The word blameless means free of guilt or not subject to blame

For God to call us holy and blameless is just mind-blowing and yet this our new reality in Christ!! Thank God you all believe in this new reality! Now, God no longer sees us as unrighteous or unholy or full of disobedience instead He sees us as the opposite! Hallelujah! I could seriously end the sentence here and smile for the rest of the day!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

No longer we call our self a sinner anymore for our old things have passes away and all things have become new!! A believer is not a sinner anymore but they are the righteousness of God in Christ! Once we believe in Jesus, our old sinful nature has been buried in Christ on the cross and now we have inherited the nature of Christ in us! Amen …

2 Corinthians 5:21 says ²¹God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

For Christians, calling themselves a sinner is like telling a Lion, a Cat. A lion might act like a cat, speak like a cat, jump like a cat, tamed like a cat, and have the same behaviour like normal cats, but the lion’s true identity has not and cannot be changed! One day that lion will wake up to himself and realize that he is a lion and not a ca and yes he could kill you! His actions will be determined by his true nature which is the nature of lion (wild and untamed).

The same with us, if we believe that we are still a sinner, then our actions will be determined by what we believe and because of that we are trapped in sin. Although we try our best to not to sin, we often end up breaking our own laws and boundaries. The truth is that our identity has not changed, we still are the righteousness of God in Christ! Let’s stop trying to not sin (let’s be righteousness -conscious) and start living in your NEW righteousness nature and thank God you are the living proof of this new reality and can testify to this truth in your life. Your New nature is bearing fruits wherever you go for you have become the branches on a GOOD vine tree.

John 15:5 says ⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Let’s start watching what Jesus is doing in your life and see Him bearing fruits in and through you!

God bless

In the book of Ephesians, Paul tried to remind the Ephesian believers of who they are in Christ and their new realities in Christ. Paul wanted every Ephesian to grow in their wisdom and their revelations in the knowledge of God. The Ephesians are Gentiles by birth and are saved by Grace.

Let’s read Ephesians 2:11-13

¹¹Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— ¹²remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

The fact that most of us believers are Gentiles believers, let’s just picture our self in this scenario. Let’s imagine that Paul was writing this letter to us for we were once Gentiles and saved by Grace. I personally believe that it is important to read Paul writings and get understanding on Grace (remember Grace is not just a “topic”, it is the New Covenant we are under) as Jesus chose Him to be His chosen instrument to spread the Gospel. Acts 9:15 says ^“15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Before we accepted Christ:

• We were dead in our transgressions and sins, in which we lived according to the ways of this world and under the Spirit of disobedient. (Ephesians 1:2)
• We craved sinful natures and followed its desires and thoughts. (Ephesians 1:3)
• We had no hope for we were separated from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise. (Ephesians 2:12)
• We were darkness. (Ephesians 5:8)
  

But guess what? Ephesians 2:4-5 says “⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:13 says that we are “NOW in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Let’s now see our New Realities in Christ, for now:

• We are redeemed and forgiven. (Ephesians 1:7)
• We are no longer a sinner for we have been made righteous by the blood of Christ.    (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• We are blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
• Jesus has become our peace. (Ephesians 2:14)
  
• We have direct access to the Father for Jesus has destroyed the barrier by abolishing in his flesh the LAW with its commandments and regulations. (Ephesians 2:14-15)
• We are no longer foreigners and aliens as we were outside Christ but now we are fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:19
• God dwells in us. (Ephesians 2:22)
• We are children of light which bears goodness, righteousness, and truth(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth. (Ephesians 5:8)
• We are without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:27)
  

What different realities we have in Christ! He gave us these new realities because of His great love and His rich mercy. Amen!

Before I end this, I just want to encourage everyone to keep hearing the Gospel of Grace (for there is no other Gospel as Paul says it in Galatians 1:6 – ⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷which is really no gospel at all. Make sure you keep hearing the Gospel that reminds you of your new realities in Christ. If you have books that do not produce love, peace, and joy, perhaps you need to consider to not read them anymore or if you are generous, you can just throw them away

You may say, I can handle it or I do not think it matters. I hope that is the case… the thing is, what we believe will determine how we act. If you believe that God will bless your finance if you tithe, then you will try your best to give as much as you can for that is what you believe. If you believe that you must not doubt for miracles to happen, then you will do what ever you can to not doubt (I personally believe this is impossible to achieve! Who never doubts?). If you believe that God will smile at you if you “do” it right, then you will do what ever you can in your power to make God smile. Is this not true? See all these examples bring your focus back to your strength instead to Jesus who has done everything on our behalf. So let’s just turn our eyes upon Him for He is perfect.

Let’s read Ephesians 4:14 “¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

I hope that what is written in Ephesians 4:14 will be so evident in your life because we do not want to be a “confused” Christian who goes from one doctrine to another doctrine.

May His peace be yours in abundance.

Let’s read Jeremiah 31:33-35

³³ “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴ No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” ³⁵ This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD Almighty is his name:

Guess what? We are living under this Covenant now, Can you imagine that we are actually living in the time where many prophets and Heroes of Faith have been dreaming and longing for? They could only IMAGINE how glorious this Covenant is going to be.

Let’s now read Ezekiel 36:25-28

²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

So if you have experienced any of the followings, you know how to respond or react:

1. When Satan or someone tells you that “you cannot do this and that” – you can just tell him “as far as I’m concerned that God did not say ‘IF’ nor ‘BUT’ in the New Covenant as God only says ‘I WILL’ and ‘YOU SHALL’.”

2. When Satan or someone tells you that “you have a heart of stone” – you can just tell him “as far as I’m concerned that God has given me a heart of flesh.”

3. When Satan or someone tells you that “you will fail or you are not gonna make it as a Christian” – you can just tell him “as far as I’m concerned that God will put His Spirit and keep me to follow His decrees and His Laws.”

God does not even say what we MUST DO in the New Covenant, it is all about HIM doing. Praise Jesus for He has fulfilled all the requirements in the Old Covenant. You know what? Before Jesus gave His Spirit and shouted it is finished in John 19, He said “I am thirsty” – He was actually saying “Lord, give the the cup of God’s wrath – I am ready to drink it.” In Luke 22:4, Jesus says “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” He drank the CUP OF GOD’S WRATH on our behalf! Can you imagine such love that he willingly took our place? God’s punishments and judgments that are supposed to fall on us FELL on Jesus’ body! The Romans must have thought that Jesus was physically thirty – hence why they gave Him a sponge soaked with wine! But the reality was that Jesus was fulfilling the scripture! (Thanks to Mick Mooney for sharing this revelation to me)

Let’s go back to Ezekiel 36, if you continue reading the chapter, you will find so many “I WILL’s” in the chapter. what amazes me is that in verse 32, the reason why God is doing this is for OUR SAKE! How glorious is that? God knew it from the beginning that we all will fall and we will have to keep giving sacrifices and offerings to Him, God knew all that! God has the right to not send Jesus to earth to save and to redeem us. Every human being deserves Hell … but you know what? In spite of everything, God CHOSE to send His Son to the world and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

My friend that is the NEW COVENANT we live in. Christ has DONE it all, Christ has become our Righteousness, Christ has made us qualified for God’s promises and blessings, Christ has made God satisfied on our behalf, Christ has redeemed us, and Christ has saved us! Let’s rest in His goodness knowing that He SHOUTED “IT IS FINISHED”.

May you fall in love with Jesus all over again

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

⁸But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. ⁹I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. ¹⁰And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. ¹¹For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

The purpose of the Law is to make us sin more! That is the truth, the Law equals more sinning. In Romans 6:23, it says  that “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The more you sin, the more death you will get. We can sum it up to this, that the Law kills … 10 Commandments Kill. The world needs more preachers that unveil the Glory of Christ who do not minister death to people.  We do not need the Law anymore, the Law was given so that every person would come to an end of themselves and turn back to God who is LIFE. Praise God that He sent His son, Jesus to fulfill the Law because only Him can perfectly fulfill the Law, no one else! Matthew 5:17 says that “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” what it means is that there has to be someone to fulfill the Law otherwise blessings that can only come by man’s obedience cannot come and God who is just and righteous cannot bend the Law or lower His standards. Thank God that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law on our behalf and since we are in Him, we get all the blessings. In the New Covenant, God does not see our Obedience, but He sees every single obedience that Jesus had done for us (that would mean every single believer in this world).

A Covenant is between 2 parties, in the Old Covenant, it was between God and His People (the Jews) and because Men always fail and cannot perfectly fulfill God’s standards, instead of blessings they received curses after curses.They brought offerings and sacrifices to “cover” their sins/disobedience so that they can still get God’s blessings. What amazing is that in the New Covenant (the Covenant that we are under) is still between 2 parties which are God and Man, BUT… this time is between a PERFECT GOD and a PERFECT MAN whose name is Jesus Christ who perfectly fulfilled God’s standards.This means that, the covenant that we are under is a PERFECT COVENANT and cannot be broken.

So, if the Bible says you must tithe in order to be blessed. What shall we do? Do we look at ourself and think “man, I did not tithe last week at church service, no wonder my week has been bad”? No no no no! We look at Jesus, what did Jesus do on my behalf? Did Jesus tithe? YES! Since we are in Him, are we blessed? YES! God does not see our obedience anymore, everything has been satisfied in Jesus. If the Bible says that, you must have a healthy prayer life for God to move. What shall we do? Do we then try to find where have we gone wrong? No no no no… please do not get me wrong. Once we focus upon Jesus, faith will come for the Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of CHRIST. If you know how much we are loved by Him, would you not want to spend more and more time with Him? So, what does that mean now? Let’s be stingy and live lawlessly? No no no no… it just means we do not live under the Old Covenant which brings death any longer because God has replaced it with something greater which is the New Covenant of Grace (God’s Spirit).

We are now a spiritual being not a law being and under God’s Grace. Please understand that Grace does not mean “to cover”, we have heard “well Grace is just a license to sin!” I do not think that if you understand His love, you would want to go out and sin. Grace literary means “Undeserved or Unmerited Favour” which pictures the perfect love of God! if we understand Grace and how much we are loved by God whose love is everlasting for Jeremiah 31:3 says that “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” How Glorious is this? God who owns the universe, who knows us before we were conceived, who created the heavens and earth, who numbered the stars and named them, who holds the universe together, and His love towards us is everlasting? Let’s ponder and meditate on this verse. Let God’s Love washes you.  In John 17:23, God says that He even loves us (that would mean YOU) the same as he loves His son, Jesus!

If all these verses did not make you feel super and deeply loved by the Creator, I will give you some more

Let’s look at Philippians 4:19

“And my God will meet all your needs ACCORDING to HIS GLORIOUS RICHES in Christ Jesus.”

How much God will bless me? Let me give you a story. Imagine there are 2 people (Bob and Jeremy) and they both are good friends. Bob is rich and he owns multiple companies and according to a fortune magazine, he is considered as one of the most richest and succesfull people on earth. The second one, Jeremy, he lives a normal life, by normal, I mean he has a job who provides him finance to pay the bills. One day, Bob decided to bless Jeremy with his finance. Let’s just agree that Bob is giving a million dollars to Jeremy just because they are good friends. Although it is a huge amount of money, but still the blessing is based on Bob’s bank account. Although he owns millions and millions of dollars, there are still limits. Now lets look at the third person, His name is Jesus Christ. So who is Jesus? Let’s read Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” OK this Jesus owns the UNIVERSE and EVERYTHING in it. If you like astronomy like I do, imagine how many gazilions starts out there in space? even the scientists could not figure it out how massive the space is! our star which is Sun is already massive in size, but guess what? Our sun/star is one of the smallest starts there is in space! According to Psalm 50:10 which says “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.”Jesus owns the cattle on a thousand hills - what would that look like today? I will let you to decide. Do you think Jesus will make it to fortune magazine?  I think so! What kind of title he would get? Perhaps something like this The most loving, richest, kind, humble, successful, thoughtful, generous person that ever recorded in history? I hope you get how BIG and GLORIOUS Jesus Christ is.

This is just a small glimpse of His Glorious Riches (based on my tiny brain)

I leave you with these verses from Hebrews 8:7-13

⁷For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸But God found fault with the people and said:
“The time is coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
⁹It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
¹⁰This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
¹¹No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
¹²For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

¹³By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

Grace and Peace be with you

44″The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field”.
45″Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls”.
46″When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it”.

What first came up to your mind when you read this parable? Did you see it as something that a Good Christian needs to do to PLEASE God or Did you see what Jesus has done for us?

You may have heard these parables preached so many times at churches and if you have not, perhaps just keep going and you will heard it. Praise God if you belong to a church that is so dependent on Christ and continually lifts up the name of Jesus in every meeting. There is only one Gospel which is the Gospel of Grace (Galatians 1:6-7). Paul said that there is no other Gospel except the Gospel of Christ. If you hear a sermon or a message that has got nothing to do with Jesus or does not make you know more about Jesus or makes you feel condemned because there is always something that makes you feel ‘I am not enough’, you have heard a different Gospel, which is NOT the Gospel.

We so often hear that a good Christian MUST be WILLING to GIVE A SACRIFICE FOR GOD because that is what a Good Christian supposed to do, but that is not what these parables talk about. The truth is that we are the Hidden Treasure and  the Pearl. Jesus who created the universe and everything in it willingly left the heaven where He belongs and ’sold’ everything He owns to ‘buy’ us. He is doing whatever He can to extend the ‘beloved’ family and we are the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl that He has been looking for. Can you imagine such a love that He willingly LEFT everything He’s got to redeem us?? Such perfect Love will turn around the world for good. This kind of love is what the world needs to hear and experience. I really believe that this kind of love is the ONLY love that will bring young and old generations to Christ, not the Spirit of Condemnation.

2 Corinthians 3:9-10

⁹“If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! ¹⁰For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory”.

If we think that a condemning sermon still brings the lost to the Lord, imagize how much MORE when a sermon that brings righteousness will bring the lost to the Lord? For John says in 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love“.

In the New Testament, Paul says “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15) In today’s language the word ABBA means Daddy which pictures an intimacy between a son and a father.

May you be showered by His Grace daily.

Shalom