what the Scripture says about us is absolutely true, that God Himself is now our very Righteousness, and that we are the Righteousness of God in Him.  I am convinced that we are partakers of the Divine Nature.  There is no condemnation to us who "walk in the light as He is in the light."

by E.W. Kenyon

Grace - Being Genuine with God

Enjoy the following article!

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Being Genuine with God
by Paul Ellis

Now the question might arise: "Why would God not want us to confess our sins to Him? After all, we do make mistakes!" The answer is simple: Because walking around the whole day remembering all the bad things we have done will not bring us closer to God! Jesus already paid the full price so that we could have unbroken fellowship with the Father. This means that when we make a mistake, it does not break our fellowship or right standing with God. Jesus was forsaken by his Father on the cross so that we would never have to experience that!

Some may argue: "But I want to be genuine with God and talk to Him about all my mistakes." Well if people believe they need to be "genuine" with God about their mistakes, then to be really genuine they should rather act in faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). How much faith does it take to look at our mistakes and feel miserable about them? None. On the other hand, it takes faith to believe we are forgiven, loved, holy, perfect and righteous, even after we have just messed up…

There is however nothing wrong with confiding in our loving Father about our struggles. He understands us better than anybody else. But it's all about our motives. When we mess up, do we run to Him feeling guilty and condemned like a murderer about to be condemned to retribution? Or do we ask Him for wisdom in overcoming the habits of our unrenewed minds, knowing we stand completely forgiven and holy in His sight?

Andre van der Merwe, Grace: The Forbidden Gospel, WestBow, 2011, 105.