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Today is Monday August 09, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Isaiah, chapters 43-46. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-august-9
Today's Message: Abide in Christ
As Christians, no matter how strong we are in our faith we still underestimate the love and power of our Almighty God. God truly wants the best for us, often we just do not know what that is and confuse our own will with God's will. This is where God will bring affliction and we think it is a punishment, but in reality it is only Him trying to show us what is best for us. Jesus Said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” - John 15:7. To abide means to remain or dwell with, in other words Jesus is saying, “If you remain with Me, My Words (God's Word) will remain with you and you will receive what you are asking. As we abide in Christ, we learn what God's will is and as we learn God's will Jesus will teach us what to ask for and we will receive it. Think about a child asking a parent for something, some things the child is just not able to have because it is not good for him. God is the same way with His children, He is not going to give us anything that is bad for us, but be careful, if we use our own will to get it, we can be sure affliction will come our way.
Abiding in Christ means that you are to live by every Word of God, this is where many people fall, no matter how many times it is stressed that we need to live by Every Word some one always tries to make an excuse as to why it is not necessary. While we are no longer subject to some of the laws given before Jesus came, the same morals and commands still apply. We are God's creation, formed in His image, therefore we are to honor and respect Him and everything He has to say to us. Through Isaiah God says, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” - Isaiah 43:1-7. This is a vision of the coming of Christ, His seed that would be the One who would give His life for all. What are Egypt and Ethiopia, with all their lives and treasures, compared to the blood of Christ? True believers are precious in God's sight, His delight is in them, above any of His creation.
Just yesterday I was thinking about how people were saved before Jesus came and gave His life as a sacrifice to save us. An unblemished (without defects) animal took the place of the sinner and that animal was killed on the spot upon the altar and offered as the sacrifice. “And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar: And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.” - Leviticus 4:33-35. Jesus took the place of all that and we do not need a priest to assist us, we can make an atonement for our sins simply by calling on Jesus (who is our high priest) and asking Him for forgiveness.
Even though God has control over all matters, every soul that is born and lives in the flesh has the free will to chose for themselves whether they will serve God, or Satan. He already knows our choice, He also knows who is true to Him and who is not. He made each and everyone of us and regardless of whether or not we choose to follow Him, He uses each person in some way to get His true and faithful to acknowledge Him, no matter how long it takes. “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.” - Isaiah 43:21-26. When God forgives, He forgets. It is not for any thing in us, but for His mercies' sake, His promise' sake and especially for His Son's sake. We can do things the easy way, by accepting Christ and learning how to live our lives according to God's Word through Him. Or we can do things the hard way, by ignoring God's Will and suffer needless suffering until we realize we need Christ in our lives.
Of course, there are some things that God does that we will not understand, but this is where we have to follow our faith and trust in His judgment. Jesus said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full...Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” - John 15:10,11,16. As long as we keep abiding in Christ we will find joy, even though we do not always understand God's will. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and have a great week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
All Scripture is quoted from the King James Version.
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