Repentance

The reason for the Cross

Jesus Christ Crucifix

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“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.“

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:1-10)

Man by himself cannot deal with his own guilt or sin problem. He must have help from the outside.

In order to forgive himself, he must have forgiveness from the one he has offended. Yet man is unworthy to ask God for forgiveness.

That then is the reason for the cross. The cross did what sacrificed lambs could not do. It erased our sins, not for a year, but for eternity. The cross did what man could not do. It granted us the right to talk with, love, and even live with God.

You can’t do that by yourself. I don’t care how many worship services you attended or good deeds you do. Your goodness is insufficient. You can’t be good enough to deserve forgiveness. Not me, not you, not anyone! The Bible states in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

And that is why you and I need a savior in Jesus Christ. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

Do you think you should blame God for anything?

English: Abraham Sees Sodom in Flames, circa 1...

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

I cannot possibly put a number on how many times I have heard people of all stripes blamed God for tragic events that have occurred in their lives. It is a common practice for people to blame God for unexpected tragedy or natural disaster. Christian or secular, the question is always; why? Why did God allow this or that? Why did God send this or that? Why? Why? Why didn’t God stop this or that? Some people even attempt to use tragic events to prove there is no God.

Frankly speaking, I do not think you should blame God for anything. He is a fair and just God, and whatever He promises He will do. In the days of Noah, He promised a great flood and the flood came. In the days of Abraham, He promised to destroy Sodom and He did.

God never promised us earthquakes, and tornadoes, typhoons and tsunami. He never promised diseases—heart attack, brain tumor or cancer. He promises eternal life and eternal damnation: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (John 6:23). “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28-29).

Recently I stumbled upon a religious radio program—just in time to hear the preacher‘s comments on a friend of his whose wife was stricken with cancer. The preacher stated that his friend approached him and asks him why God allowed his wife to get cancer. His response was rather surprising! I thought he was going to say he did not know; as that would have been my choice, and the easy way out. Instead, the preacher said he told his friend that sickness and disease are not in God’s plan for us. He then quoted Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).That is reassuring? I thought to myself. I suddenly realized that all the myths and misconceptions about God are a result of lack of knowledge about God’s Word.

God is a just God; He will never do anything that He did not promise. Tragedy and disaster brings misery but misery is not in God’s blueprint for us.

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God does not look at your possession; He looks at your Heart

English: Sacred Heart

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“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15).

Think for a moment about the things you own; like your house, your car, and the money you’ve saved. Think about your many assets and the stocks you’ve traded, the clothes and electronics toys you have purchased. Contrary to what some people think, there is nothing wrong about owning stuff. It is good to have stuff after all! But let me remind you that your stuff cannot save you–only Jesus can.

So while you are on your quest to owning as much stuff as you can get your hands on; bear in mind that your heavenly father says you are to: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for you treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20).

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) It is a fact that your stuff isn’t really yours. They are loan to you; enjoy them while you can; because when you die you’ll take nothing with you. When one of the richest men in history, John D. Rockefeller, died, his accountant was asked, “How much did John D leave?” The accountant replied, “All of it.”

All that stuff is not yours, and it’s certainly not who you are. Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the car you drive. Jesus said. “Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot” (Luke 12:15). God does not know you as the fellow with the nice suits or the woman with the big house or the kid with the new bike. God knows your heart.

Mankind looks at your earthly possession, but God looks at your heart. In the end, it is the pureness of your heart that will define you when you appear before the judgment seat. Solomon spent much of his life pursuing riches but he soon realizes that all was vanity. “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

Let the Holy Spirit guide your speech

“Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” (Psalm 34:13).

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).

As you walk with God, He is concerned about the words that come out of your mouth–the things that you share, confess, affirm, and speak into the lives of others. It is a good thing to ask the Holy Spirit to be the guardian of your speech. The Bible tells us that we should be more involved with listening than we are with speaking (James 1:19).

It is freeing to know that God doesn’t ask you to speak all the time, talk about anything, and have an opinion about everything. God does, however, gives you great encouragement to speak things that are good, things that build others up, things that are bathed in grace, and things that come from His heart directly to yours.

Have you seen anyone speak discouragement and pain into someone, a spouse, a child, a friend, a coworker? “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). That person will bring destruction into their own life because of it.

Our words can justify us or condemn us (Matthew 12:37). They can bring us joy. (Proverbs 15:23), or corrupt and dishonor (Matthew 15 :11). What we say can either build up or break down the soul of whomever we are speaking to (Proverbs 15:4). The consequences of what we speak are so great that our words can leads us to ruin or save our lives (Proverbs 13:13)

Everyone has a choice about what he or she says, and there are rewards for making the right one. “Whoever guard his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23). “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

Let the Holy Spirit be the guardian of your speech and you will never speak ill of anyone again. Won’t you lift someone up with encouraging words today? God bless you!


Because Christ died, I can have victory over sin

“O sing unto the LORD a new song; for He hath done marvelous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory” (Psalm 98:1).

A mother once overheard her five-year-old daughter singing the popular hymn Victory in Jesus. The little girl finished the hymn with a slight change in the ending, “He loved me ‘ere I knew Him, and all my love is through Him”

When the mother heard the words “through Him,” something registered deep within her heart. Suddenly she realized that she is inadequate, and incapable of doing good. By her nature, like the rest of us, she has and continue to flirt with sin. But because Christ died on Calvary she can do all things through Him. So, in her own words she shares the following

English: Resurrection of Christ

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All my love is through Him, who is the very essence of love. This truth sets me free. I cannot love but He can. I cannot be patient, but He can. I cannot be kind, even if I want to. I cannot help but envy. I can neither swallow my pride nor control my anger. I cannot forgive or trust again and I cannot keep on giving–but Jesus can. Jesus can and does love others. Through Him it is possible for me. And that is victory.