ATONEMENT not ATTAINMENT

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I was looking for a way to end the week this morning and I ran across this little “Love Worth Finding" devotion in my inbox. I thought it good one to share to bring a little closure to our topic from yesterday, "those guilty feelings".

Romans 3:25-26 ( MSG)

God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! in his rightness. God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live.

From Adrian Rogers…

“When I was a little boy, I thought that God was like Santa Claus with a long beard sitting up in heaven—making a list and checking it twice, trying to find out if I was naughty or nice. Then when my life was over, I would face Him and He would pull out these massive scales and weigh my good works against my bad to see if I made it into heaven.

Do you know what this thinking did? It made me fearful that at the end of my life I would face God and He would say, “Adrian. I’m sorry, but according to My calculations, you didn’t make it.” Then, I would have to turn and ashamedly walk past family and friends.

Friend, maybe you even believe this, but let me set the record straight: Salvation is not an attainment, it is an atonement.

You cannot atone for your sins. Your good works cannot do it. None of us could produce works good-enough and fast enough to atone for sin. Don’t even try.

Rest in the finished work of the Cross.”

I love that last line..."REST IN THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS." Man, that is a FREEING statement!

Why?

I know the enemy works hard to keeps us in that “attainment” frame of mind doesn't he, confronting us with every mistake, every sour thought, every bad decision, and every misguided choice. I also know we live in a “quid pro quo” culture that says in order to “get something” we are expected to “give something”. I know, like Adrian, the pressure that "attainment" focused faith can bring.

Yet that is not the way GOD works. This is the way GOD works...

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So when we are confronted with those “guilty feelings” we talked about yesterday, when we start having those doubts about our standing with GOD and when we start scrambling for the next “good thing” we can do to “make up for our sin”, or find ourselves scanning the block for the first little old lady to help across the street, remember it is about atonement and not attainment!

Remember that verse from Romans 5. Jesus gave of Himself as the MESSAGE says it, “when we were at our worst”.

That means this atonement was given when I was drinking. This atonement happened when you were using, or hadn’t darkened the door of a church in years.

There is NO ATTAINMENT in this equation, no "quid pro quo" requirements.

GOD loves us INSPITE of us.

In other words that further confirms what I shared yesterday.

Thanks to CHRIST, we are NOT GUILTY! Thanks to CHRIST the "work" is done!

Isn’t that amazing?

So, I leave you this week with a verse of encouragement. This little passage from Ephesians that brings this whole "guilt, attainment, atonement thing" into focus for me.

Ephesians 1:7-10
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar ofthe Cross, we're a free people—free ofpenalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

GUILTY FEELINGS?

"REST IN THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS"

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY?

"REST IN THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS"

Have a blessed weekend.

I love you all

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

FEELING GUILTY vs BEING GUILTY

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Sure no fun to fall huh?

I have been getting a lot of guilt-ridden notes, FACEBOOKS, and TEXTS lately.

Lots of deeply trouble people who are feeling that they have “really messed things up” or have experienced a string of bad days that would make the unluckiest shudder.

Lord knows I have been there too; maybe more recently than many would think.

I have had many days that I knew SIN got the best of me.

Days where I indulged in poor decisions and made stupid choices and found the ENEMY right there waiting to relentlessly scream in my ear about how bad I am and that I am doomed. I have had him spit lie after lie at me, telling me that I am “no Pastor”, that I am still that selfish, self-absorbed narcissistic jerk that I have always been. Believe me, I know how it feels to have condemnation seem so thick and heavy it is almost suffocating.

And this week, I can feel it in the SPIRIT of so many; folks who are feeling oppressed, lonely, isolated, hurt, staggered and most of all GUILTY. How do I know, because THERE ARE A LOT of you who are sharing those feelings with me.

And while we know that guilt is the “go to” emotional virus of the enemy, the good news is that Jesus not only has the remedy for this guilt, HE IS the REMEDY for this guilt.

Now before we get too far down this road, please be advised, this DISPATCH is not to MAKE you FEEL guilty, but to give you perspective about the guilty feelings you may be experiencing.

I want you to understand the difference between “FEELING GUILTY” which we will from time to time and “BEING GUILTY”.

There is a big difference!

The BIBLE does make it clear that the HOLY SPIRT is built to convict us when we do sin. We should “FEEL GUILTY” about those sins. THAT conviction is FROM GOD and it is designed to DRIVE US away from our reckless behaviors and choices and move us closer TO THE FATHER.

Even some of the Bible’s “heavies” faced and were confronted and conflicted by this kind of guilt.

Peter, after he denied Jesus…

Matthew 26:75

New International Version (NIV)

⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

And Paul when he was shown the error of his ways on the road to do some Christian killing.

Acts 9:4

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

They were confronted and “FELT THEIR GUILT” just like we do.

But like these two heavyweights, GOD used those convicted feelings to drive them back to Himself.

You see, via God’s plan, the sacrifice of HIS SIN-FREE, GUILT-FREE Son, GOD paved the way for “guilt-free” living for all who would accept Jesus.

By sending His only Son to be our substitute—to bear our sin and guilt and to die in our place, Jesus not only paid our sin-debt in full, but His righteousness becomes ours the moment we place trust in Him!

Let’s boil it down.

We were guilty.

Thanks to cross, we are NO LONGER GUILTY.

We may still have moments and days where we FEEL GUILTY, but the days of “BEING GUILTY” are over!

Just look!

1 Corinthians 15:57 (MSG)

…It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!

Still not convinced?

Let’s look at what one of those heavyweights was inspired to pen about this guilt issue.

Romans 8:1

¹ So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty.

So let’s sum it up.

When we “feel guilty”, thank GOD for it, it means HIS SPIRIT is working in and through you. Then pause and remember the CROSS and the grace! And then THANK CHRIST that guilt no longer has a grip on you!

John 3:18

New Life Version (NLV)

¹⁸Whoever puts his trust in His Son is not guilty.

I pray this helps. It helped me.

I love you all

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

"HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY"

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

If someone asked you today, I mean right now, “Are you happy?” what would you say?

Would you say, “Yeah, I think so…”or maybe “Uhh, most of the time I guess” or would you say, “Ahh…not really.”

What if then they asked you the follow-on question, “What would it take to make you happy?” What would you say then?

I was sitting in an early morning session yesterday where an interesting question was asked. “If you had 3 wishes, could rub the GENIE’s lamp, what would be the 3 things that you would request to make you happy?”

On the surface that seems like an easy question, but it really isn’t.

Come on, ask yourself, “What would make me happy?”

Wealth?

No guarantee there, I have counseled with a fair share of folks who have great wealth and are deeply sad. In fact earlier this year I laid to rest a dear friend who fit that category. He died a sorrowful man.

Fame?

No guarantee there either. Check the headlines. Lindsey Lohan, Whitney Houston, Dennis Rodman and that list goes on and on.

Power?

That one is a tricky one isn’t it? Yet the truth is, power is an insatiable desire, it is never satisfied. It was said of Alexander the GREAT that he wept because there were no more worlds to conquer.

That doesn’t seem too happy to me.

Truth is, NOTHING this world can offer, not wealth, fame, or power can guarantee HAPPINESS. There is only ONE who can.

GOD.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 (AMP)
Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always).

BE HAPPY IN YOUR FAITH...and where does that lie? GOD!

So here is the question again, ARE YOU happy? Are you glad-hearted?

Did you know that a joyful spirit and a happy countenance are the marks of God's image in us? To miss out on joy and the source of that joy is to miss out on the reason for our existence. God wants HIS joy to be in us. GOD even guarantees that JOY will fill the lives of those who embrace Him!

Galatians 5:22 (ERV)

²² But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness

So when someone asks us that question, “Are you happy?” we can say a resounding yes, because the JOY of the LORD is the strength for those in HIM. We can quote boldly…

Psalm 92:4
For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works; at the deeds of Your hands I joyfully sing

In fact, if we want to get “real”about this joy thing, GOD’s WORD puts OUR JOY and OUR HAPPINESS in what I will call the “non-optional” category.

Don’t think so?

Philippians 4:4 AMP

"Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!"

Think again. J

Here is the bottom line, God wants us to be happy, and here is what is SUPREMELY COOL; HE makes HAPPINESS POSSIBLE.

There is only one catch.

It is impossible to experience real joy unless you have invited the “SPIRIT of JOY”, Jesus, to permeate and flow in and through your life. Jesus wants to help you, to strengthen you, to fill you with the laughter and joy that only He can give.

SO LET HIM!

Do it this morning.

Prayer
Lord, I've tried things my own way and have never found lasting joy. I'm ready to do things your way. Help me to be happy in my faith and to rejoice continually. In Jesus' name.

Once you do, you will experience JOY!

Romans 15:13
May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.

Have a joyful day!

I love you all

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

GODLY DECISIONS, DAILY DISCIPLINE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“When does it get easier?”

I can almost read folk’s minds when they ask that question. It is as if they have said to themselves and GOD, “OK GOD, I am “doing” recovery, I am “doing” the right things, saying the right stuff, drinking the soda water sans the vodka, when is the ‘light yoke, and easier burden' Jesus keeps talking about going to kick in?”

I usually answer with this…

Proverbs 10:17
The road TO LIFE is a disciplined life…

Just look at the definition of DISCIPLINE…

…activity, exercise or regimen that develops or improves a skill…

To me, that says recovery, this walk, is exactly that; exercise.  It takes a little sweat equity on our part.  And sometimes that walk ISN'T so easy.

1 Timothy 4:7

…Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.

That means we must EXERCISE some GODLY decision making and for some of us that is SOME HARD WORK, right?  But it is a must.

Romans 6:12

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time…into GOD’s way of doing things.

A WHOLEHEARTED and FULL-TIME commitment to CHRIST prompts us make good and GODLY choices, to shed sinful tendencies and to think in the way GOD would want us to think.  And believe me, I know that can be a challenge.

In addition to improving upon our decision-making, we must also EXERCISE DISCPLINE! What did that verse say, the ROAD TO LIFE is a DISCIPLINED LIFE!

No cutting corners or cheating allowed.

Matthew 7:13 (The Message)

^13-14"Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

VIGOROUS! 

That doesn't sound like a cake-walk to me...

Now we shouldn’t be surprised that GOD would want us to EXERCISE some good decision-making and some daily discipline.  Anything worth pursuing requires some effort, some work, some commitment, some passion, and some investment.   And we would all agree, this NEW LIFE is worth it, AMEN?

So let's hit it this morning. 

GOOD DECISIONS! GODLY DISCIPLINE!

Proverbs 8:32

"So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me…

I love you all.

Have a blessed day

Freedom Church

 

 

Pastor GDelaney

NEED REFRESHING?

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Yesterday following our first service in our new facility, I was asked to pray with a man who had just received Christ in that inaugural service.

He looked, spent.

He was exhausted.

He needed refreshing. And He was looking in the right place.

No, not at AHOP, not to me (that is for sureJ), but he was looking to GOD.

Anyone who has struggled through a difficult season of life longs for some rest and refreshment. I mean we all have experienced times in our lives where we ache for some relief, some revitalization and rejuvenation.

Even David had moments in his life where he needed refreshment, just as a dry field needed water for life.

Psalm 63

¹ God, you are my God.
I am searching so hard to find you.
Body and soul, I thirst for you
in this dry and weary land without water.

Our new friend was in the same boat. Life was draining him dry and he needed refreshment; the kind only found from GOD.

Maybe you are in a similar place this morning. Maybe circumstances, challenges, and the issues of life have drained you and you need a lift, a boost, to be invigorated.

If so, read further in that little Psalm and you will find the source of this needed refreshment.

² Yes, I have seen you in your Temple. ^[a]
I have seen your strength and glory.
³ Your faithful love is better than life,
so my lips praise you.
⁴ By my life, I will praise you.
In your name, I lift my hands in prayer.
⁵ When I sit down to satisfy my hunger,
my joyful lips hunger to praise you!
⁶ I remember you while lying on my bed.
I think about you in the middle of the night.
⁷ That is because you are the one who helps me.
It makes me happy to be under your protection!
⁸ I stay close to you,
and you hold me with your powerful arm.

Yes, there it is!

GOD, you are the one who satisfies.

GOD, you are the one who helps me.

GOD, you are the one who brings happiness and protection.

It is God alone who can refresh and renew us in our dry seasons.

Just as the exertions of physical travel cause us to hunger and thirst for food and drink, the journey of faith and the walk of life must be sustained by God.

Jesus understood this so well when He said…

John 4:14

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

¹⁴ But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.”

So I encourage you that if you are experiencing a dry place or parched season, seek Jesus for your refreshment and drink deep from the immensity of His love, grace, peace and energy.

Romans 15:13

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

There you will find you’re refreshing.

Have a blessed day!

I love you all

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

THROUGH CHRIST

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I got a pretty “distressed” call yesterday afternoon.  A good friend, a strong and I mean strong and dedicated follower of Jesus, a true source of encouragement for others had been knocked off her feet and she was at the breaking point.

Life was winning and she was in a word, OVERWHELMED.

Now listen before I continue this is no “run of the mill” Jesus-follower I am talking about. This one can “take a punch” when it comes to adversity. So for her to raise the white flag and feel like giving up just doesn’t happen.  She is a TIMEX watch (takes a licking…you know) J.

But yesterday was a different story.  She was OVERWHELMED.

Like my friend, it is not uncommon for any of us to run up against things that are bigger than us; things and circumstances that loom so large or seem so enormous that we simply cannot overcome in our own strength. It may be outside trials or be an internal battle like a lust that threatens to consume us, our addiction that repeatedly trips us up, a resentment that is growing inside us, or a sorrow that seems to paralyze us.  We all have that “it” that from time to timeseeks to get the best of us.

But I want to encourage you this morning to remember something.

1 Corinthians 10:13

The Message (MSG)

 ¹³No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

When dealing with a big “IT”, we need to shift our focus from the source of the issue to the source of the solution.

Oh, we will grit our teeth, hunch our backs, and seek to make it through by sheer determination. We will tell ourselves we can overcome if we just try hard enough.

Yet GOD doesn’t ask us to do any of that.  He actually encourages just the opposite.  He says, DISENGAGE; step back, step down and let HIM handle it.

But boy oh boy we sure don’t like doing that do we?

We say things like, “I got it.” “Appreciate the help, but I’m good.”

But like I told my friend, there are just some old tried and true “truths” that “just work” in times like this.

Like this one.

Philippians 4:13

New Century Version (NCV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.

An old and familiar verse reminding us again that the strength for these “overwhelming” situations does not come from us, or from our own willpower but from Jesus Christ who has the power and deliverance we need.

I know it is a familiar passage, one we use all the time, but HOW OFTEN when the heat is on do we forget it?

Exactly!

So today if you are being knocked around or overwhelmed, ask some questions.

“How can I make it through this trial”?

Through Christ.

"How can I overcome that temptation or addiction?

Through Christ.

How can I rise above my grief or depression?

Through Christ.

There is nothing that you cannot do through the strength that Christ has promised to you. I don’t care how big, how ugly, how ill-timed the issue, or if this is your first battle with “IT” or your 99,995^th battle with “IT”, turn to Him my friends, and find the confidence, the joy, the strength that is found where?

Through Christ.

Have a blessed weekend

I love you all