Made Righteous By Christ!

Psalm 15 KJV: 4th Sunday after Epiphany - We cannot enter the Lord's temple but for the blood of Christ shed for us.

He Forgets Our Sins

Psalm 25:1-10 KJV

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

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How many things have you done that you wish you could forget that you ever did? We can't go back and not do them. They cannot be undone. The world may them forever against you. But, God does not. Even as he forgives us our sins; he can use them to help us grow. He can use those things to turn around and follow in the way that He has shown us through Jesus the Christ, our Savior and Lord. Through Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit he has put within our hearts the desire to do what is good and right in His eyes.

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."  (Heb 10:16-17)

Those things that we wish we had never done will come back to haunt us now and then. We will never completely forget the wrong that we have done. But, the word of the Lord tells us that the Lord our God out of His great mercy and love for us forgets them. The slate has been wiped clean by the blood of Jesus the Christ.

Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

One Sacrifice

One sacrifice for sins for ever!

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 

                                                                (Heb 10:11-14 KJV)

That one offering was the life of Jesus the Christ. The offerings of sheep or goats or birds no matter how unblemished they appeared to be could never atone for all of our sins. Those sacrifices had to be repeated over and over again. But, the sacrifice of the life of the only begotten Son of God could and it did. Jesus willingly sacrificed himself that we might be forgiven our sins and reconciled to our Father. The promise of the Lord as revealed to Isaiah has been fulfilled in the Christ. Our sins are wiped away by faith in his loving sacrifice for us.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isa 1:18)

It is good to consider ones sins and to repent of them. But, all too often the devil and the world around us will remind us of our pasts. The devil will cause us to wonder if we have been truly forgiven. Do not let him cause you to doubt what Christ has done for you. 

In Christ you are forgiven!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Celebrate Life!

   "Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
   But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
   “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
                                                                                                                             John 12:2-8 NIV

You are celebrating with friends. You are having a very pleasant time and suddenly someone begins to complain about something - maybe it's because you are having too much fun - maybe they are a bit jealous. Who knows? There seems to always be someone who wants to insert a bit of drama into the party so that it is not so enjoyable for others. 

Judas was the kill joy at the party that was held in Jesus' honor. Can you imagine! Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead and Judas finds something to grumble about! Lazarus' sister, Mary, celebrated with a gift of expensive perfume poured on Jesus' feet and then she let her hair down and wiped Jesus' feet with her hair. Judas was not happy and let his opinion be known. What a extravagant and wasteful gesture on the part of this woman! Jesus tells Judas to “Leave her alone, it was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

As the writer from Ecclesiastes wrote:
    "There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace." (Eccl 3:1-8)

There is a time to weep and a time to laugh. There is a time to rejoice and to dance. There is a time to tear down and a time to build things up. Just because we may feel like it's time to tear things apart, doesn't necessarily make it so. Put a clamp on the desire to destroy the joy of LORD that others experience. Let those who rejoice in the LORD, continue rejoicing. Do not let jealousy or greed get in the way of others rejoicing in the gifts of God; namely, the gift of life. We who were once dead in our sins, now live!

Let us worship that Lord with joy and thanksgiving for the opportunity; the privilege, to live life in His presence. 

God's Peace - Pr. J