In Him we have…the
forgiveness of sins… —Ephesians 1:7
{CHAMBERS} “Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to
God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this
price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots
out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He
cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can
be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross.
God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm. Compared with the
miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small.
Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the
forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest
fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul
never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you,
you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.”
{ELGIN} Have you ever heard
or perhaps said these words? “The Man upstairs?” When those words are said it reveals the
absence of a relationship with the One being referred to – Jehovah God or Yahweh–
or it reveals a lack of spiritual maturity or the presence of carnality in the
one who is speaking. It is important
that we live in a constant awareness of who God is and who we are with respect
to Him. (factoid) “The name Yahweh is best known from the famous “I AM”
interaction with Moses. … The Jews became very concerned with not blaspheming
the name of the Lord. So rather than saying the name Yahweh, they would say
Elohim instead, which is the Hebrew word for god. However, this did not solve
the problem of what to do when one came across the name Yahweh during the
reading of the Scriptures. The Jews decided that when they came to the name
“YHWH” they would say the Hebrew word adonay, which means “Lord.” To remind the
reader to say “adonay,” and to maintain the presence of the word “YHWH,” they
assigned the vowels of “adonay” into the consonants of “YHWH.” However, it was
never intended that this form be read aloud. [Knowing The Bible]”
The point is that we must always
be aware of who God is and the significance of who He is and what He has done
for us. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) “Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments
that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you
lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them
on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
gates.” Verse 4 is called “The Shema” … which
has hyper significance in the faith life of the Jewish people. As a Christian, you are not naturally a Jew. Your DNA is set and that part of you will one
day return to the dust from which it was formed. But spiritually you have been grafted in …
adopted into the family of God. You have
a new nature .. and should have a new devotion … wholly committed to God. A living sacrifice … carrying your cross and
following Jesus. Jesus, who always does
the will of the Father. Consider your
attitude toward the God who saved you through the sacrifice of His Son.
Thanksgiving is upon us. The point of Thanksgiving
is not being thankful for the provision .. but being thankful for the Provider
.. Jehovah Jireh .. and how do we show our gratitude? Jesus said
“If you love Me, obey my commandments.” (John
14:15) And the greatest commandment is
to love God – YHWH – with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. (Matthew 22:37)
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one.
No comments:
Post a Comment