SIN, CONFESSION, FORGIVENESS...G R A C E
Sin
What is your sin? Are you guilty of adultery? Are you guilty of theft? How about covetousness? Is jealously within you? How about an attitude of judgement? Do you gossip? Do you use "love" as a weapon to manipulate? Are your motives pure? Or are they filled with selfishness? Do you lie?
What do you think "sin" is? We could look in the dictionary and find some definitions, but those definitions are based on how the "world" views sin. We could also look in a good Bible commentary but there we would still find the contamination of things "worldly" oriented.
We tend to "categorize" sin. God sacrificed His Son because He cannot look upon sin...any sin. That's what He did on the Cross...He took our sin and God delivered His Righteous Judgement upon His Own Son! That's what was "nailed" to that tree: The cup of wrath: your sin and mine...all sin of humanity for all time, poured onto Jesus.
Actually, the definition of "sin", in my opinion, is any act which is against God's Word and the principles and precepts we find in His Word.
If we do something that we know God does not want us to do, that is a sin to you and me. If we don't do something we know He wants us to do, that is a sin to you and me. If we say something that we know He doesn't want us to say, that is a sin to you and me. If we don't say something that we know He wants us to say, that is a sin to you and me. If we think something we know He doesn't want us to be thinking, thereby giving an open door to satan, that is a sin to you and me. (I am guilty of each of these).
There is another aspect of sin that we don’t always realize: Sin keeps us from having oneness with our Lord. Jesus prayed for the Oneness for His disciples that He had with His Father. We cannot have that Oneness when we allow sin. Sin becomes a barrier which interrupts our connection with our Lord and His Spirit.
We tend to "categorize" sin. God has His Truth about "SIN": it's ALL AGAINST HIM! God sacrificed His Son because He cannot look upon sin. That's what He did on the Cross...He took our sin and God delivered His Righteous Judgement upon His Own Son! That's what was "nailed" to that tree: your sin and mine...all the sin of humanity for all time! If you think this repeat is an accident, it isn't! It is placed here twice to cause us to "look" and to "think"! Don't just blow this off as "I know what sin is!" THINK about what it is and what it cost for us to be seen as white and clean in the Eyes of our Creator! THINK!
Why does my life have sin? It is because my sin has life!
Confession
Where do we start the process of dealing with our sin? We start by confessing, in our minds and spirits and though our thoughts and our voice, our sin against our Lord. You know, when Nathan the Prophet came to King David and confronted David with the knowledge and truth of David's sin we find an example; "THEN the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, 'There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.' Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, 'As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.' Nathan then said to David, 'You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel,' "It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. I also gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife" Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.' Then David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' And Nathan said to David, 'The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme...the child also that is born to you shall surely die.'... "* 2 Samuel 12:1-14
"I have sinned against the LORD": David knew that his sin had affected Uriah and others, but he knew that MOST OF ALL, HIS SIN WAS AGAINST HIS GOD...ALMIGHTY GOD! We have taken God so "out of our lives" that we no longer realize that our SIN IS AGAINST ALMIGHTY GOD! That's one reason we can trivialize "sin" so. When we lose the reality that ALL SIN IS AGAINST GOD, we also lose the reality and understanding of what "sin" is. When we fail to realize where "God" fits in to our sin, we cheapen the Grace that was paid for us. If we have no understanding of the results of sin, we have no understanding of the price that was paid for God to redeem mankind through His Son's Sacrificial Death. "Cheap grace"...it cost us nothing...so the value we place upon the Grace of Redemption is also nothing. BUT, it will costs our salvation if we do not confess and repent our sin.
"...because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme...". We must remember than all sin has a consequence. The principle of sowing and reaping is very real. I have made many mistakes in my life and I am very aware of the truth of sowing and reaping. If we would take the time to "think" about the possible consequences before we sin, then maybe we wouldn't sin! But do we have the courage to do that?
Part of confession is repentance: The Greek word "metanoeo" used here means "to change one's mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge. This verb...is used of true repentance, a change of mind and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised". * God knows how damaging, to us and to others, sin is. He wants His children to live in freedom: Sin enslaves...God frees! When we determine, by our own free will, to turn away from our sin, GOD will provide the way for us to walk with Him within the Power and Presence of His Most Holy Spirit.
Stop right now and speak to your Creator: Almighty God, I come before you with a life of sin. Sometimes I knew that I was sinning, sometimes I didn't. But now I come before you and humbly ask Your forgiveness. I am truly a sinner and my sin has been against You, my Creator. My confession is not easy and I am not proud of my sin. But I have a true desire to confess my sin and seek Your Guidance to lead me to a life free from sin. Help me, Lord. I need Your Mercy and Your Grace. Thank You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Confession begins the process of our realization that we need forgiveness. Confession begins the process that will lead to the Forgiveness that God has already provided for us.
Forgiveness
"The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die." God has already committed the necessary Sacrifice for the payment of our sin against Him. Get a sense of the Love: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8* That single fact alone, should be enough to put us on our faces before Almighty God our Creator and Redemption Maker!
He forgave us BEFORE we ever knew Him. Isn't that amazing to you? If it isn't, IT SHOULD BE! He's provided the Way for Forgiveness for us even before we seek it!
When we seek His forgiveness, we find it already waiting! He wipes our slate clean. He see us as white while covered in the Sacrificial Blood of His Son. We should RUN before His Grace, look into His Face and say, "Father! I am not my own! Lord, here am I, send me."
Grace
Grace is a precious thing. It opens the door for us to walk the path that our Father has prepared for us. It enables us to to stand in His Holy Presence and be consumed with His Love, Mercy, Compassion...all that He is. It says, 'You are mine, child. I love you and I care for you and I hold you in the Palms of My Hands and caress you to my breast as a mother holds her infant to her breast to give nourishment, security and love."
Were it not for the Grace of Almighty God, I would not have been able to survive emotionally all these years...days. His Grace covers my sin. His Grace covers my pain. I asked once how much pain can the human spirit take? I know the answer: as much as is necessary...because He is the Giver of Grace and Sustenance. His Grace is All in All to me. Without it, I would surely die... With it, I am free to live again.
Several years ago I was trying to forgive someone who had caused great harm and grief to my children. I went out for a long walk. I kept saying, "I can’t forgive him. I can’t." I said it for a long time. Then, walking along the sidewalk and stepping down to the pavement, I said it again, "I can’t forgive him." All of a sudden I stopped! I listened to what I had just said. Then I said, "That’s right! I can’t forgive! But You can work Your Forgiveness within me so that I may forgive." And he did!
You see, forgiveness...true forgiveness... is a Divine act. It cannot be accomplished without our Father. He works forgiveness in us as we allow more of Himself to conquer the self that reigns within us.
Do you have unforgiveness in your heart for another? Do you need to forgive someone who has already died? These can be difficult: but not hopeless. If you genuinely take the unforgiveness in your heart and seek the Holy Spirit's Help, you will find what you need from Him waiting for you to come and ask "Lord, help me forgive." You see, He's been waiting all along to help you forgive. Take the step...allow yourself to become vulnerable before your Creator and allow Him to do His work in and through you. You'll be amazed at the results!
Sometimes the hardest part of "forgiveness" is forgiving myself. God's Holy Spirit works with me daily as I plunge into His River of Grace. I have sinned against Almighty God. I am a sinner saved by the Grace of my Lord Jesus. The truth of sowing and reaping is vividly clear within me. Some people never understand that principle. I LIVE IT EVERY DAY! But His Grace is Higher, Deeper, Wider...than my sin or the results of my sin! Place your sin on God's Altar....and receive His...Grace!
His Grace is Pure and Holy and Righteous...and that Grace is where I live. You can, too!
We’ve been given the gift of surrender... Surrender...into...His Arms of Grace...
God's Chosen People
Why do people hate Jews...just for being Jews? It's a question I've had since I was very small. People work for the rights of all sorts of minorities and cultures... But where is the concern for God's Chosen People? It obviously isn't based on fairness. But why? Why did the Spanish and other races and cultures hate, rape and murder the Jews. Why did the Christians hate and murder the Jews. Why did Hitler...he claimed Christianity once, also, you know? What about the Crusades Why the Jews????
Well, I'll tell you why... It's because they were, still are, and always will be, God's Chosen People. People who hate Jews because they are Jews are actually haters of and workers AGAINST the Kingdom of God and His Way! God is the One Who created the Jewish people. God is the One Who set the Jewish people aside as His Own Called Out People. God is the One Who gave His Word to the Jews and gave it to their safe-keeping. God is the One Who ordained that His Son would come from His Chosen People. GOD DID this because it was His Will to do so. Why do people desire to be working against God? That is the real question! Answer: because they hate the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
From The Bridegroom
March 13, 1998 at Sunrise
"Come closer. Come into Me. I desire to fill you with My Light. I desire you to have all of My Light. Take in My Light. Take it in to you and be filled with My Light and My Life. There is nothing greater than for you to have all of My Light and Life in you Be so filled with My Light that it will spill out for men to see My Light in you. Proclaim the Glory! Proclaim the Majesty!" John 1:4
Bottom Line
The Christian life is a process. We all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. If we confess our sin, God is Faithful and Just and He has made the way clear to come into His House of Forgiveness... Blessed be the name of the Lord!
The bottom line is...G R A C E
Look At Current Events
One of the major declarations of the New World Order Plan is contained within the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion". This nefarious document was certainly written by Gentiles, probably from within the secret society, the Priory of Sion [ NEWS1144], but it was written in such a way as to make it seem as though Jews had written this plan to take over the world and institute the most dictatorial government the world has ever seen. Of course, the truth lies exactly 180 degrees in the opposite direction; the Plan is a Gentile Plan to take over the world in a system they have called the New World Order. As I read the Protocols, I am amazed at how many of the changes for which they were calling have been enacted within the past 3-5 decades, and how close we apparently are to the final changes which will produce their man, Antichrist. Truly, this Plan could only have been supernaturally conceived, by the demonic "Guiding Spirits" which guides all true occultists.
Listen to the role they envision for the media, the Press, during this transition state to the New World Order. During this transition state, the free governments of the West will still be free, but tottering toward the dictatorial system envisioned. Listen carefully:
"In the hands of the States of today, there is a great force that creates the movement of thought in the people, and that is the Press. The part played by the Press is to keep pointing out the requirements supposed to be indispensable, to give voice to the complaints of the people, and to express and to create discontent." [Protocol No. 2; Emphasis mine]
Isn't this exactly the role currently being fulfilled, of the Bad News media,...? Isn't this especially the role which Rush Limbaugh fulfilled as he filled his 3 hours daily, Monday through Friday, with enough Conservative discontent to float a battleship? Rush was just fulfilling this part of the Plan beautifully.
The Mass Media of today are fulfilling the first element [pointing out the requirements supposed to be indispensable] when they run features like the "Fleecing of America", which zeroes strongly in on the failures of Government and business, and the way they waste our hard earned money. People like Rush Limbaugh gave "voice to the complaints of the people", and the entire cumulative effect is to "express and to create discontent". Incredible! This entire scenario is being fulfilled right in front of our noses.
Listen to more: "It is in the Press that the triumph of freedom of speech finds its incarnation. But the goyim (non-Jewish) States have not known how to make use of this force; and it has fallen into our hands. Through the Press we have gained the power to influence, while remaining ourselves in the shade ..." Isn't this also the way in which this scenario is working currently? While stirring up such great turmoil and sound and fury within our society today, the real manipulators of power are never seen and never affected.
Listen again: "Thanks to the Press we have got the gold in our hands, notwithstanding that we have had to gather it out of oceans of blood and tears. But it has paid us, though we have sacrificed many of our people." [Protocol No. 2; Emphasis mine]
Here, the Protocols are speaking of waging war, when it speaks of "oceans of blood and tears" resulting in their accumulating great wealth. In fact, listen to their blunt assessment of the need for war, and for a particular type of war: "It is indispensable for our purpose that wars, so far as possible, should not result in territorial gains: War will thus be brought on to the economic ground ... Our international rights will then wipe out national rights ... and will rule the nations ..." [Ibid; Emphasis Mine]
...Certainly, when the final act of this great global drama begins to unfold, our economy will totally fail, as it has been set up to do. At that point, the greatest transfer of wealth in world history will occur, as the cumulative wealth of the many cattle [as they refer to us] will flow into the hands of the few [leaders of the New World Order Plan]. Of course, this economic failure will be one of many crises simultaneously erupting throughout the world that will totally panic the average world citizen into accepting Antichrist, his program, and his government. If we were not dissatisfied with our present government to some degree, we would never allow Antichrist to replace every existing form of government in the world with his own. This is the plan, and the job of the Press in this preparatory period -- create discontent within the people. The Cutting Edge**, Radio Broadcast
The above is but a small portion of an article/broadcast by The Cutting Edge. Their site is http://cuttingedge.org/. They are an excellent source for information regarding the New World Order. Spend some time at this site...you'll learn something about your country, your government and your future!
Antisemitism
United States Holocaust Museum
Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
Choice
The choice is not about good or bad. It's not about right or wrong. The choice is about a RELATIONSHIP with Almighty Living God through His Son Jesus Christ. If you wait until you're "good", or until you're "right", you'll never have the RELATIONSHIP with your Creator. Jesus died to give you this RELATIONSHIP with your Heavenly Father...Creator God. He took your "bad" and your "wrong" and made you clean in the sight of Father God...your RELATIONSHIP is but for you to reach out and accept. By confessing that you are a sinner, that you need the forgiving Grace of God, you become His child...and you begin your RELATIONSHIP with your Father. Your Father loves you with a love that sees the blood of His Son which covers us. Let Him Love you and hold you in His Presence...you'll never be the same!
In Jesus' Name, Be Blessed!
Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai
Blessed Is He Who Comes In The Name Of The Lord
Knowing The TimesTM