GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION
Or anyone else, for that matter. How could this be? Jesus, that’s how. Because perfect, sinless Jesus was willing to go to the cross and take the sin of the entire world upon Himself – 2 Corinthians 5:21 says Jesus became sin for us – God’s wrath toward sin was forever satisfied. Look, here’s the […]
The post God Is NOT Judging America appeared first on Sandra McCollom.
Good always triumphs over evil. Even though it doesn’t always appear that good is winning, ultimately, good always triumphs.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:21(NASB)
Love triumphs over hate.
see Luke 6:27-28
Forgiveness triumphs over unforgiveness.
see Ephesians 4:31-32
Humility triumphs over pride.
see Proverbs 11:2
Patience triumphs over impatience.
see Colossians 1:11
Gentleness triumphs over harshness.
see Proverbs 15:1
Generosity triumphs over selfishness.
see Acts 20:35
Mercy triumphs over judgement.
see Luke 6:36
Sandra McCollom
The devil is a liar which means the things he lies to us about… we should be believing and speaking the exact opposite. I’ve begun to practice this a lot in the past couple of years.
Here are some examples:
If I’m walking through my house and the devil lies to me by saying, “What if someone breaks into your house and tries to harm you and your family?” I don’t think or say, “Oh my goodness, what if someone breaks into our house and tries to harm me and my family?” Instead I immediately open my mouth and say something such as, “No, nobody will even be able to step a foot on our property with the intention of harming us. God, I thank you that according to Psalm 91:9-11(MSG), Because You are our refuge and You are our very own home, evil can’t even get close to us and harm can’t get through the door. In fact, You ordered Your angels to guard us wherever we go!”
OR
Let’s say I’m just doing some office work while my girls are running around the house playing with their dogs and the devil lies to me by saying, “What if your kids have a serious accident? They could fall down the steps and hit their head and get a brain injury.” Instead of gasping and thinking, “Oh my gosh. What if? What if? What if?” I respond immediately by saying, “I thank you God that Angel and Starr will live a long, healthy life in the name of Jesus. (see Psalm 91:15-16) In fact, I’m so glad Your blessing them with long life so they can enjoy their sibling relationship for lots and lots of years and even grow old together.”
OR
True story: The devil lied to me recently by saying, “Remember that person who said that really unkind thing to your face while questioning your motives for why you do what you do to help others. Well, they’re right. You’re just doing all these posts to get attention.” This did actually happen and the person’s comment hurt me so bad that it nearly shut me down. I cried for days and thought, This is stupid. All I’m trying to do is help people by setting their eyes on Jesus so forget it. I may as well just close up shop and quit trying if people are going to misunderstand me like this.
I know that’s exactly what the devil wanted me to do – close up shop. He wanted me to throw up a huge wall and just lay there wounded on the side of the road of life for the rest of my life. But guess what? The devil did not get his way.
God used the very thing that the devil meant to hurt me and tempt me to enter into a state of passivity and He showed me how to go even deeper in placing my identity in what He thinks of me as opposed to what others think about me.
In addition, God showed me how to forgive the person, after I asked for His help, by reminding me that I have also said some very hurtful things to others over the years, while judging their motives. He reminded me how He had extended His mercy and forgiveness to me every single time.
Once I got my eyes on the grace God had extended to me it was easy for me to get my eyes off what this person had done to me and forgive them. I even found myself believing the best of them as 1 Corinthians 13 encourages us to do. The transformational power of God’s grace never ceases to amaze me!
As a result of this incident, God is also helping me get free from a longstanding fear that I have had of being misunderstood.
Our God is simply a Master at taking what the devil intends for our harm and turning it and working it together for our good!
You can see, and I’m sure you have personally experienced, that the devil attempts to lie to us about a wide variety of things.
He says:
What if you get sick?
What if you get hurt?
What if people reject you?
What if you run out of money?
What if your marriage falls apart?
What if your kids hate you when they grow up as a result of all the mistakes you’ve made?
And this list is just the tip of the iceberg.
You should hear me though. I literally respond to the devil’s what if’s all day long with promises from God’s Word! It’s a fun game I play, but I’ve noticed that the devil doesn’t like the way I play the game; therefore, he doesn’t even bother lying to me very often anymore. When he does, he usually gets about a half a sentence out and I’m already interrupting him by responding with the truth – the reality – of what’s really going to happen which is the opposite of his lies.
Here’s what Jesus said about the devil in John 8:44b – “He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NLT)
We could even get on the devil’s last nerve by actually thanking him when he lies to us for reminding us of what’s really going to happen which is THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what he’s spouting off. Hahaha – I’m sorry, but I get the biggest kick out of this game!
My friend, always remember that Jesus stripped satan and his personal assistants of their authority through His finished work on the cross and the moment you choose to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, satan’s authority over you ceases to be a reality!
He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross He won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see. – Colossians 2:15 (ERV)
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
Why did Jesus really die? Was it to defeat sin? Was it to appease 
the wrath of an angry God? Was it so that God wouldn’t have to punish us because He punished Jesus? Was it to ransom us from the devil? Is God a child abuser? All these questions are answered within various theories as to why Jesus died. In this book, Jeremy looks at the four most popular theories: penal substitutionary theory, the moral influence theory, the ransom theory, and the Christus Victor theory. Utilizing the Christus Victor theory, he shows us how the death of God was a non-violent act from the actions of God, although it was certainly very violent from the actions of men.
Jeremy gives us a good solid understanding of the core teaching of each of them, contrasting the pros and cons of each one. His book clearly lays out a scenario in which the crucifixion of Jesus was not God pouring out His wrath on Jesus, nor God inflicting great punishment upon His beloved Son so that He wouldn’t have to inflict punishment upon humanity. His view is that God is a non-violent Father as expressed through the life of Jesus. It’s upon this non-violent view that Jeremy spends most of his time.
Don’t read this book if you are not willing to at least consider what he is saying. As a pastor, I have found that far too many Christians are close minded when it comes to looking at something that may go against what they have been taught all their lives. Most American Christians have been taught the Penal Substitutionary Theory and may have a hard time pulling away from that. As you read this book, keep an open mind and think about what Jeremy is saying, especially if you hold to any view other than the Christus Victor view.
Jeremy even explains his concept of why there is so much violence in the Old Testament. It is this subject here that I would love to sit down with him and have a conversation as I liked what he said, but I am not sure that I could totally put my views and thoughts in that same basket just yet. The violence of the Old Testament is still a concept that I am grappling with.
Overall, this is a great book. If you are looking to study the atonement and its differing views, then I would highly recommend this book. Jeremy is a great teacher and communicator. He has definitely done his research and is well versed in what he believes and why he believes it. He is definitely someone that I recommend that you follow. Through his books, blogs, and podcasts, I have been deeply challenged in my thinking, which, to me, is always a good thing!
You can find out more about Jeremy at his website: www.redeeminggod.com. You can purchase his book there or on Amazon.
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