Thursday, July 2, 2009

Receiving the Gift

Last week we celebrated my birthday, and what a lovely day it was! I want to thank everybody who had a part in it, even if you were not here! As I received a few gifts, for which I am very thankful, it got me thinking of something very important in life. When the gifts was presented to me, I received each and every one of them, not one person left with the present they brought me, I took it!
There is a few gifts given to us by God, which we need to only receive. We have been taught, that we need to do something to get into a certain place with God, but we need to read the Bible, and at this point I must say, the Bible is a spiritual writing and should be read in this way- if the gospel was based on intelligence, it would not have been the Gospel! And thank God that it is based on Him, and on Him alone!

1Co 2:14 AMP “But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated”.

And when the Bible becomes alive to us in the Spirit that God has ‘given’ us, we see that we need to ‘receive’ what God has given us. The word ‘receive’ is described, in the Greek/English dictionaries like the Vine’s, as ‘taking up, embracing and becoming one with’. Understanding this, the Gospel becomes what it really is, the Good News in Christ. Let us look at some of the Scriptures that speaks of this, and see the Goodness of God.

John 3:16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

1Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he has given us a new birth to an ever-living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Romans 5:17 For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God's] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

Looking at the above mentioned Scriptures, it is very clear that God has done everything in Christ that we need to be, what He created us to be, here on earth! And Peter goes on to confirm this in 2Peter 1:3. So, we can stop trying to become what we (in the flesh) think God wants from us, and what people say you need to do or not do to be a Christian, and just see that Jesus death, burial and Resurrection, has dealt with all of this ‘stuff’ that we think is so important. We need to ‘receive’ it, we can not add anything or take anything away from the completed work of Christ! And, it was done for us, this is your everyday gift, God has given you Life, enjoy every moment, by being what He made you to be! By receiving and keeping your focus on Him, by looking at Him in the ‘mirror’ of the Word. (2Cor 3:18)

Please comment on this, ask a question, or just add something. May your day be filled with the realization of the Good part of His News! And remember- He loves you, yes, you!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My whole life I have been asking God to forgive me, not realising that He has already according to the scriptures you have quoted. What is real though is “temptation” Specially the thoughts and deeds that you know are wrong and against His will.

What bothers me the most is you get to a stage where you say “Just do it”. He is going to forgive me anyhow, and by doing so, you lose the power of the Spirit and fall deeper and deeper into sin. Help!!

Pastor Warren said...

I'll have to start wirh what Paul said in Romans 6:

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy]. (15) What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God's favor and mercy? Certainly not!

You need to understand that you were designed to live righteously, NOT for sin! And it was Jesus Who made it possible through His death, burial and Resurrection! The next article will take this further- thank you for asking!

Rom 6:10 For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].

Anonymous said...

Thank you! Maybe I must listen my conscience, that hollow feeling on my stomach or just think….What would Jesus say!…The price he paid for the forgiveness I make miss use of