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Saturday, May 30, 2020

Hope in God



Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!
—Psalm 42:11 (NLT)


Do you get discouraged? Are you sad when reminded of joy you once had but now have lost?  The psalmist who wrote Psalm 42 understood discouragement and despair. He remembered the joy He once had in the Lord.

“My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration” (Psalm 42:4, NLT)!

In his sadness, the psalmist is determined to regain what He has lost. As the deer longs for water, the psalmist thirsts for peace and joy in His Savior. “I will put my hope in God,” he writes. “I will praise Him again—my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5b-6a, NLT)!

The psalmist doesn't try to hide what He has lost. He doesn't pretend to have joy and peace that was once his. He is brutally honest with God:
         “Now I am deeply discouraged,
          but I will remember you—
         even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
          from the land of Mount Mizar.
         I hear the tumult of the raging seas
          as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
         But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
          and through each night I sing his songs,
          praying to God who gives me life” (Psalm 42:6-8, NLT).

Even though he is discouraged, the psalmist doesn't get angry at God or question His love. The trials of life have taken their toll on this writer, but He doesn't turn away from God. No matter what life presents, he declares that each day the Lord pours His unfailing love. He chooses to praise God for hope, even in his despair.

Do we make that choice when we are discouraged as this psalmist? Are we as determined to praise Him no matter how we feel?  We have something the psalmist didn’t have. We have Jesus and peace with God, where we have nothing to prove. Jesus proved Himself for us. The mind of Christ is ours. We have faith that in Christ alone, God's promise is real.

Be honest with God right where you are! You can’t shock Him. He already knows. Let His love be real in your discouraged heart!  Praise Him no matter what life presents! Place all your hope in Him! Jesus won't let you down. He has already provided your promise. If you ask, you will receive it. If you seek, you will find it. The joy of your salvation will set your aching heart free! Lasting peace and joy come when you praise Him, believing He has already provided your promise. 

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/hope-in-god.html

Friday, May 29, 2020

Because of Your Faith



After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.” Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.”—Matthew 9:27-29


Jesus had just raised a young woman from the dead when two blind men started to follow Him, shouting for mercy. They couldn't see in front of them, yet they could follow Jesus. They had a great need, but they also had faith. When faith is strong, it is like adrenalin. You can reach beyond what appears your natural ability. Their faith was so strong that they followed Jesus right into the home where he was staying. Jesus asked if they believed that he could give them sight.  They said, “we do.” Jesus told them that because of their faith, they would see.

The report of the synagogue leader's daughter raised from the dead had swept through the area. If Jesus could raise a girl from the dead, He could heal them. These two men believed. As they followed Jesus, they called out to Him. They didn't hold back their need. They were bold following Him into the place He was staying. The two were blind, but they believed. 

When Jesus asked them if they believed He could make them see, they knew their hope was about to come true. Jesus wouldn't have asked if He didn't intend to do it!  When they answered “yes” in response to Jesus’ question, they spoke what they believed. “Because of your faith, it will happen,” Jesus told them. 

Do you believe in Jesus? Does faith inspire you to accept Jesus' promise of healing? Are you as determined as these two men, or does fear make you question if He will help you?  With faith, you can believe in what you haven't yet received. Be bold and pray confidently. Just as these two men, reach beyond your illness—your pain—your suffering, and believe in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross.

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed” (Isaiah 53:5, NLT).

Jesus became pierced for our rebellious nature. He became crushed for our sins. He received beatings so that we can be whole—not shattered emotionally or physically or mentally. He experienced whipping so that we can perceive healing. Jesus took the pain of our scourging. He went as a Lamb to the slaughter so that we can receive healing for sin, illness, and death. 

“Because of your faith, it will happen,” Jesus told the two men. Can He also say that about us? 

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/because-of-your-faith.html


Thursday, May 28, 2020

Life


But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
—Acts 20:24 (NLT)


What is my life worth? That is a question I have asked myself through this long healing process.  Jesus made my life worth His life. My life is worth nothing unless I write and tell others about the extraordinary grace of God. The Gospel seems too good to be true. But it is true, life-giving, redeeming, freeing, healing, forgiving, peace-giving. To those who believe, the Gospel is the answer for abundant life now and eternal life in heaven.

Grace. The word itself sounds peaceful. The grace of Jesus gives lasting peace with God. But what might sound peaceful for those of us who believe was torment for Christ. He agonized in the Garden over what He knew God required of Him. His agony on the Cross for our sins is indescribable. He finished the work His father had sent him to do—to love us enough to die in our place. And in His death, we are free to experience His forgiveness and love beyond imagination.

I’m not anyone great in the scheme of God’s purpose, but recently I experienced His incredible love on the edge of eternity. As much as I could feel the draw of heaven, He spoke life to me. And now here I am—growing in His grace as I overcome each hurdle. Even in the sometimes difficult process of healing, His peace has claimed my heart. He is my healer. The devotions I write to build faith in others also builds faith in me. 

What is your life worth? Jesus said on the Cross that it was worth everything to Him. Just as Jesus loved without condition, allow Him to love in the same way through you. 

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NLT).

The love Paul writes about is God loving others through us without condition. His love is life for us! In the end, nothing else shall matter, but His love. That is why it matters the most now. 

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/life.html

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Ask, Seek, Knock


Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
—Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)


Don't ever give up on prayer. Pray—not from your weakness but believing God will answer. Keep asking Him. We often give up on prayer when we don't see results as soon as we would like. Keep seeking and digging. Open your mind to receive something He has for you in His Word. Believe what He shows you and accept it as His Truth. 

Often, we pray in desperation, and we miss the by-products of persistent prayer—learning patience, commitment, endurance, and self-control. These virtues bring spiritual growth and give us the determination to believe in His promise. When we keep on asking and seeking, we also receive His knowledge. Wisdom is ours when we ask for it. We believe that His promise is real.

Prayer is not just about the answer. It spiritually grows us when we keep asking and seeking. Prayer doesn’t change God. It changes us to understand what we have already received in Jesus.

“By his divine power,” Peter wrote, “God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3, NLT).

We received everything we needed for a godly life when we came to know Jesus. He drew us to the Cross. Prayer draws us to understand what He has given us. 

Keep asking, and you will receive what you ask. Keep seeking and receive more faith to believe. Keep knocking at the door in the strength He has grown in you. God hears you, and He opens the door to receive your promise.

“The more you grow like this,” Peter also wrote, “the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8, NLT).

Prayers are effective when we ask and seek and unwaveringly knock. We learn who we are in Jesus. Trusting we shall receive, we go boldly into His throne room. 

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23, NLT).

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/ask-see-knock.html

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Peace


Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ, Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
—Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT)

God’s peace is wonderfully supernatural and is greater than our human understanding. It comes when we allow God to take our worries, and it lasts as long as our thoughts remain true, right, and uplifting. 

Worry seems to be what we do best. Life comes with fears and problems and struggles, and sickness. The list goes on and on. When we focus on what bothers us instead of praising God for His faithfulness to take care of us, our problems grow in dimension and become overwhelming. We lose the right perspective when we don't fix our thoughts on good, honorable, and pure things.

God tells us to quit worrying and to pray instead about everything—to tell our Father what we need and thank Him for taking care of it. We are to praise Him though we may not see His provision. It is as real as He is. Trusting God, Paul says, is the way to experience His peace in any crisis. His peace will exceed anything we can understand. When we live in His peace, our thoughts are safe from worry over our issues. Our minds will dwell on the hope God inspires and will settle on what is excellent and worthy of our praise.

Put into practice what I have taught you, Paul says. Choose to pray about everything and to praise God for His provision. Determine to think on God’s best instead of your worst. God’s peace is your promise, and it lasts when these truths are habitual. Trust God with all your heart. Don't depend on your understanding. When you are in control, you have no answers. When God is at the helm, you are not responsible for the outcome. He is. 

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/peace.html



Monday, May 25, 2020

Righteousness and Peace


Mercy and Truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed.
—Psalm 85:10 (NKJV)


         This verse has always intrigued me. I’m reading the Old Testament in light of the New. I study each verse through the grace of Jesus. It takes on more meaning knowing the Truth that His perfect sacrifice shall one day fulfill the needs of those who live by the law.

         Psalm 85 is a prayer of the psalmist, asking for God's divine favor. In verses 1-3, the psalmist reminds God that He forgave Israel and held back His anger when He brought them out of bondage. In verses 4-7, he pleads for God to put aside His anger once more and forgive them. 

         “Lord, you poured out blessings on your land!
          You restored the fortunes of Israel.
         You forgave the guilt of your people—
          Yes, you covered all their sins. 
         You held back your fury.
          You kept back your blazing anger.
         Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
         Put aside your anger against us once more.
         Will you be angry with us always?
         Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?
         Won’t you revive us again,
         so your people can rejoice in you?
         Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,
          and grant us your salvation” (Psalm 85:1-7, NLT).

         To not be in sin, the Israelites had to keep each statute and law. God’s requirement was for them to live perfectly holy lives. But they weren’t perfect. Only God was holy and perfect. Only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies to seek forgiveness for himself and the people. The Israelites often incurred God’s anger. The psalmist cries out for forgiveness once more—for restoration for God’s people. Will God prolong His wrath to all generations? Will He once more give them His unfailing love and grant His salvation?

        The psalmist then asks God not to let the people return to their foolishness that has brought His wrath. His forgiveness, the psalmist declares, is close to those who fear Him. 

         “I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
          for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
          But let them not return to their foolish ways.
         Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
          so our land will be filled with his glory” (Psalm 85:8-9, NLT).

         And suddenly, Psalm 85:10 promises the love of Jesus, which is to come. It speaks of His forgiveness that never ends:

          “Unfailing love and Truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!”

         This verse in the Old Testament looks ahead to the time of God’s promise of eternal restoration. Unfailing love will meet Truth. Righteousness and peace will kiss. The righteousness of Jesus shall one day bring peace with God. The Holy of Holies will no longer be only for the High Priest. Jesus, the perfect sacrifice for our sins, has set us free. The veil has been ripped open by His grace. God is now our Abba Father. 

         What happened on Calvary? The grace of Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law. The Lord of the Old Testament, who forgave based on how man behaved, became the God of the New, who forgives us because of the unconditional love of Jesus. The unfailing love of Jesus, which never fails, comes together with God's Truth. The righteousness of God is now Jesus' gift to man. Jesus has opened the door into God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. Man has peace with God because of the righteousness Jesus has purchased for him.

         Do you realize you aren’t graded on your performance as God’s people in the Old Testament were once judged? You have been restored forever by the grace of Jesus. God, through Jesus, has revealed His unfailing love and granted you His salvation. No longer do you believe you must fear God to find forgiveness! No longer must you strive to make yourself worthy as the law required! Only the grace of Jesus makes you worthy!  Mercy is yours because of Jesus. His Truth is yours. His peace is yours. His righteousness gave all for you at the Cross! The blazing anger of God in the Old Testament was appeased forever by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.

         “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)!

         Are you NEW?

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/righteousness-and-peace.html

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Share My Love


I will praise you, Lord, among the nations I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 57:9-10 (NIV)

Lord, I praise you!  I sing of your love to everyone! Your love is real, reaching to the heavens.  Your faithfulness to your children never ends. Jesus, you made a way into God’s presence. You purchased on the Cross what only you could buy. Lord, you are now forgiveness without my earning it. You are unconditional love, flowing with unending grace.   

I have no memory of the first few hours of my illness in the hospital. I was with you, Jesus. As you held my hand, you encompassed me with a love I have no words to describe. The incredible joy of your Resurrection promise flooded me. Heaven was in view, calling me. A chorus of voices rose in praise—each one singing of heaven’s victory. “No more fear!” “No more pain!” “No more tears!” Many voices blended in a resonating harmony I had never heard. You held my hand as I felt the pull of heaven’s promise. 

I yearned to join those voices, but I knew that it wasn’t time. You held me to your side—encouraging me to return to earthly life. You poured your love into me. Your words reverberated within me—one message flowing effortlessly into the next. They went on and on. And then I found myself in the hospital bed.

My time in the hospital was in your presence, Lord. I had pain, but I had you. I knew you were my caretaker. Peace was something tangible. I could breathe it. I had visions of you fighting off things coming against me, Lord—comforting me with your voice saying I had your love to share. You told me many things I would forget. Some I would remember as time passed.

A little time has passed.

“Share my love,” you whispered to me during those hours with you, Lord. Then came your Word, “You have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is” (Ephesians 3:18, NLT). 

“Encourage my children to have confidence in me,” you also spoke to my heart. "Teach them who they are in me. Inspire them to be live together in my love."  Then came your Word. "I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ.” (Colossians 2:2 (NLT).

God loves you. His love for you broke free in Jesus. That love reaches from the depths to the heights of heaven. Learn who you are in Jesus. Study His love for you and be changed by His Word. Listen to Him, encouraging you with His revelation Truth. Have confidence in the Savior who changed everything just for you. 

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/share-my-love.html

Friday, May 22, 2020

He is Real


Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
—Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)


You are never alone. The God of Angel Armies is always with you. Jehovah Jireh provides. Jehovah Rapha heals. Jehovah Nissi identifies you as His own. Don't be afraid or discouraged by what you see around you or what you feel. The truth is that God strengthens and helps you. God carries you through each battle with His victorious right hand. 

“I will rescue those who love me,” the Lord says. “I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16, NLT).

God rescued you the moment you believed that Jesus loved you with His life. Often, we don't believe He has already saved us from the storms of life. Jesus has calmed the waters. Nothing that comes against us has any power. He has healed us. He has provided for us. His peace is real if we believe God has already supplied our every need. 

Jesus earned your trust on Calvary. Why don’t you trust Him in every moment now? Hasn't He proved Himself again and again?  Call, and He will answer. God is with you through your horrible circumstance. He has already rescued you. Believe it. You will see His promise and know His peace.

When you believe that the storms of life are calm, those storms have no power to harm you. When you know who you are in Jesus—when you know He has already met each need that life presents, you trust Him.

God doesn’t need to prove His love for you again and again. He already has on Calvary. The Cross declares that His perfect love casts out every fear. Resurrection power says that His victory is yours. 

Have faith in Christ. Live His peace despite any storm. See beyond the pain. Believe in life and salvation He has given you. Jehovah Nissi is your banner. He is your identity. You are no longer a weak believer struggling with fear. You know you are a new person in Jesus. The old life terrorized by fear is gone. The storms of life have become a dream. He is real.

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/he-is-real.html



Thursday, May 21, 2020

Now Under Grace


For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
—Galatians 5:4 (NLT)


If you try to make yourself right with God by keeping the law, Galatians 5:4 affirms, you cut yourself off from grace. You have actually fallen away from God's grace. Yet how many believers attempt to earn His grace—trying to win the love of Jesus by working to be good enough? They believe God only loves them when they measure up.  They forget that "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:8 (NLT).

Falling away from grace is falling back into the law. If you believe you are judged according to the law, you must live up to each of its precepts. You can't miss one. Jesus was God's answer to man's inability to make himself righteous by the law. Believing in Jesus is the only way we can be made righteous. The grace of Jesus has nothing to do with what we do. We can't earn His grace. Grace is His gift—His unearned favor. Without the mercy of Jesus, the law would forever condemn. Man would forever strive to save himself. But with Jesus, the law of the Old Testament was fulfilled by His grace. The law which judged what you do was replaced by what you couldn't earn—the unconditional love of Jesus on the Cross.

When we make the law more significant than the grace of Jesus, we make the blood of Jesus of less importance. We belittle His grace. And wrong-thinking about law and grace clouds our thoughts. We strive to win His love instead of resting in the gift He has given us. Worry and fear intensify. Peace is elusive. We become focused on what we need to achieve instead of His grace. When we fail, we either believe that God is not good or that we have done something wrong to stop His love for us. Our focus is not on His love that pursues us all the days of our lives. It is on our own failure. 

There is a difference in living for Christ when you have nothing to prove and living for Christ because you have to prove yourself.  When you live for Christ, knowing you aren't judged on your performance, you pour your heart into His calling. When you live for Him, believing that He judges your performance, then you fail in your understanding of His love for you.

God loves you. Jesus died for you and made you right with God. Jesus made you His responsibility. Quit striving to win His love. There was nothing more He could have given than His life. You are no longer under the law. You are now under grace.

© 2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/now-under-grace.html




Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Your Something New


See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
—Isaiah 43:19-21 (NIV)

God never changes, but He always does new things in our lives. Is that statement contradictory? No. What is it about God that remains the same? It is who He is—His character. The new thing He does never violates His character. It never goes against who He says He is in His Word.

Is it difficult for you to see that God is doing something new? It can be right before you, and maybe you can't see it. You may be so stuck in fear of what is happening around you, that you can't see His promise emerging. Circumstances have become your desert place where you only exist instead of trusting and believing for His promise for something new in your life. 

God is Jehovah Jireh, your provider. He provides sustenance in your desert place. A revelation in His Word to give you hope—a friend to encourage you—the Lord gives you just what you need to inspire you that He is doing something new. Animals seek His provision in the wilderness. His living water is right before you. Life can cloud your ability to recognize His provision. Open your spiritual eyes. Ask to see His promise of something new. If you seek, you too shall find.

In this Old Testament Scripture, these verses don't only speak of the Hebrew children as His chosen. They also speak of you. You are also His chosen. Jesus chose you on Calvary. God always provides nourishment to His chosen people. And He always gives them something new!

The Holy Spirit forms us for praise. Praising God in your desert place turns that desert place into an oasis of hope. Praise opens us to see beyond our circumstance—to trust God and believe for something new.

If you look at the negative all around you, then that is what you will see. No hope. No promise. You will perceive nothing of God’s provision. If you look at your circumstance with trust that He has something better, you will have great hope and expectation that God is working out His good for your best.

I praise Him today for my “something new.”  I believe it. We are overcomers in Christ—not children of fear. We are His Beloved—not His Estranged. He loves us with His everlasting love. His plans give us great hope for the future.

Your something new is just waiting for you to perceive it.

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/your-something-new.html

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Live His Grace



Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
—Colossians 4:5-6 (NLT)


Living wisely is living with the love of Jesus, impacting each relationship you have. The grace of Jesus is what reaches those who don't believe—not hammered condemnation. Make the most of every opportunity to share His love without hesitation. Live the change Christ has made in your life and speak His promise of new life. People are hungry for love—not constant reminders of how dirty and unworthy they are. Hearing that Jesus forgives them and accepts them right where they are is life-changing.

Never forget that you once were unworthy too. Only the grace of Jesus made you worthy. You couldn’t save yourself. Only His grace was able to make a difference. Extend to others what Jesus has freely given you. Don’t weigh what it may cost you. He never did.

Allow the Holy Spirit to guide your conversation. Look beyond how they respond and allow Him to reveal their heart. The Holy Spirit will appeal to them—not you. Keep yourself and your judgment out of the way. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak His hope through you to address their need. When He flows through you—when His grace lives in you—you have a message that changes lives. 

You can inspire others to receive His love, or you can kill forgiveness before it has an opportunity to change a heart. Be gracious, loving freely as Jesus freely loved you. The Holy Spirit will always give you the right response to open a hurting heart to His love. Live His grace.

©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/live-his-grace.html

Monday, May 18, 2020

Cut Away


When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
—Colossians 2:11-12 (NLT)


Do you experience the new life Jesus has given you, or are you overcome with feelings of guilt and shame that keep you from relishing it?  Do past sins or even worry you are going to do something wrong, consume your thoughts? When you came to Jesus, you had what Paul calls a “spiritual circumcision.” This was more than just a physical procedure. Your sinful nature was cut away by the precious blood of Christ. 

“Since we have died to sin,” Paul wrote to the Romans, “how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (Romans 6:2-4, NLT).

Your sinful nature was cut away and buried with Christ in death. Then just as Jesus was raised from the dead, your new life—your new nature—rose from the dead by the glorious power of the Father. You have died to sin, Paul wrote, how can you continue to live in it?

“You also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus,” Paul wrote (Romans 6:11, NLT). Sin will have its way in your life if you don’t believe you are dead to it. When you believe Jesus took your punishment and that God is not keeping a record of your sins, you experience the power to overcome sin. Jesus came to save the world from sin and not condemn it. Condemnation holds a person in the shame of their sin until they forget who they are in Jesus. Instead of experiencing the freedom of one washed clean and forgiven, they hold onto their identity as a sinner. They don't live the joy of their salvation because the fear of falling has set them up to fail.

The precious grace of Jesus is NEVER a license to sin. His grace is the miracle that sets us free from sin. But if we deliberately sin, then we hurt ourselves. There are consequences to sin. God hates sin because He loves us. Do you believe He wants us suffering the consequences of sin? As a believer with the new nature of Christ, you experience conviction when faced with temptation. There is a strain between your new nature, which Jesus gave you at salvation, and the flesh where sin works.

If you are tired of experiencing that strain and the temptation to sin, then there is hope! Stop focusing on sin and put your focus on Jesus Christ. What you dwell on—what you continuously think about–can become your obsession. Wouldn't you rather obsess over the positive and incredible love of Jesus than the negative and condemning fear of sin?

Every judgment God demanded for our sin fell on Jesus. The Cross is where everything changed. Sin was crucified. Separation from God was crucified. Sickness was crucified. He was pierced on the Cross for you. Your old nature was cut away. His new life rose from the grave in you. Rejoice in your new life! Give praise and power to Jesus! You will discover the old is gone. Jesus’ work on the Cross for you is not a dream. It is finished. 


©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/05/cut-away.html

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Highest Thought



Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
—Romans 11:33 (NLT)


“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9, NLT).

When I think of the most amazing thing I believe God has for me, it is nothing in comparison with His actual thoughts and ideas. His ways go far beyond my human understanding. Many times I don’t understand how my circumstances can work for His good purpose, but I trust His choices because I know He loved me with His life.

How great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge!  Jesus opened up the windows of heaven and gave me unhindered access to my Father. My access to God is filled with His riches. I receive His wisdom beyond measure. He gives me knowledge through the revelation of His Word.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:10-11, NLT).

His Word comes from heaven and stays with us to water our lives. It produces seed that grows and faith that flourishes. His Word always produces fruit, and accomplishes His purpose. It prospers everywhere God sends it.

When we seek Him, His Word prospers within us. It may be impossible to discern many of God’s ways, but the revelation of His Word builds faith and trust. We can believe because He believed in us on Calvary. 

What circumstance in your life is hard for you to understand?  It may be beyond your understanding right at this moment. You can trust the Savior whose thoughts are greater than yours. He knows your need greater than you know it. 

Walk by faith in His love. His Word does declare that He will never leave you or forsake you. You were His highest thought on Calvary. Once He is yours, He is yours.

©2020 Lynn Lacher
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