Author: ChristianHolinessDaily

Fear Not 365 – For By His Stripes We Are Healed

April 15, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow, we celebrate the joy of the resurrection. Today, we reflect on what His crucifixion and resurrection mean to believers.

First, when Christ rose from the dead, it was a victory for all who believe in Him. It means that we, too, will be resurrected. We, too, shall live again. We, too, shall have eternal life.

Second, Christ’s death and resurrection is a victory over sin. As believers, we are united with Christ. We died with Him. We were buried with Him. We were resurrected with Him. Our lives are new. Old things have past away and all things have become new. We are no longer bound by the chains of sin. We are bound by the love of Christ.

Last, because of His death and resurrection, we are healed;

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

Praise God. He does heal.

Fear Not 365 – For We Serve a God Who Knows You

April 14, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I have lived most of my life with a deep misunderstanding about my relationship to Jesus Christ. Until very recently, I thought of God as an angry taskmaster, the keeper of a list of all my wrongs and shortcomings, and a strict father, eager to punish. Only in the last few years have I grasped the fact that Christ came not to judge, but to rescue us.

Have you ever been scolded by a boss, or a parent, or a spouse, only to think, “They wouldn’t yell at me if they knew what I was going through.” Christ gave up His home in heaven, was born as a baby, and lived His life fully as an average man, but with the faith of a perfect God. He came to earth to know you, to love you, to sympathize with you, to laugh with you, and to cry with you. He came to save you from sin and death, and from yourself, but He didn’t come to judge you. He knows what you are going through.

Christ was that perfect man. He was the very image that God had created in the beginning, man without sin, the second Adam. At the same time, he was just like you and I, tempted in every way. He hungered. He tired. He angered. He loved. He feared. He endured every temptation you could ever face or will ever face. Temptation is not sin. Acting on temptation is a sin, or even indulging in temptation in your heart is sin. He didn’t sin.

That Jesus was just like you and me is difficult to imagine. It is, however, true. Isaiah tells us He even looked like you and I, an ordinary Joe.

“For He shall grow up before Him [His Father] as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.”

– Isaiah 53:2

Fear Not, for that ordinary Joe knows you, for He is human in every way. He is also a God in every way. Sinless. Perfect. He came to forgive, not to judge.

Fear Not, for serve a God who knows you and loves you.

Fear Not 365 – For

April 13, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I see many Christians approaching Christ in the same way they approach shopping for a major purchase. We go to a church based on “What’s in it for me?”. This church offers a coffee bar. That one has an awesome worship band. Over here they have a gym. Over there they have better chairs. We attend the church the same way we pick a health club or a new car. We choose the one with the most accessories. We have become a Church of Christian Consumers.

Many of our worship services turn our backs on God, and instead we worship ourselves. We sing about Jesus, we talk about Jesus, but because we pick and choose only the attributes of God that appeal to our egos, we create a God whose name is shared with the real God but which is of human construct.

We create our own version of the Jefferson Bible. We don’t call it the Fred Bible or the Ethel Bible, but we may as well. It contains far fewer than 66 books, and only those that feel good. It contains all the beattitudes but only no commandments. As for its authority, well we admit it is inspiring but many of us are not sure it is inspired. Seldom do we admit it is the true Word of God. We may carry the entire book, if we carry anything at all, but we have committed to memory only a few verses that makes us feel good.

Because so few of us still worship the True God in Spirit and in Truth, the world is growing dark and scary. Lasciviousness and hatred rule. Selfishness trumps lovingkindness. Injustice has become law. Lies parade as truth.

Yet, there is hope. It takes one. Only one. One person who will fall to her knees and weep and pray, and worship God. One person who will set his heart to God. One in each church. One in every town. One in every state. Just one who will pray and burn for Christ. Then, we will have revival.

Fear Not, for God will bring revival.

What is true worship?

I will declare Your name to My brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

You who fear the Lord, praise Him!

All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,

And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!

For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;

Nor has He hidden His face from Him;

But when He cried to Him, He heard.

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;

I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied;

Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.

Psalm 22:22-26a

This Easter, let’s worship the True God. Center our worship on Him, not ourselves.