MeAndThisGuitar

TRUTH 04: They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?” (Mathew 8:29)

TwoCents: The first question these men asked Jesus is an interesting one. It seems to me that no one would ask this question unless they knew who Jesus was, and had some working knowledge of what Jesus can do. These two men, we’re told, were demon possessed , so it wasn’t just the men talking, it was the demons speaking directly to Jesus as He walks up on the scene. These demons knew what Jesus could do, and that He had a plan for them, thus they screamed at Him to stop interfering in their lives. Why is it that those of us, who are not demon possessed, but know Christ and what He can do, are effectively saying to Him on a regular basis, “stop interfering in my life” “stop trying to impose Your will on me, I’ve got a good thing going here?” We can even take our “callings” in this direction, once we figure out what we think is working, we tell Jesus to stay out of it! Now we may not come right out and say those words to Him, but rather, we say it through our decisions. I know I am so very guilty of not talking with Him, of shutting off the lines of communication and simply putting my head down to keep working, so-much-so, that I miss anything that He might actually be saying to me. This lack of TIME with the lord, this failure to ABIDE in Him is saying essentially the same thing that these demons said to Jesus that day in that cemetery. What I feel that the Holy Spirit would say to me here is, “ask Me to interfere”!! I need to beg Jesus to interfere in my life, and unlike these demons, the places I will go when He does interfere are far better than if I leave Him out of the decision making process! Jesus, please get right in the middle of EVERYTHING I have going on! Right in the middle of my family, my relationship with my wife and kid, in the middle of my work, mess up my ministry for You, make it ALL what You want, and what You think is best, and allow me to cast out my own agenda and my own time, and give it all to You, in the name of Jesus!

TRUTH 03: He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. (Romans 4:25)

TwoCents: Paul also says in Romans, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). The wage for our sin is clearly stated as death. And he also reminds us that we are all going to die, “just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Our death in this life as a payment for our sin, which will come for us all, is certain. If we do not trust in Jesus, then we will be dead in our sin. That sin will eternally separate us from God, unless we die in-Christ and receive His righteousness which covers our sin and places us back in right standing with our father for all time. This is truth. What I feel that I need to ponder on more often and more deeply is firstly, the part that says, “because of OUR sins.”. My sin! It was my sin that put Him there. It was my incessant need to please myself rather than my God! My selfish inability to be even slightly obedient to God’s law is what necessitated a need for someone completely obedient to offer up His life once, to pay for me (and anyone who puts their faith in Him) for all eternity. In his death LIFE is offered. I must remember this priceless gift, I must never take it for granted! And secondly, I must look again at the result of this death. Righteousness with God, the act of being made “right” with our creator-God, this is the dvine tradeoff that takes place. My stinking sin and self-love, offered in exchange for the sweet fragrance of His self-less grace and forgiveness. A forgiveness that frees me from the bondage of sin, and gives me the ability to lean on the grace of Jesus, which is sufficient to supply all my needs. How marvelous, how wonderful!! I didn’t do anything. He did everything. I don’t think about this enough. I dont praise and thank Him enough. Lord help me to appreciate the gravity of exactly what You gave, and the weight of what we received in return!

TRUTH02:  Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”   Galatians 2:16 (NLT)
 
TwoCents:  I couldn’t be more thankful for that truth!  That I am not responsible for my salvation or eternity through being “a good person”. If that were the bar for being with my Creator, then what level of goodness is the right one?  Is it obeying all of the 10 commandments, or just a few?  God’s law exposes our inability to keep that very law, and that inability is why sacrifices are required to cover the penalty for our sin, which is death.  I feel like I am a pretty good person over all, but there are thoughts, habits, words, and actions that come out of me that are very much the opposite of “goodness”. They can sometimes be the epitome of selfishness.  I have good intentions, and I desire to be obedient to what Jesus would have of me. I struggle every day to emulate what the Bible tells me a good life should look like, and yet I continue to fail repeatedly.  I realized long ago, and am reminded daily, that I will never be as good as the bible tells me I should be to warrant becoming right in God’s eyes.  And so, I am so grateful that Jesus came to be the perfect life to be offered, as an ultimate sacrifice, in my stead.  His was the only Life that could be given as payment to redeem us, as He was the only one who had been sinless. Jesus’ life was perfect and holy, without sin, and He laid it down willingly for all who will place their faith in Him!  When we believe in Him, HE is the One that makes us right with God!  The Father sees the blood of the Son, when He looks at those who believe, and through that blood He we appear Righteous and Sinless.  Because what John the Baptist said is true, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  What an unfathomable gift that is free and available to anyone who will accept it!  

(Source: meandthisguitar.com)

TRUTH01: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Galatians 2:20-21 (NLT)

TwoCents: The only way I can live a truly full life is by crucifying my old self, my former selfish way of living, and “trusting the Son of God”…every day! If I’m not following Him, then I am moving in the wrong direction, and I find myself moving in that direction often. I am continually having to turn back around towards Jesus! We all have good in us and we can do good things apart from Christ, but the good we do is temporal. Yet, if we do the good that Jesus leads us to, then the effect can become eternal!! Jesus commanded us to “love each other in the same way that [He] has loved us,” there is “no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” Jesus said. He demonstrated this kind of love for us, for everyone! Therefore, His grace is never meaningless because without it, all of our good deeds and acts of kindness in this life end here, and can never lift us or anyone else into eternity! Only the blood of Jesus can lift the weight of sin off of us! So, it is because of Christ that I can serve others, and it is in His name that I do it. Jesus asks us to trust in Him and to introduce those around us to Him, through our service to them and our words of love spoken with attitudes like that of His own! Attitudes that are humble, putting others first even unto the point of dying for them! I pray that I will allow Christ to live in and through me like He wants to today, and that I will not hinder His Spirit and His plans with my own selfish disobedience.