Many have taught, and not a few still teach, that Christianity is essentially a “Judeo/Christian” religion. Many have been told that at least some part of the covenant of the Law handed down from God to the nation of Israel by Moses applies to us today. Most would exclude the ceremonial laws and the sacrificial laws, even the dietary laws. But, they say, we need to keep the moral laws.

God spoke into existence everything that exists; except you. You, he “formed”. You, He fashioned. You, He crafted as one works to craft a poem. You are His workmanship, His poem. As amazing as that is, the verse doesn’t stop there. The Craftsman created us; and the venue or context in which this creation took place is “in Christ Jesus.

When we want to know why something in the Bible was said or done or the reason we are instructed to think or behave in a certain way, there are some key words we want to be sure we do not ignore. Words like “therefore”, “that”, and “for.” So, as we look for the reason why God Loved us so greatly and extended His vast mercy toward us, we can expect to find answers after those words.

When we speak of being used by God, we are referring to Him being manifested or made more real to others through us as we live and move and exist in Him.

One might argue that none has a freedom of choice really either, and no one has ever had the freedom to choose to be born or not, yet we are held accountable for being born in sin nonetheless.

Over the long term, we cannot live our lives in a way inconsistent with who we believe ourselves to be. If we believe we are at war with ourselves, we will act like it. We will find ourselves in a constant battle to have better attitudes and actions. All our focus will be on fixing ourselves.

As long as you have your mind set on yourself, your attitudes, your actions, your perceived inability to have a feeling of settled faith in God, you will not experience the fullness of the abundant Life He has given you.

Jesus is the Ark
Jesus is the Testimony
Jesus is the Word of God
Jesus is the Atonement and Propitiation
Jesus is the Mercy of God, full of grace and truth.

We may wonder if someone is beyond hope. We may find their attitudes and actions repulsive. What they do might turn our stomachs. It might make us furiously angry. We may be hurt by their obstinate and stubborn refusal even to hear the truth.

Scripture paints a picture of humanity as deriving from one of two sources. One source is characterized by independence, opposition, disobedience, rejection of the Love of God. The other Source is characterized by dependence, fellowship, obedience, and acceptance. All people are children of one or the other. Independence results in evil and spiritual death. Dependence results in righteousness and spiritual Life.

Every day we see and hear things the world wants to promote. We are bombarded with ideas the world would like to foist upon us. We hear of intractable problems and dark predictions about our future. All these things should be red flags. They come from the earthy mindset of those who remain as we once were. Without hope and without God in the world.

With our earthly minds we find this concept difficult to grasp. We were born, we grew, and we have clearly been alive the entire time. How is it then that scripture continually insists that we were dead? What sort of death is this?

From the outset I have urged that we notice the signs and symbols in The Revelation. This book is filled with references and echoes of the scriptures that came before. The Revelator uses the terms “poor”, “blind”, and “naked” to help us understand this message from our Lord.

Saints, we were designed to live by faith in dependence on God. He is the source of the Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control for which our spirits yearn.

This verse recently gave me pause. The verse was John 16:27, which says, “the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. (NASB 2020) I was surprised, stunned really, and a little frightened, at the word “because.”

Paul said some very confusing things in this passage. Things like:
“If somehow I may attain to the resurrection”
“Not that I have already grasped it all or become perfect”
“I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet”

Let’s face it, the world is full of evil of every sort. Sin is everywhere and we are not immune to the effects of evil and sin around us. It pervades our day-to-day lives and pressures us constantly. The temptation it engenders can be strong and we sometimes, maybe even often, fail to escape it.

It is not about the vessel. It's about His never-ending all-sufficient supply. It's about the power of God that you carry around in your unremarkable body. What treasure you bear. What blessing you bring.

As the saints of God, we can find ourselves becoming ineffective, lethargic, or distracted. We are called to change our minds and turn our focus to the Lord. We are called to cease viewing ourselves, others, and even our circumstances from a fleshly perspective and change our minds to view these things from a heavenly spiritual perspective.

Many of us are fortunate to live in countries where being thrown into prison for our beliefs is not a concern. Many others live in places where imprisonment is a constant risk. If you are interested in gaining perspective on this point, I recommend that you visit The Voice of the Martyrs at https://www.persecution.com.