The Bible is clear – the old has gone and the new has come.
Yet, those same old thoughts, attitudes and behaviors seem to keep hanging on.
Makes us wonder sometimes if anything has changed at all?
But the truth remains — in Christ, we are new.
- In Christ we have a brand new identity. God never calls us “old sinners saved by grace.” He named us “child of God.” His Spirit testifies with our spirit that this is true: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16).
- In Christ, we are new creations. Jesus gave life to our human spirits and He lives in us through His Holy Spirit. He is what makes us new, and He is our hope of glory. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
- In Christ, we live in the New Covenant. We are no longer under the law. That old relationship ended at the moment of salvation. Now, we live under the New Covenant and are led by Spirit. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are no longer under law” (Galatians 5:18).
How do we break free from the old thoughts and behaviors? How do we live a victorious life in Christ?
Years ago, S.M. Lochridge delivered a powerful sermon he called, It’s Friday…Sunday’s coming. You can view it on YouTube.
For believers, Sunday is here. The question is this – How do we live Sunday lives in a Friday world?
This is the topic for today’s broadcast. If you have a question you would like answered, post it in the comment section. Or call 800-677-9377 to ask it on-air. Call early. The program begins at 3:30 CST.
How do you live a Sunday life in a Friday world?
How do you live a Sunday life in a Friday world?
When I first came to belief I was told to believe in Christ for he died in my stead for me. So I believed, then came I had to keep myself right with God and was to focus on not sinning. So I did this and became most miserable, I wanted sin to stop and it ust would not, I would go to God in prayer and ask to be set free from but just never could until I read
Galatians 6:8
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Sowing to is the same as thinking of and I understood what I was doing was I was thinking of flesh and it did not matter whether I wanted to do flesh or not, flesh was and is produced everytime, wow then I realised focus on the new me that God created in me where I serve as well as all that believe do in the Spirit of God, for God can only be worshipped in Spirit and truth no other way. So I discovered by not forsaking flesh and trying to get flesh to behave only produced more flesh (death) and kept me sinning continuously, making me miserable, thinkng how can God love me,is he turning his back in a swivel chair disgusted with me? And I see today no way that this was ever true but it was my focus on flesh whether I will ever sin againor not that kept me trapped in prison. Today I am free and am in LOVE with the living God of Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior unto the Father forever more
Thanks for that Howard. I needed to be reminded of that today.
I’ve been struggling with NOT getting angry and frustrated!!
I will change my focus to HIM. His life in me… my only hope… of true liberty.
We need each other to continually ‘herd’ us back to our Shepherd. Thank you.
Kim, Welcome and am elated God spoke to you through it
What one is thinking plays a big part in our feelings, feelings only change with thought(s) that change from thew renewing of our minds (thoughts) now this is to see things from God’s perspective not ours or the worlds
We are a NEW creation, one that never existed before. How are we new? To understand, you first have to take a look at Adam, the first man.
Adam was created in the image of God. He had a body, a soul and the Spirit of God living in him. When Adam sinned, the Spirit left him leaving him spiritually dead.
John 6:63 The Spirit GIVES LIFE; the flesh counts for nothing.
When we receive Christ, we receive the Spirit of God, but unlike Adam, who died, we can NEVER die. Thus we are a NEW creation, not like Adam, but like Christ who lives forever.
Thanks William, good scripture reminded us we are not saved by the death but by life
Let’s Stop Trying To Live the Christian Life
Why? Because none of us can live it by our own efforts.
Then, who can?
Only by Christ living in us and through us can we
live a life that totally pleases His Father, and now our Father..
He did it before His death & resurrection; and He
can do it again after we receive Him into our lives by
His Spirit from God.
Gal. 4:4-6, (4) But when the fulness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman,
made under the law. (5) To redeem them that were
under the law (those trying to please God by their
own efforts), that we might receive the adoption of
sons. (6) And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Col. 1:27, To whom God would make known what
is the riches of the glory of the mystery. . . which is
Christ in you. . .
Gal. 2:20, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless
I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved m, and gave himself for me.
Hebrews 13: (20) Now the God of peace, that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of
the everlasting covenant, (21) Make you perfect in
every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through
Jesus Christ. . . .
The above verses makes it very clear that it is by
God working in and through us by His Son Jesus
Christ that we will be made to live a life that is pleasing
to God.
Eph. 2:10, For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works. . . .
We do the believing and the trusting in Jesus’
name, and then God does the working in and through us.
So let us stop trying to live the Christian life by our
efforts, and start trusting Christ in us, by God’s Spirit,
to do what we can never do.
Paul said in Romans 7:18, For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing. . . .
Even Paul knew that it was only God’s Spirit in
him that would make him the person he should be.
(Read Roman 8:1 – 17).
Even Jesus said in John 14:12. . . He that believeth
on me, the works that I do shall he do also. . . .
Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me.
You can read many more truths like this from God’s
Word in my book, SPIRIITUAL MEMOS (Will Help Your
Off the “Bench” and Into the “Game”).
by Author, Ron Lewis. You can get it at
Amazon.com as a paaperback or as an EBook.
Thanks Ron, there are lots of scripture that point straight to the truth reminding us who we are in Christ by Christ and for Christ
Thanking Jesus for the cross and Father for coming to live in us via the cross of Christ that brought us to freedom in LOVE God type of LOVE found in 1 Cor 13 we get to be partakers of that type of Love, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
How many” In Christ”Afghani/ Iraqi/ Nam vets with a limb /organ missing,homeless with HIV,and with method/crack/heroin addiction are there?The proof that reversals of entropy are not part of receiving the life of Christ is 2Co 12:9.Be happy that you have only small thorns.Your turn,Howard!
Salvation has nothing to do with our physical body. What we need to keep in mind, is the fact that your physical body is NOT you, it is simply where you are for a time. When that body dies you will be absent from that body and present with the Lord, if you are in Christ at the time your body dies. If not, you will perish utterly.
God does promise will receive a new body where we will live forever. A body that will not get sick or injured that will not perish.
1Cor 15:42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable..
It seems to me that everyone’s personal ‘thorns’ are difficult to that individual, and comparing one to another is not wise or kind.
But you’re right, that the degeneration of our body makes no difference to the power we have within us. I too love to boast in my own weaknesses (2 Cor 12:9), because as we do, we see His strength come in, and work through us.
As Howard said, focusing our minds our flesh, continues to reap corruption, therefore ruins our lives (my paraphrase!) yet true liberty comes wherever the Spirit is, no matter the state of our body.
Thank God indeed!!
That is why we are to sow to the Spirit as the world around us falls apart and troubles come to offset one into stinking thinking that makes the situation worse. I think the verse
John 10:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Now when one can stand in the midst and be content in all things, that one knows that all things work togather for the Good as Paul knew and trusted in, hopefully we all here can excercise Faith in these truths
Never leave me never forsake, no one can snatch us out of his hand nor anyone else that has put thier trust in Christ
The devil from day one of the fall used doubt to cause the fall, so when we see doubt in front of us calling stating are you sure then we know evil is at it again.
And it will be time to predict the future GOD WIN”S AND WON AT THE CROSS victory in the resurrection bringing each of us life as our bodies deteriorate away
I learned at an early age from my Mom everytimer I had complaints she responded with lets get ten others to gather here and face one another in a circle. Then we all will take each our problems and throw them in the middle. Then she would say how long do you think it will take before everyone wants thier own back.
Then later on I learned the verse about we all will have troubles this is just a fact
John 16:33 New International Version (NIV)
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
There truly is a lot of trouble in this world and when can praise God in the midst then they trust God period
2 Co11:21-30.
Isn’t that something brother. You realise what boasting in our weakness does as in 2 cor. 12:7 where Paul asked three times for this issue that he did not want to go away. Then it was reversed with glorying in iniquities, Sin cannot have control over praises and worship of it in needing Christ, it lost its power of the commandment
Some food for thought
Hi Howard – you have a way of getting me into my Bible!
That’s a gem of a scripture in ‘the message’…
“My Strength comes into it’s own in your weakness… once I heard that, I quit focussing on my handicap and began appreciating the gift. Now I take my limitations in my stride and with good cheer. I just let Christ take over! And so, the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”
WOW!….
Thanks for helping to get my focus back onto where it needs to be… Get my eyes off me, and what I’m doing (or failing at!) and tune into Grace – Jesus – Him in me, IS my life…
I am so elated Kim, and am glad to be here and have said waht was in need to be heard, for only God does know each of us.
You mentioned handicapp which I am today as well maybe you might enjoy reading a blog that was started over a year ago now, there are about 370 blogs in there not all mine but most are. it is at godjustloveyou.blogspot.com put the www. first though in your browser. I have testimony of what has happened to me in there
Thanks Kim even if you do not go there only if oyu are led
Oh and my avatar is Homwardbound
Are the purposes of temptations to move you off the belief of the gospel(Grace) or to modify your behavior(law)?
Frank sorry for the long answers just feel strongly that all this needs covered
The devil a liar using part truth to decieve and is very good at it.
What is the purpose of the The Holy Ghost’s coming after the ascenscion of christ?
To teach us all truth right? truth to deliever us from the grasp of the devil and anything evil right?
Now we all know the Law is true, perfect good and correct, but when it flows through flesh and blood the Law reveals our inability to obey it perfectly and God is perfect right?
So when Jesus came and walked this earth what was his Job (babtism)?
Matthew 5:17 New International Version (NIV)
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
The above being his Job was three fold to fulfill the Law and Prophets of the Old Testament the prophesied about his coming
To show by miracles that he came from God, and no man has done the things that he has done.
thirdly to show all of us our inability to obey Law 100%. Matthew 19 the rich man walks away sad because he chose his earthly riches over Christ, Now the disciples were anihilated by this and asked Jesus how is it possible for any of us to go to heaven
Matt 19:25 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Now understand something here when Christ said it is impossible this was before the cross, where it was made possible by Christ because Christ said right after that it is impossible for man he then said Matt 19:26
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
This was him talking about him going to the cross and taking away the one thing that kept man seperated from Father and that was sin.
So let us look a little further and ask Again is the Holy Ghost here today to continue to convict people on sin and have them continue to repent over and over again as the Jews did except today without a sacrifice and shedding of blood?
Or is the Holy Ghost sent here to convict one on the fact that Christ took all sin away at the cross and that we are in need of a new life by the resurrection at the cross?
John 16:7-11
7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
Verse 8 to be wrong about sin because they do not beleive in Christ.
Christ took away the sin of the world paid the penalty for all, most just not have recieved this and are decieved into trying to stop sin when in Christ it is stopped, it depends on waht ones focus is on Christ the Spirit or flesh and blood
Took away is John 1:29, once for all is in Hebrews
Hebrews 5:9
and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
How do we obey him except by Faith the just shall live by Faith right? Not Faith and Law with works
This world has used that we are in a fleshly body therefore we can’t obey and need further forgiveness that the cross is not good enough because we are in unredeemed bodies. Does that not sound good man’s wisdom yes? And a majority of the worlsd has fallen for this lie from evil taking away the power of the cross only talking mostly about being forgiven then denying that we are 100% forgiven by Christ by getting us to ask for further forgiveness without a sacrifice and anymore shedding of Blood
There is no more shedding of blood and no forgiveness was ever given without the shedding of blood, and Christ is not coming back to do the sacrifice or shed anymore blood.
By not believing one continues in sin thinking they got to get good enough and this world is saying okay Christ died for all your sins but you need more forgiveness if you sin again after you recieved Christ’s forgiveness one need to ask for more and this is a lie
There is nowhere in the new testament after the death burial and resurrection where any disciple posted anything about any further forgiveness after the cross. It is not there.
The purpose of the temptation(s) of this world is keep anyone from finalizing this fact that first they are forgiven 100% of the time forever and always. Once one discovers this truth then the evil principalities go to work to keep that one from the resurrection of Christ to keep one from knowing they are born again here and now of the Holy Ghost in the Spirit of God by the operation of God where God can only be worshipped in Spirit and truth John 4:23
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
One can only worship in Spirit and therefore in truth by being born again of the Spirit of God
Without the resurrection we are stuck into trying to stop sin not seeing Christ took it away at the cross therefore not moving on into new life her and now
Now I write these things to you so
1 John 2:1
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
But we always have the advocate Christ Jesus who has filled the Gap between man and God and we learn to keep focused on Christ Daily and thus stay in the Spirit daily
Thank God WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its a pleasure to get your detailed responses.As you can tell ,I run out of air more quickly.So prior to the cross Satan tried to get us to break the law and since the cross he has tried to get us to keep the law?
Satan got Adam and Eve to break the very first truth God told them about they would die if they ate from that tree of evil that masquerades as good. This is what I call the tree of good and evil because there is no good in that tree whatsoever. Anyway the devil through the serpent got them to eat by doubt, using free choice he got them to doubt so they ate. Now the devil was expecting them to die 100% flesh, Spirit and Soul.
But that is not what happened they only died spiritually, left with a dead Spirit to till the ground and make it on their own.
The Devil heard God with the prediction of the coming savior Genesis 3:15
Genesis 3:15 New International Version (NIV)
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your offspring and hers;
He will crush your head,
And you will strike his heel.”
So that is when the devil set out to stop this from coming to be first with getting Cain to kill Abel and then the lineage goes through Seth from Adam and Eve. Anyway no matter what God did not put the Law in place until 430 years after Abraham and the promise that God made to Abraham. Now this promise was and is by Faith, yet death was still in place even without Law. The Law was put in place to show us our inability to obey it 100% period
Now when we look through the ages of all that went on by the time it came to 12 tribes the devil still looking for the Messiah to stop was by the time Christ showed up the Devil was convinced to kill him period and to the Devils surprise The Devil played right into the hand of God for after the resurrection the keys to heaven and hell were taken from the devil, and Christ preached to all the Spirits held in prison prior to his coming and restoring mankind to be right with God the Father through him proof is the resurrection and he took captivity captive. The evil (devil) was de-clawed and became tooth-less. All his goods were destroyed.
So all evil has now is to create doubt, fear and keep one trying to do right on their own accord and one has gotten trapped in the evil ways of this world and is a lot of times rewarded by the evil that masquerades as good being very deceptive as in here is a mansion a new car a great wife, a great this or that as Jesus was offered these types of things by the devil and Jesus’s exact words were man shall live not by bread alone but by the word of God. This is to love consider our neighbor, help our neighbor without expectation of anything in return from God or this world, we do it out of LOVE, MERCY if we have the means to help our neighbor.
The evil of this world is selfishness that is mine I earned it keep your hands off of it, and then turning to God and asking for help when we won’t help our neighbor. read the story of the man that owed a great amount and asked pleaded for Mercy and God gave it to him, cancelled that man’s debt. Then this man went out and saw another that owed him and dragged him to court showed no Mercy to this man when this man asked for it as well, and guess what happened to this man, yes as will happen to all that do not appreciate God and God’s Mercy by not showing it even though God has had Mercy on all by the cross cancelling all our debt(s) owed by us.
The Law is one way to keep people off the Mark of belief in the finished work of Christ, keeping one focused on only the death not the resurrection, selfishness another way, getting one focused on anything other than Christ another way.
The devil can care less if we go to Church give to the poor, or obey Law as long as we are not doing any of these things by the leading of God through the Holy Ghost
As long as Evil can get you focused on self by what you are doing or not doing evil has started its deception in the one that is proud and or boastful. Like the story of the rich man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-21
Or even on what others are doing or not doing, again evil is at work thwarting us away from truth, because we are focused on others and not being led by the LOVE of God, concerned of ourselves and worrying when God told us seek the kingdom of God above all things and all your needs will be supplied.
Hope this helps
Prior to the cross, all were condemned, dead spiritually and were in the kingdom of darkness. After the cross, anyone that accepts the gospel of Jesus Christ is saved, no longer subject to the law of sin and death, they have eternal life.
One of Satan’s greatest lies is that we are all God’s children. Jesus tells us that only those that receive Him have the right to BECOME children of God. John 1:12
Once you have become a child of God, Satan cannot get you back, nothing in ALL creation can separate you from God.
Rom 8:39
John 10:28,29
So what Satan desires is that you, as a child of God, do not become effective and productive in the ministry of reconciliation. Satan does not want you to lead anyone else to salvation. By keeping you focused on your behavior, (Law), you feel condemned, rather than righteous,
and thus do not provide a good witness to God’s grace.
Thanks for that insight William most clearing of waht the Devil has done tomany a people in not feeling worthy,we should be saying Thank you we are not as Paul did in 2 Gor.12 ended up glorying in his iniquities because that reminde him of his need for him
Thanks again and I saved what you wrote, great amunition in the fight we are in,not us God through us
If our witness under law depends upon our performance,then under grace does our witness depend upon His performance?
And we seem to as human get the two confused, we hopefully continue to remember
before the cross we Forgave to get Forgiven———— After we Forgive because we are Forgiven
before the cross we Loved in order to be Loved———- after we Love because we are Loved
Yes there is a night (darkness) and day (light) differance
What happens to me if I fall back into sin ? Do I fall from grace because sometimes I feel like I have.. ive fallen back into sin more times than I can count .. i’m sending this email because temptation is so strong today and i’m doing everything I can not.to give in to it again .