The New Covenant Has Come!

For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new [covenant], he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old [is] ready to vanish away. Hebrews 8:7-13. KJV

Under the New Covenant, we become born again, new creations in Christ Jesus - and as these Scriptures tell us, God puts his perfect law of love and the law of liberty in Christ into our minds and writes them in our hearts. When that happens, God becomes a personal God to us and we become His children - we come to know Him through that born again experience, not through any works on our part.

Under the Old Covenant of the Law (the ten commandments written and engraved on stones), we did not know God and had no way of knowing Him, because of our sin in not keeping the Law fully. As a result, that sin created a guilty, shamed, and condemned heart, which is a barrier to knowing a perfect and holy God.

But PRAISE GOD, under the New Covenant, we have received mercy and our sins and iniquities are remembered no more! They were all placed on the body of Jesus Christ and have been put away forever! Therefore, guilt is gone, condemnation is gone, shame is gone! We have a new, clean heart and mind, because we are under a New Covenant. The old is old and is ready to vanish away. God is done with the Old Covenant and is now under the New Covenant because of what His Son Jesus did on the cross. Jesus isn't hanging on the cross anymore, He isn't dead - He's alive, resurrected, glorified, and seated at the Father's right hand. We have His righteousness, we are no longer sinners.

If that is the case, then why do many of us continue to hear sermons in our local churches every week telling us we are sinners, reminding us of our sins, and warning us to ask God for forgiveness of our sins? Sins have been put away forever - the Father remembers them no more - and yet sin is still the number one topic of discussion in some of our churches. Yes, grace is preached, but it is being poured into the old wineskin of sin and the Old Covenant, nullifying and frustrating the wonderful grace God has given us in Christ Jesus.

Old Covenant teachings confuse the New Testament believer - they bring back guilt and condemnation that weakens our faith. Stop listening to Old Covenant sermons and start listening to the truth of the New Covenant. Sure, you can read and study from the Old Testament scriptures, but see the New Covenant truths of righteousness in Christ and the blessing of Abraham hidden there, not Old Covenant realities of sin, death, and destruction!

Get excited about living in this wonderful New Covenant Jesus died to give us!

Jesus, our Faithful High Priest

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalms 1:3 KJV

This is a picture of a tree I did for my daughter, based on the above Scripture, one of my favorites. Thought I would share.

In the meantime, we are deep into the Book of Hebrews, chapter 7, talking about Jesus being our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.  And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared:“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 7:15-17 AMP

Jesus ever lives to intercede for us, helping us in our weakness and infirmities and in our time of trial and need. When we feel doubtful, discouraged, and fearful, He is there to offer up prayers and petitions to the Father and then speak the Father's prophetic word or a scripture back to us, imparting wisdom, hope, and joy to us and flooding our hearts with His shalom peace. 

He is a wonderful high priest, given this position by God via an oath and not due to a fleshly, ancestral privilege from the Levitical priestly line as was required under the Old Covenant. No, He is from Judah, from a different priestly line in the order of Melchizedek (king of righteousness and peace) who functions under the New Covenant of Grace. He is the Son of God who operates as a high priest forever in the power of an endless and indestructible life. If there is a new priesthood, then that means there's a New Covenant - the old way of the Law is obsolete because the new way of Grace has come! God has a brand new way of doing things through His Son, Jesus!

Has the Lord called you by  name to do certain things for the kingdom that seem impossible in accordance with the Law or the rules of this world system we live in? Has He put dreams and desires in your heart that defy your logic, intellectual, or physical abilities? Perhaps you do not have the appropriate ancestral, family, or physical prowess, finances, or opportunities to make that dream a reality - but does that matter?

If the Lord has called you, then He will make it come to pass - He just needs you to step out in faith and following the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Look at your high priest as an example - Jesus wasn't a Levi, He wasn't qualified under the Mosaic Law to be a high priest, and yet He is! He was from Nazareth, a carpenter's son, born to a woman who got pregnant out of wedlock! Would the Law say He is qualified to be Messiah? And yet He is.

If you are born again, IN HIM, part of the body of Christ, then you are equally qualified to do ALL He is calling you to do. Don't look to your circumstances and fleshly abilities, look only to Him. He has given you His power of an endless and indestructible life!

Gift Heaped Upon Gift - Christmas is all about Jesus!

John 1:16 in the Amplified translation says this: for out of His fullness we have all received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift. 

This Christmas, while you are out and about, shopping for friends and family, don't feel guilty about buying and giving (provided you aren't breaking your wallet!) because it all represents Jesus, the greatest, most wonderful gift given to mankind. He is an exceeding, abundant, more-than-you-can-think-and-imagine gift given to us by Abba, Father God. This year, all of us in our Wed morning bible study have a renewed attitute about shopping, wrapping, and all the hustle and bustle that goes along with the holiday season. Instead of dread and anxiety, we are excited and expectant, basking in the everyday joys of baking, decorating, shopping, wrapping, and entertaining. It's all about Jesus! Keep Him in the forefront of Christmas and the dread and anxieties will melt away!

Here is a lovely gift my dear, dear friend, Terri, made for me for Christmas. I love it and will cherish it always! Again, Merry Christmas!

Purity Boxes

Here is a wonderful post from one of the members of our study. Aren't these boxes beautiful? Be blessed!

Hi Friends!

This past weekend was DNOW (disciples Now weekend), this is a discipling event that takes place once a year in our church.  There were 1000+ kids ages 6th-12th grade that took part in this AMAZING weekend.  The theme was ABNORMAL.  Compared to the secular world we are called to be different, not normal!! Rom. 12:2, Matt. 5:43-49,  John 3:19-21

I had prayed for God to use me and to give me something visual to share with our 6th grade girls regarding the topic of Purity and Boundries.  They love to see His word come alive and be tangible.  This gift box is something they can relate to and take with them.  God is so good and He is quick to answer our prayers all the way down to the colors.

This is the beautiful way in which He placed the words on my heart and what I said to the girls.

This a symbol of Gods gift to each one of us, our purity.
This box represents His gift one of many and a very important one.
It is silver and His light shines from us.
The sides represent the boundries in our lives and inside the box on blue strips of paper is His Word the Living Water (blue paper, representing water) and the Truth.
Laying inside His word is a white heart which represents His righteousness and His purity that He gave to us when we trusted in Him and exchanged our sin for His righteousness.
The purple ribbon represents His Kingship and High Priesthood in our lives.
This box is a symbol to remember how much He loves us.  No matter what our past looks like in Christ we are forgiven and are clothed in His righteousness.

I have also written a card.
To: My Precious Daughter
From: God, Abba or Daddy.

Our Father in Heaven gives good gifts!

P = protection, He is our Protector Ps. 91
U = understanding, He understands, Heb. 2:18
R = rest,  rest in Him, Ps. 62
I = immediate, He is there 24/7, Heb. 13:5
T = truth, His word is the Truth, Ps. 33:4
Y = yours, He is your God, Is. 41:13

The gift of purity is wrapped in the Truth of God!
Your love for us is so deep and so great!
You are an Awesome God worthy of our praise and worship!
Thank you Lord for your many blessings!

The Heart of Man

Some of you may have wondered where we've been, but rest assured we have been studying, worshiping, and praising the Lord every week! We are a small group who look at the Word, pray in the Spirit as a group, and allow the Spirit of God to freely move and speak to us. We have had tongues, interpretation (in word and drama!), singing, and prophetic words of encouragement. We've had healings and miracles in finances and business and in the lives of our children and extended family members. We have learned that we are no longer sinners, but precious sons of Abba Daddy God who loves us as much as His dear son, Jesus, because we are IN Jesus! How freeing! The Lord is purging religion out of our lives and bringing us deeper into the Gospel of Grace that Paul preached. The power of the New Covenant is knowing we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and that there is NOTHING more we need to do to please our Heavenly Father.

That being said, we hit a stumbling block in looking at Hebrews, particularly the first 4 chapters, because there is much discussion regarding the hardness of men's hearts. Many of us have been taught that it is impossible to discern the heart of a man, but the Word tells us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Jesus also tells us that we will know men by their fruit. Hebrews warns and encourages us to be careful and not harden our own hearts like Israel did in the wilderness, refusing to  believe in the promises and blessings Jesus bought for us on the cross. While examining our own hearts, we couldn't help but examine those of our family and friends.

All of us determined that there may be loved ones in our lives who have hardened their hearts toward the Lord and aren't truly born again. That is a tough reality to swallow, given the propensity of many main-line denominations in North America to make assumptions that most church-goers are saved. But in looking closely at Scripture, we see that we must come to the truth and acknowledge that some have been deceived. At first blush there is sadness at this revelation, but then we were reminded by the Lord to pray! Like Abraham did for Lot, Moses did for Israel, and David did for Solomon, there is power in the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man to intercede for our loved ones and claim them as protected and part of the household of God! Rahab the harlot got all of her family, including her parents, into her house on the day Israel came to conquer Jericho and they all came out unscathed, including their goods and things. If God will do that for Rahab, certainly He will do it for us!

All of us in the group are interceding in prayer for those hard-hearted loved ones in our lives and are claiming them as saved! Praise God for that wonderful privilege and opportunity to pray with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ! We know are prayers will be answered. Thank you Lord that you will manifest the desires of our heart, just as you did for Rahab the harlot - mother to Boaz who married Ruth!

A look at Hebrews

Well, we have started out slowly looking at the first chapter of Hebrews which describes Jesus Christ as the son of God, the creator, and the exact representation of the nature and character of God--the complete expression of His glory! As the body of Christ, we are part of all of that and share in it as joint heirs with Jesus! How exciting! Can't wait to learn more and will share it here on this blog.

Look what a dear sister painted for me. Beautiful, isn't it? I'm always amazed at the talent in this bible study! All from our abba daddy!

God the Creator--In Us!

We are back from a nice, long summer and are studying the spirit of sonship before launching into a study of Hebrews. As born again believers, we are full grown sons of God and have been given the spirit that cries out Abba, Daddy! We are no longer under the spirit of fear that is common to a servant or a slave. We are God's sons and He is our Daddy through Christ Jesus! If you've never had a loving, earthly daddy, you have a heavenly one now. And He can make up for all the areas where our earthly parents fall short--and then some! We are very blessed!

Check out what our sister, Chris, painted over the summer. It was selected for a juried art show at our church, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, and was inspired by the theme of brokenness. Truly anointed by God. We can't wait to see what more wonderful paintings the Lord will pour out into her in the coming days!