Spiritual birth ushers us into the new. Paul made this point clearly: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Ready or not, the new is here.
• A new life – Romans 6:4.
• A new identity – John 1:12.
• A new self – Ephesians 4:24.
• A new heart – Ezekiel 36:26.
• A new covenant – Hebrews 9:15.
• A new command – John 13:34.
• A new way – Romans 7:6.
You might not know what this new life in Christ will look or feel like. And at first, it may feel a little awkward or strange. Like the Israelites, you may look back to your old life, especially when you feel down or blue, or when you are going through a tough circumstance. At those times, Satan will do his best to make you think your old life was pretty good. “Remember all the fun you had when you…?”
But as Peter wrote, “you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do, living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” (1 Peter 4:3). It is time to let go of the old, to stop looking back, and to embrace the new.
There is nothing to fear. Jesus Christ is with you. He will never leave you. This means freedom for you, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The “new” that Christ has for you is better than anything you could ever dream or imagine. And besides, you can’t go back. Once you are in the light, you can’t go back to darkness. Once you have been set free, you will never be a slave to sin and death again. Once you cross over from death to life, the only way is forward in the newness of life.
This is where freedom rings.
Excerpted from Simple Gospel, Simply Grace; Harvest House Publishers
simplegospelsimplygrace.com
Category: Revelation
The Most Courageous Step You Will Ever Take
Notice where the good news story starts. Death is the lead, the first chapter. Apart from death, there is no resurrection.
Remember, Jesus came that you might have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). You can’t experience his life to the full if you are still holding on to your old life. The only reason you would hold on to that old life is because you think it has value. You still believe there is hope of making it better. But that’s not real hope. That’s simply wishful thinking.
Let God change your mind fully. You know you are there when you see your spiritual death as the beginning of your good news story. At that point, human effort is of no value. You can’t change death. That is well beyond your capabilities. There is nothing you can do to change that condition. Just like with my dad, as much as we wanted him back, there was nothing we could do to bring him back to life. There is nothing you can do to get yourself out of your spiritual casket.
This is a frightening place to be. At this point the only thing you can do is to put all that you are and all that you will ever be in his hands. This is called faith. This step of faith is the most courageous step you will ever take.
Let Paul help you along this journey. He embraced his spiritual death. He saw his helplessness and his hopelessness. He let go of his self-effort. He let go of his self-righteousness. He let go of his status as a Pharisee. His mind fully embraced the plan of God. He was on board. Repentance was in full force in his life. As he wrote to the Galatians, “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:19-20 NIV).
Excerpted from Simple Gospel Simply Grace.
www.simplegospelsimplygrace.com
Three Words That Will Change Your Life
The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 26
Forgiveness ranks as the number one topic of discussion on the Basic Gospel radio broadcast. Here are three things we have learned from all the questions that have been asked about this critical issue:
- The forgiveness of God is greatly misunderstood,
- People like to argue about forgiveness,
- People long to have forgiveness.
You can understand why forgiveness is such a hot topic. All of us sin. This reality raises numerous questions in our minds.
- What do I do when I sin?
- How can I know that God has forgiven my sin?
- If He has forgiven me, why do I keep doing the same sin over and over?
Here is the good news. All of these questions are answered by the three words Jesus uttered from the cross, “It is finished!”
Jesus paid the debt in full. Nothing more needs to be done, or can be done concerning forgiveness of sins.
I wished I had known this truth early in life.
With each sin I committed in those days, I felt I needed to do something to get it forgiven. I prayed. I promised. I studied the Bible. I made deals with God. But nothing changed.
I wanted His forgiveness so badly, but in spite of all my efforts, I never felt forgiven.
The glorious truth is that there was nothing I could do to gain God’s forgiveness. Jesus had already done the work. He forgave all of my sins. His shed blood took them away once and for all.
When His finished work finally hit my heart, the weight of guilt lifted from my shoulders. And something even better happened. The love of God broke through to my soul.
This is what I wanted more than anything. We all want to truly know that God loves us. Forgiveness is the truth that makes God’s love real to us.
Just three simple words comprise the most powerful, life-changing phrase in the entire Bible.
It is finished!
These three words can change your life.
Forgiveness Challenge #26 — Do you fully believe that Jesus Christ finished His work concerning your sins? If so, how does change your view of God?
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:12
The Practical Work of the Holy Spirit
Apart from God’s Spirit, we do not have the power to live the Christian life. But with Him in our lives, we can experience Christ’s life in abundance. Here are six key ways that He makes this a reality for you.
- God’s Spirit makes you alive in Christ.
Titus 3:4-5 (NIV)
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- He assures you that you are a child of God.
Romans 8:16 (NIV)
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
- He, as your comforter and counselor, guides you into all truth by taking the things of Jesus and making them known to you.
John 16:13-14 (NIV)
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
- He gives us the power to understand and experience the love of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
- He works in you to will and to do of God’s good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 (NIV)
For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
- He expresses the fruit of His life through you.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The disciples recognized that what happened to them at Pentecost was, as JB Phillips wrote: “…quite plainly the invasion of their lives by a new quality of life altogether. They do not hesitate to describe this as Christ living in them.” You have received the same gift. God’s Spirit is alive in you, and manifesting the life of Christ through you.
Seven Relationship Builders
Relationships…talk about the ultimate challenge in life.
Learning to get along with another human being is just plain hard. It is an experience filled with heartache and pain and personal turmoil.
Your beliefs get tested and all your inner struggles and insecurities get revealed.
Yet, you power through because you know relationships are the best part of life.
You want to care and to be cared for. You want to know and to be known. You want to love and to be loved.
This just doesn’t happen. Relationships are built. They start with a good foundation and then with the right building materials grow and deepen over time.
Jesus is the foundation. He has equipped you with everything you need to build enduring and fulfilling relationships.
As you trust Him, you will see these seven relationship builders forming and shaping every relationship you have.
- Patience
- Kindness
- Truth
- Protection
- Trust
- Hope
- Perseverance
Relationships are the best part of life when they are built on the love of God.
Four Promises That Will Change Your life
This is an astonishing claim. But it’s true. I am talking of the four promises, or provisions, of the New Covenant.
The writer of Hebrews described these promises as better than the promises of the Old. And indeed they are.
They are laid out for us in Hebrews 8:10-12. I’ve numbered them for ease of reading.
- I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
- I will be their God, and they will be my people.
- No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
- For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.
These are better promises because they satisfy our deepest needs. We need power and the internal motivation to live out the Christian life. We need assurance that we belong to God and that He loves us. We need God, to genuinely know Him. We desperately need to know our sins have been forgiven once and for all.
On all of these points, the New Covenant provides. Jesus’ finish work guarantees all of these promises. I’ve juiced each one down to one word. In this New Covenant we have
- Power
- Assurance
- Relationship
- Forgiveness.
The world, religion and even the flesh make outlandish promises, but they never deliver. Not Jesus. In Him, you have everything you need.
Take hold of these four promises and your life will never be the same.
What's in a Name — Part 2
How would you like to have an angel of the Lord appear to you in a dream? That’s what happened to Joseph right in the middle of his most trying time. He did not know what to do about Mary.
The angel gave him the news he needed. This baby in Mary’s womb was going to be special, the One who would save His people from their sins. It was God’s nudge to Joseph to hang in there. And he did. He named the baby Jesus, just as the angel instructed.
In Joseph’s dream, it was revealed that all this was to fulfill God’s word through the prophet Isaiah that a virgin would conceive a child and give birth to a son who would be called Immanuel.
Another name for Jesus. What does this one mean?
The name Jesus gives us insight into His mission to save His people from their sins. Immanuel tells us who He is. The name means God is with us. This babe was God in human flesh.
Jesus grew, carried out His mission, was raised from the dead and then ascended into heaven to take up His rightful place at the right hand of God the Father.
But He also takes up residence in us through the Holy Spirit. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “…Christ lives in me…” As believers, God is with us everyday, living in and through us. Let that sink in. It is truly mind-boggling.
What’s in a name. When it comes to Jesus, our Immanuel, it is good news!
What's in a Name?
Joseph was conflicted. What should he do about Mary?
She was pregnant, and he wasn’t the father. After looking at all the options, he decided to divorce her quietly.
But that wasn’t God’s plan.
An angel appeared to Joseph with this message: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…”
Why that name?
Because that name has meaning. It speaks of Jesus’ mission — “he will save his people from their sins.”
But how? Consider these three points.
- Jesus frees us from the punishment of sin.
- Jesus delivers us from the power of sin.
- Jesus will eventually remove us from the presence of sin.
Jesus Christ is our savior in every sense of the word. He saves us completely from our sins.
That’s what is in His name.
Ten Blessings I Am Thankful For Today
Today, I am thankful for
- Jeanna, my amazing wife. She knows me like no one else. She still chooses to love me.
- Three cool kids–Caitlin, Coleman and McKenzie.
- My mom and her husband Ellis. They really like each other and they love their families. As for my mom, she’s the best mom ever.
- Lisa, Gina and Sally, my three sisters. All I can say is they rock. They keep me laughing.
- Jeanna’s family. Yes, I have great in-laws.
- Wade, Richard H. and Tom, life-long friends.
- Bob Davis, Richard Peifer, Stephen Simon, Vivian Foster, Kim Groff, Charles Oden, Billie Raybourn, Michele Lister, Greg Parke, Jeannie Thompson and Coleman Christopher. I get to work with these fantastic people every day.
- The Basic Gospel Board of Directors. This group serves the ministry with wisdom and grace.
- The 1,916 Basic Gospel Partners who fuel everything this ministry does with their prayers and support. You are changing the world by connecting people to the love of Jesus Christ.
- Jesus Christ. He is life. He truly and genuinely likes me. I can’t believe I get to walk through life with Him, the one who died for me and the one who loves me best.
What are you thankful for today? I look forward to reading your lists.
Jesus is Coming!
Revelation 22
We’ve come to the end. The Revelation is complete. We’ve seen Jesus Christ in all of his glory, power and honor. It is this vision of Jesus Christ that blesses those who hear and take to heart the message of this letter.
The Garden
John saw a river with the water of life flowing from the throne of God. A tree of life stood on each side. These two trees produced twelve crops of fruit signifying the constant provision of God. This is the Garden of Eden refashioned and remade, but now attached to the New Jerusalem.
The curse that held all of creation captive has been broken. The inhabitants of this garden are fully restored and freely fellowship with God. The Lord shines on them, and they will reign with Him forever.
Come
The only thing that waits is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus promises that He is coming soon. Both the Spirit and the Bride say “Come.” He is our hope and our assurance. There is nothing for us to fear. We belong to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We have washed our robes. We will share in all that Christ has prepared for us in the New Jerusalem.
There is a second invitation. It is to those who are thirsty. Jesus bids them to come to Him and drink freely from the water of life. John issued the same invitation in his Gospel account; “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37-38).
Jesus’ life is available to all who will receive Him.
A Final Warning
No one is to add to what is written in this letter, or take away from it. There is no other message than Jesus. He alone saves.
The Last Word
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people!