GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION
I’m dropping in today to say, it’s ok to be human. Steve and I have a good marriage, but we would like it to be better. Recently, the Holy Spirit reminded us that we need to set aside more time for communication. In other words, we haven’t been taking enough time just to sit face-to-face […]
The post Relationships – Communication Matters appeared first on Sandra McCollom.
They cried out again, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber. -- John 18:40
It was a tumultuous few days. The trial with trumped up charges, the examination by Pilate, Herod and Caiaphas, mixed with the confusion of the disciples of Jesus often take the focus off what was really happening. Pilate would unknowingly introduce the last Adam. "Behold the man," he said. The man as humans were created to be was finally on the scene. "Behold your king," he added. Yes, the long-anticipated king of the Jews was taking his rightful place.
Then, there was the episode regarding Barabbas. Pilate evidently thought the Jews would choose to release Jesus instead of the rebel robber, but they didn't. What a surprise it must have been for Barabbas. The door to his cell was unlocked and he was free. Many preachers have used this story to show the parallel to what was happening to enslaved humans because of the substitutionary death of Jesus. He was condemned and we are set free. But there is a marked difference. Those freed by Jesus' sacrifice are not only let out of the prison of sin, but they are empowered to live in their new freedom. It is possible and even probable that Barabbas wound up back in jail within a few weeks. After all, his release did not change his vocation. He was a robber.
The cross and resurrection are the beginning of a whole new creation where God is renewing what has been perverted.
Too often we are willing to accept a Barabbas-kind of freedom in our own concept of salvation. We are so glad to have our debt paid and the charges dropped that we conceive of God's grace as such a limited freedom. Skeptics of grace are afraid of a gospel that emphasizes the unmerited forgiveness that Jesus offers. They most likely assume that without some bit of restraint provided by fear, the forgiven will abuse the freedom and go on to a life of selfish consumption. They misread the totality of the salvation Jesus purchased on the cross. He doesn't stop by opening the doors to the cell. He changes the prisoner into a disciple. Forgiveness doesn't come alone. It comes with a new life.
The cross and resurrection are the beginning of a whole new creation where God is renewing what has been perverted. That God did not stop with the crucifixion is evidence that his freedom includes a new start as a new creation. Those who embrace the crucified Jesus also receive the resurrected Lord. He becomes the center of their lives as they live for a different purpose.
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. ... Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. -- II Corinthians 5:14-15, 17.
We have new hope because we have been born of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. We are not only rejoicing that the prison doors are open, but that we have a new vocation. The resurrection offers more than hope for life after death. It offers life now. We can live for something larger than our own agendas. Life with the living Lord satisfies at a level that nothing else can. We must not settle for being like Barabbas when we can enjoy being sons and daughters of the now-reigning king.
Friends, Jesus literally did it all. Our part is to believe that He really did. We simply get to wake up every morning and say Thank You! Isaiah 53:3-7, 9 Amplified Bible 3 He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and […]
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I hope this 24 minute video on the connection between right believing about God and walking in our authority in Christ is an encouragement to you. God put it on my heart to record this video a few days ago and pray at the end over everyone in need of a miracle/healing/breakthrough! If you have […]
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I hope and pray this teaching from my speaking engagement at Access Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma brings you lots of encouragement! Much thanks to Access Church for recording the message and allowing me to share it! In this teaching I talk about: How I was able to trade my anxiety & frustration for rest & […]
The post Know Who You Are appeared first on Sandra McCollom.
It’s not until we come to the end of ourself and our own self effort that we begin to see that only in and through Jesus (the person of grace) can we live a life of holiness! In fact, when we determine to live only in and through Him we will naturally find ourselves obeying […]
The post Law Verses Grace – Which One Gets You Further? appeared first on Sandra McCollom.
When you believe the truth of God’s word in your heart you will begin to see the manifestation of kingdom realities in every area of your life.
Real transformation in your life happens only by a revelation in your heart of Christ in you. What is revelation? How does it come? How does it relate to transformation?
Christianity is not a personal development course to a better you because you can’t get any better than Jesus in you.
Everything that God has for you is received by grace through faith.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The promises, quality of life and general “things” you want/need from God are included in the salvation you receive from him through confidence in the finished work of Jesus. In other words, you can not work for the things you want/need from God, every aspect of salvation is in Jesus already but it becomes real in our lives when we receive it by grace through faith.
Saved = Made whole, rescued, delivered, restored, provided for
Grace = God’s influence in your heart. Unmerited favor and his acts of favor toward you.
Faith = Confidence (that God is who he says he is and that you have what Jesus paid for)
As you become confident in what Jesus did and who he is, trust grows in your heart, which causes you to allow God to be who he is in your life. He is not withholding any aspect of salvation from you, you are merely limiting it through a lack of confidence in him.
How do you develop confidence in him? (Notice I didn’t say how do you get more faith?)
If it’s received by grace, let’s look a little deeper at grace. The Greek word for grace is charis. The Greek root word for charis is chario. (Why Greek? Because the Net Testament letters, like Ephesians, were originally written in Greek. So we’re just going to the original language to extrapolate a more accurate understanding from the writers original intention.)
Why is the root word important? In this case, chario gives us the attitude or inner environment that is present when charis (grace) is flowing in our hearts.
Chario = be glad or rejoice
The environment in which grace is most effective is when you’re glad or happy about the things that Jesus accomplished and made available for you. When you feel like those things are possible. When you’re happy that every aspect of salvation in Jesus is already true for you and God wants you to live in all of them now. A joyful heart receives better.
Psalm 9:1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
Here’s the progression of transformation. You experience salvation by saying yes to God’s influence in your heart because he favors you, which is done from a position of confidence in Jesus and your new identity in him. You’re transformed by the renewing of your mind. So you can renew your mind with the truth of your currently available salvation provided in Jesus and experience the fruit of that salvation.
Use the truth about your salvation in Jesus to renew your mind, because what you allow to rule in your mind will be reflected into your life. If you allow God’s truth about Jesus and who you are in him to influence your thinking, you will be transformed into that image because you will eventually believe that truth in your heart, and whatever you believe in your heart will manifest in your life.
Pretty simple, right?
I know, it’s a mouthful but it’s actually a simple process. The bottom line is this, you become what you think about. So think about what’s already true about Jesus in you so you will be outwardly transformed into that image. It’s your destiny!
Consider these passages in light of renewing your mind with the good news about Jesus.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
“The gospel is the power unto salvation,” is a perfect description of the progression of transformation by grace through faith. Do you see the connection?
You are destined to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Think about the good news of Jesus; what he’s done for you and who you now are in him. Allow that to develop confidence in your heart toward God and allow him to establish his salvation in and through you.
The good news about Jesus is truly powerful enough to inspire your heart to grab hold of every aspect of salvation to be established in your life as you take ownership of your identity in Christ!
CHECK OUT THIS RELATED SERIES
Renovate Your Mind: Transforming Into the Image of Jesus
Message Titles
1. Renovate Your Mind
2. Renovate Your Mind 2
3. The Spitting Image of Jesus
4. Tearing Down Strong Holds
5. Start and Finish In Spirit
6. Proving the Will of GodRen-o-vate: verb – rearrange, revive, make new, refresh
No amount of physical effort can produce a spiritual change
The changes we want in our lives only come through renewing our minds, not works of the flesh. The flesh is a mindset that trusts seeks to establish a spiritual truth rather than allowing the spirit of God to form us by grace through faith. In this series you’ll learn to be transformed by the spirit of God from within rather than change through striving and self-effort.
The post Use the Good News About Jesus to Renew Your Mind and See Salvation Established In Your Life appeared first on Forward Ministries.
NO WEAPON! Come on friends, let’s be a generation of Believers who really believe that what the Bible says is true…is true! #MeditateOnTheWord #RightBelieving 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 […]
The post No Weapon Formed Against You Shall Prosper appeared first on Sandra McCollom.
Evidently there is a vast number of people who have occupied this earth who believe that their purpose is to be good. They suspect that whatever god there might be has determined that he likes good people and detests bad people, and that he is planning a final test where the bad guys will be enthusiastically thrown into the fire and the good will get rewarded because of how good they proved to be.
I say that because so many still feel so badly because they do bad things and don't do enough good things. There have been so many religions created because bad people are trying to be good.
Even in our predominantly secular culture, people are always trying to be better. The best-selling books tell us how to be better at something. Even if it's not for God's judgment, we want to do better because we will feel better about ourselves. It's secularism's version of heaven.
It is a scary question, but what if that isn't what God wants? What if badness and goodness were not the issue? What if being good were not the goal? It sure would take a lot of pressure off. But, someone will argue that we tried that in the 60's when we trashed responsibility and thumbed our noses at rules, and boundaries. That didn't pan out so good. Someone is probably about to mention that much of our society is already rejecting any morality and that we are amid a culture war because of it.
Before we get too far, let me point out that being bad is not the only other choice.
The truth is that God is all about humans knowing him and being loved by him. He created Adam and Eve to know him and partner with him in a great project. Their role on earth was to be the image-bearer of their creator.
We can get back to being his image-bearers on earth as we partner with him in getting the truth of his real purpose delivered to the whole world.
It was after they believed a lie about him and his intentions that they started trying to get back in his good graces by being good the way they assumed he wanted. Since that time, humans have speculated as to what it would take to appease the gods, or they have taken God's own instructions and turned them into ladders they could climb toward goodness.
In time, God sent the Son to be the perfect human who lived in love and righteousness. He died as our substitute so that his goodness could be transferred to us. We can't be better than he, and he has paid for our badness. We are free to know God without guilt, shame or fear.
We can get back to being his image-bearers on earth as we partner with him in getting the truth of his real purpose delivered to the whole world. We can lay aside our dead works that never impressed him anyway. He loves to show off his mercy when we sin. His glory is made manifest when in our weakness he is strong.
Our failures don't put him off. They are opportunities for him to show any who are watching how much he loves to restore the broken and pick up the fallen.
Oh, we don't try to be bad, or just do bad things because we can. We are constrained by the love that he has shown. It changes us. We long to honor his name, and we find that we love the same people he does. Some might look at us and say we are good people, but that is not our goal. It is just an observation. We are known and loved by him.
If anyone ever tells you that Jesus does anything to you that does not line up with this verse DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. Jesus came to give you life and give it to you abundantly! #Receive #Receive #Receive #JesusCameForYouBecauseHeLovesYou
The post Jesus Came To Give You Abundant Life appeared first on Sandra McCollom.
