Shining Light

We who are part of God's creation tend to take things from one extreme to another. 
      In the past, there was a lot of teaching and sermons about the "Fire and Brimstone" side of our relationship with our Heavenly Father, but now we focus only on the love side.
     We really need to remember that God is a very complex Father and Creator, yes, He is Love but He is also Just, Righteous and Holy. (Psalms reveals so much of His heart and nature that if you long to know your Father's heart I would recommend that you read through it, taking note of the verses that list His attributes.)
     The purpose of this writing is to encourage you to not be deceived into the love side of the relationship with a blind eye to the justice that our Father requires.
      I have been trying to walk a holy path with my Saviour and while it is the best path, it is often too easy to slip off of the path with a word or thought that I need to bring back into line and then climb back to the path of holiness again.
     On this path I have had things of the past brought to mind that were "dirt swept under the rug" that were an issue on the holiness path, things that I needed to deal with, confess and be cleansed from. 
     This morning my prayer has been to be a shining light in God's Kingdom(for His pleasure), that is not an easy thing to do if there is anything that you have hidden under the rug! I had attitudes brought to me of when I have been less than respectful to the people the Lord had put over me as a covering in my life.
     Yesterday I read about how leaders are put in place by the Lord for His purpose, we have had leaders of our nation in the past that I did not think or speak properly of, that did not fit in with His purpose for me if I want to be a shining light! (Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Romans 13:1)
     As a teenager, I was not very respectful of my earthly father, and now that I am older I can see how hard he worked to care and provide for me. I have dealt with these issues I am now forgiven for this, but it was something I needed to put under the forgiveness of my Heavenly Father to be qualified to walk as a shining light.
     There are other examples of course, but my point is that if you desire to walk as a shining light in His Kingdom you need to examine yourself. Yes, He is Love and He does give Forgiveness but we need to be aware of our need for forgiveness and ask Him for it!

If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. 1 John 1:9-10 The Message

Broken Or Made Whole?

Recently I heard people speaking and sharing the idea that we as Christians are vile and worms in comparison to God, they repeated this idea several times. I had not heard that for a long time and I have to admit it was a good thing to hear...not because I believe it, but to challenge me to research what I do believe and why! =) 
     Sometimes we can fall into a habit of just believing what we believe because we have believed it for a long time! It becomes a habit. =/
     It is good to go back and refresh our understanding. So today I have spent a great deal of time reading and rereading why I do not believe I am vile! I believe I am a new creation! Yes, I was vile but the Lord has cleansed me and in Him, I am a new creation! 
     As a Christian, we know that we are made from dust, and we know that outside of being covered by Jesus' blood we have no forgiveness, no hope, and a very dismal future. We know that in ourselves there is no good thing! 
          BUT~~

     As a Christian, we also know that we are covered by Jesus' blood! We know we are forgiven! We know that we are eternal beings with a hope and a great future! We know we are children of the One True King! We know we have been set free from our sinful nature and that our Father is working to bring us to all good things! We know that we are seated at the right hand of the Father, that we are in Christ and He is in us!
     I'm writing this to encourage you to recognize that before you believed and trusted in Jesus, yes, you were vile and broken! You were without hope! without forgiveness! but please don't stay there! Move into the Sonship, move into your new self, you have been made whole! He didn't bring you out of your brokenness so that you could spend your time thinking about how bad you were before, He brought you out so you could become a part of the Kingdom and touch the world! Hear your calling! Move forward!

Jesus did His part in covering you, now do your part in living in Him and Him in you!

If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.1 John 1:9 CJB

Since all have sinned and come short of earning God’s praise. By God’s grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua. God put Yeshua forward as the kapparah (propitiation, sacrifice)for sin through his faithfulness in respect to his bloody sacrificial death. This vindicated God’s righteousness; because, in his forbearance, he had passed over [with neither punishment nor remission] the sins people had committed in the past; and it vindicates his righteousness in the present age by showing that he is righteous himself and is also the one who makes people righteous on the ground of Yeshua’s faithfulness. Romans 3:23-26 CJB

But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love that, even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah — it is by grace that you have been delivered. That is, God raised us up with the Messiah Yeshua and seated us with Him in heaven, Ephesians 2:4-6 CJB

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. It is through his Son that we have redemption — that is, our sins have been forgiven. Colossians 1:13-14 CJB

Therefore, just as you received the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, keep living your life united with him. Remain deeply rooted in him; continue being built up in him and confirmed in your trust, the way you were taught, so that you overflow in thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7

He then adds,“ ‘And their sins and their wickednesses
I will remember no more.’ Hebrews 10:17 CJB

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT

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

He has removed our sins from us
as far as the east is from the west. Psalms 103:12 CJB