"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:31-32 NKJV
Did you notice that these verse come with a condition attached? People want freedom, and this verse shows us that freedom comes from knowing the truth, but the condition is that we need to be people who abide in God’s Word in order to know the truth. Instead of ‘abide’, another translation uses the word ‘continue’ which means, ‘to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy)’. As I read this, I think of Peter walking on the water and Jesus asking, “in what did you doubt” (see April 21). When we are believing God for something, fear will always raise it head and try to make us doubt God and sway its way, but when we doubt something it loses its ability to remain an option. If we are trying to grow our faith, then staying in the Word of God will continue to reinforce the truth of Who God is. We grow more in our knowledge and understanding of Him, and we then become more ‘disciplined’ (discipled). The more we know of God and His plans and purpose, the stronger we become. Then fear loses its grip and we grow in the truth of Who God is. Then, as we live out that truth, and walk in the authority and dominion He gave us, we then become people who know real freedom in Christ. Choose today to become a person who spends more time in the Word, and you will learn freedom like you’ve always wanted. Declaration Starter: “I declare that I am free because I know the Truth and He is alive in me…”
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"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" - 1 John 1:9 NKJV
God doesn’t hold grudges. No matter who we are, not matter what we have done, when we confess our sins before Him, He is quick to forgive. Often when we forgive someone, we can still hold onto the memory of what they have previously done, and even though we may not mention it again, the memory still has the potential to affect our ongoing trust of that person. This is not the case with God, and there are two things I want to briefly look at regarding how He forgives us. Firstly, He no longer accredits those sins to us. Psalms 103:12 says that He separates us from our sins. That means they aren’t just out of reach, but totally gone. In fact, He says they are removed as far as the East is from the West. That’s a long way — a never ending line. East never meets West. Next, Hebrews 8:12 tells us that He doesn’t even remember our sins. It’s not that He has a bad memory, it’s that He chooses to never remember them again. Think about how much love that demonstrates. Every time we confess our sins before Him, He removes them from us and chooses to never remember them again. God’s grace is amazing. Declaration Starter: “I declare that I am forgiven and cleansed. Every time I confess my sins my Father forgives me. I accept His forgiveness and I walk in the joy of the knowledge that I am His, and that I am in right standing with Him…” "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." - Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT
God’s faithfulness is something that I will never cease to be amazed at, because I will never see the end of it. Romans 5:8 is one of many verses that confirm God’s love for us and it tells us that Jesus died for our sins and made a way for us to be in right relationship with God before we ever accepted Him. He chose you and I first knowing that there was a chance we may never choose Him, and yet He died to provide a way for our our salvation whether we choose Him or not. Further demonstrations of His amazing love for us are His mercies. They aren’t ‘stale left-overs’ from last week, they are fresh and new each and every day. Every time we repent, He says He will forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9). There is nothing we can do that will surprise Him or cause Him to fall off His throne and He has in fact promised that He will continue to pour out His mercies on us, fresh and new, every single day. Know that today is yet another day that Father will again pour out His mercies over you. None of us deserve His love, but it isn’t based on what we deserve, it is based on His choice to love us. It’s because of what Jesus did that He thinks the world of you. Declaration Starter: “I declare that God will never stop loving me. His mercy and kindness towards me never cease, but are daily fresh and new every. Every day is a new day and I will face it knowing that I will do it with the great faithfulness of my Saviour…” “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” - Revelation 12:11a NIV
The book of Revelation refers to Satan as the ‘Accuser’ which is a legal term meaning the one who brings a charge. Day and night he looks for opportunities to accuse us as well as to tear us down. Every time we fall short, he is quick to point the finger and remind us of our failings, but every time he comes to tear us down, the Bible gives us a strategy to deal with him — we overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. The blood of Jesus, shed on the cross of calvary, was enough to pay for our sins and open the door for us to come back into relationship with our Father. He doesn’t need to do anything else. When we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, we come out from under the covering and authority of Satan and come back into right relationship with our Father. The word ‘Testimony’ is also a legal term meaning the evidence that comes out of our mouth. So let me ask you this, “What are you speaking?” We can’t say one thing and live another. We have so much available through Jesus, but we have to live that out daily, so as the enemy comes and point the finger, the blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony are enough to set the record straight. Declaration Starter: “I declare that I am in covenant with Jesus Christ. My focus is on Him, I will trust Him, and I will lean on Him. I am His child and He is my Father. My identity is in Jesus for He is my testimony…” “I declare that I am forgiven and cleansed. My Bible tells me that if I confess and repent of my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. So, I confess my sins now (do that as you pray this), I accept His forgiveness, and I walk in the joy of knowing that I am His, and I am in right standing with Him.” (1 John 1:9)
Regardless of the fact that Mark 11:25 says if we won’t forgive God can’t forgive us, the word ‘forgive’ still gets interesting looks and comments from people as though God never thought of their case when He told us to forgive. I’ve been listening to neuroscientist Dr Caroline Leaf this week and learned some very interesting things about forgiveness which blew my mind and when you understand this, my guess is that you will want to forgive people who have hurt you faster than you would drop a hot potato. Quantum Physics (QP) looks at this things we can’t explain rather than what we can measure, touch and feel. In QP there is no past present or future; no time, space or dimension. There is however, a law in QP called ‘Entanglement’ and refers to ‘Relationship.’ Entanglement simply means that everything in the universe effects everything else. God made us for relationship and even science is proving that. Scientists have also proven that even a photon coming into existence a billion light years away will affect us, even though we don’t notice it. Here’s where ‘Entanglement’ gets interesting and I hope I can explain it correctly. If you have been hurt by someone, the trauma associated with that affects your brain. The way to deal with that trauma is to forgive, but before you react, check this out. Through that trauma, the other person literally became linked to your brain, and even though they may be now on the other side of the world, their thoughts towards you still have an impact on your brain as though they were still in the room traumatising you. Remember, QP is not affected by time , space or dimension. The awesome part of this is is that by forgiving them, scientists have proven that you break that connection and then begin the process of healing. You may hate what was done to you and want the other person to suffer and pay for what they did, but you are keeping yourself connected to them through unforgiveness. If you want to be free, forgive them and cut that connection. Don’t worry, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6) Jesus knew the impact of this because Mark 11:24-25 Verse 24 says, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. “"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” We are to forgive every time we pray. When we do, God can forgive us, but it will also set free your mind so that God can to do amazing things in your life. Forgiveness isn’t a dirty word, it’s something God gave us as a blessing. Trust him in this and see what He will do. Adrian Nyhuis |
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