I received so many thoughtful comments in my blog over the Easter Holiday. Thank you all so much. I love to hear what God is doing in other people lives. I joy in God with you. Yesterday's worship service was amazing. I thought my heart was going to explode when we watched this video, http://vimeo.com/1371841.(That's My King!) It was a great way to finish passion week. So what's next. What do we do now? Many people gave their lives to Jesus this weekend. If you did you received a gift that can never be taken away. You can never lose your salvation. I know this doesn't sit well with people but God gives perfect gifts and we didn't do anything in the first place to receive salvation. We just had to accept what He did and gave.
I woke up this morning with some old temptations that I knew through the power of the Spirit had been defeated. Satan wanted to remind me of my past. I say to all believers new and old: Satan is defeated you are born again and you have the victory through Jesus Christ over sin. Does that mean we will not sin, Oh no. We will sin until Jesus comes back again. We should sin less. When unconfessed sin is present in our lives it breaks the intimacy with God that we have.
Sin can shake our faith in eternal security. God promised that anyone who believes Jesus Christ died on the cross for his or her sin will live forever in heaven (John 6:40). But because unconfessed sin creates a barrier between the Lord and the believer, it short-circuits faith and assurance.
When a believer confesses wrongdoing, the Father forgives and cleanses His child (1 John 1:9). But by failing to admit to sin, a Christian will experience estrangement from God. He or she may feel unworthy of the Father's love and can even struggle with a sense of rejection. Ask people in this situation if they are certain about their eternal future, and you'll probably hear, "I used to be." Sometimes they will go so far as to tell me that they are no longer saved—but that is impossible. While we can lose our assurance, we can never lose our salvation or our place in heaven.
Too often, people mistake the Lord's chastising hand for confirmation of their lost condition. "God wouldn't put me through this if I were saved," they'll say. Actually, the opposite is true. The Father disciplines those whom He loves, so correction is proof that we are His children (Heb. 12:6-7). Chastisement is His way to guide the wayward believer back into fellowship with Him.
Jesus is our Advocate before God. Like the high priests of ancient Israel, He atones for our sins through sacrifice—His death on the cross. We can't sin our way out of His grace. The minute we confess our wrongdoing, estrangement dissipates and assurance comes flooding back into our hearts.
I woke up this morning with some old temptations that I knew through the power of the Spirit had been defeated. Satan wanted to remind me of my past. I say to all believers new and old: Satan is defeated you are born again and you have the victory through Jesus Christ over sin. Does that mean we will not sin, Oh no. We will sin until Jesus comes back again. We should sin less. When unconfessed sin is present in our lives it breaks the intimacy with God that we have.
Sin can shake our faith in eternal security. God promised that anyone who believes Jesus Christ died on the cross for his or her sin will live forever in heaven (John 6:40). But because unconfessed sin creates a barrier between the Lord and the believer, it short-circuits faith and assurance.
When a believer confesses wrongdoing, the Father forgives and cleanses His child (1 John 1:9). But by failing to admit to sin, a Christian will experience estrangement from God. He or she may feel unworthy of the Father's love and can even struggle with a sense of rejection. Ask people in this situation if they are certain about their eternal future, and you'll probably hear, "I used to be." Sometimes they will go so far as to tell me that they are no longer saved—but that is impossible. While we can lose our assurance, we can never lose our salvation or our place in heaven.
Too often, people mistake the Lord's chastising hand for confirmation of their lost condition. "God wouldn't put me through this if I were saved," they'll say. Actually, the opposite is true. The Father disciplines those whom He loves, so correction is proof that we are His children (Heb. 12:6-7). Chastisement is His way to guide the wayward believer back into fellowship with Him.
Jesus is our Advocate before God. Like the high priests of ancient Israel, He atones for our sins through sacrifice—His death on the cross. We can't sin our way out of His grace. The minute we confess our wrongdoing, estrangement dissipates and assurance comes flooding back into our hearts.
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