Faith, a Necessary ingredient for Our Christian Life

First of all we want to see how important faith is. In Habakkuk 2:4 we read, “… but the righteous will live by his faith.”In Hebrews 11:6 we read, “And without faith it is impossible to please God; because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” We see in the above verse how important faith is to God- so important, that without it you cannot please God. Jesus said to the woman who touched the edge of his cloak, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you whole.” (Matt. 9:22). In Matt. 17:20 we read, …”If ye have faith as small as as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain…Nothing will be impossible for you.” In Matt.21:21,22, “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt…you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,` and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” In Mark 2:5 it is stated, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” In Luke 17:19 we read of the Samaritan whom Jesus healed of leprosy, “…Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Secondly what is faith? The writer of Hebrews defines it in this manner: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) The amplified version makes this verse quite clear, “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality (faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses).” From the above verse we see that faith deals with things that are not seen. In 2Cor.5:7 we read, “For we walk by faith not by sight”. In other words our faith is not based on the evidence of our physical senses but is based on the promises of God’s eternal Word. We have an example of true faith found in the life of Abraham. His testimony is clearly brought out in Romans 4:18-21, ” Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was good as dead- since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
There are many things in this world that we are not certain of but that which we can be very certain of without a shadow of doubt are the promises of God as found in His Word. In Heb.6:18 we read, “God did this so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,…” and in Titus 1:2, “A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” If God cannot lie then we can be sure that what He promised He will also fulfill.
What is the difference between faith and hope? Hope is a mental or intellectual attitude of expectancy concerning the future. Faith is a substance-a confidence, something real and definite within us that we possess already not just in the future. Even though you may not see with physical eyes the answer for what you have asked for in prayer you will begin to thank God for the answer as if you had already received it . In Romans 4:17 we read that God calls the things that do not exist as existing. In John 14:1 we read, “You believe in God believe also in me.” The prepeposition “in” which is used here can also be translated from the original text as “into”. “In” implies only mental acceptance but “into” implies action of the will. For e.g., out of ourselves and “into” Christ; out of our sin and degradation and “into” His righteousness and holiness; out of our weakness and”into” His strength; out of our limitations and “into” His infinite love and power; out of our defeat and “into” His victory; out of our sickness and “into” His health and wholeness. A wonderful example of this difference is found in John 6:47- “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.” God’s Word here does not say, “will have everlasting life” but “has everlasting life”. It is not something that we hope will one day come, no! we have it as a substance now. Abraham, humanly speaking, as he looked at his old body and that of Sarah his wife did not have any hope that he would ever have a child but God spoke and faith came into his heart. As a result he began to thank God for that which he did not have as existing
There are at least four important ingredients to Faith. First, knowing God. The first step in getting to know God is to be born of His Spirit and thus being adopted into His family. If we do not have this relationship we will get to know about God but not really get to know Him personally. The second step in getting to know God is to spend time in His presence and His Word. As our knowledge of God and His infinite love, holiness and power increase so will also our faith. The way we understand the the character of God will determine the shape of our faith. To know God is to love Him, to love Him is to trust Him. What God is like detirmines what God does. For example because God is perfect in holiness His attributes of righteousness, justice, truthfulness and faithfulness will fall in line with this. Because He is perfect in righteousness He will always do that which is right; because He is perfect in Justice He will always be fair; Because He is perfect in truthfulness we can always take Him at His Word; Because He is perfect in faithfulness He will never, never fail us. We can have absolute confidence in our wonderful, loving, righteous, just, truthful and faithful God who is holy and who is our Father.
Secondly, obedience is an important ingredient to faith. In obedience to His Word we must repent of all sin. In Psam 66:18 we read that,”If we regard iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear us. Faith that by passes repentence and obedience is a counterfeit faith. In Mark 1:15 Jesus said, “Repent ye and believe the gospel.” The message that Jesus preached was first “repent” then “believe”. The basic meaning of repentence is to change one’s mind. Therefore it is not an emotion but an act of our will to change our direction in life. It means to confess and forsake all sin and rebellion and to committ our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Obedience basically means doing the next thing that God is showing us to do and then obeying Him, no matter what the cost may be.
Thirdly, Knowing His promises. What has God promised us for (a) our soul, (b) for our body, (c) for our family and others (d) for our work, (e) for our business, (f) for eternity. This will involve reading and studying His Word and discovering what our inheritance is in Jesus Christ. In Roman 10:17 we read, “that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” It will also involve living in intimate fellowship with God and learning to hear and discern the voice of God because it is written in St.John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.” In Heb. 10.23 we read that, “He is faithful that promised.” In Psam 146:6 we read of God, “…which keepeth truth for ever.” or in paraphrase form, He always does what He says or who keepeth His promise forever. We see some examples of this in scripture- He promised a Redeemer, after four thousand years His promise was fulfilled, He promised Abraham and his descendents the land of Canaan as an inheritance, and after four hundred years they posessed the Land. He promised Jeremiah that after seventy years the Jews would return from Babylon and this literally happened. He promised Daniel that at a certain time the Messiah would appear, and this was fulfilled exactly as was promised. Just as the preceding promises were fulfilled so God fulfills His promises to His children today. God’s Word declares in 2Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him(Jesus Christ) are yea and in Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” ” Amen” is a Hebrew Word which means so be i. It is used to confirm or endorse-to agree with- what has just been said. This means that Jesus has guaranteed to fulfil God’s promises to us.
Fourthly we need to act or abandon ourselves to the promises of God. In learning to float we must utterly abandon ourselves to the water; we must believe that the water is able to hold us up. God wants us to act on His Word. For example when Jesus told Peter to come to Him on the water, Peter acted on that word and defyed the laws of nature walked on the water. We must keep in mind that this word was given to Peter only and not to the rest of the disciples. God is pleased when we bring his promises up to Him and say as David did in 2Sam.7:25, Lord do as thou hast promised.” Faith is a choice rthat can be obeyed or disobeyed. Abraham dared to believe God and take Him at His Word. As a result he came into Cannaans land and became the father of many nations and the father of all who believe. Israel, because of their evil, unbelieving heart, chose to disobey God and as a result the generation of the exodus died in the wilderness. Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” By saying this He was implying that we can choose to believe or not believe. We choose to believe His promises and His Word that has been quickened to us and not our resources, abilities, reasoning and outward circumstances. We see this brought out clearly in the lives of Zechariah and Mary. Zechariah doubted the Word of the Lord that came to him by the Angel(Luke 1:18). Mary believed and said, “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38)
Although Abraham is a wonderful example of faith we who believe need more than a example. In Heb. 12:2, the epistle directs us to Jesus, “The author and perfecter of faith.” The Amplified version brings it out so clear-”Looking away (from all that will distract) to Jesus, who is the leader and the source of our faith (giving the first incentive for our belief) and is also its finisher (bringing it to maturity and perfection). Jesus lived a perfect life of faith and is therefore our perfect example. As we choose to follow Him along the pathway of faith He will give us the necessary strength, grace and courage for every challenge that we will face.

Why is the Blood of Jesus so Significant

1 . Why was the shedding of the Blood of Jesus on the cross so
important:
(a) The Bible says in Heb.9:22. “…and without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness. Blood is the only price adequate to
cover payment for sin. ln Ezekiel 18:20 we read, “The soul who sins is
the one who will die…” and in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin
is death…” Sin is so terrible and God who is just and holy could not
ignore it. There had to be consequences- a penalty equal to how
much God hates and detests sin that is destroying the happiness
of His creation. That penalty was death.
(b) ln Leviticus 17:11we read, “For the life of the creature is in
the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for
yourselves on the altar…” The blood symbolized life. When the
animal was killed in the O.T. and its blood sprinkled on the altar it
was an indication to the person offering it that the animal had paid
the price for sin by its very own life.
(c) When the sinner saw the slain lamb and its shed blood he
saw the seriousness of sin. He, realized because of his Jewish
background, that he deserved to die for his own sins but the lamb or
sheep died in his place.
(d) ln 1Cor. 5:7 we read that Christ is our Passover Lamb, “…For
Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.” ln John 1:29 John
the Baptist proclaimed, “…Look, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world.” ln Exodus 12 the Feast of the Passover is
described. After more than four hundred years of bondage in Egypt
God raised up Moses to lead His people, the Children of lsrael out
of bondage into freedom. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt was
detirmined not to let the lsraelites go when Moses confronted him
with the message, “Let my people go.” Moses, in order to let
Pharaoh realize how serious the message was, through God’s
Power and direction called down plagues as judgments on Egypt. Pharaoh
continued to harden his heart after each plaque. The time came for
the tenth and final plaque that would give the Egyptians no other
choice than to let the Children of lsrael go. God was to send His
destroying angel to kill every first born, both men and animals.
Since the lsraelites were also living in Egypt, how would they
escape the destroying Angel? God gave them specific instructions;
to obey God would mean their first born would live. God
commanded that each household(lf any household was to small for
a whole lamb they must share it with their nearest neighbor) would
take a male lamb,one year old and spotless and kill it. They were to
sprinkle some of the blood on the two sides and on the top of the
“door frames of their homes. When the destroying Angel went
throughout the Land He would pass over the homes that had the
blood sprinkled on them. This is where the word, “Passover” comes
from-from the Hebrew, “Pesah” meaning to “Jump past,” “to pass
over” or “to spare” Through this command God was teaching His people obedience as well as blood redemption and thereby preparing them for the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who through the shedding of His blood on the Cross of Calvary would take away the sins of the World.
(e)The Blood of Jesus is precious and important because it is the
Blood of no mere man or prophet but it is the Blood of God. ln Acts
20:28 we read, “…Be shepherds of the church of God, which He
bought with His own blood” and in Heb. 9:14, “How much more ,
then, will the Blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered
Himself unblemished to God…” Andrew Murray in his book, “The
Holiest of All” in his comments on the foregoing verse said, “”The
other element is, that the Eternal Spirit was in the life of the blood. lt
was through the Eternal Spirit He offered Himself. lt was the Word
that became flesh, The Eternal Son of God who was made man. lt
was the life of God that dwelt in Him. That life gave His blood, each
drop of it, an infinite value. The blood of a man is of more worth
than of a sheep. The blood of a king or a great general is counted
of more value than hundreds of common soldiers. The blood of the
son of God!-it is vain for the mind to seek for some expression of its immense value; all we can say is it is His own blood, the precious blood of
the Son Of God! … The Spirit that was in Christ, when He shed the
blood makes us partakers of its power. His victory over sin, His
perfect obedience, His access to the Father,-the soul that fully
knows the cleansing of the blood in its power will know these
blessings too…Let him who would know to… the inexpressible power and blessing the blood each moment can bring in him remember , it was through the Eternal Spirit it was shed.” (The Holiest of All by Andrew Murray, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1960. PP.300-304)
(f) The Blood of Jesus is very important because it is through His
Blood that we overcome the devil. lt is written in Revelations 12:11:
“They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony.-.” We see here that the believers overcame the
devil by witnessing to what the word of God says about the blood
of Jesus. Confessing what God says in His Word is very important.
For example in Heb.3:1 we read: “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” Jesus as our High Priest pleads our case before the court of Heaven.
In Heb. 4:14 we read, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” in Heb. 10:21,23 it is written, “And having a high
priest over the house of God …let us hold fast the confession of our
hope without wavering.” Without wavering means we should never
give up but continually and consistently proclaim what our
testimony is in the face of all opposition. The word “confession”
means to speak the same thing as, i.e., to say the same thing as what God says in His Word. ln overcoming the devil we make
the words of our mouth agree with what the Word of God says, for example,
about the Blood of Jesus.
1. Why is confessing what the Bible says about the blood of Jesus is so important in overcoming the devil?
One of Satan’s primary weapons against us is guilt, the sense of having
failed, the sense of shame because we missed the mark, of having
fallen short and thereby disqualified in coming with boldness into
the presence of God. ln Rev.12:10 we read that the devil is the
accuser of the brethren and who accuses them before God day and
night. The devil is constantly pointing his accusing finger at us and
reminding us of our failures and our weaknesses and blaming us
for sins that God already has forgiven. Our weapon against Him is
God’s Word. Jesus overcame the devil in the wilderness by using
God’s Word. We overcome in the same way. We are admonished
to do this in Psams 107:2, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say
so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the devil.” The following are some verses teaching us what the Word of God say about the Blood of Jesus:
(a) l John 1:7, If we walk in the light as he is in the light we have
fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin.”
The word, “cleanseth” here is in the tense that means continually cleanseth. lt is not a once and for all experience. The condition for receiving cleansing is walking in the light. How do we walk in the light? We walk in the light by confessing and forsaking our sins. We do not hide them or pretend that they are not there but we allow the Holy Spirit to search our
hearts. lf there is sin there we bring it to the light by confessing it
and then by faith we bring it to the blood of Jesus for cleansing. lf
our sin has affected any other person or persons then we should go
to that person and make restitution wherever necessary and ask his
or her forgiveness. We do not confess our sins generally, for
example by saying, “Please forgive me of all my sins. We
committed our sins individually we ought to confess our sins
individually and call it for what it is. We then know that after we have done this according to the above verse this sin is under the blood and the devil no longer can accuse us concerning it We then use the above verse as our weapon against him as we confess it with our mouth.
(b) Ephesians 1:7,”|n whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
First of all, we see here that we have redemption through Jesus’s
Blood. Redemption in the Greek (the language the N.T. was
originally translated in) means a loosing away, a liberating,
particularly by paying a price. By the ransom of His own life-the
pouring out of His precious Blood Jesus liberated us from the enemies
that hold the human race in bondage, i.e., sin (Rom.6:6), death
(2Tim1:10), and Satan (Acts 10:38).
Secondly in this verse we read that we have forgiveness of sins through His Blood. Forgiveness from all our sins is a wonderful thing for the
person who receives it but it cost God something to forgive us, it
cost Him the Blood of His Son. Let us appreciate it and repent of
our sins. To repent means to turn around, to turn our back on all
our rebellion, to stop what we were doing wrong and not continue in
our sins. When God forgives us He also chooses to forget (“I, even
l, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and
remembers your sins no more.”ls.43:25) God’s Word also declares
in ls. 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow.” though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool.”
When the devil would accuse us and try and make us believe that
our sin is to great, that we have fallen again and again and
therefore God cannot forgive us then let us remind him of the above verses.
(c)Romans 5:9, “Much more then, now justified by His blood we
shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
To be justified means to be made right. The great question is, “How can a sinful human being be made right with a holy God. lf we could keep the law perfectly we could be holy before God. But how can we who are members of the human race,who are slaves to sin, do this . God in Jesus Christ does for us whatwe are incapable of doing ourselves. He became man and lived a perfect life and thereby became the perfect sacrifice and substitute
for our sins. At the cross Jesus fulfilled all that righteousness
demanded. His life was given in exchange for ours; his blood paid
the price for our justification. This is why our justification is a work
of God’s grace (Grace can be defined as unmerited favor, unearned
benefit, undeserved kindness)-”For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God-not by works so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2.8,9). All of us
are bankrupt sinners, we deserve Hell and certainly not Heaven.
We cannot contribute anything to our salvation. The Apostle Paul
described God’s wonderful love, mercy and grace with these words
in Eph. 2.4, “But because of His great love for us, God who is rich
in mercy , made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.” Through the
Blood of Jesus we are justified, declared righteous, just as if we
had never sinned. In Is. 61:10 we read these wonderful words: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Praise God, He has clothed us with His righteousness and does not see our sin any more after we have confessed and forsaken it.
(d) Heb. 13′.12, ” Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify
the people with his own blood suffered without the gate.”
The word “sanctify” means to set apart, to separate, to consecrate. Through the Blood of Jesus, I am sanctified, made holy, set apart to God. ln
1Cor.6:19-20 we read, “What know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which ye have of God, and
ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price : therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Thank God that we are made holy, not through our works of righteousness but through the precious blood of Jesus. Now because we are sanctified through the blood of Jesus we can through faith receive the Holy Spirit which is a gift God wants to give to all His children. When the accuser, the devil comes to accuse us and try to make us think that we are not worthy to receive the Holy Spirit we can remind him of the above verse.
(d) Heb. 10:19, “Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Jesus,”
The “holiest” or the Most Holy Place” was the inner sanctuary where the presence of God dwelt.The High Priest came here only once a year to sprinkle the mercy seat with the blood of an innocent animal to make atonement for the sins of the Nation of lsrael. He came with fear and trembling. When Jesus died the veil dividing the Holy Place from the Most
Holy Place was rent in twain from the top to the bottom indicating
that every lost son of Adam could come into the presence of God
the Father through the precious Blood of Jesus. We no longer need
to come with fear, with guilt, or with shame but now we can come
with boldness into the very throne room of our loving Heavenly Father
who lovingly and joyfully welcomes us into His presence.
We can now declare to the devil, the accuser of our souls:” My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed and sanctified by the blood of Jesus. Therefore Satan and demon powers you have no place in me, no power over me, no claim against me. Now on the ground of what the blood of Jesus has done for me, with boldness and authority, I command you in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, leave! leave my life, now!”
Thank God our faith in the blood of Jesus is not an abstract theory but a living reality and we can daily experience its power in our lives. The true story below shows that in Jesus Christ and his precious blood there is an answer to a person’s deepest human need:
Several years ago a great parliament of religions was held in the city of Chicago. Practically every known religion in the world was represented. During one of the sessions, Dr. Joseph Cook, a great preacher from Boston, representing Christianity, suddenly rose to his feet and spoke the following challenging words to the delegates, “I want to introduce to you a woman with a great sorrow. Bloodstains are on her hands, and nothing she has tried will remove them. The blood is that of murder. She has been driven to desperation in her distress. Now is there anything in your religion that will remove her sin and give her peace? A silence fell upon the gathering. Not one in that large crowd replied. Raising his eyes heavenward, Dr. Cook then cried out, “Apostle John, can you tell this woman how to get rid of her awful sin? “ Dr. Cook waited, as of listening for a reply. Then he spoke again, “Listen, The Apostle John speaks from God’s Word, “The blood of Jesus Christ , His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1John 1:7). Not one person broke the silence, the representatives of Eastern religions and Western cults sat dumbfounded. In the face of human need and depravity they had no answer. The Gospel of Jesus Christ alone had the answer. The sin of the human race could only be covered and washed away by the precious blood of Jesus.
If you have not yet received Jesus as your Saviour I encourage you to receive Him today by confessing Him as Lord, confessing your sins, renouncing and forsaking your sins, and then through faith receiving cleansing and forgiveness through the precious blood of Jesus.

Kjenner vi Giveren av Himmelens Største Gaver

I løpet av julen hører vi mye om Jesus Kristus, Guds gave til menneskeheten, hvem sin bursdag vi feirer. På den annen side hører vi svært lite eller ingenting om Giver av gaven. Når vi mottar julegaver vi vanligvis kjenner den som gir oss den gaven meget godt. Kanskje det kunne være en kjæreste , en mann, en kone, en nær venn osv.. Paulus sier i 2Cor.9: 15, “Takket være Gud for hans ubeskrivelige gave!” Og i Johannes 3:16 leser vi: “For så har Gud elsket verden at han gav sin enbårne Sønn, …” Kjenner vi den Gud som elsket oss så høyt at han var villig til å gi oss sin ubeskrivelige gave, hans elskede Sønn? Vi kunne lese om ham i verdens største biblioteker og studere om Ham på det mest berømte religiøse seminarer og likevel ikke bli kjent med Ham. Hvordan kan vi bli kjent med Ham? I Det gamle testamente åpenbarte han seg til patriarkene, hans profeter, og hans folk ved hans forskjellige navn. For eksempel en av hans navn er Elohim som finnes i Mosebok 1:26 hvor det står skrevet: “Og Gud (I hebraisk-”Elohim”) sa, la oss gjøre mennesker …”. ”Elohim”, det vanligste navnet på Gud og det forteller om Gud som skaper. Det er et flertallsubstantiv som bare kan brukes for å angi et tall høyere enn to. Navnet er et beviss at Gud er treenighet. Det er nevnt 2570 ganger i Det gamle testamente. Jehova som finnes i Andre Mosebok 3:14 er et annet navn på Gud. Det er nevnt 6823 ganger i Det gamle testamente. Det er oversatt, “I AM WHO I AM” viser hans evige eksistens og Hans uforanderlighet, som en som alltid vil være det han alltid har vært. El Shaddai er et annet navn på Gud og ganske enkelt betyr “Gud Allmektige” og er nevnt 48 ganger i Det gamle testamente. Blant andre navn på Gud i Det gamle testamente navnet “Far” er også nevnt, men bare 14 ganger. Den farskap av Gud er ikke et sentralt tema i den gamle Testamentet. I ganske mange tilfeller Gud kalles far til den jødiske nasjonen. Vi aldri finne noen av de gamle testamentelige tros kjempene personlig kalle Gud direkte som sin far. De aldri torde å gjøre det som de trodde det ville være respektløst. For eksempel så hellig var navnet “Jehova” til dem at det jødiske skriftlærde før de skrive dette navnet måtte rengjøre pennen eller få en ny og vasker hele kroppen i en pool av naturlig rennende vann. Gud til dem var for høye og ærverdig å bli kalt “Far”. Da Jesus kom han sjokkerte og gjørde sine tilhørere sinne ved å kalle Gud som sin Far og enda mer så når han kalle Gud som “Abba”. “Abba” er arameisk (språket talt av jøder under Jesu tid) familiær og intim form for far. Det er et lite barns måte å si “pappa”. Det er ingen bevis for at noen før Jesus brukte dette ordet nar de ba til Gud. Da Jesus kom han ga oss en ny åpenbaring av Guds karakter. Han viste oss at Gud er Gud Immanuel, som betyr “Gud med oss” at han er vår kjærlige Far. I St. John 17:6 leser vi litt av Jesu bønn til Faderen: «Jeg har manifestert ditt navn til de menn som du gav meg ut av verden …” Hva Navn kan det være at Jesus snakker om her? Det er selvfølgelig navnet “Far”. I Det nye testamente Faderen er nevnt 275 ganger i Johannesevangeliet alene Han er nevnt 140 ganger.
Hvorfor denne vektleggingen av Faderen i Det nye testamente? Før Jesus kommer vi ikke kunne virkelig kjenner Faderen i en personlig intim måte. Etter Jesu substitutive døde på korset for våre synder og etterfølgende oppstandelse vi nå kan velge å motta Jesus Kristus som vår personlige Herre og Frelser. Han gir deretter til oss barnekårets Ånd. Vi leser i Romans 8:15,16, «Dere fikk jo ikke trelldommens ånd så dere igjen skulle frykte. Men dere fikk barnekårets Ånd som gjør at vi roper: ”Abba Far”. Ånden selv vitner sammen med vår ånd at vi er Guds barn.” Akkurat som Jesus kalte Gud, ”Abba” også vi nå kan ha den samme fantastiske privilegium.
I St. John 14:6 leser vi: “Jesus svarte: ”Jeg er veien og sannheten og livet. Ingen kommer til Faderen uten ved meg.” In 1Peter 3:18 leser vi:” For også Kristus led en gang for synder, en rettferdige for urettferdige, for å føre oss fram til Gud…” Fra disse versene og andre ser vi at Jesus er veien og Faderen er reisemålet. Guds ord viser oss at det er veldig viktig for oss å komme til Faderen og å kjenne Faderen. For eksempel i Jesu bønn til Faderen i Johannes 17:3 lese vi, ”Og dette er det evige liv, at de kjenner deg, den eneste sanne Gud, og ham du utsendte, Jesus Kristus.”
Millioner av mennesker er fortsatt foreldreløse og ikke nyter en far-barn relasjonen med Skaperen.
Denne jula må vi virkelig bli kjent med Giver av himmelens største gave, vårt nådig og kjærlige himmelske Fader, og takke og prise ham for å ha utsendte oss Jesus, vår Herre og Frelser til denne verden på den første jule dag.

Det er kraft i Jesu blod

Det er kraft i Jesu blod
Hvorfor var Jesu blod som ble utøst på korset så viktig?
Bibelen forteller oss i Hebreerne 9:22: ”Og uten at blod blir
utgytt, blir ikke synd tilgitt.” Blod er det eneste som er bra nok
til å kunne dekke synden. I Esekiel 18:20 leser vi: “Den som
synder, han skal dø.” I Romerne 6:23 leser vi: “For syndens
lønn er døden.” Synd er så forferdelig og Gud som er
rettferdig og hellig kunne ikke ignorere det. Det måtte få
følger, en straff som var likeverdig med hvor mye Gud hater
og forakter synden som ødelegger gleden ved Hans
skapelse.
I 3. Mosebok 17.11 leser vi: ” …For blodet er det som gjør
soning, fordi sjelen er i det.” Blodet symboliserer liv. Da slaktoffer, for eksemple et lam, ble drept i Gamle testamentet, og blodet ble sprinkla oppå
alteret, betydde det at dyret hadde betalt prisen for menneskets synd med sitt eget liv.Da synderen så lammet som var slaktet, og blodet som rant,
ville han se hvor alvorlig synd var. Han forstod at på grunn av
sin Jødiske bakgrunn, så fortjente han å dø for sine synder,
men lammet døde istedenfor i hans sted.
I 1. Kor 5:7 leser vi at Kristus er påskelammet vårt: “… For
vårt påskelam, er slaktet, Kristus.” I Johannes 1:29 utbrøt
Johannes Døperen: “Se Guds Lam, som bærer verdens
synd.” l Mosebok 12 er påskefeiringen beskrevet. Etter mer
enn 400 år som slaver i Egypt, pekte Gud ut Moses til å lede
sitt folk, lsraelsfolket ut av fangenskapet og inn i friheten.
Farao, kongen av Egypt hadde bestemt seg for å ikke la
lsraelittene reise. Moses konfronterte ham med følgende ord:
“La folket mitt dra.” For at Farao skulle forstå hvor alvorlig
budskapet var, sendte Gud landeplager som dom over Egypt. Farao fortsatte å være hardt i hjertet etter hver landeplage. Til slutt kom den tiende landeplagen,som gjorde det umulig for Egypterne å giøre annet enn å la lsraelsfolket dra. Gud sendte en engel som drepte alle
førstefødte, både blant mennesker og dyr. Siden Israelittene
også bodde i Egypt, hvordan skulle de unnslippe
dødsengelen? Gud gav dem spesielle instruksjoner: Dersom
de adlød Gud, ville de førstefødte blant dem overleve. Gud
befalte hver husholdning (dersom en husholdning var for liten
for et helt lam, kunne de dele med naboen) om å ta et lam av
hankjønn, et år gammelt, uten lyte og drepe det. De skulle
stryke blodet på sidene og over dørstokken av husene sine.
Når dødsengelen kom, ville han dra videre når han så hus
med blod stryket på dørstokkene. Det er fra dette at ordet
“påske” kommer fra. Det hebraiske ordet er “Pesah” og betyr
“hoppe forbi”, “hoppe over”, eller “å spare”. Gjennom denne
befalingen lærte Gud folket sitt om lydighet i tillegg til
forløsning gjennom blod. Han forberedte dem for fremtiden når Guds lam,
Jesus Kristus, som gjennom å gi sitt blod på korset, ville ta
bort all verdens synd.
Jesu blod er dyrebart og viktig fordi det ikke er blodet av en
hvilken som helst mann eller profet, men det er Guds blod. I
Apostlenes Gjerninger 20:28 leser vi: “Den Hellige And har
satt dere som tilsynsmenn for at dere skulle vokte Guds
menighet, som han vant seg med sitt blod.” I Hebreerne 9:14
leser vi: ”Hvor meget mer skal da Kristi blod, han som i kraft av en evig Ånd bar seg selv fram for Gud som et lyteløst offer…”Andrew Murray sier i sin bok, “Det aller helligste”, om dette verset: “Den Evige Ånd var livet i blodet. Det var gjennom den Evige And, at han ofret seg. Det var Ordet som
ble kjød. Den Evige Guds sønn ble menneske. Det var Guds
liv som bodde i ham. Det livet gav blodet hans, hver eneste
dråpe av den en uendelig verdi. Et menneskes blod er mye
mer verdt enn blodet fra en sau. En konges blod, eller en stor
generals blod er regnet mer verdt enn blodet til
– hundrevis av vanlige soldater. Guds sønns blod! Det er
håpløst for hjernen å prøve å uttrykke dets verdi; Alt vi kan uttryke
er at det er Hans eget blod, det dyrebare Guds sønns blod!…
Ånden som var i Kristus da han gav sitt blod, gjør at vi kan ta
del i dets kraft. Hans seier over synd, hans perfekte lydighet,
hans tilgang til Faderen, sjelen som fullt ut kjenner til blodets
renselse, vil også forstå disse velsignelsene- La ham som
ønsker å kjenne i sin helhet den mektige, guddommelige,
ubeskrivelige kraft og velsignelse som blodet kan gi ham,
alltid huske, at det var gjennom Den Evige Ånd at blodet ble
utøst. “
Jesu blod er veldig viktig fordi det er gjennom blodet at vi
overvinner djevelen. I Apenbarings boken I 2.1 1 leser vi : ”De
har seiret over ham i kraft av lammets blod og det ord de
vitnet.” Vi ser her at de troende seiret over djevelen ved å
være vitner til hva Guds ord sier om Jesu blod: De bekjente
at hva Gud sier i sitt ord er veldig viktig. For eksempel i
Hebreerne 3:1 leser vi at Jesus er Ypperstepresten vår, og i
Hebreerne 10:21 og 23 står det: “Og vi har en stor prest over Guds
hus… la oss holde urokkelig fast ved bekjennelsen av vårt håp,
for han er trofast som gav løftet.” Urokkelig betyr at vi burde aldri gi opp
men hele tiden proklamere vart vitnesbyrd til tross for motgang. Ordet “bekjennelse ” betyr å snakke de samme ting, å ble enig.
Ordet ”bekjennelse betyr å snakke det samme ting,å ble enig. For å seire over djevelen vi vil få ord av våre munn være enig i hva Guds ord sier, for eksemple om Jesu blod. Et av djevelens hoved våpen mot oss er å få oss til å føle oss skyldige, at vi ikke har fått det til, en følelse av skam fordi vi har kommet for kort og derfor er vi ikke lenger kvalifisert til å komme med frimodighet inn i Guds nærvær.l Apenbaringsboken 12:10 leste vi at djevelen er våre brødres anklager og han har anklaget dem for vår Gud
både dag og natt. Djevelen peker stadig hans anklagende finger mot oss og minner oss om våre feil og beskylde oss for synder som Gud har allerede tilgit. Vår våpen mot ham er Guds Ord. Jesus seiret over
djevelen i ørkenen ved å bruke Guds Ord. Vi seirer på
samme måte. Hva sier Guds Ord om Jesu blod? I l.Johannes 1:7, “Dersom vi vandrer i lyset slik Han er i lyset, da har vi fellesskap med hverandre, og Jesu Kristi blod renser oss fra all synd.”
Ordet ”renser” her er i verbformen som betyr stadig renselse.
Det er ikke en en gang for alltid opplevelse. A være i den tilstanden
der man mottar renselse betyr å vandre i lyset. Hvordan vandrer vi
i lyset? Vi vandrer i lyset ved å bekjenne og forlate våre synder. Vi
prøver ikke å gjemme dem bort eller late som de ikke er der,men
vi lar Den Hellige Ånd søke våre hjerter. Dersom det er synd der,
så bringer vi det fram i lyset ved å bekjenne det, og så tror vi at
Jesus ved sitt blod renser det bort. Dersom vår synd har gått utover
en annen person eller flere, så må vi oppsøke de det gjelder og gjøre opp for oss, for eksemple åbetale tilbake der hvor det er nødvendig eller be om tilgivelse. Vibekjenner ikke syndene våre på generelt grunnlag ved for
eksempel å si: “Vær så snill Gud å tilgi meg alle mine synder.” Nei,vi har syndet individuelt og må derfor ydmyk oss og så bekjenne syndene våre individuelt. Vi vet da at etter å ha gjort dette, så er synden under blodet og
djevelen kan ikke lenger anklage oss for det. Vi kan bruke det ovennevnte verse som et våpen mot ham når vi bekjenner det med vår munn.
I Efeserne 1:7 vi lese “l Ham har vi forløsningen ved hans blod,syndenes forlatelse,etter Hansnådes rikdom.”For det første,
så ser vi i dette verse at vi har forløsning gjennom Jesu blod. Forløsning
på gresk betyr å gjøre fri ved løsepenger, løskjøpe (om fanger, resp. slaver). Jesus ga sitt eget liv som løsepenge ved å øse ut sitt blod, så fridde han oss ut av fiendens grep, det vil si synd (Rom. 6:6), fra døden (2.Tim.1:10), og fra Satan (Ap.gj. 10:38).
For det andre ser vi i dette verse at vi har syndenes forlatelse.Tilgivelse fra alle våre synder er en fantastisk ting for den som mottar, men det
kostet Gud noe da han tilgav oss. Det kostet ham blodet til
sin sønn.La oss være takknemlige og omvende oss fra våre
synder. Å omvende seg betyr å vende om. Å vende ryggen til
synden og å holde opp med å gjøre det som er galt. Når Gud
tilgir, velger han også å glemme. (Jesaja 43.25 “Jeg, jeg er
den som utsletter dine misgjerninger for min skyld, og dine
synder kommer jeg ikke i hu,”) Guds Ord sier også i Jesaja
1:18 “Kom og la oss gå i rette med hverandre, sier Herren.
Om deres synder er som purpur, skal de bli hvite som snø,
om de er røde som skarlagen, skal de bli som den hvite ull.”
Når djevelen anklager oss og prøver å få oss til å tro at
synden vår er altfor stor, at vi har falt igjen og igjen, og
derfor kan ikke Gud tilgi oss, så la oss minne ham om dette
verset.
Vi lese videre i Rom 5:9 at vi er rettferdigjort ved Jesu blod,”Hvor meget mer skal vi da, etter at vi er rettferdiggjort ved hans blod, ved ham bli frelst fra vreden.” A bli rettferdiggjort betyr å bli skyldfri. Det store spørsmålet er
hvordan kan et syndig menneske blit gjort skyldfri overfor en
hellig Gud? Dersom vi kunne holde loven fullt og helt, kunne
vi blitt hellige framfor Gud. Men hvordan kan vi,
menneskeheten som er slaver til synd, giøre dette? Gud, i
Jesus Kristus gjør det som er umulig for oss å gjøre. Han ble
menneske, levde et perfekt liv og dermed ble et perfekt offer
og gjorde soning for våre synder. På korset oppfylte Jesus alt
som rettferdigheten påkrevde. Livet hans ble gitt mot vårt;
Hans blod betalte prisen for vår rettferdiggjørelse. Derfor er
vår rettferdiggjørelse et produkt av Guds nåde. (Nåde kan
defineres som ufortjent fortjeneste, ufortjent kjårlighet) . ” For
av nåde er dere frelst, ved tro, og dette er ikke av dere selv,
men en Guds gave, Det er ikke av gjerninger, for at ikke noen
skal rose seg.” (Efeserne 2:8-9). Vi er alle konkursrammede
syndere. Vi fortjener helvete, ihvertfall ikke himmelen. Vi kan
ikke bidra til vår frelse i det hele tatt. Apostelen Paulus
beskriver Guds fantastiske kjærlighet og nåde med disse
ordene iEf. 2:4, ”Men, Gud som er rik på miskunn har, på
grunn av sin store kjærlighet som han elsket oss med, gjort
oss levende med Kristus, vi som var døde ved våre
overtredelser. Av nåde er dere frelst.” Vi er rettferdiggiort
gjennom Jesu blod, erklært skyldfrie, som om vi aldri hadde
syndet. Det er skrivet i Jesaja 61:10, ”Jeg vil glede meg i Herren, min sjel skal fryde seg i min Gud. For han har kledd meg i frelsens drakt, i rettferdighets kappe har han svøpt meg…”
I Heb. 13.12 vi lese hvordan vi er helliget ved Jesu blod, “Derfor led også Jesus utenfor porten, for å hellige folket ved sitt blod.” Ordet ”Hellige” betyr å skille ut, sette til side. Gjennom Jesu blod er jeg helliggjort, skilt ut for Gud. I 1Korinterbrev 6:19-20 leser vi: ”Eller vet dere ikke at
deres legeme er et tempel for Den Hellige Ånd som bor i
dere, og som dere har fått fra Gud? Dere tilhører ikke lenger
dere selv. Dere er dyrt kjøpt! La da legemet være til ære for
Gud!” På grun at vi har blitt hellighet ved Jesu blod var legemet kan nå ble et tempel for Den Hellige Ånd.
Vi kan nå erklære framfor anklageren: ”Min kropp er et
tempel for Den Hellige And. Den er forløst og renset ved Jesu
blod, og derfor har du Satan ingen plass i meg, ingen makt
over meg og ingen rett til å anklage meg. Derfor vekk fra meg nå i Jesu Navn.
I Hebreerne 10:19 vi lese at vi har frimodighet i Jesu blod, “Vi har altså i Jesu blod frimodighet til å gå inn i helligdommen.”
Helligdommen var det innerste rommet der Guds nærvær var. Ypperstepresten hadde adgang en gang i året for å stryke blod på nådestolen og giøre forsoning for folkets synd. Han kom med frykt og beven. Da Jesus døde, revnet forhenget som skilte Det hellige sted fra det aller helligste sted i to. Dette symboliserte at hver fortapt sønn av Adam
nå kunne komme inn i Guds nærvær gjennom Jesu dyrebare
blod. Vi trenger ikke lenger komme med frykt, med
skyldfølelse eller med skam. Vi kan komme med frimodighet
inn til tronen til vår kjærlige himmelske far som med kjærlighet og
med glede ønsker oss velkommen inn i hans nærvær.
Mark Buntain, missionary to lndia, fortalte en historie av hvordan hans venn, Paul Shadaker, som var en av Indias ledende yogis, fant Jesus som hans personlig Frelser. Som en ung mann, var Paul desperat etter
fred og frelse. I sin søken, gikk han til lndias president på den tiden Sarvepalli Badhakrishnan. Paul sa følgende
til presidenten: “Du er anerkjent som verdens ledende Hindu. Jeg
ønsker å bli din student. Jeg vil sitte ved dine føtter resten av ditt
liv.” Presidenten ble stille et øyeblikk mens han så på Paul som satt
på gulvet: “Sønn”, sa han. ” Du er utenksom. lkke snakk slik.” “Men
jeg vil at du skal være min guru!” bønnfalt Paul. Presidenten ble
stille igjen. Så sa han: “Det er kun en lærer som det er verdt å lytte
til, det er Jesus Kristus.”
Dersom det hadde kommet lyn fra himmelen eller det hadde
kommet et jordskjelv, så kunne ikke Paul ha blitt mer overrasket.
En ledende Hindu fortalte ham at han skulle følge de kristnes Gudl
Paul spurte med forundring: “Tror du at Jesus Kristus lever i dag?”
“Kristne i 2000 år har trodd det. De er ikke dumme.”, svarte
presidenten. Paul drog forvirret bort. Han fant en bibel og drog til
Madras. som en hengiven mystiker, låste han seg inne på
hotellrommet. ldet hån vridde om låsen, gav han seg selv et løfte:
”Jeg forlater ikke dette rommet, før jeg har funnet Sann fred i minn
sjel.”
Han leste Bibelen i 3 dager. På den tredje dagen’ sprang han
plutselig opp og ropte: “Nei det er umulig! lngen i det 20. århundre
kan leve siik Jesus Kristus” Han holdt på å rive i stykker Bibelen da
han plutselig hørte en høy stemme bak seg. Paul frøs til. Han
snudde seg men så ingen. “Jeg er Veien, Sannheten og Livet.” sa
stemmen. ”lngen kommer til Faderen bortsett fra gjennom meg.”
Paul så seg rundt i rommet. Han kunne ikke se noen, men han
visste at hån hadde hørt stemmen. Øynene hans falt på Bibelen
som han hadde slengt på senga. Den hadde åpnet seg på siden
der man finner Johannes 14:6, de samme ordene som han nettopp
hadde hørt. “Jeg er veien, sannheten og livet. lngen kommer til
Faderen utenom ved meg.” Paul falt på sine knær og overgav sitt
liv til Herren Kristus, de Kristnes Gud. ldag er han evangelist. Gud
har brukt ham mange steder i Asia og Europa som et vitne for den
levende frelser.Guds nåde var enok for Paul Shadaker, det er enok for alle. Gud ønsker ikke at noen, noe sted, noensinne skal gå fortapt
Frelsen som Jesus kjøpte med sitt dyrebare blod på korset er tilgjengelig for
Deg akkurat nå. Nå er frelsens dag. Nå er den rette tid.
Hvis du har tok imot Jesus Kristus som din personlig Frelser da du kan proklamer med frimodighet hva Guds ord seir om Jesu blod.
”Om du vil virke for Jesus på jord, I blodet er kraft,
Seirende kraft! Da må du tro det som står i Gud Ord!
I blodet er seirende kraft!”
Written by Kenneth Korol.

Poems and Songs

“We mean a lot to Some One;
And ’tis everything to me
That to God His wayward children
Were worth a Calvary.
It’s the meaning of my Sunday,
…And to Saturday from Monday
It is my hope that one day
My Saviour I shall see.
Though the day be dark and dreary,
Here’s comfort for the weary-
We mean a lot to Some One
Who died for you and me.”
From Springs in the Valley.

Second Coming of Christ

The Bible warns us of increasingly darker days coming as we approach the end of the age (Matt.24, Mark 13, Luke 21). Many signs indicate that that day is near.
The best way to prepare is to totally commit our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Worship

The following are the beautiful words, Austin Miles penned: “I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there none oher has ever known.”

Worship

Let us meet our wonderful Lord in the morning. He is longing to hear our voice. But remember that fellowship is two ways He also wants to talk to us. “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;…” Ps. 5:4. “My sheep listen to my voice;…” John 10:27

Worship

To develop a love relationship takes time. We cannot just rush into God’s presence and out again. Jesus is our great example. Early in the morning, often withdrawing, and even all night He prayed and had fellowship with His Father. “Early in the morning will I seek you.” Ps. 63:1.

Worship

Developing a love relationship with the Lord should be the greatest purpose in our life. Gospel singer, Keith Green, when he felt his heart growing cold, wrote this beautiful love song, “Lord you are beautiful, your face is all I see.”