Tag: sin | Page 4

Fear Not 365 For God Sacrificed His Son…

April 9, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

In David’s prophetic psalm, the author names the mockers and taunters, referring to them as dogs, lions, and bulls. He always refers to them in third person. In verses 14 and 15, though, he begins speaking directly to His Father.

These are the heart-wrenching words of a dying son to His Dad. He reaches out his hand and calls out to Him in despair.

I wish His words were hyperbole. Instead, they very accurately describe Jesus’s final hours, the tortuous hours spent hanging br three nails to a cross.

“I am poured out like water…” Very accurately describes the feeling of one’s life slipping away.

“All of my bones are out of joint…” Because of the position of the feet and arms after nailing them to the cross, the only way Jesus could breath was to push on His nail-pierced feet and pull up with His nail-pierced arms, thus ripping at his wounds, and dislocating his shoulder sockets, elbows and hips.

“My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me…” Jesus bore the sins of every human who has ever lived our will ever live. It may very well have affected his heart in a literal sense. Many physicians have described the effects that intense stress can have on the heart and blood vessels, which may have also caused his sweat to turn bloody, as described in Luke.

“My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws…” Jesus was beaten to within an inch of death, kept awake all night, nailed to a cross, lost a great amount of blood, and given no water for His thirst.

“YOU have brought Me to the dust of death…” He directs these words to His Father. How can a perfect God sacrifice His Son? Because He loves us just as much as He loves His Son, and wishes that no man or woman perish.

Remember, Jesus died, but three days later he was resurrected from the dead, a plan that was set into motion before the earth began spinning. The death of the Living Son of God is not an afterthought, rather it was ordained before time began, the only way that a just God can redeem a rebellious and sinful world.

Fear Not, for God sacrificed His Son to rescue you and me.

Fear Not 365 – For God Gives Peace

April 1, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I grew up watching kids the age of my older brothers and sister march for peace while there was clearly no peace in their hearts. That same generation has spent the last 30 years at war. Multiple wars. First was the war on drugs, followed by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The War on Terror. Each of these wars has the propensity to last forever. Those kids have never obtained peace.

That generation – my generation – learned more than “duck and cover” during their impressionable childhood years of the Cold War. They learned that by keeping a nation in fear, they could keep them bound in chains. The truly sad part is that, whether they realize it or not, those who create an atmosphere of fear are in the employment of Satan.

Yes, Satan uses fear to manipulate and bind believers. If he can plant fear in your heart, then you will begin to lose faith, doubt the power of God, fail to seek divine guidance, and take matters into your own hands.

God on the other hand creates peace in your heart, gives you comfort and guidance, even in the turmoil of this frightening world. And, He creates unity in the body of believers.
Fear Not, for when God rules your life, you discover peace in your heart and unity in the church.

Fear Not 365 -For God Hears…

February 25, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Not long after King David turned his throne over to his son, Solomon, along with the job of constructing the temple, he died.

God appears to the young King Solomon and says, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

God is no magic genie that we should ask anything of Him, but, in this case, He does exactly that: He offers Solomon his heart’s desire.

You and I could probably not be trusted with such a wish, but Solomon had learned well from watching the failures of his father. He does not ask for wealth, or power, or love. He knows that riches may lead to evil, and excessive power could lead to abuse. Lust leads to infidelity, and sometimes to death. Instead, he asks for wisdom.

If we look back to 1 Chronicles 22:12, we read that David had prayed that God would grant Solomon wisdom and understanding. In chapter 1 of 2 Chronicles, God answers David’s prayer and grants great wisdom to King Solomon.

Much of Solomon’s wisdom was eventually recorded in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs. One proverb that catches my attention is 15:29, which reads,

The Lord is far from the wicked,

But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

– NKJV

I wonder what Solomon thinking when he wrote that proverb? Did he think of that prayer, the prayer of his father, asking God to give Solomon wisdom? Was David perhaps the righteous man Solomon thought of when sharing that piece of wisdom?

If you’ve stayed with me to this point, you may see a paradox here. In one paragraph I suggest that Solomon learned from his father’s failures, and in another I propose that David was the model for the righteous man praying.

This is really no paradox. Both may be true. You see, there exists no truly righteous man but Jesus Christ. Not David, not Solomon, not Peter, not Paul; none are righteous. With a broken heart and true repentance, David sought forgiveness for his sins. By faith, he learned to trust in God, and by faith, through the sacrifice of the Son of God, he was found righteous in God’s sight. In the same way, you and I, through faith in Jesus Christ, can be counted righteous in God’s eyes.

It took David most of his life to develop the faith necessary to live a holy life. I can relate. I’m not there yet, but I am finally headed that direction.

By the way, James refers to Solomon’s proverb, and his thoughts contain sound advice for the Christian journey:

…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

– James 5:16 NIV

FEAR NOT, for God hears the prayers of the righteous.