Monday’s Life In Him - Justified In Christ

Happy Monday Everyone! Who wants to join in “Monday's Life In Him”? It’s easy… Just grab this button below & post it somewhere either on your blog post or on your main page. Then… Write a post about HIM (Jesus) Sometimes I just post a verse, sometimes I share a short story or sometimes I write a short study.Either way… Let’s spread His Word and His Love! <a border="0" href="http://wedonthaveitalltogether.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20In%20%27Him%27" target="_blank"><img src="http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab13/jacquiblogger/danielle/buttonlifeinhim1.jpg" width="125" height="125" /> </a>

^{Here is what I have for today:}

Imagine two chairs sitting across from one another.

One one side you have the seat of "Condemnation". On the other side you have the seat of "Justification".  IN the middle between these two chairs is THE CROSS OF CHRIST. To get from the seat of "Condemnation" to the seat of "Justification"... the person needs to go through the Cross of Christ!!

Condemnation is not a feeling. Condemnation is our standing, our position. It is a sentence. Condemned  = GUILTY!

Justification is not a feeling.  Justification is our standing, our position. Justification is a sentence. Justified = INNOCENT!

Notice I did not use the words, “not guilty”. Justification is better than “not guilty” – If you are Justified, you are  INNOCENT. If you are IN CHRIST then you are JUSTIFIED, INNOCENT.

A criminal can be guilty of his crime, but in court be found “not guilty” even though he is indeed guilty of his crime. The blood of Jesus and what He did on the cross makes us better than “not guilty” – it makes us INNOCENT of all charges!! We are JUSTIFIED!!

Gal. 2:16

¹⁶Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Romans 8:1 says,

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"

IN CHRIST!

Are you IN CHRIST?

Eph. 2:13

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Phil. 1:26

²⁶That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

“IN Christ”

The word “IN” =

G1722 (taken from Strong’s Hebrew & Greek Dictionary)
ἐν
en
A primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state)

This relates right back to JUSTIFIED IN CHRIST!

Your POSITION is IN CHRIST.

Your POSITION is JUSTIFIED.

If you are IN CHRIST, you are JUSTIFIED.

INNOCENT!!

Set free!

Made whole!

Made whole IN CHRIST!

Praise God!

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Grab the button above & write a post about Him.

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We Are One In Christ

Galatians 3:28 (New Century Version)

²⁸ In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.

I felt like sharing this. 

This is the verse posted today on my Facebook page.

We are all brothers  & sisters IN CHRIST.

There shouldn’t be things  separating us like skin color, education, denomination, wealth. There shouldn’t be a difference between lower class, middle class, upper class.  There shouldn’t be a  difference of skinny  vs.. fat. There shouldn’t be beautiful vs.. ugly.

We need to realize that we are all ONE IN CHRIST.

We need to be focusing on serving God.  Praising and worshipping Him for who He is & what He has done for us. We need to be concerned with lost souls… not who has on rags at church this morning, or who is going to preach today, or who isn’t going to ‘get to’ sing, or who stole our seat.

We need to be of one mind and one accord!

If we were all in a stadium in pitch darkness… we couldn’t see a thing. The only thing that would be different about all of us is this: 

Some of us would let our light shine… and others would have no light at all.

Jehovah-Jireh = The Lord Will Provide

I turned this post into “Glimpses of  God” Go check it out  & link up :)

I think everyone in the world recognizes Psalm 23. Maybe not by title – but by the words, “The Lord Is My Sheppard, I Shall Not Want.”

This morning I heard something that really touched me, so I want to share. I hope it touches you.

There is a lot of struggling going on lately. Too much struggling. It seems too much for one person to bear. Financial struggles, relationship struggles, health struggles and struggles with battles within our own personal walk with God. People I know have lost loved ones recently. So much seems to be going on.

I heard a description this morning that I really want to share. I hope it is comforting to someone who needs to hear this right now.

 First of all, read:

Psalm 23

¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
       I have everything I need.
² He lets me rest in green pastures.
       He leads me to calm water.
³ He gives me new strength.
    He leads me on paths that are right
       for the good of his name.
⁴ Even if I walk through a very dark valley,
       I will not be afraid,
    because you are with me.
       Your rod and your shepherd's staff comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a meal for me
       in front of my enemies.
    You pour oil of blessing on my head;^[a]
       you fill my cup to overflowing.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will be with me
       all my life,
    and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Now lets look at vs.. 3 that says, “He leads me on paths that are right for the good of his name”

“He leads me on paths” – the shepherd leads his lamb on this path that is ‘right’. 

We have all probably seen pictures of Jesus with a staff like this:

{Notice the lamb on his shoulder?}

Here is a Jewish illustration:

The shepherd leads his lamb on this path that is ‘right’. 

At times the lamb will wander away from the appointed path. Sometimes he becomes tangled in the briars of the rocky byway. Being unable to free himself, he calls out for his shepherd and begins to bleat (baahh, baahh). Very soon the shepherd comes and retrieves the lamb from the midst of the thorns, briars, and rocky defiles. The shepherd extends his staff and uses the crook to pull the little lamb back onto the path of safety. If the little lamb were to remain there, he would be devoured by a wolf of other wild animal.

Too often, the same lamb again leaves the appointed path and finds himself in an area that will lock him in. Every time when he cries out, the shepherd comes and retrieves the little one with his shepherds staff. If the lamb refuses to stay on the appointed path, the final alternative is the following: 

The lamb again leaves the appointed path, and as usual,  finds himself in difficult straits.  As before, he begins to cry out for the shepherd to come; however at this stage, the shepherd must teach the little lamb a lesson. So the good shepherd does not come immediately when the lamb begins to to call. Finally, the little voice grows hoarse from bleating and it is forced to stop crying out  altogether. At long last, the shepherd does finally come. As before the shepherd removes the wayward lamb, but now he does something different….

The shepherd takes the same staff, by which he reached down into the rocky crevice and retrieved the wayward one. He pulls out one of the lambs forelegs and cracks it sharply with the staff,  which instantly breaks the leg. Then the shepherd carefully sets the leg, and lays the lamb on  his shoulder, close to his heart. He carries it until the wound is healed. Then when he puts the lamb back down on the paths  of righteousness it no longer desires to go astray.

This is called chastising the one he loves.

Hebrews 12:5-11 (New Century Version)

⁵ You have forgotten the encouraging words that call you his children:
    "My child, don't think the Lord's discipline is worth nothing,
       and don't stop trying when he corrects you.
⁶ The Lord disciplines those he loves,
       and he punishes everyone he accepts as his child." — Proverbs 3:11–12

⁷ So hold on through your sufferings, because they are like a father's discipline. God is treating you as children. All children are disciplined by their fathers. ⁸ If you are never disciplined (and every child must be disciplined), you are not true children.⁹ We have all had fathers here on earth who disciplined us, and we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits so we will have life.¹⁰ Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us, so we can become holy as he is. ¹¹ We do not enjoy being disciplined. It is painful at the time, but later, after we have learned from it, we have peace, because we start living in the right way.

This is how much He loves us! One thing we need to understand is Jesus is our shepherd. All we have to do is follow Him. He will never leave you. You can leave Him… but He will never leave you!

Hebrews 13:20 (New Century Version)

^20-21 I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing you need so you can do what he wants. God raised from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, because of the blood of his death. His blood began the eternal agreement that God made with his people. I pray that God will do in us what pleases him, through Jesus Christ, and to him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Sometimes God has no choice to let us fall down to our lowest level. So low that we have no possible hope left… and the ONLY thing left to do is finally call out on Jesus! How many times have we hit rock bottom?

How many times have we hit rock bottom… and finally given up & said, “Ok Lord. I have tried everything I know to do. Now I need your help. I give up!”

Now  read Psalm 23 over again:

¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
       I have everything I need.
² He lets me rest in green pastures.
       He leads me to calm water.
³ He gives me new strength.
    He leads me on paths that are right
       for the good of his name.
⁴ Even if I walk through a very dark valley,
       I will not be afraid,
    because you are with me.
       Your rod and your shepherd's staff comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a meal for me
       in front of my enemies.
    You pour oil of blessing on my head;^[a]
       you fill my cup to overflowing.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will be with me
       all my life,
    and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

This is comforting to know, isn’t it?!? 

We have everything we need if we are ‘In Christ’. He gives us strength.

We do not have to fear when we are walking through dark times because He is with us!

When we are struggling with things in our life, look up to Him and know that He is right along side of you waiting for you to call upon His name! 

His staff is outstretched and all we have to do is grab on to it.

Take that first step of faith & reach out to Him. He is waiting for you.

Jehovah-Roi = The Lord is my shepherd

Jehovah-Jireh = The Lord will provide

Jehovah-Shalom = The Lord our peace

Do you have peace today, knowing that Jesus will provide for you, because He is your shepherd and you are His lamb?

Read more on Battles, Trials and Faith… or what it means to be "In Christ"

My Idea Of A Relationship!

I was lazy this week & didn’t post anything…  So I am making up for it now :)

I got this email today & I really enjoyed it. I figured I would share.

This is MY idea of a relationship with HIM!

 

MOM'S EMPTY CHAIR 

A woman's daughter had asked the local minister

to come and pray
with her mother.
When the minister arrived,

he found the woman
lying in bed with her head

propped up on two
pillows..
An empty chair sat beside her bed.
The minister assumed that the woman

had been informed
of his visit...
'I guess you were expecting me, he said.
'No, who are you?' said the mother.
The minister told her his name and then remarked,

'I saw the empty
chair and I figured you knew

I was going
to show up...'
'Oh yeah, the chair,' said the bedridden woman
'Would you mind closing the door?'
Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
'I have never told anyone this,

not even my daughter,'
said the woman.
'But all of my life I have never

known how to pray.

At church I used
to hear the pastor talk about prayer,

but it went right
over my head...'
I abandoned any attempt at prayer,'

the old woman continued,

until one day four
years ago, my best friend said to me,

' Prayer is
just a simple matter

of having a conversation
  with Jesus.

Here is what I suggest..

'Sit down in a chair;

place an empty chair
in front of you,
and in faith see Jesus on the chair.
It's not spooky because he promised,

'I will be with you
always'..
'Then just speak to him in the same way

you're doing with
me right now...'
'So, I tried it and I've liked it so much

that I do it a couple
of hours every day.

I'm careful though . If my daughter
saw me talking

to an empty chair,
she'd either have a nervous breakdown

or send me off to
the funny farm.'

The minister was deeply moved by the story and

encouraged the old
woman to continue on the journey.
Then he prayed with her, anointed her with oil,

and returned to the
church.
Two nights later the daughter called

to tell the minister
that her mama

had died that afternoon. 
Did she die in peace?' he asked.
Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock,

she called me over
to her bedside,

told me she loved
me and kissed me on the cheek.
When I got back from the store an hour later,

I found her .
But there was something strange about her death.

Apparently, just
before Mom died,

she leaned over and
rested her head on the chair

beside the bed. What
do you make of that?'
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said,

'I wish we could
all go like that.'  

Ephesians 3:14-20  (New Century Version)

The Love of Christ

¹⁴ So I bow in prayer before the Father¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name.¹⁶ I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit.¹⁷ I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.¹⁸ And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.¹⁹ Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.

²⁰ With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.

Five Leviticus Offerings

These five offerings described in Leviticus foreshadow the One who would come – Jesus.

{I am going to pause here before I begin. I want to state why I am doing this. I want to show the importance of these old testament offerings. These five offerings point forward to The Cross. Every single detail in these offerings point to the future. To understand our walk with God NOW, we must understand the past offerings in the old testament. Did you ever wonder why “The Lord had ‘respect’ unto Able and his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had NOT respect” – Genesis 4:4, 5. We have always heard ‘Cain brought the wrong offering’… but what does that MEAN?  It really means EVERYTHING! Other important details: Salvation, sin, repentance and joy & peace in serving the Lord & walking WITH Him! God was the SAME yesterday as He is today!! He has NOT changed… which is sooo important to understand.

Here are some key words to understand first:

“Most Holy” – A specific offering was considered ‘most holy’ because it was placed on the fiery blazen alter & consumed by fire.

“Brazen Alter” – The alter was made of acacia wood, an incorruptible wood & covered in copper. It constantly glowed red from the fire. Fire = God’s unchanging righteousness & judgment. Inside the alter about half way down was a copper grate with fire below it. This grate is where the animals were laid & consumed by fire. Just above the grate is where the priest would sprinkle the blood that he collected in the basin from the slit throat of the animal.

“Fat & Blood” – Fat & blood was never to be eaten. LIFE was in the blood & the fat belonged to the Lord. The fat burned cleanly & was a sign of prosperity and health of the animal sacrificed.

“Day of Atonement” – Once a year the great high priest would place blood upon the topside of the Ark of the covenant (also called the mercy seat). This would atone for the sins of Israel.

“Incense Alter” – or “worship alter” was in the sanctuary. At all four corners was a GOLDEN HORN typifying that one day all worship would open up to ALL PEOPLE. Outside of this sanctuary was the ‘brazen alter’. It also had four horns, which typified The Cross of Christ.

These five offerings I am going to list here will not follow the order in which they are listed in the first chapter of Leviticus. I will be listing them in the order in which they were observed and carried out in Jewish religious life.

So a ‘quick’ look at the five offerings:

Whole Burnt Offering = SALVATION! Only offered ONCE. Just as we get saved only ONCE. {Unless YOU walk away from Him & discontinue your faith.  This is VERY important to understand. Especially if you are under a false doctrine that ‘claims’ you are unsaved to do a sin you commit. You are saved by faith. Faith brings you into a relationship with God. Only faith can bring you OUT of a relationship with God. If actions brought you INto a relationship with God then actions could bring you out of a relationship with God… but this is NOT the case!}

Meat Offering (Food offering) = Thankfulness to God for all that He has done.

Sin Offering = IGNORANT sin committed. This offering is relates to our GROWTH with the Lord.

Trespass Offering = WILLFULL sin. This offering relates to our WALK with the Lord.

Peace Offering = Offering because of our peace & joy with God. Not brought because of sin but brought simply as one person’s way of expressing thanks to God… realizing that every single blessing comes from the Lord. When we are properly walking with Him… we will have the peace & joy of the Lord.

{Please be patient… MORE TO COME! Under construction!}

 

Condemnation vs. Justification

Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"

What does this mean? What is your standing in Christ? Are you a Christian? Are you "In Christ"? There are only 2 classes of people in this world: Christian and non-Christian. Sooo if you are a Christian you are "In Christ". If we are saved, washed by the blood, living & walking with Him then you are NOT living under condemnation. No matter what anyone says - God's Word says otherwise. God's Word says we are free.

Condemnation is not a feeling. Condemnation is a standing. The opposite of condemnation is justification.  Justification is also a standing. We are either condemned to hell or we are 'justified'.  Condemnation = GUILTY!  Justified = INNOCENT of all charges!!

Imagine two chairs sitting across from one another. One one side you have the seat of "Condemnation". On the other side you have the seat of "Justification".  IN the middle between these two chairs is THE CROSS OF CHRIST. To get from the seat of "Condemnation" to the seat of "Justification"... the person needs to go through the Cross of Christ!! Thank you Jesus for shedding your precious blood so we can live eternally with you!!

However we are imperfect, and apart from the grace of God, all we do is sinful and falls short of God’s glory - we are not condemned. The Christian who falls & commits a sin...  This is when the Holy Spirit will make us feel 'conviction' for the wrong we have done against God. This IS a FEELING. And a feeling we should be thankful for! Thank God He sends His Holy Spirit to convict us of our wrong doing and set us on the right path again. Again this conviction is a feeling - unlike condemnation which is NOT a feeling. No Christian should feel condemnation. We are free!! We are JUSTIFIED!! We are INNOCENT of all charges!! Thank you Jesus!!

Romans 8:2 goes on to explains this: Paul writes, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” He explains that because of the certainty of this awesome reality of life in Christ by God’s grace, the condemnation of sin that brings death no longer holds us captive. We are free. When we grow in grace, the grip of fear has less and less hold upon us.

It makes me angry when 'preachers' tell a whole congregation they are on their way to hell because they slipped up & sinned. For years I feared every move I made during the day. I was in prayer 24/7 repenting 'just in case'. I was living in fear and had NO JOY in my life. I was no taught about God's love & His grace. My kids were taught the same. They were taught that they would miss the rapture if they had a sin unrepented of. They also were not taught about God's grace. I have seen so many poor souls walk in church, get saved, and walk back out into the world - never to be seen again. That life is a miserable life. It is a life of constant condemnation. No joy. No peace. Why bother? It's too hard? No one can live under law. When living under law we are living under the death penalty. No one has successfully lived under law except Jesus. He came to fulfill the law. Put an end to it. We are now under His grace. I do not take sin lightly. Sin has no place in a believer's life. However, we do have Jesus. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can always call on Him!!