October 2010
Welcome to the aboundinglove.org
website. Our prayer is that you may experience
God's love, and let it flow out through
you to someone else. We'd love to hear from
you, so we can add your comments to What
People Are Saying. As you respond, we
are able to determine the effectiveness
of this outreach.
A Sense of Lack
Many hurting people respond
to this website, saying they have no spirituality,
but desire to know God. One young lady said
she just wasn't getting "it,"
asking: "Am I a lost soul?" Another
woman asked for "a word of wisdom,"
while seeking a closer walk with God. They
all share one thing in common -- a sense
of lack.
One man wrote about the
many "atrocities of life." I reminded
him that man's problem is sin. In the beginning,
God crowned man with glory and honor,1
but he chose to turn against God and do
his own thing. As a result, all these atrocities
begin to rule the lives of mankind. "When
Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human
race. Adam's sin brought death, so death
spread to everyone."2
After the fall of man,
everyone is born with a void in their hearts.
Until we yield to God's righteousness through
Christ, our hearts bring forth all sorts
of destructive behavior.3
You may have tried to fill the void with
people, places and things, only to end up
medicating the resulting pain with alcohol,
drugs, and sexual pleasures. Finally, you
may have tried to overcome your guilt and
shame by reaching out to God through religious
works in order to feel better about yourself,
only to find out it didn't fill the void.
For myself, I admitted
my powerlessness over my addictions, seeing
that my life had spun out of control. I
had believed a lie, but gradually, I came
to believe in a power greater than myself
for healing. I began to believe that Jesus
may have been right when He said: "I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one can come to the Father except through
me."4
What Will You Decide?
Jesus says to you, "I
am the way," knowing you've lost your
way. He is your truth, knowing you must
challenge every thought by His word. For
example, Eve brought sin and death upon
the entire human race by believing a lie.
The devil tempted Eve by contradicting God's
word, saying: "You shall not die"
if you eat of that forbidden fruit, rather
"you shall be as gods."5
Her sin was unbelief. She failed to trust
God's life-giving instructions.
Every day you are tempted
to believe a lie. God gave you a conscience
to show you the way, but it may be badly
damaged. God gave you His laws to reveal
your sins, but you may not be paying attention.
But it's a fact, you will continue to lack
wisdom as long as you reject God's gift
of righteousness.
During Jesus' time, people
were determined to establish their own righteousness.
They were in bondage to the law, taught
by the religious leaders, who were fearful
of losing control of the masses. Jesus spoke
of freedom and righteousness, which made
the teachers very angry. "For the law
was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ."6
He spoke Good News, saying: "You shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free."7
What is the Truth?
The truth is that you are
powerless over sin without God's grace.
The strength of sin is the law,8
but God's grace is the ability to do what
you cannot do through the fleshly works
of the law. The more you depend on willpower,
the more you sin and prolong the agony.
It's time to turn to God for the power to
overcome through faith in God's word. His
word reveals God's grace and righteousness,
and where you are to base your faith. "For
by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it [faith] is
a gift of God."9
Let us proclaim: "I
am not ashamed of the gospel [Good News]
of Christ, for it [the Good News] is the
power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the Jew first and also for
the Greek. For in it [the Good News] the
righteousness of God is revealed from faith
to faith, as it is written, 'The just shall
live by faith.'"10
In the book "Breaking
the Cycle" by Dr. James B. Richards
of impactministries.com,
he writes:
"Righteousness is
more than a right standing with God. It
is more than an imputed status. It is
more than a theological concept. Righteousness
is also the power of God to live in righteousness.
It is the strength that comes into us
as a result of receiving the new nature.
It is ever present. It abides in us through
the person of the Holy Spirit, who lives
in us. It is our right standing and it
is our power to stand right. It makes
us feel right about ourselves and God.
And it gives us the power to live right
before God."
The overall theme of the
Bible is righteousness by faith in Jesus
Christ. You should not be surprised that
man's way of achieving righteousness is
contrary to God's way, for "...the
message of the cross is foolishness to those
who are perishing, but to us who are saved,
it is the power of God...you are in Christ
Jesus, Who became for us wisdom from God
-- and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption."11
My book on the power of righteousness, "Christianity
For Fools," can be read on this website.
A Sense of Righteousness
The apostle Paul proclaims:
"Awake to righteousness and do no sin;
for some do not have the knowledge of God,
I speak this to your shame."12
The strength of righteousness is God's grace,
in correlation to the strength of sin being
the law. "For if by one man's offense
death reigned through one [Adam], much more
those who receive the abundance of grace
and the gift of righteousness will reign
[over sin] in life through the One, Jesus
Christ."13
Righteousness is the ability
to stand with Jesus in God's presence without
the sense of sin, fear, guilt, condemnation,
and inferiority. As you mature in Christ,
you'll see Christ as your righteousness.
"For everyone who partakes only of
milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness,
for he is a babe. But solid food belongs
to those who are of full age, that is, those
who by reason of use have their senses exercised
to discern both good and evil."14
The key to reigning in
life is to keep your "senses exercised"
by "reason of use," concerning
your righteousness in Christ, or keeping
a consciousness of your righteousness in
Christ. One way is to commune moment by
moment in the Spirit through a remembrance
of the blood of Jesus.15
As a result, a sense of righteousness will
empower your life with love, instead of
the spirit of fear, which stems from a sense
of lack. "For God made Jesus Who knew
no sin to be sin for us, that we might become
the righteousness of God in Christ."16
It is time to wake up,
that as a Christian, you are declared righteous
by God, because the blood of Jesus wiped
out all sin: past, present, and future.17
Therefore, "...if Christ be in you,
the body is dead [dying] because of sin,
but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, He who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies through His Spirit
who dwells in you."18
A Prayer For You ...
Heavenly Father, I pray
as Paul asked for Philemon: "That the
communication of my faith may become effectual
by the acknowledging of every good thing
which is in me in Christ Jesus."19
I declare that my past no longer defines
who I am, because I am a new creation in
Christ.20 I believe
in the cleansing blood of Jesus for my righteousness,
and not my good works or obedience to the
law. I will not live in the past. I will
live a new, powerful life of godliness,
"...for the Kingdom of God is righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."21
I will yield to the righeousness of Christ
that lives in me. Lord, I ask that you increase
my faith so that I will be conscious continually
of the revelation of my righteousness in
Christ.22 Amen.
If you have received Christ
as your righteousness, contact us.
Scripture References:
Acknowledgement: A special thanks
to Sherry for transcribing this months view!
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