Passover and the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ is soon to be here. This isolation and home bound quarantine feels almost eerily like the day of the original Passover, when the death angel passed though Egypt and only those with the Blood of the Lamb on their doorposts were spared the loss of their first born son. It was a dark foreboding night when the sounds of death and mourning could be heard throughout the land.
The connection and symbolism that Jesus IS our Passover Lamb is the cause for celebration by the Church.
The baseline of the Christian message and the Gospel "Good News" is all about forgiveness. The forgiveness that God has given and that we all have (potentially) received did cost Jesus a cruel and barbaric death.
For sin to be forgiven, according to the mandates of Holiness, innocent blood must be shed. Innocent blood is what it takes to atone for sin, with death as the ultimate penalty. Jesus is the only human who could claim "Holy blood" and that due to his Divine lineage as the Only begotten Son of God.
When we get to the point where we desire a relationship with God and desire to live eternally with Him, we are brought to the place of Godly sorrow (conviction) and repentance. That desire leads us to the Cross and the One God sent to save us: His only begotten Son, Jesus.
Forgiveness is the bedrock of Christianity and the basis of our freedom from condemnation and judgement executed by our Creator God for acts that offend and violate Holiness. Thus the Passover and the crucifixion of Jesus. We have the opportunity to receive forgiveness for all that lies within our "sin nature"; a nature that compels us to deviate from God's Holy nature until that sin nature has been transformed.
Forgiveness being made available doesn't mean that it is automatically received. The forgiver can forgive without the forgive-ee being directly affected. God's forgiveness stands but only due to the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Many will refuse to accept it and unfortunately live to regret that free will decision.
The exchange between forgiver and forgive-ee is best understood in the act of repentance. Repentance is not just the feeling of being sorry for something offensive. True repentance combines the regret with a determined change of course away from the regrettable offensive action. Faith is a reverse of course from unbelief.
In the life of a Christian, with our flesh being what it is; corruptible and depraved by the lust for worldly things, the need for repentance should be something we recognize as quite necessary when we walk the "Highway of Holiness" with our Lord.
Sin within causes a breech in our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Even as our old "sin nature" has been exchanged and replaced by the Lord's "Holy" nature (arrival of the Holy Spirit within) at the moment of our salvation, our flesh can and does still influence our choices and decisions to violate our new Holy nature.
The Holy Spirit who resides within the heart of all true believers, convicts and brings us to repentance, not just to forgive our offenses but to restore us to our place of fellowship with our Heavenly Father and Lord.
When Divine discipline comes (and it will) for those old habits and ways that need to be corrected, conviction, repentance, forgiveness and restoration of relationship happen in the transformation process whereby we gradually become more like Jesus. Before Jesus came into the world, the Old Testament is filled with accounts of how God dealt with the nation of Israel and their sinful violations of His Holiness. Violations brought disasters. Disasters brought conviction. Conviction brought repentance and repentance brought restoration and ultimately relief from the disaster
When circumstances are changing and becoming harder to understand may our prayer be like that of the Psalmist who cried out to the Lord, "Search me, Oh God, and know my heart, try me and know my anxieties and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting". Psalm 139:23-24
As we make this the cry of our hearts, the Lord will answer. If repentance is required, conviction will come, and with a change of course, forgiveness will flood over us and restoration will bring about our deliverance.
When trying to gain understanding of the cause or source of what we are experiencing in the trials that touch our life and world, I have found it best to begin with personal assessment and accountability. Knowing we stand before our God personally accountable and personally forgiven, we can move onto corporate accountability. Discernment is critical in the place of intercession when addressing possible Corporate offenses and seeking forgiveness for the Body of Christ at large. But our Heavenly Father is faithful and will reveal things if we petition.
Lastly and not to be overlooked in our search for truth and "discernment of spirits", we may be given the wisdom that we, the Body of Christ, are under a full on attack by demonic forces.
Knowing that we stand forgiven by our Heavenly Father both personally and corporately, with a discernment that says that what we are facing is an attack by "principalities in high places", we can move into our position on the battlefield full of courage and strength to effectively fight the good fight of faith.
As we move through this life altering crisis resembling a plague, may we use it to grow closer to our Lord and to a greater understanding of His ways and adherence to the principles we find in His Word.
I hope this blog has been an encouragement to remember the Passover and The resurrection of our Lord. I hope it is an encouragement to fold our hands and not wring them; to seek our loving Heavenly Father for His perspective on our situation, to follow His lead through the dark catacombs of untoward circumstances and to find His Light that is always there at the end of our tunnel.
Peace be unto you brothers and sisters. For our God reigns....
The Spirit is calling. Can you Hear Him?
The connection and symbolism that Jesus IS our Passover Lamb is the cause for celebration by the Church.
The baseline of the Christian message and the Gospel "Good News" is all about forgiveness. The forgiveness that God has given and that we all have (potentially) received did cost Jesus a cruel and barbaric death.
For sin to be forgiven, according to the mandates of Holiness, innocent blood must be shed. Innocent blood is what it takes to atone for sin, with death as the ultimate penalty. Jesus is the only human who could claim "Holy blood" and that due to his Divine lineage as the Only begotten Son of God.
When we get to the point where we desire a relationship with God and desire to live eternally with Him, we are brought to the place of Godly sorrow (conviction) and repentance. That desire leads us to the Cross and the One God sent to save us: His only begotten Son, Jesus.
Forgiveness is the bedrock of Christianity and the basis of our freedom from condemnation and judgement executed by our Creator God for acts that offend and violate Holiness. Thus the Passover and the crucifixion of Jesus. We have the opportunity to receive forgiveness for all that lies within our "sin nature"; a nature that compels us to deviate from God's Holy nature until that sin nature has been transformed.
Forgiveness being made available doesn't mean that it is automatically received. The forgiver can forgive without the forgive-ee being directly affected. God's forgiveness stands but only due to the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Many will refuse to accept it and unfortunately live to regret that free will decision.
The exchange between forgiver and forgive-ee is best understood in the act of repentance. Repentance is not just the feeling of being sorry for something offensive. True repentance combines the regret with a determined change of course away from the regrettable offensive action. Faith is a reverse of course from unbelief.
In the life of a Christian, with our flesh being what it is; corruptible and depraved by the lust for worldly things, the need for repentance should be something we recognize as quite necessary when we walk the "Highway of Holiness" with our Lord.
Sin within causes a breech in our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Even as our old "sin nature" has been exchanged and replaced by the Lord's "Holy" nature (arrival of the Holy Spirit within) at the moment of our salvation, our flesh can and does still influence our choices and decisions to violate our new Holy nature.
The Holy Spirit who resides within the heart of all true believers, convicts and brings us to repentance, not just to forgive our offenses but to restore us to our place of fellowship with our Heavenly Father and Lord.
When Divine discipline comes (and it will) for those old habits and ways that need to be corrected, conviction, repentance, forgiveness and restoration of relationship happen in the transformation process whereby we gradually become more like Jesus. Before Jesus came into the world, the Old Testament is filled with accounts of how God dealt with the nation of Israel and their sinful violations of His Holiness. Violations brought disasters. Disasters brought conviction. Conviction brought repentance and repentance brought restoration and ultimately relief from the disaster
When circumstances are changing and becoming harder to understand may our prayer be like that of the Psalmist who cried out to the Lord, "Search me, Oh God, and know my heart, try me and know my anxieties and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting". Psalm 139:23-24
As we make this the cry of our hearts, the Lord will answer. If repentance is required, conviction will come, and with a change of course, forgiveness will flood over us and restoration will bring about our deliverance.
When trying to gain understanding of the cause or source of what we are experiencing in the trials that touch our life and world, I have found it best to begin with personal assessment and accountability. Knowing we stand before our God personally accountable and personally forgiven, we can move onto corporate accountability. Discernment is critical in the place of intercession when addressing possible Corporate offenses and seeking forgiveness for the Body of Christ at large. But our Heavenly Father is faithful and will reveal things if we petition.
Lastly and not to be overlooked in our search for truth and "discernment of spirits", we may be given the wisdom that we, the Body of Christ, are under a full on attack by demonic forces.
Knowing that we stand forgiven by our Heavenly Father both personally and corporately, with a discernment that says that what we are facing is an attack by "principalities in high places", we can move into our position on the battlefield full of courage and strength to effectively fight the good fight of faith.
As we move through this life altering crisis resembling a plague, may we use it to grow closer to our Lord and to a greater understanding of His ways and adherence to the principles we find in His Word.
I hope this blog has been an encouragement to remember the Passover and The resurrection of our Lord. I hope it is an encouragement to fold our hands and not wring them; to seek our loving Heavenly Father for His perspective on our situation, to follow His lead through the dark catacombs of untoward circumstances and to find His Light that is always there at the end of our tunnel.
Peace be unto you brothers and sisters. For our God reigns....
The Spirit is calling. Can you Hear Him?
