His Life for Mine

 

Good Friday. The day that my sin cost Jesus His life. It was not just any day. It was the day Jesus proved His love for me. He walked the path of pain and death, carrying the excruciating weight of my sin. This was His walk to death so I might be reborn in new life in God.

 

God’s deepest desire is for me to live in fellowship with Him. He yearns for me to know Him intimately as He knows me—to know in my heart the new life I received when I was born again. That one moment when all my sin was washed away by His grace is the moment His unconditional love became mine. The greatest exchange took place. He took my sin so I might have His righteousness. My old life and everything that defined my life died with Him so I might be raised with Him in new life. Nothing—no nothing—can ever match the love of God for me in the gift of Jesus. I didn’t have to earn His love to be saved. He gave it freely. I don’t have to earn His love now. I receive it not because of what I do but because of who He is. He keeps on giving more and more grace in every moment. And I keep on receiving more and more grace. The truth of His life for mine keeps changing me.

 

Although I was saved sixty-seven years ago, I spent most of my life not living in the freedom and fullness of God’s unconditional love and grace. I remained in my old life on the wrong side of the cross not receiving the freedom that His grace had purchased for me. My old life still defined who I was. I was stuck knowing there was much more to receive but never being able to find it. But I kept on trying. I wanted to believe that someday fear would not hold me captive. That someday doubt would not plague me. That someday I would be free of choking feelings of condemnation—of never meeting the standards of others or of God. Someday seemed like it would never come. But the Holy Spirit kept drawing me to my new life on the right side of the cross. He kept telling me that I was new but didn’t know it in my heart. He kept telling me that it was not my work to convince myself. It was His. 

 

The truths of my new life in Jesus kept drawing and challenging me. One day in sickness that continued on and on, I just gave up trying. I gave up questioning why God didn’t love me enough to take away the fear and doubt and sickness and pain. I gave up trying to prove to Him that I was worthy of His love. I began to consume His Word. When fear would suddenly hit—when the enemy’s voice screamed death, I chose God’s Word of life instead of feelings of despair and death. I chose to believe His Word instead of the opinions of others. I believed God’s truth that I could not feel or see.

 

As I meditated on His Word and prayed, I began to understand that it was impossible for me to live up to God’s standard. Jesus had already lived up to that standard for me. He saw me worthy enough to die for. I began to realize that the cross had already given me His new life, and that new life was meant to overcome everything old in my life. I didn’t have to live in death. I didn’t have to live in sickness. I didn’t have to live beneath what my precious Savior had given me. God wanted me to see myself through His perfect love.

 

The Bible had always been a someday book for me. Now the Holy Spirit opened the revelation of it to me. The Word took on new consistency—new power and life. My spiritual eyes were opened to the truth that Jesus had already won everything for me long ago before I even existed or committed a sin.  I was now born-again and made new by the Holy Spirit in my spirit. The truths of my new life of righteousness and healing had always been in my spirit for me to receive, but I would have to take them as my own. I would have to take them by faith—without seeing, feeling or experiencing them. 

 

I purposed to believe His Word no matter what my eyes saw or what I felt. I began to receive God’s love as I never had before. I begin to see God’s image of me. Slowly, despair began to surrender to joy, fear began to surrender to peace, and sickness began to surrender to health. One day at a time, I was receiving the healing wholeness of the finished work of Jesus in me. I was receiving more and more of His grace. One day at a time, my spiritual eyes opened to the truths of my new life in Jesus. The Word was no longer a someday book. 

 

The Word keeps challenging me. I keep on believing every day that I am no longer a slave to sin and sickness. My relationship with God is joyful beyond any words. I have peace and fellowship with my Father. And I receive the promises that are inherent in my relationship with Him. They are yes, and amen, through His glory working in my life. The Holy Spirit may have given me new life in my spirit, but I’m still receiving His new life in my mind, will, emotions, and body. I choose everyday to live in His new life on the right side of the cross. I’m still learning the revelation of His grace in my heart. 

 

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your revelation of your unconditional love and grace. Jesus, your cross of disgrace became my cross of grace. Thank you for your love that never lets me go. Your life poured out for me gave me the power of your resurrection. I will never be the same. Help each one of your children struggling with condemnation and fear and pain and sickness realize that you have more and more grace for them. That there is grace for their every need. There is grace for healing. There is grace for forgiveness. Keep giving me the message of your heart, dear Jesus. I will share it. I will write it. I will teach it. I will love with it. That is all I can do. You do the rest. Please open hearts right at this moment. This is not a someday book. It is the abundant life you died to give. Amen.

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024.03/his-life-for-mine.html

 

Trust in the Lord

 

 

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

—Psalm 37:3-4 (NKJV)

 

 

When we trust in the Lord and do what is right, we have this promise that we will dwell in the land and receive provision. The land spoken of was the Jews’ Promised Land. So, for us who are reborn in Christ, we have the assurance we will dwell in the fulfillment of God’s promises and receive His provision. We will not only inhabit the place He has for us, but we will do it in abundance.

 

Psalm 37:4 does not promise that when we trust in the Lord, He will give us whatever we desire. However, it does say that when we trust in the Lord, He will place His desires in our hearts. When we delight in the Lord, we trust Him. When we place our faith in Him, we know we will receive His guidance and direction.

 

The word “delight” was translated from the Hebrew word `ANAG. Strong’s Concordance states that it means, “to be soft or pliable.”  To receive guidance from the Lord, our hearts must be soft and pliable toward Him.

 

What we “dwell” on—or think about—is what we become sensitive to. When we “dwell” in God’s promises, our hearts are open to Him. We listen to Him and trust Him. If we don’t “dwell” on God, our hearts become hardened to His guidance and direction. Focusing on the things of God keeps our hearts soft and pliable and able to hear His voice. If our hearts are humble and sensitive toward the Lord, then His desires shall be in our hearts, and what we do shall be what He desires. 

 

In Psalm 1:2, David said those whose delight is in the Word of God and who meditate on His Word day and night will be blessed. This expresses what David also expressed in Psalm 37:4. When you “delight” yourself in the Word, you meditate on the Word day and night (Joshua 1:8).

 

Delighting yourself in the Lord and in His Word—having a soft and trusting heart—does not happen overnight. You choose to delight and place your trust in the Lord. You commit yourself not to be distracted by your circumstances or by your feelings, your emotions, and what you experience. You commit yourself to trust God’s truth and allow no thought or feeling to cause doubt. You let His Word tell you what is true instead of what you have gone through or what you are going through. You feed on God’s faithfulness. You believe what He guarantees. You place faith in the abundant and life-affirming promises of God revealed to you in Jesus Christ.

 

“Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5).

 

When you are not going your own way but following the path God has chosen for you, you are trusting Him to direct you (Proverbs 3:6). He will bring what He has promised to pass. 

 

Never have a distracted, doubting, and divided heart. Trust the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5).

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/trust-in-lord.html

 

 

His Spoken Word

 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

—Proverbs 18:21

 

 

The words you speak are powerful. They either speak life or death. You have the power to speak life into yourself and others. When you speak God’s words which are spirit and life, your words are His words. You speak His unfailing truth—you speak His promise—and you speak His resurrection power.

 

His words to you:

How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Psalm: 119:103)!

 

Your words to others and to yourself:

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones (Proverbs 16:24).

 

His words to you:

My son, give attention to my words. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh (Proverbs: 4:20, 22).

 

Your words to others and to yourself:

But the tongue of the wise promotes health (Proverbs 12:18).

 

His words to you:

Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16).

 

Your words to others and to yourself:

A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled (Proverbs 18:20).

 

 

When you “find” God’s Word in your heart, you take ownership of its Truth. When you believe His Word and surrender to it, you change. You conform to His Word. You agree with it. Fear surrenders to peace. Despair surrenders to joy. Sickness surrenders to health. Down deep in your heart, His words have become your treasure—your Truth—and the rejoicing of your heart. The words of the Spirit have become life to you. Those words are who you are. You must never stop speaking His Word of Truth into yourself. The enemy would like nothing more than to steal God’s Truth from your heart. 

 

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

 

How you speak reveals the treasure in your heart (Matthew 12:34-35). Your treasure is life, peace, joy, and health from hearing God’s words, or it can be resentment, anger, and death from hearing the world. 

 

Death and life are in the power of your tongue. God’s Word satisfies your heart, and His Word in your heart determines the course of your life. Those who receive God’s Word deep in their heart shall eat of its fruit. They shall receive its Truth. His Word shall be the joy of their heart. They shall speak life to themselves and others out of their heart's abundance.

 

 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

 

What do you meditate on? Is it what the Word speaks or is it what the world speaks? Is it what the Holy Spirit reveals or it is what your mind reasons and your experience dictate? Mediating on God’s Word and sowing it in your heart brings joy to God’s heart and joy to yours! When you find His Truth and receive it in your heart, His Word is healing to your whole life. 

 

Never forget! The words you speak out of the good treasure of your heart are powerful. His Word spoken into your life is powerful, and out of its abundance, you shall receive its Truth.

 

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/his-spoken-word.html

 

  

 

Dare We to Believe His Word

 

 

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

—Romans 5:17

 

 

Sometimes we can become overwhelmed and discouraged by our circumstances in life and the evil in this world. In Romans 5:17 Paul says those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness can reign in life through Jesus Christ. This is true for us no matter what we have experienced in the past, what we are experiencing at this moment, or what we experience in the future.

 

Things are never as they seem. There is a way over and through things that come against you. There is victory waiting for you. If you can get the Word in your heart and encourage yourself with its promises, things can change. But you have to go to the Word and refresh yourself in the goodness and the promises of God.

 

Look at Mark 9:23. This is the occasion of the disciples bringing a young man to Jesus because they could not heal him. Jesus is in conversation with the father, and he says these words:

 

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

 

This is a powerful promise. Jesus doesn’t say “Watch me, I can do this. Don’t try to do this.” Jesus is saying to this man that all things are possible if you believe. This is an astonishing statement on Jesus’ part. This father was not even born-again because Jesus had not yet gone to the cross. However, Jesus was telling him if he believed all things were possible for him. If Jesus said this to this man, it is certainly true for us who are born-again. All things are possible to us who believe.

 

“All things” that fall inside the nature of God and His purposes for us, are those things that are possible for us who believe. This is in contrast to the enemy who is coming to steal, kill, and destroy. The destruction in life that is the result of sin is not the will of God. God sent His Word and healed us and delivered us from our destruction (Psalm 107:20). Jesus is giving us a remedy to evil’s destruction. It is called faith. 

 

Look at Matthew 18:18. Jesus is speaking to His disciples.

 

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

 

Synonyms for “whatever” in Matthew 18:18 are “anything, everything, or all.”  Remember the promise in Mark 9:23. All things are possible to him who believes. Matthew 18:18 is saying “anything everything, or all” you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. It says, “anything, everything, or all” you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. With “all things are possible to those who believe,” Jesus is giving us the privilege and the authority to take control of our lives and to bring His power through faith into our circumstances. He gives us the responsibility.

 

Sadly, a lot of Christians don’t really believe what the Word says. What they have experienced and what they have always believed make some Christians dilute the truth of God’s Word. We may have been told God causes bad things in our lives to make us learn a lesson. We can certainly learn good lessons from bad things that come against us, but God is not the author of the evil that tries to steal, kill, and destroy. Bad things come forth as a result of personal sin or Adam’s offense, or the enemy’s attempt to kill, steal, and destroy us. God is love. He is good. He cannot go against the truth of His nature. He is the author of good things in our lives. Jesus proved God’s goodness and love in the gift of His life. The Father yearns for His children to receive His goodness and love freely poured out on the cross for their sins and the results of those sins.

 

God’s Word is unchanging, unadulterated, untouched, unmodified, all-powerful, invincible truth. Either we agree with its promises or we weaken its power by not believing it.

 

Do we agree with Romans 5:17? God says we are to reign in life. The Word doesn’t put a time stamp on this promise. The same Spirit of God that was in Jesus—the same Spirit of God that was in Paul, is also in anyone who is saved. Jesus has given us authority “over all demons and to cure diseases” ((Luke 9:1). He has given us authority “over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). These biblical truths certainly challenge our experience and our perspective.

 

Can we bind our fears and release peace? Can we bind our unforgiveness and release forgiveness? Can we bind sickness and release healing? Can we bind the works of the enemy and release truth that changes us and overcomes our circumstances?  If the Word says these things, why does what we experience not line up with God’s truth? Jesus answered this question when two blind men came to him for healing. He answered it when the woman who had been bleeding for years was healed.

 

“According to your faith, let it be done to you,” Jesus told the blind men (Matthew 9:23). “Your faith has made you well,” He told the woman (Matthew 9:22).

 

Faith comes by hearing God's Word in your heart (Romans 10:17). It is complete trust and confidence in God. Faith believes in what is not seen. Believing is the action that accompanies faith. Believing gives life to the confidence we have in God. Faith appropriates what God has promised. It makes no difference in our lives without believing God’s Word. When you believe God’s Word in your heart, all things are possible to you who believe.

 

God gives us truth in every area of our lives and the power for it to work in and through us. But for God’s truth to make a difference in our lives, we have to believe what His truth says and take ownership of it in our hearts. 

 

Where once Adam’s sin and all its destruction reigned, that is no longer true for those who believe by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus reigns so we also can reign in life. This Word challenges what we experience and the things we believe that are not true. Sometimes His truth anchors itself quickly in our hearts, and other times it is harder to hold on to. But it is still God’s truth. It changes us. We don’t change it. 

 

The only way I will reign in this life is by believing in God’s promises. And they are yes, and amen to the glory of God demonstrated through us (2 Corinthians 1:20). Believing God’s Word is how we harvest the abundant life Jesus has imparted in the gift of His precious blood. We reign in life through the promises of God.

 

Dare we to believe His Word? 

 

 

© 2024 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/dare-we-to-believe-his-word.html

 

 

Walking with God

 

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

—Amos 3:3

 

 

I cannot go by what I experience in this world or the emotions I feel. Those experiences and the feelings they evoke are not the truth about my life. If I choose to allow what I experience in this life or what I feel about myself to define me, then I attempt to make the Word agree with me. No matter what I experience or feel, the Word is truth and unchanging. I cannot walk with God unless I agree with Him.

 

We have ideas about God that may not be biblical. We have perceptions of ourselves that may not be biblical. If we are not agreeing with God, we block Him from working in our lives. We block the Word from producing fruit in us. We block God’s blessings.

 

I don’t want to live by what I experience or feel. I choose to live by what God says about me in His Word. I choose to believe that in my born-again spirit, my sinful nature has been crucified with Christ, and Christ has given me His new life. He who had no sin became my sin so I could receive His gift of righteousness (Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). When I choose to agree with this each and every day of my life, God’s truth becomes the foundation of my life and not what I feel, or what others think, or what my life experiences have taught me to believe.

 

I am so blessed in Jesus. Because of Him, God no longer imputes sin to me (Romans 4:8). That old person is dead. I am a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus has presented me blameless and without fault to the Father (Ephesians 1:4). It is incredibly difficult to feel I am without fault. I know where I fall short. But Jesus didn’t fall short for me. His work was perfect, and it was finished. I choose to let His Word tell me who I am and not what my feelings tell me. 

 

There was that one moment in time when the grace of God found me—that one moment when He came down to me because I couldn’t go up to Him. And that one moment over two thousand years ago changed everything in my life. It was not just a moment. It was THE moment that became MY moment. I found new life instead of death. I believed by faith, and it was credited to me as righteousness (Romans 4:16-25). I was justified by faith in the finished work of Jesus, and not by what I do (Romans 3:28). Jesus is now the lifeblood of my heart,  and I know there is nothing I can do to improve on the gift of His grace.

 

If I agree with God—if I walk in faith with Him,  the fleshly feelings of the old person will not have the power to control me (Galatians 5:16). I surrender to Christ who lives in me. By faith I put on my new life created in His holiness and righteousness (Ephesians 4:24). I will live by the faith He has given me (Galatians 2:20, Romans 12:3). I will walk by faith in who Jesus says I am and not by what I experience in this life.

 

The flesh will continually try to claim me all the days of my life. But Jesus died once for all my sins (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10). He paid the debt of sin that was against me long before I even existed. He died for the sins of my past, the sins now, and the sins to come. (Hebrew 10:10-14). If I try to prove to God my own merit and righteousness, I void the power of His grace (Galatians 2:21). I fall from His grace back into the law (Galatians 5:4). God gave the law to reveal my sin—my offense to God—not to cleanse me of it. His grace abounds more (Romans 5:20). Only the gift of Jesus’ innocent blood for my sins has the power to cleanse me. It is only Christ living in me who empowers me to live a life of grace greater than my sin. I choose to surrender to the righteousness He has imputed to me. I choose His grace over sin. I believe I am dead to sin but alive in Christ (Romans 6:11).

 

Does what I believe agree with what God says about me?  The absolute eternal truth of God’s unchanging Word challenges my human experience and what I feel is true. I may not feel righteous, but the Word says in Christ that I am (2 Corinthians 5:21). I may not experience healing or feel healed but the Word says in Christ that I am (1 Peter 2:24). And the Word goes on and on in every area of my life challenging my human experience and telling me that God’s grace is greater.

 

I have no reason to live in shame. I have no reason to fear. I have no reason to worry. Christ is my living hope (1 Peter 1:3). I am joined in my spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17). He is in me, and I am in Him (John 17:23). I am secure in His unchanging truth! I am victorious in His love for me! He is my peace and joy! Jesus has credited me with His gift of righteousness. Nothing stands between me and my Father. As Christ is in this world, so am I (1 John 4:17). This is who I am. Jesus, my hope of glory, lives in me (Colossians 1:27).

 

There is one moment that cost Jesus His life. It was not just any moment. It was the moment everything changed. And that one moment is true from now to eternity. 

 

My friend in Christ, God thinks no more highly of someone else than He does you. He wants to walk with you. He wants you to know in your heart the new life that is yours. That moment in time at the cross changed everything. The Word will challenge your perception and your understanding. Don’t change the Word because it does not agree with what you experience or feel. If you sow untruth in your heart, you reap death. If you sow His truth, you reap life. Agree with God. Keep on agreeing with God every moment of your life. Keep on receiving His truth in your heart. Never stop walking with Him.

 

© 2024 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/walking-with-god.html

 

 

 

The Manifold Grace of God

 

 

Grace is God's unearned and undeserved favor that is offered to us in Christ. However, many Christians spend their lives without experiencing the benefits of God’s grace. 

 

The grace of God calls for our response. When we don’t respond to His grace by faith, we miss the experience of His grace working in our lives.

 

In the Word, grace is more than just unmerited favor. In Ephesians 3:2, Paul referred to his ministry to the Ephesians as a privilege of the grace Christ had given him. In Romans 12:6-8, Paul spoke of the gifts of grace as something to be exercised in ministry to others. 

 

“As each one has received a gift,” Peter also said, “minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10, NKJV). 

 

The “manifold grace of God” of which Peter speaks is defined as something which is “various in character” (Strong’s Concordance). It has several facets. Grace is not only God’s unmerited favor but also His power at work in and through us. Grace is also our great privilege and our gift to share.

 

The grace of God has appeared to all men but not all men receive it (Titus 2:11). His grace was nothing we earned. We had to humble ourselves to receive the salvation Jesus provided. We must also keep humbling ourselves to receive “more grace” to experience the power that is ours in Christ.

 

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, NKJV).

 

The grace of God is received with humility. If we don’t understand that humility releases the power of God, then pride in ourselves will keep us from experiencing His grace. James 4:6 also says God gives more grace. If it is possible to have more grace, then it is also possible to have less grace. God makes available His grace, but we determine how much or less of it we will experience.

 

This world is performance-based. It rewards us for how well we perform. Pride keeps us competing to get ahead and be the best. God's Kingdom is the exact opposite. His grace is unearned and not based on us at all. The least is the greatest. Pride craves affirmation. Humility doesn’t. When you know who you are in Christ, you know that you don’t need to perform well enough to receive God’s approval. You know that His grace has already loved, accepted, and favored you on the cross.

 

Do we think if we work harder and harder for God—do more and more for Him—give and give more to Him that He will approve and favor us more? That is pride in us seeking approval God loves us. We don’t have to prove that He loves us. Christ proved that on the cross. There is no greater love He could have given us. We respond to His love by believing who He says we are—not by trying to prove who He says we are.

 

Grace asks us to respond to a revelation of love that seems almost too good to be true. But it is true because it is the love of the Gospel. We respond in faith—not of our own efforts—but in humble acceptance of His power within us, believing that where God calls us, He is faithful to do the work. 

 

Humility doesn’t focus on self and its achievement. Humility surrenders to Christ’s triumph. It places the well-being of others ahead of its own. When we don't need to exalt ourselves or try to earn what Christ has already earned, we receive more grace to empower our lives. 

 

“And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16).

 

Out of His abundance, we have all received one grace after another, spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, and favor upon favor. We are complete in Jesus (Colossians 2:9). The Christian life is not trying to obtain more from God but rather renewing our minds to what we have already received through Christ.

 

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Take advantage of the privilege you have been given. Open the gift of grace by faith, and allow it to work in you, conforming you to the image of the new person you are in Christ. Use the gift of grace in all its multiple ways to benefit others for the glory of God. You shall be a good steward of the manifold grace of God in all its tenderness and power.

 

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

 

© 2024 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/the-manifold-grace-of-god.html

 

 

 

 

Debt-Free

  

Matthew 18:23-35

 

 

Unforgiveness is an unforgiving taskmaster. It attempts to collect payment for an offense no human has the power to pay. Many Christians haven’t allowed the grace of Jesus to transform their minds and hearts. Without receiving a spiritual understanding of the unconditional love and grace of Jesus in their hearts, they end up in a vicious cycle of unforgiveness. And when you can't receive and give God's grace, you end up in emotional conflicts that tear lives apart. 

 

In this parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, the master completely forgave his servant of an overwhelming debt. It was such an exorbitant amount the servant couldn’t have ever paid it off.  But the servant didn’t really hear that his debt was paid in full. He thought he still needed to collect money to pay it. So the servant demanded payment from another servant who owed him money.

 

Isn’t that what we do when we can’t forgive? Refuse Jesus’ forgiveness of our own debt and hold someone else in debt? Your Master has completely forgiven your whole debt. It has been completely paid in full. You owe nothing because of His unconditional love and grace for you. 

 

What if that servant in the parable had heard his master correctly?  What if the knowledge of his new debt-free status had penetrated his mind and heart? Joy would have seized him. Peace would have settled fear in his mind. If only that servant had received the message that the master had wiped his slate clean! 

 

Jesus, your Master, wipes your slate clean! A miracle happens when the grace of Jesus seeps into the depths of your heart. The vicious cycle of unforgiveness ends. The unaccepted becomes the accepting. The unforgiven becomes the forgiving.  Emotional conflicts that result from unforgiveness are healed. When you don't live with the heart of a debt collector, the Holy Spirit flows, transforming and healing, If the servant had received his master's forgiveness, he would have also forgiven the servant who owed him. He would have received the grace of his master and passed it on.

 

You cannot completely forgive someone’s debt until you believe in your heart that Jesus has completely forgiven yours. When you allow His grace to transform your understanding until you believe your debt-free status in your heart, you have His freedom to give His love away. You love because He first loved you. However, when you don’t allow the grace of Jesus to change your heart, you continue on just as the debt-collecting servant did in the parable. Others “owe” you their affection and love. Since you feel indebted to your Master, you pass on your anger and frustration. Unforgiveness locks you in a debtor’s prison. But the grace of Jesus nurtures peace and joy in your heart. It has the power to set you free. 

 

Many Christians can’t believe they are completely forgiven because they haven’t received a spiritual revelation of their debt-free state. God gave you freedom from the debt of your sin through the finished work of His Son. At the cross, Jesus took your sins, failures, fears, hurts, and pains into Himself so that you might be free of the debt you owed God. You no longer need to live on the debt-owing side of the cross. Where you once were responsible for your debt, the precious blood of Jesus has presented you blameless without any debt to the Father. You are now completely free to live on the debt-free side of the cross. You have His resurrection power to forgive as you have been forgiven. You have no reason to live in bondage to anything— any sin, failure, fear, hurt, or pain—that Jesus has already died for.

 

Has His grace transformed your mind and heart to where you believe you are debt-free and you can pass along that freedom to others? Is there someone you resent—someone who has offended you—someone you can't let off the hook? Are you willing to accept responsibility for your life and not blame anyone else?  Or do you believe that someone else caused your life to be the way it is, and they “owe” you for what they have done to you? 

 

You owe nothing so you are owed nothing. Stop collecting a debt to pay a debt already paid in full! You are meant to live debt-free! Where you love because He loves you! Where you accept, because He accepts you! Where you extend grace because He extends it to you! Where, because you have freely received forgiveness, you freely forgive!

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/debt-free.html

 

 

Be Immovable

 

  

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain 

—1 Corinthians 15:58

 

 

There is an attitude you need if you want to be successful in what God has called you to do. It is found in 1 Corinthians 15:58. If you look at the lives of successful people, you will see that they all share this same attitude. Without it, you will not succeed. God who calls you equips you with His power. But you bring this attitude to the table to see the work accomplished. You must be “immovable.”  

 

The word “immovable” in this verse is the Greek word “ametakinetos”. It has several meanings. It means not easily excited or shaken. It describes someone or something unchangeable and predictable. It refers to someone with a strong and unyielding character. This word reveals someone or something solid, stable, and constant. This is not an unpredictable “on or off” kind of person. Someone with this attitude is solid, secure, confident, grounded, proven, fixed, anchored, unwavering, enduring, and steadfast.

 

When you step out in faith to do something new, there will always be hindrances that get in your way. If you aren’t determined to be stronger than the problems against you, you will eventually give up. That is why the word “immovable” in your attitude is so important. Anyone who wants to be successful in whatever they do must learn to be constant, stable, steadfast, and unyielding to the challenges that come. 

 

When God has called you to do something, you have to cultivate this kind of immovable attitude because Satan will attempt to distract you. The enemy does this to anyone God calls to complete His purpose. He will use the negative opinions of others, financial problems, hostile circumstances, discouragement, and many other things to distract you. That is why you have to make up your mind to be fixed, rooted, grounded, anchored, and unwavering in your commitment to accomplish the work God has given you.

 

Have a non-negotiable attitude. Be immovable and steadfast in the place, plan, and purpose where God has called you. Make the rock-solid decision that you will be resolute and determined. Stand unyielding in your resolve to see God’s purpose completed with excellence in your life. Realize there will always be obstacles that get in the way. Ask the Lord to help you stay stronger than any problem that comes and to help you maintain an attitude that says, “I’m not moving! I know my labor is not in vain!  This promise is going to come true!”

 

 If you are going to be successful, you must be constant, dependable, and unbending in the face of challenges. Yield only to God's leading and power but be immovable and unyielding in the purpose He has given you

 

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-36).

 

Are you confident, consistent, and steadfast in what God has given you?  Being consistent and steadfast in purpose is key to being immovable.  The Holy Spirit equips you. Your efforts in His power are not in vain. You shall receive His promise.

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/be-immovable.html

 

Christ My Hope of Glory

 

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And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait? My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.

—Psalms 39:7 (AMP)

 

I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits, and in His word do I hope.

—Psalms 130:5 (AMP)

 

Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. 

—Hebrews 11:1 (AMP)

 

Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word].

—Hebrews 10:23 (AMP)

 

Through Him we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [our great] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power].

—Romans 5:2 (AMP)

 

Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

—Romans 5:5 (AMP)

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

—Romans 15:13 (AMP)

 

 

 

You are my hope, Lord Jesus, and my hope in you never disappoints. Your love is abundantly poured out within my heart. Your promises are yes and amen. I put all my hope in your Word and wait patiently and expectantly for it to yield its promise. 

 

I take your Word and make it mine. I believe your truth even when I cannot see your promise with my eyes. I sow your promise in my heart. I guard it from all the voices and cares in my life that come against it. I guard it from the enemy who seeks to destroy it. I confess my hope in your promise without wavering. I know you are trustworthy and faithful to your Word.

 

You are in me, and I am in you, Lord Jesus. You are the Word yearning to live in me. You came to save and heal me. You are life in me, my hope of glory. You give me complete peace and joy. I lack nothing. You are for me. I abound in hope and overflow with confidence in your promise. I need nothing else. I desire only you.

 

I rest in your Word and your promise. I don’t struggle to believe. My effort has no power. This is your work in me and through me. I praise you for doing exceedingly and abundantly more than I ask or think!

 

Praise you, Lord Jesus, for your grace on which I firmly and securely put my faith! I praise you for the hope you have given me! I praise you for the confidant assurance that I will experience the power of your Word that you have quickened in my heart! Your Word shall be manifested! Your incorruptible seed will bring its abundant harvest!

 

You are my assurance. You are my evidence. I believe by faith what I can’t understand with my senses. I stand on your Word. I won’t be shaken. I will see your glory in the land of the living. Praise your Holy Name!

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/03/christ-my-hope-of-glory.html