Tag: Christ

Living in the Much More

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God not only gives us Enough? He gives us Much More. I chose three words in the Greek that convey this.

posos – much; how great, how many. mallon – more; to a greater degree. perisseuo – more than enough, to remain over and above.

Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. Matthew 21:21

If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! 2 Corinthians 3:9-11

Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:14

To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. Matthew 13:12 (Luke 8:18  & Mark 4:24-25)

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Luke 6:38

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. Philippians 1:9

Today, I will let the Word speak for me and not my own thoughts but his to convey the Much More. Meditate on these verses and realize our cups are OverFlowing!

Made Right

For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:10

righteous – one who has a moral character and is honest right – being conformed to what is good & proper; to be restored to an upright position that which had fallen 

A recent question asked of me was “Are we still sinners if we have been saved?” If you want to live in the sin nature and under the law, then the bigger question to me is… are you really saved if you have those desires? Have you really committed your life to walk with Jesus and have him as your best friend? Is the Holy Spirit in charge of your life, the small decisions as well as the big? 

My answer is: I don’t consider myself a sinner anymore because I have confessed and believe in my heart that Jesus redeemed me from my old sinful nature and has made me right with God. What does it mean to be ‘right’ with God? It is re-establishing ourselves into his original purpose for our lives, which is to be in relationship with him. It is accepting the gift he gave us to redeem us from spiritual death. It is by having faith in Jesus Christ. It is by replacing who we once were, to the person we were meant to be. 

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

It IS His Grace that saved me, but the sinner I once was has been replaced with the Spirit of the one who carries the keys to the Kingdom.

And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” – Matthew 16:19

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. – Romans 3:22-24 NLT

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT

Jesus loved me when I was a sinner (Luke 5:31-32) and he loves me now as a Child of his Father and as a joint heir with him. I don’t look at who I used to be, but I rejoice in who I am now. If I still call myself a sinner, then I am rejecting what has already been gifted to me. I don’t say that to exalt myself, but to give glory to God for bringing me back to him through Jesus Christ who lives inside of me. I am a child of God and an heir to His Kingdom and I have been made righteous.

After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. Luke 22:20

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. – Romans 8:9-10

Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.I do not walk under the condemnation of the law but under the new covenant which has replaced the law. Galatians 2:18-21

Prayer: Father, Thank you for restoring me to you. Thank you for the relationship you desire from me. Thank you for making me right with you by my acceptance and faith in Jesus.  

(My emphases on scripture by underlining, italicizing, or bold.)

Do the Next Thing…

(God says) “Find out what I’m doing and then do it. Find out what God is up to and move in my faith and do it. Well, I learned that actually this human being is made to contain God, He isn’t something flying about. Christ is In me. He made me wonderful, but to contain a wonderful God. When I know that, life is simply ‘do the next thing.’ What I’m saying is God is operating in me and I’m Native to His operation. I move as a real person with a real God inside me.” — Norman Grubb

Norman Grubb

Norman Grubb was a missionary to Africa and a friend of my mother’s. They corresponded by letter often. My mother was an author who wrote material for Christian media. There were a few occasions that Dr. Grubb (as I called him) would visit our house. He and my mother would have lengthy discussions about the Bible and how God was working in each of their lives. I remember him as a spiritual grandfather to me. He was a positive man with a genuine love for Jesus. I remember his encouragement to me as a young child to grow in the knowledge of God and allow Him to work through me.

Recently, a friend posted a video with Dr. Grubb in it which brought tears to my eyes. They were not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy, remembering a life well lived. It was fun to hear his rapid English accent, a sound that brought a feeling of comfort. There are times you just know when you have been in the presence of someone who truly sought God. I remembered his gentle personality and the love of God he expressed as I watched the video.

I love the prayer Dr. Grubb used daily asking God to direct him. My own day is much more productive and worthwhile when I allow God to guide me from the start of the day. In Dr. Grubb’s prayer, he says that God made us wonderful human beings to contain a wonderful God. When he says contain, he is speaking of embodying the Spirit of Christ. I know that he doesn’t mean that we could ever actually ‘contain’ God in the sense of keeping him in a box. God cannot be contained and His presence is always with us, in us, and around us. He is real, Yes! God is real. We must know the tangibility of God, know that He is forever with us, know that He is in us.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? I Corinthians 6:19 NLT

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8:9-11 NLT

Nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21 NKJV

Prayer: Father, I thank you for being in me. I thank you that you have chosen me. Help me to understand what I am to do to fulfill your will. Let me speak with your voice, hear with your ears, see with your eyes, and Love with your Love, so that others may see that you are real. Help me to ‘do the next thing.’ Amen